Author's Note: Thanks to MathGeoArtFab and mary for the reviews and to Prin rox for putting it on the list of favourites.

Message to mary: The story will definitely be finished. I didn't start posting until I had a complete version.


THE CASTLE IN THE SWAMP

Chapter 11

The next morning after breakfast Yuliya was on her way again. When she arrived at the meeting point, Michael wasn't there. She waited and waited a full two hours before he finally appeared.

He looked awful, sick and Yuliya asked him, "Are you alright? You look ill."

"I'm fine," he answered. "It's nothing to worry about."

She followed him to the castle under the swamp and they continued according to the routine they'd established in the previous month. Yuliya was still concerned about Michael, because he really didn't look well, but he kept brushing aside her concern.

A day or two later, she finished the last room. Only the kitchen and Michael's bedroom were left, but Yuliya had been forbidden to clean those. It was still early so she took a long relaxing bath before getting dressed for dinner. It was one of Michael's feeding days, so Yuliya hadn't seen him since lunch. Considering the time she expected Michael to turn up soon, just as he usually did. Yuliya waited and waited until past the usual time for dinner. Michael still hadn't appeared, so she decided to go look for him.

Yuliya left her room and made her way to the staircase. Looking over the railing into the hallway she saw Michael lying on the floor. She rushed down to check what was wrong with him. He was conscious but moaning as if he was in pain.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Yuliya asked.

He only moaned again.

Yuliya realised she had to get him to a bed. She knew she couldn't carry him upstairs. He would have to help.

"Do you think you can stand?" was her next question.

He nodded. With a lot of effort and Yuliya's help he managed to get up. Slowly he walked to the stairs, leaning heavily on her. It seemed to take ages to get to the first floor. Yuliya thought of the room he called his where a few sacks on the ground were the only sleeping place. It was also at the end of the corridor. She opened the door to the first room she came to and took him inside. By then Michael had gotten worse which made things easier as he was beyond complaining. She undressed him – up to a point – put him in the bed and sat next to him, listening to his heavy breathing. She wondered what was wrong with him. He hadn't looked well the morning she'd arrived either. If she had to hazard a guess she would say he looked as if he had been poisoned. But what could have done it?

Yuliya had been sitting with him for about half an hour when she noticed Michael was licking his lips. He whispered faintly, "Thirst."

She went down to the kitchen, but when she saw the horrible, stinking liquid she pumped up, she decided it wouldn't do him any good. She knew she could always find a drink for herself in the dining room. There on the table she found a carafe of water and a glass. She took it up to Michael and helped him to drink. His breathing soon became more regular. For two long days she sat by Michael's side, only leaving to have a quick bite to eat. She regularly helped him to drink some water. He didn't seem to want anything else, but Yuliya feared he was becoming weaker. On the third morning while having breakfast in the dining room where food magically appeared each day Yuliya decided to try something. She gave an order, to the castle, to invisible helpers, she didn't know who would or could listen, but she said it anyway.

"I want a bowl of stock for Michael. He can't live on water alone."

When she returned at midday she noticed that as well as her lunch there was a tray with a small tureen of steaming chicken stock, and a bowl and spoon. After her meal she took it up to the room, placed the tureen near the fire she'd lit in the grate and fed Michael a whole bowl of the stock, spoon by spoon. She did this for a week before he finally became aware of her. He was still very weak and slept most of the time.

Yuliya continued to give him food she thought would do him good, chicken soup, toast with jam or softly boiled eggs. Every morning she ordered whoever made the food appear what to get ready for him. And he ate it without thinking it was not his usual fare.

When Michael seemed well enough to be left alone for longer, she decided to tackle the two places in the whole castle that annoyed her most. The kitchen and his room, two places that made him a beast and perhaps even kept him like that.

It took her a full week before she was happy. The room was fairly quickly done. Just get rid of the rags that made the nest; the rest was straightforward cleaning as the room was otherwise totally empty. The kitchen was rather more difficult. The growth on the walls needed a lot of elbow grease to scrape off. Even then they were still filthy, and not all the growth had come off. Some of it stuck to the wall as if it was glued on. She wanted clear water from the pump as well before she continued. It had to be possible. She always had clear water for the cleaning. Whenever she had wanted it, there had been a bucket of fresh water for her.

