Lots of impatient people wanting to know where they're headed! Can't say I blame you... or that Christine isn't anxious to know too! Current vote is for Sweden... Who's ready to see?

Onward!

XL

Christine had never been on a plane before, but she doubted that even if she had, it still would not have been anything like this. The design was rather open, with upright seats and sofas alike, even a banquette table for having meals instead of the little trays that she'd overheard people complain about.

She'd frozen somewhat upon entering but Erik urged her forward, ushering her toward the longer bank of seats, presumably so he could sit beside her. Numbly, she obeyed him as she sat and allowed him to buckle her seatbelt, but her hands became rigid when he tried to take Boo from her.

"Hush now, Christine, but he cannot stay on your lap. He should not jostle about, now should he?"

She shook her head, agreeing, but still unmoving.

Erik sighed.

"Christine," he stated again, more firmly. "I am going to put him on this seat beside me and buckle his carrier. That way if there's any turbulence he will remain right where he is. Do you understand?"

With great reluctance she allowed him to do as he said, already missing the comforting presence of Boo on her lap as she faced this terribly new experience—with far less grace and trust than she had hoped, she noted with a grimace.

Wordlessly, Erik produced a little white pill and held it out to her.

"W-what is that?" she asked, her mouth suddenly feeling quite dry.

"It shall help you to relax and to sleep. It is quite a long flight and I would highly suggest you take it."

Christine stared at the pill, feeling quite strange as she did so. Was this truly a choice on her part, or was he merely humoring her with the asking? He'd shown no qualms about drugging her before, and she shuddered at the memory even now—even as she loved him. "If I don't, will you make me?" she queried, her voice no louder than a whisper.

Erik flinched, and concealed the pill as his fingers curled into a fist. "Of course not; I think only of your comfort."

Christine bit her lip, considering, before she nodded, taking it from him once he had relaxed his hand yet again. "May I have some water?"

He placed a kiss upon her temple before rising from his seat, his gratitude evident that she had decided to place her faith in him. "Certainly."

He went to a small bank of cabinets toward the front of the plane, pulling out a deceptively deep drawer that was well stocked with bottles of water and sodas. The engines suddenly grew louder and more insistent, and he hurried back to her side, buckling his own belt before handing her the bottle of water. "My dear," he offered with a small smile, and as her nerves increased, she was more grateful for his forethought in providing her some chemical assistance.

She was excited at the prospect of newness, but now that she was here... was buckled in for the journey, no knowledge of where they were headed or when they might return to the city she had known as home for so very long...

There was no denying she was frightened.

And as she swallowed the pill, she would be grateful for any courage it would provide, even if only in the form of unconsciousness.

"No flight attendant?" she asked, still finding this flight particularly strange and not anything like she'd heard described before.

Erik sniffed and waved his hand dismissively. "There is one somewhere. But no where they can prove a bother."

Christine's brow furrowed, but she asked no more of him as he drew her close so she could rest against his shoulder as a voice filtered through the cabin, informing them of their departure.

"We will be free," Erik reminded her when the plane slowly began to taxi, turning and preparing for takeoff, Christine's heart racing at the prospect.

And she was glad of his closeness when the plane lurched forward, propelling them upwards as the belt dug into her hips Erik's arm holding her steady as they climbed ever upwards, her ears protesting the ascent and her stomach clenched with worry...

Until suddenly she felt as if she was floating, her limbs heavy and her eyelids equally so, the little pill evidently working far more quickly than she would have expected. "Sleep, Christine," Erik murmured in her ear. "I shall wake you in the morning."

-X-

Christine was groggy and disoriented when next she woke, sitting up slowly as she tried to recall where she was. Her head had been resting upon a pillow, but she noted with a blush, it was also positioned in Erik's lap, the rest of her curled to the side as she lay across the bank of chairs that formed a sofa. Boo was sleeping contentedly to the other side of Erik, and she blinked at him, hoping yet again that he would be okay after his sedation.

But then... she supposed she had been thoroughly sedated to have slept so long.

"Good morning, my dear!" Erik told her cheerfully. "You would think I allowed you no sleep at home for you rested much longer than I anticipated."

Christine blushed, sitting up fully and waiting for her head to clear so she could answer properly. Everything felt a little muzzy, like she had slept a little too long and her mind tried to remember what it was like to function again. "It hardly feels like we're moving," Christine mused as she looked about the cabin, wondering how long they had been flying—and where possibly they could have gone in such a time.

