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.
93. Opinions shadowing the Truth of Reality
Opinions shadowing the Truth of Reality
~
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
~
Charlene sighed, feeling a sort of frustrated sensation as she read the novel. It was the first time she was reading the book for herself, although she had always known the storyline.
She had originally decided on the particular novel because it had mentions of the Princes and that would give her more favour when she went to the Imperial Castle.
And whilst reading the novel, Charlene was keenly invested in regarding the plotline of how the Prince's family was portrayed and less about the main romance between the couple, so she could write a report that draw the intrigue of Prince Rayzenn, when he saw it.
So whilst reading the book, the damsel realised that the author paid specific mention about the Queen seeking to make such amends with the Celeste Clan after the spread of the Plague, because their daughter could be a due mate for the second crown prince.
It made her burn to imagine that her future fiancé would be paired in fiction with some other girl. Although Charlene knew that the while clan had perished, and the father of the character was the murderer of the Prince's own mother, she disliked the mention of Rayzenn portrayed to potentially be betrothed.
She sighed as she placed the book over her chest, lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling.
The damsel of golden hair wondered if the Prince would ever feel jealous of the fact that she herself had been previously engaged to a man she had hoped to marry. A lofty smile spread over her slender lips as she thought of how the dark haired heir to the throne had defended her from Duke Lemiron during the last encounter.
She wondered if it was inspired because Prince Rayzenn liked her for her beauty and the interference of her ex-fiancé was making him feel jealousy. It was a rather uplifting feeling and she loved the taste of it.
Charlene flipped her body and laid down on her belly as she opened the book and skimmed through the portions she disliked. And then, she had the perfect idea of how to write her report.
Rising swiftly from the bed, she walked over to her study and settled down to begin writing. The letter she had received from Knight Cylass was lying there on her desk, waiting to be read.
She shoved it aside, intending to read it after she had completed penning her words. It was almost inevitable to make her report and create a unique opinion.
~
"Cutest kiss I've ever received", he chuckled, before diving in to kiss her lips. He was gently, but growing passionate, and Amelia felt herself drowning in new feelings she could never have imagined before.
Her hands were in the tangles of his dark hair while one of his palms played with the nape of her neck, causing chills of excitement to run down her spine. As he let her go, she was breathless, and half dazed, like she was recovering her sense.
Amelia was realising that she had lost her self-awareness only when she was regaining her conscious feelings again.
Then, when she opened her eyes, she saw him gazing at her, with a tender expression in his eyes, but a rather amused smile tickling the side of his lips and a blush painted over his cheeks.
His grasp on her waistline eased and the damsel rested her heels back on his toes, until her head could only reach up to his chest.
His voice was low and husky when he chuckled, "Your moan was so cute."
"Huh?" her words came out in raw curdles as her cheeks burnt uncontrollably. She had not realised she had done what he was accusing her of, but there was nothing she could say in her defence for the damsel had barely had any control for those moments.
Groaning in embarrassment, she looked away, feeling flustered and vulnerable. Just then, there was the sound of one of the men, calling, "Sire", and she could see the flicker of irritation in the tall man's eyes.
"Coming", he answered, with enough impatience in his voice to have the men know that he wasn't enjoying their interruption.
"Yes, sir", the voice grew distant and hesitant.
Amelia felt one of his hands trace the hem of her towel from her lower back and up to beneath the back of her arms and she realised that the fabric had been slipping. She immediately withdrew her hands from his arms and covered her chest, drawing the towel up as much as she could.
She looked up at her tall companion helplessly, and a smile of absolute fascination took over his lips, before he looked away, giving her the space she needed to adjust her slight clothing.
"Th-thank you for everything", she whispered, when she was finished.
The man looked down at her and gave her a wink, "I'd be more than obliged to do this every night for the payment."
Amelia couldn't help her blush, till her eyes were glazed with tears. Her heart had been going through more than it could handle.
There was a sigh from him, before he said, "I guess we should be going now."
"Yes, yes", she nodded, feeling a wave of disappointment that they needed to part. She cast a gaze over her shoulder to see where she could place her feet, for the ground was full of dry leaves and pricks.
"Allow me", he said before leaning down, sliding a hand beneath her knees and lifting her up in his arms. "Where are your shoes?"
"N-near the tree", she tried to say, but it did not come out more than an inaudible whisper. And so she pointed to the tree and the man took her thereto.
Gently, he let her down until her feet found the slippers and not the thistly floor.