Many folks had tried to "sivilze" him in the past, all the way from Widow Douglas up to the Grangerfords to dear old Aunt Sally. None had succeeded. None had come close to succeeding. Huck was a free soul, running like the river through the great Mississippi plains, never in the same place for very long and always acting in his own best interest.

So, what was he doing here, starring at himself in the mirror as Clara's servants dressed him in the finest clothes he'd ever seen. He stood there, rigidly as they moved around him, sizing him and his prospects up like he was a piece of meat. If only he didn't love that girl so much.

"Oh, Huck Finn," Jim said from his comfortable spot on the rocker chair that sat against the far wall. Their eyes met in the mirror and the older black man couldn't suppress his hooting laughter any longer. "I never did think I'd fin'ly see the day you settled down– wife and all! This sure gunna make the news round these parts."

Unable to tolerate this level of torture any longer, Huck nearly jumped out of his skin as he asked the servants to give him and Jim a few moments of privacy. As soon as they left, he started ripping at the bow tie around his neck, suddenly feeling like a noose had been placed there instead. "Ain't nuthing so special 'bout this civility crap." He sighed as he took off his jacket and looked out the window. "I ain't supposed to be here, Jim. I oughta be out there, ridin' the river and getting inta trouble. Remembers when we was on that steamboat, the i Walter Scott /i and we ran into those robbers," He sighed wistfully, "Those were good times."

"You almost died that night, from whats I recall," Jim added. "Your Pap, he did die that night."

Jim had grown up ever since he'd become a free man. Stuck with a wife and children to look after now, he was starting to see things from an adult's point of view. Suddenly, realizing he had no accomplice anymore, Huck frowned. "But wasn't those good adventures, Jim? Now all I do is have tea and crumpets, say silly things like 'please' and 'thank you' and 'whatever you want, darling'."

"You loves Clara," Jim nodded. "You treats her well, like a lady. And she'll repay you for every kindness shown to her, you know it."

Huck slumped into the sofa. He knew Clara was a beautiful girl and she deserved someone wonderful that would fulfill her every wish. Though, whether or not that could be him in the end, he still didn't know. Why had he asked her to marry him anyway? The answer came quick. Her smile, her grace, the way she could match his wits in every argument.. she was perfection.

He wasn't though. He was a bit too much like his father, with one angel of light sitting on one shoulder and the angel of darkness sitting on the other. Suddenly, he felt the need to get out of there, out of the house, out of this conversation, out of these societal conventions. "I'm gunna go for a walk, Jim."

"Want me to come?"

Huck didn't answer him but simply left and shut the door behind him.

He spent the whole afternoon down by the river, swimming naked in the flowing current. Diving underwater, he wanted to be surrounded by it, covered in the great Mississippi. What he was hiding from though, he couldn't quite say. Was it the fear of winding up like Pap, a careless father who loved his liquor more than his children? Was it the fear of not being enough for Clara, not being able to provide her with everything her heart desired? Or was it just the childish fear of losing his independence and being tied down to one place for a long period of time, possibly forever?

After a few hours, Huck noticed someone in the bushes. The slight motion of the branches alerted his attention. He dived down into the water until only the top of his face was sticking up, watching intently to see if it were friend or foe who came to visit him by the water.

As the figure stepped out of the bushes, he jumped up shocked. "Clara! Whatcha doing? Ain't cha afraid the neighbors will see ya?" In the confusion, he'd not noticed that his old river accent had come back to him. Usually, he tried to speak more genteel like in front of her, she was a lady after all.

Though, he'd never expected her to be this sort of lady. She stepped closer to the water, dipping her naked toe that was attached to all her other gloriously naked parts. Her stuffy dress was gone, along with most of her modesty but her grace remained. "Hasn't it occurred to you, sir, that I may enjoy taking a dip in the river just as much as you do?"

It took a moment for that realization to completely materialize in his mind. "You mean you–"

"I'm not so cultivated and tame as I look, sir." She dove into the water, coming up beside him. Using the mouthful of water she had just taken into her mouth, Clara shot it out at him in one big squirt. He moved to avoid her watery attack, still a little in awe of her true being. She continued, "And you're not the world's best liar, either. I knew you've been coming out here at night and pretending to be a proper gentleman by day, ever since I met you."

"So, alls this time I spent hidin' who I was from ya.. and you knew–"

She shrugged as an impish smile found its way to her lips. Then swimming a few feet away from him, she called back, "I'll race you to Grand Oak Island. Unless you don't think you could best a woman?"

A challenge had been offered and Huck finally felt ready to accept it.

.Fin.