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.
50. The Heart is a beast that can never be controlled
The Heart is a beast that can never be controlled
~
Head Knight Erion's Cottage,
Frontiers of the Town of Crimsonton,
Kingdom of Velicia,
Darkling hours of Nightfall,
The Eighth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
Just as Head Knight Erion had read the letter from Prinnce Rayzenn summoning him to the Imperial Castle the following morning, he felt a tug at his cape behind him and he turned around to see a young hooded lad. The man's heart flipped again, for he knew the boy to be the one Charlene oft sent to deliver secret letters.
As expected, the young envoy held out an envelope that smelt like an exotic rose garden. Thought of Charlene writing to his flashed in his mind, sending his heart in a frenzy.
Thanking the young lad, Erion took the envelope and sent him away. Then, whistling merrily, he opened the door and made his way inside to leisurely read the letter. He knew that it held fair news, for it would not be so heavily scented with special care otherwise.
As he lit the fireplace and lay across the couch, he drew the letter out and felt his entire being reminisce all the romantic memories and day dreams he had had of Charlene. Then, he began reading the letter.
"It breaks my heart to think that you had not met me today after the conference at the Reading Association had folded to a close. I had been waiting to see you, but was left to receive word that you had left. There was much that I wished to say to you when we met, but I could not."
Thoughts of her writing of having missed him made him feel wanted again and gave him a sense of belonging. He felt like he was falling in love with the beauty all over again, in a frightful comma that he would never be healed out of.
He realised why he had loved her since the beginning:
He had always felt alive around her, the way she talked passionately and made him feel like he meant everything to her, the way she was strong and needed to one to save her, the way she could murder a man who would make a move on her, the way she had the attention of every man in the room but would still stay faithful and loyal.
Erion felt like he could never find a woman like her. After all, she had thought of him and had written the letter to him despite the meeting with a Crown Prince himself that morning. He wondered if she felt like she could marry him, for he could not imagine living without her.
Then, the man continued reading the scented letter, where she had written about Duke Lemiron secretly pursuing her.
It made him feel a burning sense of irritation towards the married man, who was shamelessly pursuing a damsel that had long rejected him. Erion could not stand the feeling of the man trying to meet his Charlene.
He truly had told her many times that a relationship once broken could never be restored, no matter what. And he was glad he had firmly instilled the thought in her, for he did not want her to start falling for her ex-fiancé yet again.
After all, Erion felt that Duke Cryspus did not deserve a splendid woman as Charlene after countlessly suspecting her to be unfaithful, while they were betrothed, when he was the one to move away and marry another woman. In his opinion, there was no woman in the kingdom who could be as loyal to a relationship as Charlene Walterus.
But then, Erion reflected on himself, and wondered if he was as true to her as she was to him.
Somewhere deep in his mind, Amelia was quite similar to Charlene in terms of how he felt in her company.
Erion thought of Amelia. He realised that she was kind and lovely and he had seen her making her way towards the Hildeth Boutique from the village of Drift-Combe many morning, giving spare bread to the poor people, despite being of low wealth herself. But he had not spent enough time and conversation with her to know her or fall in love. It was merely her looks and her shape that gave him an insane desire to hold her in his arms.
Charlene, on the other hand, was different. She was a woman way beyond his league, who was loving and true enough to show an interest in him. He knew that it would be impossible to marry her, but the wild thought had bloomed in him mind because of all the serious attention she seemed to be giving him, despite her prospects.
The Head Knight resolved deep within that he would relentlessly pursue Charlene and would somehow marry her.
As for Amelia, the man decided that he would set her up with Knight Roden, for the man would do anything to marry a beautiful lady like her. After all, that would help Erion stay close to Amelia and if she ever showed a great deal of interest in him that he could not find with Charlene, he would consider getting romantically close with her.
With a sigh, the man rose from the couch and moved towards the fireplace. The letter had mentioned that Charlene missed him dearly and had asked him to burn the letter. Thus, he held the parchment against the flames and let it turn to ashes.
Then, he swayed the envelope across his nose, inhaling the beautiful aroma of the dame that wrote the letter.
The man looked out the window and noticed that it was quite late into the night. All the thoughts and the feverish feeling of love for a damsel who was far from marrying him was making him dizzy.
And so, the man of curly dark hair shrugged a hood on and walked out the door, deciding to go to the local tavern for a good drink.
~