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.
64. A Choice and a Brother
A Choice and a Brother
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Head Knight Erion's Cottage,
Frontiers of the Town of Crimsonton,
Kingdom of Velicia,
The Dawn of Day,
The Ninth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
Erion awoke early that morning, with a blaring headache. He could barely hold his senses and tried to roll back to sleep.
But that luxury was not his for that day. He had been summoned by the Imperial Castle on account of the confrontation he had had with Crown Prince Rayzenn the previous morning. Thus, he needed to pull his bearings together and make it to the official side of his day.
With a groan, he rose from his bed and walked over to the dining room. The envelope that Miss Charlene had sent him the previous day was still there on the table, smelling like a rose.
It brought back the divine sensation of being sought.
Erion knew he could never marry Charlene. But he also knew that he meant more to her than an average friend. They could even elope with the right amount of wooing, if the prince was not on her mind.
He wished to visit the beautiful damsel that morning, before heading to the Imperial Office to be presented on the summoning, so his day could progress much fairer.
The man began to get ready for the day, bathing and dressing up and battling his headache until it faded eventually. Then, feeling the pass to the Reading Association's entry in his pocket, he strolled out the house, locked the door, and walked towards his horse.
Binding her harness and saddle, he mounted her and made his way to the nearest cafeteria for a good breakfast to start the day and fodder for his mare.
It was the place he usually went to for most of his meals and his men would be there as well. So the cafeteria was more of a local hangout than a quick visiting area for eating.
While he was tying his horse to the post outside, one of the women greeted him and offered to feed his mare along with the others. Thanking her, he walked towards the cafeteria.
Just as he passed, he noticed Amelia heading to the Boutique, seeming anxious. The man did not call out to her or intend to meet her, but silently walked inside. He remembered how he had met her the previous night and she had mentioned some man named Lance to get him jealous.
He knew that was not the intention and the damsel seemed to make no affiliation with the other man she had spoken of, nor showed any interest. Further, it seemed like she had left him for Erion, given the circumstance wherein she had approached him.
And she was a wonderful woman as she was and the Head Knight himself had enjoyed her company and the various flustered expressions her face made when he said things to her. In fact, he had felt sparks when he had spent his time with her, despite the fact that he was pursuing Charlene.
And so, he decided that it was best to keep her close. With that in mind, the man wised to set her up with his Subordinate Knight, Roden.
After all, he was the sole one that Erion was closest to, like they were brothers. Roden was the only man that he had seen who wasn't crazed about Miss Charlene and he had always supported the Head Knight in his affairs. In fact, he was the one that had introduced him to the Duke's daughter, although he never had to. So it was only natural that Erion would want the best for his subordinate Knight, in exchange.
As those thoughts brewed in his head, the olive haired man he was thinking of called his name from across the cafeteria, with a big smile on his untrimmed face. Erion smiled back and held a hand up, before walking over to the table where his men were gathered.
The knights took their leisurely time with the meal, joking and laughing about various things. Erion stayed silent, as he always did, and passively enjoyed the conversations flying across the long table that was usually reserved for their visits.
As they munched between words, Erion was noticing that his sub knight was growing increasingly loud with every passing day.
After what seemed to be a long winding breakfast, the men seemed to have calmed. The maidens waiting on them were collecting the emptied dishes and giggling witty responses to senseless off hand flirtations from the men at the table.
Something about the knights being so thirsty to settle with a woman than to continue playing around was funny to the Head Knight of dark curling hair, for he was the only one in the whole company that was even close to a lovely lady. The others were just hopelessly trying their luck.
Erion leaned close to Roden and asked, "What do you think of Amelia Luna-dynn?"
"The new maiden at the Reading Association yesterday?" the olive haired knight asked, seeming confused at the random rise of the topic.
The Head knight nodded, as he watched his subordinate ruffle his already dishevelled hair pensively.
"Well, I didn't give it much thought yesterday, but she seems fine. I guess she likes to write tales in her spare time?" he rambled his thoughts.
Erion nodded, "yes she does. I believe she will have an interest in you if you try pursuing her seriously. After all, she is working at the Hildeth Boutique with decent earnings, she's gorgeous to the eyes and possibly the same as a wife, if not more; she's talented, holds on to morals, is demure and has been untouched by any other men and finally, she is part of the Reading Association, giving you sufficient space to flirt with her and gain her interests. So why not give it a shot?"
The man watched as Roden's ears took colour as he thought more on the things he was saying. Then, the olive haired knight chuckled, before leaning back in his chair and saying, "I doubt she will love me back though…"
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