"Ah," Erik answered, setting aside his book and looked a bit sheepish. "I am afraid you have missed our landing, Christine. We arrived twenty minutes past."

Christine stared at him, trying to make sense of it all. "I missed... I missed everything?"

He gave her an apologetic glance. "I'm afraid so." He reached for her hand, his thumb whispering soothing circles upon her palm. "But if you should like to be awake for our next adventure, I am certain I can decide on some sort of diversion."

Christine shook her head, desperately wanting a cup of tea to help drive away the last of her muzziness, but also feeling rather cramped. The plane might have been luxurious, but it was still no substitute for a proper bed. "What are we waiting for then?"

But at Erik's pointed glance, she had her answer.

"It was no trouble," Erik was quick to assure her when he noticed her surely guilty expression. "They are all being paid handsomely and we made good time on the flight over."

"Over... where?" she prompted, but Erik merely touched her nose playfully and tsked at her.

"Soon," he promised. "Now, should you like to use the facilities before we depart?"

Christine stretched and nodded, not relishing that particular airplane experience but thought it prudent since she had no idea how far their new home might be from the airport.

The bathroom was nothing like she expected—perhaps a little tight, but not like stepping into a cupboard as she feared, and it was remarkably clean. She even found a sealed toothbrush and paste waiting for her on the counter, which she gladly made use of—anything to make her awaken further from her still dreamy state.

Her stomach was growling when they exited, and she noted that Erik had released Boo's carrier from the seat, readying to depart whenever she was. "Did he sleep the whole time?"

Erik looked down at their furry fellow with some amusement. "No. He preferred to do a little exploring."

For the first time, Christine was genuinely sorry she had been asleep for the entirety of their journey, as she would have enjoyed watching Boo teeter about as he explored his temporary surroundings.

But, she comforted herself, soon enough she would see him investigate every new corner of their new home, just as she would.

"Breakfast, my dear?" Erik offered when her stomach protested her long sleep yet again.

The cabin door was already open and as she squinted out into the daylight, she worried that she had missed breakfast entirely and lunch would have been far more appropriate. "How long did I sleep?" she asked guiltily, Erik taking her hand as he helped her down the steps to the tarmac below.

"You forget the time difference, Christine. It is not so late as all that back home."

Christine gave him a thin smile. This was to be their home, yet she didn't have any idea where they might be.

It still didn't look like a traditional airport, and it was not dissimilar to where they had departed from. There was no snow clinging to the ground, the grasses a vibrant green as they surrounded the bits of industry that had dared trespass on their landscape.

A dark vehicle awaited them, and Erik escorted her towards it, and she couldn't help but tease as they approached. "Just how many of these SUVs do you have? I'm starting to think you have an entire fleet squirreled away places."

Erik's eyes grew unreasonably pleased at that. "Perhaps."

Her mouth dropped open because that simply could not possibly be true, but he was opening the door to the backseat and ushering her inside, allowing her to take Boo upon her lap before he walked to the opposite side.

She was startled that a man was already within the car, smiling at her kindly from his position in the front.

There was something wrong about the configuration, and she blamed the residual effects of that little white pill for it taking her so very long to work out that the steering wheel was on the opposite side than was usual.

She peered behind her and saw their belongings, and when Erik settled in beside her and bade the driver take them home, she felt a little bit better.

Even though she still had no idea where they were.

"Erik," she whispered, not wanting the man to overhear her ignorance. "Shouldn't we have gone through customs? Or... something?"

She hadn't the least idea of procedure with this sort of thing, but she'd heard her papa talk about the difficulties of immigration and she was certain you couldn't simply land a plane and depart based on whimsy. Unless... did one declare the intention and secure permission when issued a flight plan? She supposed that didn't sound too unreasonable...

Erik patted her hand and digging into his pocket produced a trim passport for her perusal. "I believe you have a stamp already, my dear."

She flipped it open with care to the front page, not recognizing the photo staring back at her, yet thinking for such sterile identification, it was rather a good one. Her brow furrowed when she realized the name was not her own. "Erik," she prompted slowly. "Why does it say my last name is Haden?"

Erik picked a bit of lint from his suit jacket, avoiding her gaze. "It seemed ridiculous to fashion two sets of documents when you will forsake your maiden name before long." His eyes flashed to hers briefly. "Are you displeased?"

