Belief

Simon sat in his cabin, his legs stretched out in a relaxing posture. Without knocking on the door, someone entered his cabin abruptly.

He looked at the person in a pissed off manner and said, "You need to learn human manners, Felix."

Felix smirked looking at him and sat on the chair in front of him. Simon let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"Did you get any information?" Felix enquired.

"No, and I don't think she knows anything yet."

Felix breathed a sigh of relief.

"She was with you the entire time, yet you couldn't kill her. What are you relieved of?" Simon made a mocking remark.

Felix replied, rolling his eyes, "I wasn't aware of her being the princess herself, and by the time I found out, the fool councilmen were around."

"Now you're aware."

"Yeah yeah," came a reply in boredom.

"Anyways, the orders are to strictly follow the previous plan. So don't try to kill her anytime soon. From now on, I'll be looking after her, and you better keep an eye on Admiral," Simon spoke out in an authoritative manner.

Felix nodded to him like an obedient child and gazed around his cabin, indicating that was the end of the short meeting and he wasn't interested in discussing it anymore.

*****

Outside the forest, a carriage came to a halt. Evelyn exited the vehicle and began walking towards the meadows. Earl followed her silently, looking at her with concerned filled eyes.

She relaxed on the soft grass and looked at the wide-open sky above.

"So," Earl began, "what happened back in the council?"

Evelyn let out a sigh. She shifted her gaze to him and replied, "I'm not sure who to believe. I don't want people around me to suffer only because I trusted the wrong person."

He peered into her blue eyes, which were filled with concern and uncertainty. As he gazed at her puzzled expression, a gentle smile appeared on his face. He did not comprehend the context in which she was speaking, but he understood her predicament.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked. His grin widened as he saw her innocence.

She frowned as he chuckled.

He said, "Let me tell you two stories, Eve." 

She paid close attention to what he was saying.

"A lady used to put too much faith in her husband. She used to trust in him blindly. One day she decided to meet her mother after a long time so informed him that she won't return till one week.

For a week, the husband was alone in the house. When she returned, she discovered that a few of her jewels were missing. When her husband was asked about them, he claimed that someone might have sneaked into the house while he was away. 

Overwhelmed by her love for him, his poor wife immediately believed in him.

When she went out again one day, her husband was home alone once more. She returned early this time to surprise him but instead discovered him cheating on her. The jewels were worn by another lady who was with him in her house.

She stormed in, enraged, and demanded to know what was going on. To hide their deeds, the cheaters murdered her."

Evelyn let out a gasp. Her eyes widened. She stared at him puzzled after a split second.

"Why did you tell me this story?" She asked, being baffled by the story. She wasn't able to comprehend why he mentioned it.

"Let me tell you the second story, and then I'll clear your doubts," he said with a smile as he looked at her puzzled expression.

She nodded. Her eyes fixed on him curiously waiting for the second story.

"There was a young girl. She was stunningly gorgeous and intelligent. There was nobody in the state who could match her beauty.

She fell for a handsome guy in her state. It was her first love and you can say love at first sight. She had no idea who he was. But she would lose herself in him whenever she saw him."

Evelyn startled as she looked at him. She was shocked as she was relating herself to Earl's story. She quickly settled her face and concentrated on his words. She reassured herself that it was just a coincidence, and there was no chance he would know about the brown-eyed man because she had never mentioned his name to him.

"She decided to propose to him whenever she met him again. One day in the market she found him. She strolled towards him excitedly as she was going to propose to him but stopped in the middle. 

She saw the man whom she loved with another girl. Her heart shattered at the sight and tears streamed down her face. She was broken." Earl took a pause. 

Listening to his words, Evelyn felt her heartache. This was exactly how she felt at the village carnival when she saw the brown-eyed man with a woman.

She stared at Earl, perplexed, unsure of how to react.

"Do you know who the second woman was?" He asked.

Evelyn shook her head. She knew the woman was his mate but her dry throat couldn't formulate any words at that moment.

"She was his elder sister, who came to the market with him."

Earl's response took Evelyn in complete surprise. For a moment she forgot about her pain and looked at him. 

"Why these stories Earl?" She asked bewildered. 

"Hmm," he took a small pause to formulate words and asked, "Do you find any similarities in both the stories?" 

Evelyn thought for a moment and replied, "Both the women were hurt in the end."

Earl raised his eyebrows, amazed by her response. 

"Why were they hurt?" He asked further.

"Because of belief. One trusted her husband and the other trusted what she saw," she replied. 

"Well, you are logically correct, but you failed to see what I wanted to observe in the story," Earl replied. 

Looking at Evelyn's puzzled face, he continued, "They were hurt because they let their feelings overwhelm them which clouded their minds and believed to what they were forced to believe on.

The woman in the first case was so overwhelmed by the love for her husband that she overlooked her husband's nasty deeds.

Whereas in the second case, the lady was overwhelmed by her sadness for being broken and didn't ask the man directly. She should have believed in her feelings for him.

Same thing happens in real life. There comes times when we are confused about the decisions to take. At that moment all we have to think about is the final result and choose accordingly."

Evelyn gazed at him silently. She now understood what he was trying to explain. She was to believe and trust the people around her but do not overwhelm her feelings and blind herself from seeing the truth.

She sat there quietly relating herself to the second story. She saw him with another woman and thought he was in a relationship. She suppressed her feelings without acknowledging them to him.

Suddenly she felt light as if a heavy rock from her heart was lifted. Earl was the reason for this, and she smiled at him with sincerity, which he returned.