Joey could muster little enthusiasm as women bustled through the room as they dressed her. The wedding dress was really quite beautiful though, made of intricate lace and shimmering satin. It was a shame she couldn't appreciate it because she was still in a foul mood from her encounter with Lord Winchester.

Swine, Joey settled upon the thought with enthusiasm. That's what she'd turn the man into. She smiled widely in anticipation as soon as Camelot was no longer in danger, she'd turn him into one of his brethren!

Lady Ryan bustled into the room just as Joey's veil was lifted onto her head. Jen's grandmother inspected the gown carefully from hem to collar and nodded once. "Satisfactory. You are all dismissed."

"Will it be much longer now?" Joey questioned curiously as she turned to Lady Ryan.

The servants and dressmakers all filed from the room one by one, tossing knowing looks at one another. Lady Ryan nodded, "'Tis good that you are eager." She paused, "You are eager, aren't you?"

"I suppose..."

Evelyn regarded the young woman with weary eyes. "You are to be a bride this eve. Are you not the least bit excited?"

Joey forced a weak smile for the woman's benefit. "I am merely a bit nervous."

Lady Ryan let out long breath, "This is the most difficult part," she slow placed the length of the chamber. "Were your mother still alive, she would share this information with you, and gladly so." She smiled at Joey. "Your mother was a splendid woman."

Joey's eyes brightened with warmth. "I know."

"She would be proud to look upon you in this dress." She smiled, finding this an easier topic than the one looming on the horizon. "You look very much like her. Why, I remember her wedding day, myself. She fairly glowed with excitement. Camelot has never seen such a beautiful, radiant bride."

Joey sighed wistfully as she tried to picture her mother, brimming with excitement because the man she loved was waiting for her at the altar. Joey had always longed for a marriage as full of love as her parents' had been, but it seemed that would never happen. Instead, she was merely a bargain piece. Bought and paid for apparently, as Lord Winchester had so eloquently put it.

Lady Ryan sighed, time was waning fast. "As I was saying, my dear, your mother would be much more suited to this task than I. It has been years since...since I have been to the marriage bed," she said delicately.

Joey looked at her with interest. "Marriage bed?"

"Yes," she nodded, pursing her lips. "Men, all men, young and old alike, suffer from an unfortunate malady. 'Tis called passion. 'Tis a necessary evil, without man's passion, there would be no desire to...procreate and then no children would come forth into this world." She explained haltingly.

Joey blinked a few times as her eyes widened. "Is it truly evil?"

"No," she shook her head, "'Tis God's way. Nothing of His is evil. For a woman it is unpleasant and painful. Men seem to glean much pleasure from the act. However, it lasts only minutes, so do not be afraid and the reward of children is worth it."

Joey nodded slowly. It must be terribly painful. Why her mother could only perform the act twice as was evidence of her and Bessie; and Jen was an only child! Joey's voice was a mere whisper. "Is it horribly unbearable?"

"You become used to it after the years," she smiled helplessly at the young woman. "Myself, I learned to block it out until it was over. I assume your husband will take a mistress once he gets you with child. You will have a reprieve for a year or so at that time."

At that moment, Joey was never more thankful that she was not going to marry Lord Winchester. She shuddered visibly at the thought.

"There, there, dear." Lady Ryan quickly came to her side and rubbed her shoulder soothingly, "Many a woman has done it before, and many more will continue to do it after. It is simply the way of life."

"Are all men truly afflicted with this?"

"Each and every one." Lady Ryan nodded, "Without exception." Joey frowned thoughtfully. The ring of church bells signaled that the hour was upon them. "Would you like a few moments alone before the ceremony begins?"

"Yes...Yes, please." She responded lost in thought. She couldn't help but ask once more question. "Does this affliction just strike at anytime? Is there a warning perhaps or a sign, so one can be prepared?"

"Aye, there is." Lady Ryan turned on her way to the door, "For a man to copulate with a woman his man-part swells and hardens, it is an unmistakable sign."

Joey nodded quickly. "And does this only happen with his wife?" She couldn't help but ask.

