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.
85. Amelia's service
Amelia's Service
~
The porch of 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
~
There was a flicker of fear in Amelia's eyes, and her body tensed up. Nate noticed that she 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.
As Amelia led them towards the back of the Boutique, where a shaft of light descended from the lamp, Nate turned around to fix the large man with a death glare. There was a jolt of fear in response, before the guy sauntered away into the night.
Walking over to the spot the damsel had decided, the tall cavalry chief settled against his horse, watching her whip a large needle out. She took some thick strings that looked strong enough to strangle a man and inserted them into the great needle.
"These stitches may not be as firm as the professional work, for I have never sewed a saddle's leather before. But it will suffice for a journey of about a day, perhaps", Amelia informed, looking up at her companion.
"Yes, thank you very much, miss. I should be able to get a fresh one by then", the man answered, with a smile.
"I hope your journey does not go rough", the damsel mumbled as she inspected the tear. Her brows shot up and her eyes were wide when she looked up at him and gasped, "That's a gaping and deliberate tear! What happened? Were you perhaps attacked?"
Nate swallowed, wondering if he had overdone it. "Well, I'm not hurt, don't worry", he flashed a smile and winked.
Amelia frowned in response, saying, "There's no rush, you know. You need to rest well and take care of yourself while travelling distances like that. Your horse may need some nursing. You can always come by and rest a night at an inn. I have many friends, I am sure they would not mind giving you a place to lodge for minimal payment…" she went on chiding him as she sewed vigorously.
"It's okay really. It must have torn by accident", the fair haired man said, gulping slowly. He had never received such lectures even from war captains during training, and this young lady was already becoming his little mother. And it was all the more appalling, for he was dressed as an old man, who should not be scolded by a woman who was barely even his real age.
She could not reach high up to the saddle comfortably, and so Nate helped her up the horse so she could sit on it as she sewed in a convenient position.
"Then you do not need to pay me anything for the service", she said decidedly, continuing their conversation like she would not take 'no' for an answer.
"I could never wrong you like that after extracting all this help from you", the man replied, raising a brow and staring at her as she worked. He could tell that her soft fingers suffered to push the needles through the coarse leather.
"You must keep all your money with you. A long journey into the night after paying me would be a foolish act on your part, good sir. I cannot wrong you like that", she said, giving him a glare.
Nate did not reply, but knew that he would recompense her hard work.
"I'm truly sorry if I am drinking up your time, miss", he apologised. After all, his intention had been to converse and find out if she truly was in a serious relationship with the Head Knight or if she was available for the Crown Prince's hand.
"No, no, it is perfectly alright. I have sufficient time", she said, her eyes stealing glimpses of the road about her.
Nate understood that the large man that she saw earlier posed a threat as the night grew older and she was thankful for safe male company. He gathered that it should have been the same man that Rayzenn must have saved her from the previous day.
"Where do you need to go? Is your home far from here?" he asked, folding his arms against the horse.
The damsel looked contemplative as she answered, "Well, I need to be visiting a Florist tonight. She is sick and I thought I would stop by and deliver her dinner, and leave her to sleep. But I do know that will not take too long. Then, I will return back here to my little brother. He actually forbade me from visiting the florist, Madame Mirie, who is just a couple of streets away. But I absolutely must. So I will hurry over, finish tending to her in less than a few minutes and return back here as soon as I can, so Jasper won't find out."
Nate nodded, smiling, realising exactly why Rayzenn seemed to have fallen in love with her. She was purely innocent, rambling the contents of her life to a total stranger. And such innocence was exactly what he needed, to withdraw his needed information from her.
"Then I will escort to the place in exchange for your service and return you here to the boutique when you are finished", he offered.
~