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.
78. Nate’s Investigation
Nate's Investigation
~
The Fashion Boutique of Hildeth and co.,
The Town of Crimsonton,
Kingdom of Velicia,
The fall of Night,
The Ninth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
~
Nate, the chief of Cavalry under the jurisdiction of Crown Prince Rayzenn, had been stealthily roaming about the town of Crimsonton for the most part of that day, dressed as an elderly traveller, with a faux beard hanging down half his face.
The previous night, after the Prince and the men had been out of disguised expeditions, had been of dampened moods, for Rayzenn had decided that he would give up on the damsel he had been liking secretively and was considering to oblige to a marriage with Duke Walterus' daughter, Miss Charlene.
Zebedee and Aaron were on board with the idea, for they were both mature thinkers who cared about the reality of affairs and would do what was the best course of things.
However, Reid and Nate had been truly close to the Prince's heart and understood that he had truly been intrigued by this kind young maiden. In fact, Nate had imagined how beautiful the kingdom's rule would be if a woman that cared for charity and for the downtrodden could take the throne.
Although it was uncommon for someone of no aristocratic background to be crowned, it could be the first one in several generations.
The men held no ought against Charlene, but Nate felt that she would be no different from Prince Francis' bride to be.
It would disparage the close bond between the men, while Amelia seemed like a maiden that could become a part of their group, enjoying meals with them after hunting trips and joining their conversations like a friend rather than a stoic, aristocratic queen.
With such thoughts in mind, the blond haired Cavalry chief, donning unassuming apparel, like he was an aged wayfarer, went about the Town of Crimsonton, where Amelia was working and decided to peek into her life.
The only suspicious part of his gear was that he constantly had to fix his beard to stay in place and keep from tickling his nose and his body was as fit as a twenty five year old's.
It was past the afternoon when Nate noticed that she was returning to the Boutique after having been somewhere for lunch hour.
The damsel's face seemed rather vexed, as opposed to the natural cheerful and blithe countenance she usually had. He wondered what had changed.
While ripping the leather of his horse's saddle with a dagger, Nate waited around to see if he could meet her in private without catching anyone's attention. In the meantime, he was engaged in keeping an eye on all the patrolling knights to see if their attendance and duty were on the mark. He had already completed checking the others on duty that morning and had come by to Crimsonton only by noon.
Then, the maiden of dark long hair had scarcely stepped out of the boutique until it was late in the evening and she was going to return home. As she was leaving, Nate approached her, the reins of his horse in hand.
"Excuse me, my Lady", he said, with a smile.
Amelia looked disoriented as she turned around to see him. "Hello, good sir. Do you need any help?", the damsel asked, smiling brightly.
"Well, yes, please", the fair haired man in disguise said, presenting his horse. Bringing her attention to the leather of the saddle that he had deliberately ripped with a blade, he asked, "Would it be alright if you could kindly mend my seat? I am embarking on a journey tonight and it is very much a necessity. I will be sure to repay you generously."
The damsel stood on her toes and inspected the tear, brows rising as she looked up to him and said, "Ah, dear! Of course! I will be back right away. Please do wait right here."
Nate smiled, as he watched the damsel scurry away into the Boutique to find her sewing tools. The advantage of enticing a kind person into helping them in order to win ulterior benefits was the confidence of knowing that they would definitely oblige.
He leaned against his horse and waited, and within minutes, Amelia came running back, material in hand. "It might be a little tricky mending this one, so I'm really sorry if I am keeping you waiting. Are you too late for your trip?" she asked.
"No, no, I am most grateful you are taking your time to help me, Miss. I cannot express how lovely a service it is", the blond haired rider replied, feeling guilty. He fixed his beard, hoping she wouldn't find that it was a false disguise.
"Ah, no, it's nothing really. And besides, you really need this to be done. I understand that you are in a difficult situation", the damsel shrugged, before getting to work.
Just then, there was a flicker of fear in her eyes, and her body tensed up. Nate noticed that Amelia was casting wary glances behind her shoulder, as a large man stepped out of the Boutique. He seemed rather curious of where the damsel was, loitering around the porch and looking over from time to time.
The blond haired cavalry chief looked down to see that Amelia was still fumbling with the needles, like she was nervous.
To ease the discomfort, Nate suggested, "Shall we maybe shift to the back yard of the boutique? It would be inconvenient for you to be concentrating on this here while people are about the street."
"Yes, yes, of course", the dame nodded, turning to see where the large man was, before looking up to Nate. "There is a street lamp behind. Maybe we could go there? I will try to be as swift as I can with the work."
"Thank you very much, Miss", the blond haired man smiled in response. He needed the privacy in order to dive into the more important parts of his intentions with her.