"No, with any woman. But you needn't fear, no man other than Lord Winchester would dare touch you and you shall be glad when he turns to his mistress. They truly cannot help themselves," she added.

Joey's eyes grew large. "Oh."

"The urge strikes at whim, usually the closest woman at hand will do."

Joey's lower lip trembled slightly. "Is there no way to prevent this?"

"You dare not try to stop your husband, Joey. 'Tis his right." She reprimanded gently. Joey nodded slowly as the words sunk in.

"I shall leave you alone. I believe your father will be in to fetch you soon." She squeezed Joey's hand once and then swiftly left the room.

Joey swallowed. Dear Lord, men were monsters!

Pacey shimmied out from under her bed and cast Joey a speculative look, "Do not look so frightened, Joey. She is merely an old woman, it cannot be as bad as she says it is."

"How would you know?" she asked primly.

"I am not so sheltered as you are." He smiled, "There are many women who enjoy coupling. Now," he tugged on her veil, "We must get you changed and vanished before your father appears."

"Oh, what do you know," Joey chided. "Apparently only men derive pleasure from that vile act."

"We shall never know," he replied dryly. "Come now, we must hurry." Magically, he conjured a plain serviceable wool dress for her to wear.

"I am trying to Pacey, but it's rather difficult," Joey remarked as she tried to remove her dress.

"Here," he moved behind her, removing her veil, he tossed it to the bed. It would come in handy soon enough. "I shall help."

She grimaced. "I cannot reach the laces in the back."

He smiled as he plucked at the tiny knots. "Hold still." A precious minute later, he was no closer to getting them undone. "How do you women dress yourselves with these contraptions?"

"I have help," Joey muttered. "I do not want the dress to be ruined. It's really quite lovely."

"Do you plan to wear it again?" He wondered, keeping his voice neutral.

She shook her head. "No."

"I'm sorry, Jo, but we don't have time." Without waiting for a response, he pulled out a thin dagger and sliced easily through the silk laces. The dress grew instantly slack and Joey clutched at her chest to keep it from sliding from her shoulders. Carefully, he ran his fingers over her back, testing the material of her thin shift to make she he hadn't cut through that as well, or deeper into her skin.

Joey shivered faintly and reached for the woolen dress. "Now please turn around so I can dress."

He brushed his lips over her neck in a soft kiss and stepped away, dutifully turning his back to her. She hurriedly pulled the dress on, sliding it over her chemise.

"Our supplies are stashed in that cave Merlin told us of in the north. We should be able to reach there by nightfall."

Joey nodded and picked up the wedding dress from the floor, placing it carefully over one of the chairs in the room.

"We can take it with us, if you want." He offered, turning to find her fingering the intricate embroidery. "We'll have to leave the veil in the woods as a diversion, but the dress..." he left the rest unspoken.

"I do not care. Do with it what you must."

He nodded once, with a flick of his wrist, the dress was wrapped in clean leather and twine. "It goes with us. Is there anything else you wish to bring?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing."

"Then we must go." He took her hand; the package tucked under his arm, and drew her toward the door. "Are you sure of this? You can still back out."

She glanced around the room one last time and nodded. "I am sure."

He frowned, "I do not like the idea of you in danger, Joey. I wish you would change your mind."

"I will not change my mind."

He sighed, "So be it."

He cast the spell that would make him invisible for a short period of time. This would be the most dangerous part of their escape plan. The invisibility spell would last only five minutes, in that time, they needed to sneak into the stables undetected. Once there, Pacey hoped her disguise would be good enough to get them out of the castle grounds unrecognized, and into the woods. By that time, news of her disappearance would have spread. He was counting on one of the stable lads to see them head east and sound the alarm for them to be followed. There was no escaping the fact that it was he who took her away. Were he in disguise himself, the stable hands would never give him his horse. Once they had reached the haven of the forest, they would leave her veil as diversion and rapidly ride north. Any man with brains would assume they were headed for the coast in hopes for an easy escape and not north or west into the untamed woods.

As far as plans went, it was weak, entirely dependent on what they assumed the King and his men would assume they had done. It was also deathly dangerous. If caught, Joey would be wed to her husband in chains, then forced to watch Pacey's execution. And that was merely the best case scenario. Joey murmured the spell softly under her breath. What was needed was a diversion.

