A Ghoul for a Husband Ch. 03

As soon as Chia entered the house she was greeted with yelling.

"Young lady, why are you just now getting home? It's almost midnight! I was about to send the guards to come get you!" Mary screeched. She halted her ravings to stare in awe at the man following her daughter. "Chianna, who is that man there?"

Chia glanced back at Teagan who had a perfectly neutral look on his face. "Um, mother, this is Teagan. Teagan, this is my mother, Mary Herryn."

Teagans face brightened a little as he smiled charmingly at Mary. He kneeled on one knee in front of her and took her hand in his to kiss it. "Nice to finally meet you Mrs. Herryn. I've met your husband before, once when I was younger. He is a kind man, with a lovely wife."

Mary was blushing at the charming young man before her. It had been a long time since someone other than her husband had complemented her like that. "Thank... Thank you kind sir. Welcome to our house. It is late, but we might be able to entertain you for a while."

Chia flinched at the kind way Mary was greeting him. "Actually mom, he's going to be staying here. He's..."

Mary heard this and immediately wanted to know more. "Why will he be staying Chianna? What happened? How did you meet this man?"

Teagan walked back behind Chia and hugged her from behind, silently encouraging her to continue. "Well you see mom, Teagan is... He's my fiance. I was out at the lake with my doll, and I told it that I loved it and that if it had a human body instead of a doll one, I would marry it. Do you remember that pin that I put on it? Well, it was Teagans before he was murdered. I found it in the lake and put it on the doll. It had Teagans soul trapped in it, and when I made that wish my magic used the lake to make Teagan a body, and because of that promise I made to him as a doll he's my fiance now." Chia realized just how stupid and weird that sounded as she watched her mom.

Mary was dumbfounded. "You're engaged to him? You don't even know him!"

Chia nodded and looked down. Teagan was still holding her, and she felt safe as long as he was there with her. "But mom...I promised him, and to go against a promise would ruin my honor. Besides, mom, I screwed up on my wish. Teagan has to stay with me or he'll die. I didn't bring him back to life, I just gave his soul a body to reside in. Without me he's just a soul in a container; If I die his body dies and he's trapped again. He has to protect me because I gave him a body from my magic. Only I can heal him if he gets hurt, and only I can remake his body if it brakes."

Mary sighed an annoyed sigh before walking to the stairs that lead to her room. "If you put it like that then this is the only way things can go. Well, bring your young knight and we'll get him some clothes. I'm guessing he's naked under your coat."

Chia nodded for Teagan to follow as she went with Mary. Her father had many clothes, and would surely not miss anything. The clothes wouldn't fit Teagan, but they would be good enough to wear for the night. Mary picked out a long shirt and a loose pair of pants for him, and Teagan went into the bathroom to change. When he came out he looked like any old regular person.

Mary nodded, and then turned to Chia. "Now dear, there's the topic of where he is to sleep tonight. You said you two are engaged, correct? Well, he'll sleep in your room. It'll give you a chance to get to know each other. Now shoo, get to sleep." she said, and then pushed them out of the room.

Chia blushed as she led Teagan. When they entered her room she went to her closet to get something to sleep in, only to be stopped by Teagan. He took off his shirt and handed it to her. She blushed even redder as she walked into the bathroom. After she stripped her clothes off she stared at herself in the mirror. She had long tawny hair in a ponytail down to her round hips, with full C cup sized breasts and a small, toned stomach. She knew that many people called her beautiful, but she didn't let it go to her head.

When Chia came out of the bathroom wearing only the long shirt, Teagan jumped out of the bed to hug her. "You're beautiful in just my shirt, Chianna." he whispered in her ear. She shivered and he laughed. "You can't be cold, love; It's summer, you should be sweating. If you're cold, maybe I should warm you then?" he asked in a husky voice in her ear.

Chia pushed him back and walked to the bed. "Teagan, don't tease me. And by the way, you can call me Chia, okay? I've always preferred that nickname, so call me that." she told him before climbing into bed.

She could hear him walking, and then felt the bed tilt as he climbed into the other side. Soon his arms were wrapped around her, and his chest was against her back. "Good night Chia. Sleep well, and dream of me." Teagan whispered as she drifted off into the land of sleep.

^*^*^

Chia was in her lake again, swimming. Suddenly she was being lifted out of the water by two strong hands and when she looked up she saw that they belonged to Teagan. He carried her out of the water and put her gently down on land before wrapping her in a blanket. She held out her blanket covered arms and beckoned for him to join her. Together, huddled under the blankets, they cuddled and enjoyed the beauty of the lake.

Teagans voice eventually broke their silence. "Love, it's time to wake up." he said, standing. He held a hand out to her and she took it, but instead of standing she tried to pull him back down. When he knealed down she thought he was going to join her again, but he didn't. Instead he picked her up and carried her to the lake.

Before they reached the deep part of the lake, Chia looked up at Teagans face. He was smiling, the white ceiling making his black hair stand out. 'Wait.' Chia thought. 'The ceiling?' When she glanced around she realized she was in her room, in bed. She had been dreaming the whole time.