Her mouth grew dry and her fingers ran over the lettering, feeling strange at the sudden reminder that she had not known Erik's full name before now. "Does yours match?"

He inclined his head ever so slightly. "It does."

Quite unbidden, she found herself smiling as she rested her head against his arm, liking the thought very much.

"But Christine," he continued, hesitantly. "In an attempt at... honesty, you should know that this was not the name of my progenitors. I have had many names throughout the years, and I selected one that I thought would suit our life here. A life with you."

She considered that, wondering if she was disappointed by his revelation. Eventually she would ask to know more of him, his past, the little details that made knowing a person so very intimate. She would hear of his travels, his experiences, and would soothe whatever plagued him as best she could.

But as he looked at her so worriedly, as if he had somehow wronged her by not giving her the name of the woman who had hurt him so, she only found the gesture oddly endearing. They would not be like normal couples where she was brought into his family heritage through their marriage. Instead, they would begin anew, just the two of them.

Until someday, maybe, they grew to three.

"I'm not cross, Erik," she assured him quietly, her eyes flitting to their driver as they continued toward their new home, the scenery about them so unlike anything she had seen before.

She wanted to see more of it, to appreciate the dots of white in the distance—sheep, she rather thought—but before she did so, she flipped through the little book still in her hands until she found her stamp, slightly askew and curiously not on the first available page, but somewhere in the middle.

Christine wondered if Erik had insisted that his inhabit the first box upon the first page. It seemed like something his finicky nature would require.

She had to squint a little to make out the words, but eventually she managed, looking to Erik for confirmation. "Ireland?"

"The Republic of Ireland," he corrected. "The southern portion."

She peered outside the car with renewed interest, never having thought she would make it to such a place. Perhaps someday she would ask Erik to take her to Sweden, to see where her parents had come from and renew their stories in her mind, somewhat afraid that without doing so she would begin to forget them.

But for now, she was happy to begin the exploration of their new home.

They drove for a while longer, some of the roads twisty and she had to study the road ahead to keep her stomach from twisting. Erik rubbed her arm and promised they would be there soon once he noted her discomfort, and she was glad she had not eaten any breakfast.

They passed through villages and towns, and each time she grew hopeful that they would stop soon, but they continued onward, until finally they drove past the sea. There were no beaches that she could see, the hillside sharply declining to the waters below, and she knew with absolute certainty she would be far too frightened to ever draw too close to those particular edges.

But when Erik drew her attention back to the front, she saw it—overlooking a great expanse of water and glens beyond, was a castle.

That could not possibly be theirs.

It was not quite as large as she had feared, but there were turrets and the stone was grey and ancient, and she grew suddenly nervous at the thought of living there. It was too grand a place, too cold. She should have asked him for a cottage somewhere, not... not this.

But the driver took them over a little bridge, and with a laugh she realized that it did indeed have a modest moat surrounding the dwelling, an odd thing given its location beside the water.

But she knew so little of architecture so she would not argue with its being there.

"Do you like it?"

Christine held Boo a bit closer, her heart pounding as they drew closer to their new home. "I... I don't know yet."

It was the wrong thing to say, of course it was, and she noted Erik's frown as the driver pulled up to the main doors, exiting quickly so he could tend to the luggage. She would have thought that Erik would have immediately followed to oversee the process, but instead he placed his finger beneath her chin, turning her away from the impressive structure before them. "I would take you anywhere, Christine. If you find this insufficient, we may go anywhere you wish." His thumb drifted across her cheekbone and she shivered. "I want only for your happiness."

Christine swallowed thickly and gave a timid smile. "I want you to be happy too. And I'm sorry. Really. I'm just hungry and overwhelmed I guess."

Erik clicked his tongue in disapproval, opening his door and coming around to her side to help her out. She wouldn't relinquish Boo even when he offered, and she noted with some comfort that their kitten's ears had perked considerably as he peered into the unexplored world beyond.

"Just leave the cases there and I shall deal with them," Erik instructed brusquely. "My lady requires breakfast."

The man put his fingers to his cap and gave a little salute, pulling down the last suitcase before his brow furrowed. "Wha's this?"

He reached in again and pulled out her tin of memories, and Christine's heart gave a lurch at the sight of it. Her hands full of Boo she could not take it, and she turned beseeching eyes to Erik. "Could you bring it, please? I don't want to leave it out here."