"Ready?" He asked with a heavy sigh.

"I am ready."

"Let us go..." those would be the last words he would speak until they were in the relative safety of the stables. He slowly opened the door, carefully making it seem as though the door had opened due to a breeze, in case anyone in the hall were watching.

They were able to make it to the stables with little trouble and for that Joey was thankful. There would be trouble enough when Winchester and her father discovered she was gone. She bit her lip worriedly, she wished there really was another way, but she was left with no choice. She only hoped her father would be able to forgive her.

"My horse, boy," Pacey commanded as they arrived in the stables after pausing around back to reappear as though from think air. Most of the stable hands were preparing the six pure as snow horses for the wedding, leaving the younger boys to tend the main stable themselves.

"What for?" The boy with a shock of dirty blond hair asked, looking up at Pacey from beneath the dirt caking his face.

"The Princess has requested fresh apples from the orchard, I am escorting one of her maids to collect them." He answered, his voice scathing. "Who are you to question her orders?"

Joey kept her head down, trying not to draw attention to herself. All would be lost if she was recognized.

"Oh, a’ course." He quickly scurried to do Pacey's bidding. "'Twill be just a moment."

"Fetch a horse for the lady, as well. Quickly."

It didn't take long for the horses to be brought around and she had to stop herself from climbing into the saddle too easily.

Pacey came to her side, lifting her to sit side saddle on the mount. He glanced longingly to Fox's stall, knowing she'd want to take her horse with her. "I'm sorry, Jo," he whispered quietly before releasing her to mount his own horse.

Joey just nodded resignedly knowing she had no other choice and waited to follow Pacey's lead. He rode calmly out of the stable and then urged Thunder to a canter once they were in the courtyard. It was maddening to keep such a slow pace while time quickly diminished.

Joey frowned thoughtfully as they rode past a flock of geese that someone had thought would make a nice accent to the day. The poor boy put in charge of them was having a hell of a time keeping control. They really were beastly, temperamental creatures. The faint barking of a dog interrupted her thoughts and she pursed her lips together, adjusting her grip on the reigns. A touch of a smile graced her lips.

The boy let out a surprise yelp as one of the dogs the cook kept in the kitchen came bounding toward him setting the geese into an uproar as they honked and strove to break away. The boys still in the stable because they hadn't been able to sneak off and watch the wedding ran out to see what the commotion was, then hurried to help gather the geese to no avail. One boy made an ungraceful lunge for the dog and fell to the floor as the dog bounded away. The dog gave a series of loud barks as he chased the geese and evaded capture, in this new game.

Pacey shot Joey a knowing grin, and urged Thunder into a gallop towards the woods. He held back slightly, knowing sidesaddle didn't allow for a chance to get up to full speed. As soon as they were clear into the woods, she would be able to ride properly.

Joey chewed on her lower lip as she maneuvered the horse. She was not as inclined to use her magic ever since Merlin's warning, but she hoped releasing the dog was harmless enough.

They arrived in the shelter of the woods soon after that, but Pacey feared not soon enough. He pulled Thunder to a halt and turned back to wait for Joey to adjust herself in the saddle. "I wish I had thought of that."

"Thought of what?" she asked innocently.

"You know what." He smirked, "Creating a distraction." He watched the skirt of her dress ride up on her shapely legs with appreciation as she settled into the saddle.

She smiled weakly. "I just hope it allows us a bit more time."

"Not much, I fear. But some." He looked back in the direction they'd come. "No doubt they've discovered you're missing by now. We should have five minutes, at the least, before they realize you've left the castle completely."

A soft sigh passed her lips as she once again thought of the great risk she was taking and she forced those thoughts away, straightening in her saddle. "We should hurry then."

He nodded, kicking his horse into a gallop, heading due east into the forest. They would ride has hard as possible for five more minutes, leave behind her veil on the forest floor for the soldiers to find, and then swing a lazy arc deeper into the north. They would have to be careful for the next several hours, there was no telling how long it would be before they found the veil and concentrated their search to the east.