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. New Friends
Erion's Opinion
~
Balcony of the Reading Association,
The Estate of Duke Walterus,
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
~
Just as the damsel descended the stairs, she saw Knight Erion riding into the courtyard, upon horseback.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the man galloping in, before the gripping fear of whether he was there to see the daughter of the manor constricted her heart. Brown braid sashaying behind her, she reached the landing and smiled, as the man descended from his mare and walked over.
"What brings you here?" she asked.
"Well, I had an opinion that I had decided to post in the evening. But since you're here. I thought I would be nice to drop by and post it here with you", the man smiled.
Amelia smiled, realising that he truly had come there just to see her. "I see", she nodded. "I just finished posting mine", the damsel shrugged, before clasping her palms.
"Alright then. Come along, I won't take too much of your morning", he said, offering a hand for her to take.
Placing a hand at the crook of his elbow safely, the damsel gave him a smile, "Ah, it's no problem. I am quite early for work as of right now."
The couple ascended the stairway, talking of various things, before reaching the landing of the Balcony. "Give me a minute please", Knight Erion said, before unravelling a leather purse attached to his belt and drawing a roll of parchment out.
He took the quill beside the Bulletin, dipped it in ink and penned his words quickly. Then, he wasted no time in pinning the page to the Bulletin Board.
Amelia was watching, adoring the way he effortlessly just spelt out an opinion, while she had to ransack her brain all night to come up with something half decent.
"So this is yours, hm?" he asked, rubbing his chin as he read what she had posted. Suddenly, the damsel grew absolutely conscious about her hand writing and what she'd written.
"That's quite nice an angle of seeing the story", the dark haired man commented as he turned to give her a smile.
"Aw, thank you", she smiled, feeling her cheeks warm. "What's yours?" she asked as she stepped close to him to take a good look.
His opinion was posted quite high up, for he was tall and she felt her heart warm at the thought of how much taller than her he was. However, a part of her mind thought of how Lance had been taller than even Knight Erion.
The damsel berated herself for making the comparison, for she loved told herself this man unbiased.
"Aw look at you, you're even shorter than Char", the dark haired man chuckled.
Amelia looked up, blushing. She hoped he didn't prefer her taller and more fit. Further, the way he referred to the daughter of the Duke by a colloquial name made her feel like he was quite close to the damsel.
She felt like she needed to put some distance between herself and the man, for she was unsure of what sort of relationship he shared with Charlene and she did not want to be one to break something romantic.
"Well, I have wished I was taller too", Amelia scrambled to clarify.
"No, no, I like a tiny lady for myself", the Knight winked.
The damsel felt her neck and cheeks heat up when he talked of her like she belonged to him. "I-I see", she mumbled, distracting herself by sweeping a lock of hair behind her ear.
Amelia wondered if he was simply close to Miss Charlene like she was a sister. Otherwise, the man wouldn't be entertaining her with such sure signs of having an interest in her.
She decided she would clarify with the golden haired daughter of the Duke herself, before she could certainly invest her heart in a relationship with Knight Erion.
Then, the damsel turned her attention to read his opinion, hoping it wasn't something praising Miss Charlene again, for she wouldn't be ready to handle that right away and would need some time to process her feelings.
"The way the female lead in the story is manipulative enough to keep a man to herself, but does not stay faithful when it counts really just amuses me."
Amelia felt her heart take a stab, for it was evident that he was directing it to someone specific like a message.
"Wh-what do you mean?" the damsel turned to ask him, placing a hand over her chest.
She wondered if he was referring to the way she had been irresponsive to him the previous night when she was with Sir Jacob, the old wayfarer. Amelia had not taken it seriously at the time, but presently, she realised that he must have felt hurt that she had not prioritised him when it counted.
"It means what it means", the man shrugged, before turning to leave. "Come along now", his hand was extended for her to take.
"W-wait", she scurried to reach his side and take his arm, "Did you write that about me? I am so sorry", she started rambling again.
Knight Erion stopped to fix her with a funny stare before breaking out laughing. "No, no, you silly dear, it's not about you", he chuckled, giving her hand a little tug. With that, he proceeded down the stairway.
"Oh thank goodness", Amelia sighed, feeling relieved. "I thought you were trying to tell me something indirect."
"Mhm", he replied, eyes ahead like he was still contemplative.
"So", she began, like her mind was pondering. "Would it be bad for me to ask you who that was for?"
He shot her another funny look before saying, "Well, maybe. But you'll know soon. Maybe I'll just tell you", he finished with a shrug.
"Oh okay", the damsel nodded, looking down at her feet.
"It's not about you though, so don't worry that little head of yours", the man touched her nose.
Instinctively, she flinched back, for she was trying to be cautious with him, until she was sure he was in no relationship. Further, she was not one used to male touch. They blinked before she tried to pacify the situation with a smile. "Alright then."
~