I ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED A DUNGEON

Hakimi paced around the balcony, taking a look every now and then at the small whistle he held in his hands, before pushing it back in his pocket.

"You seem to be lost in your thoughts." The voice of Diana came from behind him as she made her way toward him.

"Lady Diana." He turned around to see her wearing worn-out and faded clothes, carrying a pile of clothes tied in knots, looking somewhat like a rope. "I was thinking about visiting Lady Dune."

"The dungeon girl you mentioned to me last week?" She passed him and dropped the pile of clothes on the balcony floor. "Did something happen to her?"

"Not really. I just wanted to visit her." He frowned and watched her tie one of the knots to the rail. "What exactly are you doing?"

"What? Me?" Diana stood up and threw the other end over the rail. "I am going to the end of season circus." She took a look. The pile of tied cloth did not reach the ground by much. And the drop was such that even a fall from here was liable to break some bones. "Well, I’ll be off then."

"Wait. Wait." Hakimi approached her rapidly as she swung a leg over the railing.

"What?" She still held on to the rope firmly. "You want to tag along?"

"No. Your father wouldn’t permit that."

"This is the reason precisely why I am doing this." She began her way down, being cautious about each hold. "It would be fine to have a break today if you want to."

"Lady Diana. Your father will punish you for it in case he finds out about it." He bent over the railing to watch her descend.

"He will not." She stopped halfway down. "And if by some chance he does, I’ll deal with it then" She continued to climb down, looking carefully for any guards in the courtyard and staying as low as possible whenever someone passed nearby.

She landed and allowed the rope to fall, checking her hands, reddened and chapped due to climbing.

"Grab the rope up—" She looked up and noticed the balcony was now empty. "Where did he go?"

She took a step back to have a better position and felt something behind her. She leaped forward suddenly. "I am sorry!"

She turned around and saw Hakimi standing right there, calm and collected. "When did you even— forget about it. Now what?"

"I made my decision to come with you as well."

"Really?" She grabbed his arm immediately. "Then let’s hurry up before we get caught."

They found themselves in the end-of-season market, bustling with people cutting through it in every possible direction, stall owners shouting at customers, competing with each other. Diana watched everything with amazement, and there was a man sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby, manipulating a snake using only a whistle, as children gathered around him.

Diana would pull Hakimi’s sleeve every time something new caught her eye.

"Want one too?" She stopped in front of the cotton candy stall.

"I’m fine," he answered.

"Suit yourself." She leaned against the counter. "Two, please." She placed a gold coin on the counter.

The stall owner looked at it thoughtfully. "It’s five bronzes per stick. Do you have anything smaller?"

"Smaller." She searched in her pockets which were mostly filled with gold coins and found only one silver one. She gave it to the stall owner. "You can keep the change."

She received two sticks of cotton candy and continued to move ahead, eating one of them on her way. "Why are you looking so unhappy? You could’ve simply refused if you didn’t feel like coming along."

"I’m not unhappy. I just don’t really like crowds," he replied, glancing at her sideways, as she ate her cotton candy quickly. "And it’s my job to protect you. Who knows what can happen in such a place."

"Whatever." She was already done eating her treat by the time her attention was drawn to the crowd gathered on the left side. She grabbed Hakimi by the arm and pulled him towards the crowd. A man was throwing small thin darts at wooden boards strung up on rope.

Diana examined the stall’s prize display, rows of carved wooden figures arranged as prizes. "I want that one. The one with the wings on her back."

The stall owner put down a handful of thin darts. "One silver for one throw."

She estimated the five boards which were located at various distances. "Give me ten."

He counted out ten darts. Diana lined herself up, aimed at one of the boards, waited for a moment, and threw the dart. The board split into two pieces from her dart. "I did it! Did you see, Hakimi?"

"I saw. But there are four more boards left."

"I know it. Just watch." She lined herself up and threw another dart. The second board also broke in two pieces. "I’m actually quite good at this."

She aimed for the third and threw; it struck but did not break. "What? Why didn’t that one break?"

"Gets harder the farther out you go," the stall owner smiled. "And your gold coin stays mine."

Diana harrumphed. "Watch this, I still have eight more left."

This time she aimed and threw with a little more force; it struck and embedded itself firmly in the wood. "What? How?"

"Seven left."

She sighed heavily, aimed, and prayed silently that it would break. She threw it again and watched as it fell beside the previous one and started a slow spreading crack until the whole thing broke apart.

"Told you," she puffed up her chest. "I’m taking that winged girl home."

"We’ll see." The stall owner remained unperturbed.

She aimed herself for the fourth board, further away and less thinner than the others. She threw and missed; tried again, missed again. She continued to throw them, each missing, one by one, until she had just one remaining.

"Last one." She threw, and it struck the board squarely in the center before dropping right down into the ground, creating a mere dint.

"Told you it gets harder," he smiled and placed another, larger, dart in front of her. "Which is exactly why I’ve got those too."

"You should have told me that before," she kicked the dirt and frowned. "Give it to me."

"Five silvers apiece."

"Give me five."

He counted out four more and placed them in front of her. She took one up, heavier and with a sharper tip than the other. She breathed deeply and threw.

Missed. Missed. Missed. Missed. Missed.

All of them.

"Why will it not hit the board?" She ground her teeth.

"Maybe that one is out of your league, girl," the stall owner said and placed her leftover silver pieces back across the table.

"But I want it, I want the wooden figure." Her voice was little more than a whisper now.

"Cannot win it if you cannot break the board."

"I want it, I want it." She looked down at her own hands, tears welling up in her eyes. She turned to Hakimi. "I want it."

"Crying will not make a difference, girl." The stall owner told her.

The look on Hakimi’s face softened and he laid a comforting hand on her back. "Stop crying first; I’ll win it for you."

She buried her face into his shoulder. "Well, then get it for me."

"Give me one to throw." Hakimi demanded.

The shopkeeper laughed quietly. "Normal, or premium?"

"Normal."

The guy tossed it over to him and put the boards back into place. "New thrower, new luck."

"Yeah." Hakimi didn’t argue with him. He took the dart, balanced it between his index and middle fingers and threw it across the room. It hit the first board, splitting it in two. The second board was split. Then, the third one met the same fate.

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.

He kept going without pause, the fourth and fifth boards breaking apart just as fast, the last dart burying itself straight into the wall behind them.

"Give her the one she wanted." Hakimi calmly demanded.

"Y-yes, sir." The shopkeeper, still shocked from what he saw, rushed off to get the winged figure.

"You did it." Diana looked up to his face. He nodded. She turned towards the stall as the shopkeeper came back with what she wanted.

"Here you go." He placed it in front of her.

Diana picked it up slowly, running her thumb over the intricate wings carved on the body. "She’s so pretty. I want wings too."

"That’ll be a bit difficult."