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.
62. The Contents of the Nights
The Contents of the Nights
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The Luna-dynn Cottage,
The rustic Village of Drift-Combe,
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
"You're jesting, right", Jasper asked, looking suspiciously at his sister.
"You wish I was", Amelia laughed, before tucking a hand under her blouse and pulling the card of membership out of her brassiere. "This is the pass I get to use to enter."
She watched as her little brother took it in his hand, a spark in his eyes. "You must be beside yourself with joy", he said, looking up at her.
"I am indeed", she giggled. "You can meet Knight Erion whenever you wish to. I know you'd love to", Amelia said, feeling like she was doing the first useful thing for Jasper's future and dreams.
There was a glint in her brother's eyes, of pure elation, that she had never seen before. "I could ask him so much about training and his schedules! I wasn't a noble building himself up. Maybe he'd help me with the enlisting", Jasper went on, far too caught up in his excitement, before reeling himself back to reality.
"Of course, and I can bring you insights on what I see him doing", Amelia added.
The young lad nodded, handing the pass back to her. "So how was the Reading Association? Did you talk to Miss Charlene?"
There was a moment of thought before the damsel of chestnut hair answered, "Well, I didn't exactly speak with Miss Charlene, but I did converse with all the others and they were very inviting. I guess she was caught up with something important and didn't have the time today. After all, the Prince had visited the Estate."
"I see", Jasper nodded. "So everything is going wonderful, hm?"
Amelia hesitated, and took a moment of thought, before saying, "No, actually. A man at work found out that I had joined the Association during work hours and told me he wouldn't tell Lady Hildeth to get me disowned, if I complied with his wishes…"
Her brother grew alert as the words flowed out of her mouth and he frowned, "What did the man ask for?"
"Well, he didn't say, but on my way here, just now, he attacked me in an Alleyway", the damsel confessed. Her face started sweating again and her heart began beating fast.
Jasper looked livid. "I'll kill that man", he said, his voice coming out like a growl.
"But don't worry, there was a kind passer-by who stepped in and knocked him out. A foreign merchant named Lance", Amelia said, hoping to calm her brother down.
"Will you still have to see the man at work tomorrow? Did this Lance hit him hard enough that he shouldn't be able to recover for weeks?" the young lad did not seem convinced.
"I don't know, I was too afraid to notice", the damsel said, realising that she had begun gathering folds of her skirt in her fists from nervousness.
"I hope this was a lesson for you to never go out alone at night unless I am with you", her brother said, raking a hand through his dirty blond hair. "Ever."
"I came, because I thought you'd be all alone", she said.
"Well, I'm not going to die being alone!" the young lad yelled, seeming frantic. "You are!"
Amelia didn't meet his eyes, but kept her gaze low, since the fears he had sustained regarding her had truly come to fruit that night. She wanted to cry her eyes out, because the house seemed so ill when the siblings fought, even if it meant well for each other.
There was a sigh from her brother, like he seemed to give up. "Alright, I understand you wanted to return for my sake. But you don't have to put yourself in danger for me, okay? I can fight, but you can't really", he said, like he wanted to make amends.
The damsel nodded, feeling upset that everything she had tried for the sake of her brother had backfired to bring her risk. All the terrible things that had happened mounted on her temples like a weight she didn't want to bear.
"Hey, take it easy", Jasper said, like he felt bad for lashing at her the way he had.
Amelia nodded again, keeping her glazed eyes still down on her skirt. Those words reminded her of her masked rescuer, Lance, whose deep voice had said that when she was convulsing in fear.
"So", the young lad began, awkwardly looking for something else to say. "Did this Lance accompany you all the way here?" he asked.
"No, but he did offer to. I refused. Knight Erion was coming out the tavern nearby just in time and I asked him to accompany me instead, since I was more familiar with him", she replied.
Jasper nodded, "So the Head Knight came all the way here?"
"No, he escorted me until the border and once we reached Drift-Combe, he went his way and I came mine", Amelia said.
There was a frown from her brother, and a rather bothered expression. "Not very chivalrous, now, is he?"
"Why, Jas? He did come with me for a long way until I was safe", the damsel said.
The young man did not agree, but flatly said, "Any man would accompany a woman all the way and hold the door for her. Especially if she had just encountered something so dangerous. Did he not know?"
Amelia thought back to the fact that he had seemed rather aloof and uninterested, as opposed to how flirtatious and interested he had been that morning. "Yes, he did", she said, pouting slightly.
"Maybe he was just excessively tired", Jasper said, trying to make her feel better. "Get some good sleep for tonight. You will certainly need it", he added.
Amelia nodded. "Good night then, Jas", she wished.
The lad rose from his perch on her bed and strode to the door before pausing to glance back at her. "You'll be alright, won't you?" he asked.
The damsel nodded and smiled, lying, "I will".
~