Wars of the Heart
Amelia Luna-dynn is a young damsel of unassuming character. However, there is a deadly secret she harbors: that she is the daughter of a forbidden race, a tribe despised by the royals of the Kingdom. She is the sole survivor, discreetly living an unseen life as a commoner. But there are scars on her back that betray her origin, requiring her to cleanse herself in order to stay alive and unrecognised. With such reins attached to her race, it is impossible to find someone who would love her despite the dangers of her origin. But one night, when at the verge of being eaten by beasts, she is saved by a mysterious man from the grasp of death. Curiosity drives the damsel to chase love. Despite being downtrodden, she stumbles upon the opportunity meeting with high society by joining a Book Club run by the beautiful daughter of the Duke, Charlene Walterus. Amelia makes friendships with nobles and soon comes close to a romance with a man she suspects to be her secret rescuer, but is hopeless that his heart is far gone in the arms of the duke’s daughter. Will she win a wedding with the man of her dreams? But most importantly, will her fantasies of a perfect marriage come true? Or will she suffer a strained marital relationship, with unrequited feelings, far from the heart of the one she loves? Excerpt: That night, he was exhilarated to have married the woman of his desires. But Charlene had told him a bothersome fact about the origin of his newly wedded wife that he could not shake off his mind, for he knew she would have told him, had it been true. The tall man stepped into Amelia’s chamber and found her seated at the rim of the bed, blushing. The very sight of her innocent disposition had always brought him the insane urge to sweep her up in his arms and protect her. But before they would make love, there was an important question blaring at the edge of his mind. “Y-you’re here”, her soft voice was almost breathless. She rose to her feet, but rested against the wall, shy and nervous. “Amelia”, he tasted her name, drawing close to her. Tenderly placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face to meet his, he gazed into her eyes and asked, “Is it true that you are of the Celeste Clan?” There was silence in response and fear in her eyes. She did not deny it. A strong feeling of hurt enveloped his chest, when he realised that she was no different. Charlene’s words about her were not simply contemptuous lies of jealousy planted to his attention, but the raw truth. ~ Amelia gasped when he rammed his fist against the wall in the absolute pangs of frustration. It was like it burnt his senses to think that she would deliberately hold something as significant as her origin from him, regardless of all things of his secrets that he had shared with her, while they were yet secret lovers. She knew the fault was hers, but she had been too scared to relay, for she had loved him far too much to lose him. “Why did you hide this from me?” he breathed, voice cold and low and deadly, colored by his unpronounced rage. His face was dangerously close to hers, such that she could hear his very breath, seething. Tears began to pierce her eyes, threatening to fall. She had never meant to deceive him. But in that moment, she was afraid. Heart throbbing loud enough to be heard, her lips were quivering and she shivered. When his gaze swept down at her frightened disposition, there was a flicker of tenderness in his eyes. But it lasted not even as long as a moment’s worth. He was cold. He did not confront her for the secrets she was keeping, but silently withdrew himself. There were many things she wished to say in apology, but she could not find her voice. And by the time she could speak, he had left her chambers. Tears flurried down her face. She could not believe that her fears had ruined the very first day of her marriage. It was the day she had wished to divulge her secret to him, but it seemed like it had already been out.
4. The Sole Survivor of a Perished Race
THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF A PERISHED RACE
~
The Lunadynn's Cottage,
The Village of Drift-combe,
Kingdom of Velicia,
Night reigned by a full moon,
The Seventh Night of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
~
"I had not gone last month either, for fear of the beasts, and the marks on my back were growing strong! If someone saw them, I could be killed!" Amelia said.
Jasper did not argue her stance, for he knew she was right.
"Have they disappeared for now?" he asked, voice quietly subsided.
She nodded, fingers fidgeting with the fringes of her skirts.
Her younger brother exhaled a sigh before walking past her. "Come on, let's see you to sleep", he mumbled.
