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.
91. Meeting New Friends
Meeting New Friends
~
The Dye making Workshop of Sir Flambent Bruno,
Town of Crimsonton
Kingdom of Velicia,
Dawn of Morning,
The Tenth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
~
Amelia noticed that Sir Flambent's work shop was open and she could collect the required dyes therefrom before heading to the Boutique.
"Good morning", she chirped, earning a mellow response from the elderly man.
"Hello, Miss Amelia. What a pleasure seeing you today. Are you here to receive the dyes for Lady Hildeth?" Sir Flambent asked, drying the sweat off his brows. It seemed like he had been busy meshing pulps into coloured juice that he could season into appropriate dyes.
"Yes, indeed. But I'm sorry, am I interrupting your work, Sir Flambent?" she asked, approaching the large stone counter, where he was placing bottles of the colour.
"No, no, my dear. Of course, not. I have the ones that Lady Hildeth had ordered though, so you can take them with you right away", the elderly man smiled.
"Thank you", Amelia called, as the man walked back to an edge of the workshop to collect the bottles for her.
"I have a favour to ask you though", he heaved as he placed them on the counter.
"Yes", the damsel of long brown hair perked up.
"I have a niece who arrived in town this week. She wishes to move into this part of the province. So I wrote to Lady Hildeth, requesting if she could have a job here and the Ladyship gave me an affirmative response. I thought you would make fast friends with her, my dear girl. So I was waiting for your visit, hoping you could take her to the Boutique and give her a good first day", he said, with a smile that deepened the lines at the sides of his eyes.
"Oh, of course, Sir Flambent. I would be honoured. Shall I wait until she comes?" Amelia asked, returning the smile.
"Yes, please, if you wouldn't mind?" he asked. "She should be all ready. I shall call her hither", the man said, before walking away into the closed end of the workshop. Behind, his residential cottage was built, giving him a convenient access to the work place.
In a few moments, the man returned with a quiet girl behind him. She had, long dark blue hair, reaching down to her waist and bangs swept to a side of her forehead. There were mild constellations of freckles painted over her nose and she was slender in shape.
"Hello", the damsel smiled at Amelia clasping hands behind her.
"Hello, there", the maiden of long brown hair responded, waving. "I'm Amelia, but you can call me Mel", she extended a hand.
"I'm Nixie. You can call me Nix", the girl nodded, taking her hand and giving it a gentle shake.
"That's such a precious name", Amelia giggled.
"Thank you", was the shy response.
"Alright, let's head to the Boutique then. I am certain you will love it there", the damsel of brown hair and dark eyes assured, as she took the bottles of dye.
Nixie collected a share of the burden and smiled, giving Amelia a nod. "I look forward to it, although I am quite nervous. I hope everyone is kind?"
"Well', the damsel thought about it long and hard. "Since you look lovely, I bet they'll all be very nice to you", she chuckled.
The vermillion haired maiden's eyes went wide open and she turned to Amelia with a sad expression, saying, "So they judge people based on appearance?"
"That's one way to put it. But it's justified, since they are all in the fashion industry. Looks are predominant and that is the first qualification one must possess", she shrugged.
"But you do look so pretty; why would they not like you?" Nixie asked.
There was a laugh in response. "Thank you, dear, that's quite flattering. But I don't fit in the standards described for a woman of society. So I guess this is how it is. Anyways, the Lady of the Boutique does not particularly like me and so none of the women there are very fond of making my acquaintance", Amelia shrugged.
"If she doesn't like you, why did she give you the job?" the damsel asked.
"My mother was her favourite model. She looked absolutely stunning too. And Lady Hildeth was kind enough to advance debts to keep her in employment. But after she passed away, I have been filling the roll in, but not as a model. To the drop in standards has been grating on her ladyship's nerves every day since", the damsel of auburn hair said.
"That's quite sad. I hope things change", Nixie said.
"I hope so too", Amelia responded, remembering a new concern. "There's something more that you need to know", she began.
"About the people working there?" her companion asked, looking over.
"Yes. There is a man of senior posting, named Sir Grendin. He is known for holding women by something they are guilty of and exacting favours out of them in a form of black mail. Always stay clear of him, he is bad news", Amelia said. As the words left her mouth, goose bumps appeared over her arms, in response to her fears.
"Ah dear that sounds terrible. Has he ever affected you?" Nixie asked, concern dripping in her soft voice.
There was a slow nod from the damsel of chestnut hair, before she looked over and said, "He once saw me at the Florist's and threatened to tell Lady Hildeth. And now, he hasn't told her, but he follows me about at nights and it fills me with so much fear every time. And now, my little brother comes along to escort me back home."
There was a gasp from Nixie, before she asked, "Does he victimise a lot of girls like that?"
"Yes. But all the other girls have each other. So if there's someone singled out and alone, they make an easy target in his eyes", Amelia said. "So always stay close with me, alright?"
"Right", the damsel nodded.
~