Teagan kissed her cheek, and she swatted him away. Chia hated mornings, for understandable reasons. She was a slow riser, and it would take her at least an hour to awaken fully. She rubbed at her blurry eyes and sat up. Her mind concentrated on only one thing: She needed food. She climbed out of bed, just barely noticing Teagan following her down the stairs.

Chia was greeted by Anna with her usual hug when she entered the kitchen. She sat and quickly ate her food. When she was no longer hungry, she took in her surroundings. Anna was sitting next to her, staring strangely at Teagan, who still had no shirt. "Anna," Chia said, standing and walking over to Teagan who stood in the door way, "It's impolite to stare."

Anna frowned and stood. "I'm sorry Chia, I just don't know who that man is, and it's sort of...bugging me."

Chia nodded and beckoned for her sister to come closer. "I guess it's time you met him then. This is Teagan, my Fiance. Teagan, you already know this is Anna." After being introduced, Teagan bowed and smiled charmingly at Anna.

Anna blushed slightly at the half naked man in their kitchen that had just been announced as her sisters fiance. "Nice to meet you Teagan. Um, Chia, when did this whole fiance thing happen, and why is he here at this hour in the day? You don't look quite so mad about this arrangement as I thought you would be." She knew something must be up, and she wanted to be in on it too.

Chia smiled at her curious little sister. Anna was a smart little girl, and must have guessed that something wasn't right here by now. "Yes, I don't look mad, now do I? Well, let me explain the situation Anna. Teagan's here because he stayed the night in my room at the insistances of mother. He became my fiance yesterday when I promised myself to him without knowing he was listening. Do you remember that doll?"

Anna instantly peiced the situation together. "Chia, you didn't! You made that doll come to life? But if you did that, wouldn't you need to give it a soul? What did you do?!"

Chia sort of flinched at the accusatory tone that Anna was talking in. "Anna, don't say it like that! It's not like I killed someone for their soul or something! He told me that he was killed, and his body was burned. His soul went into a pin that he was carrying, and I found it a few days ago and put it on the doll. His soul transferred into the doll, and the rest was sort of...an accident."

Teagan frowned when Chia called what happened an accident. He quickly bowed again before saying that he was going to go find Mary to get more clothes. Chia hugged him and then let him go.

Chia watched Teagan climb the stairs before turning back to Anna. "Anna, did I do something wrong?" she asked her younger sister.

Anna smirked and shook her head. "Other than calling whatever else that happened an accident? No, you did absolutely nothing wrong. Chia, you're hopeless... You have to remember, even with whatever he's missing, he still has feelings to hurt."

Chia knew that Anna was right, and instantly felt bad. "Should I...apologize to him?" she asked, not knowing what to do. Anna rolled her eyes before motioning for Chia to leave. She swiftly left.

When Chia reached the door way to her mothers room, she paused. She could hear talking coming from inside.

"Teagan, don't run around without a shirt, you'll catch a cold." scolded Mary.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but I gave my shirt to Chia to wear. Either way though, I can't-" Teagan explained, but was cut off.

"Well, if you gave your shirt to Chianna then I guess it's fine. I can tell you'll be a kind husband to her. Maybe she'll calm down after she marries you."

"But one of the things that I love about her is her love for exploration, and I don't want that to go. I love Chia just the way she is, even if she won't say the same about me."

Chia frowned at that. She hadn't told him she loved him since he was a doll. Did he think she didn't like him anymore? She came into the room and hugged him from behind. "I got worried after you left...and I wanted to go to the lake with you..." she mumbled into his back. She only let go of him after he put a shirt on.

^*^*^

Chia decided to just wear his shirt while they went to the lake. She held his hand the whole time, never once letting go the whole walk. They were watching the lake when Teagan finally broke the silence. "Is something wrong? Are you...mad at me?" he asked, sounding very sad.

She looked up at him and smiled, shaking her head as she did so. "No, Teagan, I'm not mad at you, I just wanted to get you alone to tell you something. I do love you Teagan, don't doubt that. I just don't know what to do, or how to act, and it's...confusing. If I seem angry it's not at you, it's at myself."

Teagan sighed in relief. He had been worried that he had done something wrong, and that she was mad. "Chia, you love me? Can you really love some random soul in a body? I'm not human Chia, I wish I was still, but I'm not."

Chia hugged Teagan close, resting her head against his chest. She couldn't hear his heart beat, but it didn't concern her. He didn't need a heart to be alive and human to her. "Teagan, I love you, and I can't and won't think of you as just some soul in a body. You're far more human than some of the people I've met over the years, and I love that about you. You're human in your own special way."

They sat there for the rest of the day, staring at the lake and cuddling, just as they had in her dream. Chia eventually started to drift off to sleep in his arms, happy and comfortable. Just when she was about to sleep a question came into her mind, which woke her up a little. She turned in his arms to look at him as she asked the inevitable question.

"Teagan, you said you died a year ago, right?"

Teagans smile faded a little as he nodded his head yes. Chia noticed it, and couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Who were you?"