She spent a whole day pumping, pumping, pumping. Her arms were aching, her shoulders were sore, she felt sick from the putrid stink of the liquid that came spouting out. In the afternoon it slowly started to be less thick, although still with the filthy smell. Slowly, ever so slowly, the liquid became clearer. Eventually clear water came out of the pump, still slightly stinking but clear. Finally late that evening she drew the first bucket of clear, sweet, freshly smelling water from the kitchen pump.

The following day her whole body was aching but she continued the work, washing the walls until every bit of growth, every speck of dirt had gone. At the end of the week the kitchen too was shining and Yuliya knew this was how it would be from then on, clean with fresh water.

Michael had become progressively better. For a while he hadn't know who he was, what he was, where he was, or who his nurse was. He had accepted everything like a new-born baby. Slowly memory had come back: he was the lord of the castle and that's where he was. He thought it strange it was so dark outside but decided the windows had been blinded because of his illness. He presumed the girl had been hired to look after him and was now returning to her normal duties, perhaps just bringing his food because he'd had something infectious to which she was immune.

The morning after Yuliya had finished in the kitchen, she took him his breakfast as usual. Now that Michael felt better the light had been turned up. He looked at the items on the tray: coffee, juice, toast, and soft boiled egg, all looking delicious. He stretched out his hand towards the bread and saw a scaly, green claw. In an instant his memory came back. He was a creature, a beast, not human. His castle was under the swamp and the girl who served him was really his guest, Yuliya, the only other living being in his castle. He looked at the breakfast again and remembered what he usually ate. This was not food for the creature he was; filthy liquid and fungus was his food.

"I can't eat this," he said with regret. "You know this is not what I eat."

"You've been eating it since you were well enough to eat," she answered him. "Try it, you'll see."

"Perhaps it only worked while I was so ill," he guessed.

"I'm sure it's not that. I'm sure the filth you were eating made you ill. Anyway, you won't be able to start eating that stuff again. I cleaned the kitchen and-"

"You've done what?" he shouted before she could continue.

"Cleaned the kitchen," she repeated. "There's no growth on the walls and clear water from the pump. Eat your breakfast and enjoy some real food for a change."

Gingerly he took a sip of the coffee. Ambrosia of the gods couldn't be better. A nibble of toast, a mouthful of juice, a spoonful of the egg; it all tasted like food hadn't tasted since he couldn't remember when.

Instead of wolfing it down, he savoured every bit of the food. To Michael it was like tasting everything for the first time all over again. The food Yuliya brought him for his lunch and dinner was approached in the same way: a careful taste followed by real enjoyment.

Because he now remembered who and what he was, he also noticed his surroundings.

"This is not my room," he said, and looked at her quizzically, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"No," she answered and when he kept looking at her inquiringly she added, "It was too far to drag you there. Besides it was unsuitable for an ill person, and I was not going to spend days on end sitting in that filthy den."

"Days on end? How long have I been ill?"

"More than a fortnight now."

"And you sat by my bed all that time?"

"Not really. Only until you were well enough to be left on your own. Then I sorted out that filthy den you used to sleep in and that atrocious kitchen. Thank God the cleaning is done now."

"Thank you, Yuliya, from the bottom of my heart."

He kissed her hand again, and again she didn't pull it away.

Two days later Michael had made his way down for breakfast and was waiting in the dining room for Yuliya. She was surprised to see him up already.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be in bed?" she asked him.

"Very sure," he answered. "I'll go mad if I have to lie in bed any longer."

For the first time they had a meal together. They talked about food, about the kind of things they liked. In the evening, sitting together they talked about the food they had at supper, about food that was mentioned in books and about favourite books. They had a long discussion on a book they couldn't agree on and laughed because they each had their own opinion, even if they could see the other's point of view.

Of course the month was soon over now, especially since his illness had taken away more than half of it.

Thanks to Yuliya's care, Michael was well enough to take her back to the surface.

"You're allowed to make another wish," he said.

She knew already what she wanted.

"I think my second sister, Irina, made as stupid a wish as Annushka. I wish she gets a man as rich as she wants but who still has a heart that belongs to her, and that she may discover hers."

"You never wish anything for yourself," he said. "Why don't you?"

"I have nothing to wish for," she answered.

"I do have a wish," he said. "I wish you would return to me tomorrow. To stay for as long as I need you."

She looked Michael in the eyes. For the first time she noticed they didn't resemble the eyes of a frog or lizard. Clear brown, golden flecked, warm eyes looked at her.

