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.
76. Her interests in Men is for Entertainment
Her interests in Men is for Entertainment
~
The Estate of Duke Walterus,
The Town of Crimsonton,
Kingdom of Velicia,
Fair Morning,
The Ninth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
Unfolding the letter from Knight Erion, Charlene rose from her seat, walked towards the bed and laid down as she read the contents thereof:
"My Dearest Charlene Walterus,
I have barely any time to be writing this to you, and so I intend to make this as crisp as possible. After the meeting today that I had with the Crown Prince, I have been rather engaged with work here at the Imperial Castle.
I am at the training grounds now as I write this to you. The carriage you had arrived in was there at the royal front courts and I knew you were near. But I could not meet you there during business and I still wish I could have, for I knew you looked most gorgeous to the eyes and speaking with you could have elevated my energy for the day.
A concerning matter that I had noticed, however, was Cryspus entering the Castle as well.
I hope he did not bother you, for I knew he was there to pursue you and torment you further. I was vexed to see him there, as bold as he was. But as I was busy, I could not attend to protecting you there.
I hope your work at the Imperial Castle went smoothly and you had no inconveniences by reason of his unnecessary and uncalled for presence in the place.
I look forward to seeing you tonight, when I make a visit to the Reading Association. And for my sake, if it is not of inconvenience to you, please wear that dark red colour on your lips. It awakens something in me that I cannot quite express.
With my whole heart vested here,
Head Knight Erion of the West Wing."
After reading the letter, Charlene frowned pensively. She had felt absolutely no flutters or rushes when reading his words of doting for her.
However, the thoughts she had were all towards Prince Rayzenn who had been daring in defending her against a bitter enemy that she had once loved.
Heaving a sigh, the damsel thought of how she did not feel excited about seeing the Head Knight that eve. After all, she knew he was head over heels in love with her and there was nothing that could steer him away.
She desperately wanted to build a more frequent connection with Prince Rayzenn, for it thrilled her to be around him. The damsel could not imagine how much more exciting it would be if the Crown Prince himself wanted to see her as well.
Somewhere in her heart, she was expecting him to take an effort to visit her. It was a distant shade of confidence. After all, the man had listened to everything she had said earlier that day, most intently.
Then, she arose and walked over to the study where her copy of the novel was seated. Lifting it up, she opened to the first page where the dedication was written:
"This book is dedicated to the sons of the Imperial Family of Velicia, who had lost their mother to the cruelty of a lost race
To Francis and to Rayzenn Crestings"
The words 'Rayzenn Crestings' sent a chill down her spine and she subconsciously laughed to herself, before pressing her lips against the page, where his name was calligraphed in fine print.
Then, when she looked upon it, it was the same dark shade of a kiss that she wished to someday give the man during the process of a Royal Wedding.
Happy sighs were sounded as the damsel danced across the room, holding the book against her chest. She did not know if the man loved her back, but she was confident that he was attracted to her for her beauty at the very least, although he had shown no signs to guarantee her assumptions.
She wished for the man to pay her a visit, but the fear that he would not have thought of her as more than a normal person passing through his day was upsetting.
Mixed feelings churned in her chest as she laid down upon her bed weakly, intending to read.
After a few hours of reading the novel, she heard a knock on the door. Rising to sit, she called for the person to enter.
Head Maid Christy stepped in to say, "My Lady, Head Knight Erion is at the chambers of the Reading Association and requested that he wished to see you."
There was a grunt of irritation and the damsel nodded, before wrapping her shoulders with furs and making her way up the stairs to where the man was.
The man was smiling, as he always did, standing against the cool breeze of the night upon the deck of the Club's balcony. "Oh, hello there", she said, feeling neither motivation, nor excitement even in her voice.
"Hello, my dear", the man responded.
She noticed that his eyes went down to her lips and there was a shade of obvious disappointment on his face, and she knew that the colour had faded and the man was put off by her evident lack of interest.
"How has your day been going?" the Head Knight asked.
"It was fine. Did you come by to post an opinion?" she asked, yawning, like she didn't notice, nor care.
There was visible disorientation in his expression, before he frowned and asked, "Did you not receive my letter?"
"Oh, yes, yes, I did", she replied, showing no affiliation or affection. "I'm sorry, I did not recollect anything."
"Was Cryspus there to follow you?" the man asked.
The damsel shrugged in response. "He was terribly harsh, but the prince was there to defend me. It was alright", she replied, willing to disclose no more.
There was an obvious flicker or irritation that crossed the Knight's eyes before he said, "Alright. I reckon you are tired. You should go to sleep. Good night, Char."
~