Passion and Trust

"The rebellions have burned down several small village and the uprising is only getting bigger. The people are retreating in the capital in fear of their own lives but the supply for food and other necessities are not enough to feed the stomach of thousands of villagers who have safely escaped the nightmarish attack on their villages. Everything is getting out of hand, and I know it is against your principles but, Your Majesty, being neutral is not going to bring back the home of these poor people. That is why, I personally came here as a representative to ask for an alliance with Your Highness, to stop the rebellions."

The Duke wasn't ready to hear what the young lady had told him. But the dread on his heart upon hearing the saddening news only made it bigger.

He knows of the destroyed villages and he had done all that he can to stop the rebellions by offering peace as he is a pacifist in nature but it seems like all his actions was for naught.

The rebellions have continued to take innocent lives, and burn down villages. And, this is the truth he must face.

But as he looked into the woman's eyes in front of him, he still can't get rid of the odd feeling he gets whenever she looks at him. It was something mysterious, and at the same time very dangerous.

Confused by his own feelings the Duke can't completely trust the young lady's words but many people are crying for help, for his help. And, by forming an alliance with the family of this young woman might be the key to finally put a stop to the continuous terrorizing of the rebellions to small villages in the West.

It is only natural that he should accept the young lady's offer but...

"You said something about an alliance  but what are you really after, milady? I know this might be rude of me to ask but I can't help but get the feeling that you have something that you are not telling me. Will you please, kindly, enlighten me?"

The Duke looked straight in her eyes but the lady didn't even try avoiding his gaze. Instead, she looked straight back into his eyes too. Her eyes were of confidence and the Duke might have been imagining it but in that moment he saw a hint of longing.

"I know this is something a lady should not openly say to a married man but... I have been admiring you, Your Majesty. For a long time now. The uprising is indeed an issue we must address as our priority but I was hoping that in accepting my family's offer to from an alliance with you, you will kindly take me as your Mistress."

The Duke's eyes widened, and he was in a state of shock. The young lady have just confessed to him. But what was he to do? What should be his response?

His heart was beating fast.  He was nervous. But the answer should be simple for him, isn't it? He should definitely refuse her offer. But if he did refuse her it would be the same as rejecting her feelings for him. As a Duke, yes it is only reasonable but as a man, hurting a woman is something he can't even imagine to do.

He let out a sigh, and wet his lips.

"As you already have mentioned, I am already married, and I have no intention to cause my wife any worry. I sincerely apologise, milady. But I have to decline your offer to be my Mistress. The alliance however, I am willing to accept."

The young lady's expression haven't changed at all instead she only smiled at him, and put her hand on her chest.

It was a bitter pill for the lady to swallow.

"I understand, your Highness. And, I truly thank you for being honest.", her eyes were now looking at the floor, and when the Duke was finally thinking he can breathe again, the woman's tears drop. "It is one of the many reasons why I admire you from the bottom of my heart."

The Duke stood up, and immediately handed her a handkerchief but the lady kindly declined his offer. She stood up, wiping her face with her gloves.

The Duke felt bad, and as a gentleman he walked closer to where she is and pulled her closer in a tight hug, in hope that she would be comforted.

"I don't know much about comforting a woman, heartbroken. But I hope what I am doing right now is something you don't mind."

The Duke felt at ease as the woman slightly tremble in his embrace. She looks up at him with tear stained eyes and a smile.

It's with that single smile that all his doubts about her, disappeared into thin air. She was a woman, and none other than a woman who requires protection and love from the right man. It was what the Duke was thinking at that moment and so, he let his guard down and decided to trust the young lady.

The lady in black clothes, gazing with so much passion at the Duke, can't hold herself back any longer. She put her arms around the Duke's waist, making His Majesty almost jump in surprise; making him loosen his embrace.

"Then... what I am about to do is something, I hope that you will not also mind."

"What—"

The young lady didn't let him finish, and took the chance that he wasn't at all guarded to passionately kiss him on the lips.

The Duke has his eyes open wide while the woman was kissing him with her eyes close, so much feelings were burned into the kiss that it tasted like sweet wine that the Duke can't resist. He put his hand on the woman's cheek and the other on her waist. He closes his eyes shut, and let the lust numb his sense of reason.

He returned her kisses with just as much passion that they were lost for a moment. Tasting each other's lips, and drowning into their drive for passion. It was like they were in their own world, and the young lady would let out moans between their shared kisses that made the Duke even more drunk, savouring each kiss.

But the Duchess silently witnessing the scene felt betrayed, and hurt beyond known pain. How can her husband cheat on her like this? How can he break her trust? She thought that there must be something wrong with her for her husband to lust for another's lips.

Questions, and more questions were on her mind as she gaze at them with tears in her eyes.

She was only about to bring the snacks and tea the Duke ordered the maid to bring. The Duchess happened to ask about it to the maid when she ran into the humble servant in the hallway, and she asked the maid to let her be the one to take it to the Duke because she was hoping to talk to him even if it's only a moment but never had she expected to see something that would shake her very being. Shaking her very own world.

Rage, and jealousy started spreading into her heart; she put the tray of snacks and tea in front of the doorstep of the Duke's study room, and ran towards the miniature garden, east of the palace, where she let all her tears out. Her sobs were controlled and painfully silent, so that no one could hear how her heart was breaking into a million pieces.

She weeped and her shoulders shook.

And, the beautiful pastel colored tulips were the only witness to her grief, and she cried and cried till there were no more tears left.

But the trust that have crumbled in that instant was something the Duke can never regain again.

Be it in this life or the next.