Free Web NovelChapter 3: The House and The Wife
The carriage ride was quiet, as neither of them spoke. Luke stared out the window at the passing buildings and roads.
He was finally beginning to accept that he wasn’t in his own world anymore. Through his observations he learned a little about the world he was in.
First, this world didn’t have technology like his other one. There were no phones, computers, or even cars.
Second, houses were still fairly modern, looking just like a normal suburban neighborhood.
Lastly, magic was real.
Luke saw many different shops, but they all advertised the latest magical advancements. One shop boasted of having the strongest magically reinforced armor, while another had a microwave on display but it didn’t use microwaves, instead it used a heat enchantment.
This made him think back to the whispers in the chapel. They mentioned that Valeria was SSS-Rank. While Luke didn’t know the scale of ranks, he knew from the web novels he used to read, that SSS-Rank is usually the pinnacle of power.
Yet a woman with that much power, even if crippled, was married off to someone like him.
Someone who had planned to run away from a wedding.
He wanted to ask questions, about magic and the world he was in.
But he couldn’t.
If he did, he would just expose himself as not being from this world.
So, he held it in during the whole ride.
Eventually the carriage turned onto a smaller road, slowly moving through the street before stopping in front of a quaint house.
It wasn’t fancy, but it did stick out compared to the houses beside it.
"This is the house I was told to drop you off at. Ah, here are the keys."
The stagecoach reached through a small cut out, between the front of the carriage and the inside, handing Luke a set of two keys.
Luke got up and opened the door, then pushed the stairs down. He grabbed Valeria’s wheelchair and unfolded it on the sidewalk. He walked back inside the carriage and picked her up, carrying her outside and into her wheelchair.
He handed her the keys and grabbed the pen and paper in her hand:
Are you able to get up the ramp and unlock the door?
Valeria read, before nodding and spinning the wheels of the wheelchair.
Luke walked to the front of the carriage, finding the stagecoach still waiting there.
"You are all clear to go."
The stagecoach gave a small bow to him, before snapping the reins and taking off down the smooth road.
He walked up the brick path leading to the front door. Instead of stairs leading to the front door, he found the ramp he previously noted, mentally thanking his parents for finding an accommodating house.
The door had been left cracked open after Valeria had entered. When he opened the door, he was greeted with a normal house, just like he would have found on Earth.
As he entered, Luke found a note written on a shelf nearby.
Congratulations on your marriage!
We have had all of your belongings as well as those of Lady Valeria’s moved into the house. Everything should be accessible to her, but even so, you must take good care of her. She is now your wife.
-Your Parents
A wave of relief washed over him as he read the note. He feared he wouldn’t have any belongings, but everything was already in the house.
Luke walked further inside. To this right was a staircase leading upstairs, while to his left was a living room. Inside was a normal arrangement of furniture, but instead of where a TV would sit two massive bookshelves stood; reaching to the ceiling.
Curious, he walked into the living room and read some of the titles on the spines of the books.
A Complete Guide to Rifts and Monsters - Robert Tolkien
History of the World, Book 1 - Nica Britan
ASL for Dummies - Dan Gookin
A wave of relief rushed over Luke seeing the books, as they could help fill in his lack of knowledge. The ASL book would be great so he might be able to communicate more efficiently with Valeria
It was at this moment that he heard a crash coming from deeper inside the house. He sped down the hallway passing an attached dining room and kitchen. At the end of the hallway he found the door the noise had come from.
He opened it, finding Valeria on the floor beside her toppled wheelchair. She looked annoyed even though she wasn’t looking at him.
It took him a moment to notice her heavily undressed state.
His mind shut down. All of his thoughts stopped.
Just for a moment, before he snapped himself back to reality.
On the floor was a pair of pink silk pajama bottoms. Lucius could guess what had happened and grabbed the pants. While moving toward Valeria’s legs, he rolled up the pants before slipping them on over her feet and partially pulling them up. The operation was messy, as his hands shook the whole time.
Then he turned around and faced the wall.
He could hear ruffling of the pants, before Valeria spoke:
"Turn around." She said the words with an awkward lisp, sounding as though she hadn’t attempted to speak in years.
Luke did as she said and turned around, he saw that she had successfully put on the pants and was writing on her paper.
Could you help me back into the wheelchair and grab the matching top?
Lucius nodded, flipping the wheelchair back over and lifting her back into it. Then he walked over to the open closet. When he looked inside he was shocked.
The closet was full to the brim with hangers. Dresses, blouses, and pants were smushed together in the small closet. He had to dig through the sea of clothes before finally finding the pajama top.
Luke handed it back Valeria, before exiting.
He waited outside the door, on standby in case she had fallen again. After a few moments she turned the doorknob and wheeled out of the bedroom, paper in hand. She handed a sheet to Luke:
I thought it would have been easier to dress myself.
He reached for the pen in her hand, writing on the sheet.
You can just ask for help next time.
Valeria took the pen from his hand.
The words shouldn’t have mattered to her.
Yet Valeria found herself staring at them longer than necessary.
Finally, the pen moved.
There is going to be a next time?
Luke wrote back:
As long as you don’t have an attendant to do it for you. I think the job falls on your husband.
She twitched reading the final word. It seemed like it hadn’t fully set in that she was married.
The pen and paper rested in her lap for a moment, before she crammed words into the small space left on the page.
In that case, husband. Can you help me go to the bathroom?