She knew she was being silly to feel so nervous and unsure about a new place that should have only filled her with excitement at the prospect of what was to come, and perhaps she would if given a little time. When Boo started to settle and Erik gave her a tour, and her heart would stop beating so furiously with nerves...

Erik pulled out a few strange bills and passed them to the driver, taking the tin from him before returning to her side. The man looked surprised yet pleased at the amount in his palm, and he gave another nod before restarting the car and departing, the graveled drive shifting beneath the tires.

"There now, all alone again," Erik assured her, drawing her close.

And for reasons she could not fully explain, she did feel better for it. And knew that was very, very wrong.

She had never had many close friends. She'd had her papa and his stories and enough acquaintances to stave off any loneliness. When he'd died it had hurt too much to draw close to anyone, so she simply... hadn't. And while Erik had convinced her otherwise, that didn't mean it was right for her to shun everyone else that did not have the great fortune of being him.

Maybe after their honeymoon, assuming such a thing should be soon, she would find the closest village and try to meet people. They would have to do the shopping now unless Erik once again decided simply to spirit foodstuffs into their home unawares, but she would like to be friendly—would like to know more of the people and their customs.

"I believe our tour shall begin with the kitchen," Erik declared, drawing her inwards and shutting the door behind them. It was cold outside to be sure, the clouds thick and grey though no snow was on the ground to wet her shoes—something she was grateful for as she stepped within the castle for the first time.

It was not what she expected. The building, while well maintained, still had the appearance of age that would indicate that the interior would be dark and foreboding, and possibly in disrepair. Except that it... wasn't.

There were plush carpets and tapestries as Erik escorted her through passages and archways, and she couldn't help but stop and peer into rooms as they passed, each one serving a function.

It was not the crumbling, sterile environment she feared, nor would it seem to require ample renovations before it was livable.

The kitchen was on a lower level, modern and large, and as Erik went to an industrial looking refrigerator, Christine was quite ready to pepper him with questions. "Erik, what is this place? Surely not every castle has an interior like this."

He pulled out some cream, though the container was far different than she was used to, setting it on the counter before searching out a kettle for their tea. "Erik?"

"I am certain this castle has been many things. Its latest purpose might have been as a hotel."

Christine blinked. "A hotel?"

Erik nodded. "An expensive thing, to maintain a castle. They'd put in a fortune in renovations, and the concept was a good one—allowing guests the pleasure of a true medieval experience. But we are quite out of the way here, and people simply did not want to make the journey."

Christine looked about the kitchen, Boo finally making a mewl of discontent at not being allowed out before now. She hesitated but permitted it, and he skulked about the kitchen, his nose and tail twitching as he did so. "And you just... bought it from them?"

Erik found the kettle and set it on the stove, his next expedition for tea and mugs proving much easier to accomplish. "I did. They were grateful, I can assure you."

Christine nodded absently, and watched him prepare her breakfast—a simple fare of scrambled eggs and toast, delicious and filling as she sat upon the counter, not wanting to waste time seeking out a dining room. Erik gave her a bemused look but did not correct her, sipping at his tea and nibbling an edge of toast himself before Boo reminded him that he would like breakfast as well.

"I do not have your platform, little fellow," Erik told him apologetically.

Christine rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you can find him one soon. But for now I think he'll be perfectly all right if you'd just put his dish down on the floor.

Erik dubiously did so, the food different from the ones they had at home, but the cans had been neatly stacked and waiting for them, and Christine rather thought Erik had taken it upon himself to hire someone to stock the kitchen before their arrival.

"So what do we do the rest of the day?" Christine asked him when she was eating the last of her toast, her belly grateful for Erik's efforts.

Erik swirled his tea and stared into its contents. "I can finish showing you our new home," he offered hesitantly. "Or, at least, begin the process. I am told it is rather a lengthy one."

Christine smiled at that. "I'd imagine so. All those rooms..."

Erik nodded and took a small sip. "And perhaps after, if you are not too tired of course..."

Christine gave him an encouraging look.

"Perhaps you would care to marry me."

Sooo... What do you think she'll say? Like there's any doubt... And looks like Erik bought her a converted castle hotel! In case anyone is unaware, there are places like this in Europe and they are amazing and I have already picked where I'd like to spend my honeymoon. There might have been a very attractive young man who brought me breakfast there once... *sigh* Four poster bed and a pot of tea...

Ahem.

Anyway.

Please review!