Yuliya was not afraid to search for his soul now, even if she didn't know what to expect. She'd seen people whose soul scared her as it looked even more like a beast than the creature she looked at now. She'd seen people whose soul was barely distinguishable from the real person. She'd seen the whole range from real monster to man and everything in between. Very rarely there was someone whose soul was more beautiful than the real person.

Then she saw what Michael, the creature looked like; a handsome man with dark brown hair that was just a bit long. He looked hopeful and worried at the same time. She smiled at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

Before he could tell her where to go she was on the road, walking towards her home.

ooOOoo

As always her father, Anna, Irina, and Annushka were happy to see her. They bombarded her with news of everything that had happened in the past month. Irina proudly boasted that Daniel was now considered to be the wealthiest merchant in town and Annushka glowed when she showed the published poems of Felix. She pointed out the dedication that read 'To the Queen of my Heart'.

Yuliya didn't really need the whispered, "That's me."

Anna was the first to notice that Yuliya was very quiet, even if she showed interest in everything her sisters said. It was as if Yuliya was already somewhere else. While the girls were happily chatting, Anna leaned over to Martin and whispered in his ear.

"Martin, she will go away again."

Martin waited until his younger daughters had told all their news before asking, "Yuliya, will you stay here now?"

Just like the previous times she answered, "I'm only here for today. Tomorrow I'm going back."

"Why would you go back to that animal?" Irina's asked.

"He looks awful, scary and yucky," Annushka stated. "I would die if I saw that creepy beast again."

"He's not an animal or a beast. I have seen humans whose souls were more beastlike than Michael appears to be. He is a man, and I feel I have to go back. I feel he needs me. I can't let him down."

Martin remembered the first time his daughter had mentioned that a person looked different from what everyone else saw. The day she had told him the nanny was a snake, something the woman turned out to be in a way. Another memory came to him. When he had informed his parents of his plans to marry Elizaveta, his mother had told him that she came from family to which strange people were born. To be more precise: strange women. At least she had lived long enough to see how happy Elizaveta had made him. There had never been anything strange about his first wife. Irina and Annushka were very normal young girls as well, but Yuliya had always been … not otherworldly, or fairylike, or anything silly like that, but he couldn't deny his oldest daughter had become a strange young woman.

"Go back to him, Yuliya. Stay as long as you need to. You'll come back to us when you are ready."

"And if I decide to stay with him forever?"

"Then you will come to us one last time to say goodbye."

Yuliya embraced her father. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for understanding, Father."

"Are you sure, Martin," Anna asked.

He nodded and then told his younger daughters not to pester their sister with demands for her to stay. He said it so sternly and seriously that they understood he meant it. They left Yuliya in peace, just talked about their boyfriends and their plans for a wedding. Annushka was still praising her boyfriend for being so romantic and sweet, her absolute dream. Irina showed Yuliya the many presents her sweetheart had given her, one even more expensive than the other.

Yuliya hoped that her wishes for her sisters and for Anna would all come true.

ooOOoo

Soon after breakfast the next morning Yuliya said goodbye to her family, embracing each of them in turn.

"Don't forget your promise," Martin said, and she shook her head, unable to speak.

With tears in her eyes Anna said, "Take care, Yuliya. We will miss you."

Annushka just embraced her, crying all the while.

Even Irina's voice was unsteady when she said, "I don't know why you want to go back to that beast. You are crazy."

Somehow they all knew it would be months before Yuliya returned, and then probably only to say goodbye for ever.

At the meeting point Michael was waiting for her as usual. Yuliya hoped he wouldn't see how difficult it had been to take leave of her family.

"I'm always amazed when you come back to me," he said when she approached.

"I promised you, didn't I? Of course I come back. I won't break a promise."

"Not even the promise to a beast? Some would say that doesn't count anyway."

"It does for me. Shall we go in?"

"Yes. For another month?"

"For as long as you want me," she said. "I won't return to the surface until you tell me to go home."

Michael couldn't believe what he heard. She would stay with him. There would be no more loneliness. Then he saw the slight puffiness of her eyes, the tears she tried to hold back. He wanted to stroke her hair, hold her in comfort, but at the last moment he held back, realising what he looked like.

"Thank you, Yuliya. Thank you for coming back. I'll do everything in my power to make you happy," he whispered.

ooOOoo