She whined and followed him up the stairs. There was a saddening feeling deep within when she thought of how the vigilante had probably left by then and there would be no point in looking through the balcony.
She did not have any shred of information about him, for his voice, face and whereabouts were completely unknown.
In her room, Jasper was seated on the bed, seeming pensive. She sat at the edge of the cot, feeling forlorn as the hours of night were silent and dreadful.
"The woods are growing deadlier with each season. We cannot have you going there every fortnight for your cleansing", her brother said.
"But if I don't do it, the marks will continue to spread and appear strongly and if someone sees them, they could find out that I am from the Celeste clan and I could get executed", said she. A shiver ran up her back as she spoke.
"I wish the royals would stop harbouring such indignation against your race. Your village was demolished by the beasts ten whole years ago. There is no need for the hatred to still persist", said he, feeling excessively tensed.
"Yes, but my people did kill the queen, despite the fact that she was innocent and came for peace. The fault was on our side. Their anger is justified", said the sister, expression distraught.
"Why did they, though?" asked he.
In all their years, the adoptive siblings had never spoken of her gruesome past, for her brother was still young and the family had decided that it would be wiser for him to stay innocent of the matters. But their parents had passed on and the two were left with only each other. At that moment, Amelia found it a worthy decision to share with Jasper, the incidents of all that had been wrought.
Drawing a deep breath, she began unravelling the story:
"The Celeste Clan was known familiarly as the tribe of healers. We were all blest with the power of bringing healing to any brutal disease or injury with no effort. Our powers were divine.
My people were marked with the deep blue shapes spreading over our skin. It was our legacy's pride. No other people had it, but our descendants. It was said that we had received it from some divine blessing at birth.
We did not mix with the common people and so our clan was built into a village just beyond these woods. The reason was that my ancestors had wished for us to dwell by the sacred river of Pristin.
At every event of war, our kingdom would have Celeste members also in the army, as healers that could immediately tend to the severe condition of failing soldiers. And during plagues, it was natural that people of our race would come to every household of the Kingdom in due service.
In exchange, the King not only provided my people with protection, but also various favours and treated us with great esteem.
But, during the years when I was born and still young, my father got greedy."
As Amelia recounted all those that were distant memories, her mind quivered with the weight of reality it brought to her soul.
"Was he not the head of the Celeste clan?" Jasper asked.
In response, his sister nodded, swallowing slow. "Yes, he was. With the gaining of greater and greater riches and favours from the king, my father began demanding far more on the behalf of the clan", she replied.
There was a pensive frown written over Jasper's brows and he nodded.
Amelia proceeded, "So the King began to get frustrated, for it was lofty and unnecessary. Even whilst there was no occasion of war, our clan started coveting a merciless amount of power. Thus, there began to break forth various arguments and breached deals between the mainland and my clan.
There was a mage that my father began consulting, who had the prowess of concocting a potion that brought sickness to the people of the kingdom. That had been the time my mother had contested against my father. It was the first time I had seen them struggle against each other. My mother had nearly decided it was time my family split."
Amelia took a moment to process the scars of emotion the past still had over her. She felt Jasper place a hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy", his voice was soft.
"Before anymore though, the plague was spread across the kingdom", she said. "The mage's sickening potion was mixed with all the rations, farms and warehouse of grains so the people would consume the poison and be afflicted by the disease."
"I remember. I was only five, but most people perished from its effect. There was an uproar in the whole Kingdom", Jasper said.
"Yes, it was scandalous. Then, as expected, the Royal Family reached to us for help and healing. My father demanded excessively in recompense and the King had agreed. Our clan went across the whole nation spreading our power and cleansing the people. And then, after a week's time, the Queen paid us a visit, bearing all the gifts agreed upon", the brown haired damsel said, sweeping her palms across her arms, as though feeling cold.
"Isn't that when she died?" her little brother asked.
"Yes, it was", said she, with a slight shiver.
"If she brought the agreed price, why did they kill her?", the young lad of dirty blond hair probed.
"Well, she found out"
~