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.
36. Charlene’s Benevolence
Charlene's Benevolence
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Charlene's Personal Bed Chambers,
The Estate of Duke Walterus,
The Town of Crimsonton,
Kingdom of Velicia,
The hours after Noon,
The Eighth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
Charlene began, "I've seen her for quite a long while now and have known of her misdeeds." And then, her voice trailed off hesitantly. And so she added, "Ah, never mind, I do not wish to taint your opinion of Amelia. But I do simply wish for you to be careful."
This, the damsel said, since she did not want to appear as a person who was speaking ill of a common friend at their very first meeting. However, she did deeply desire to tell Alessia everything, in order to taint Amelia's image, but to have the young noble's curiosity crave for what she was about to impart.
"No, it is alright, you can tell me; I know you are simply warning me for my best interest", the green eyed dame was playing right into Charlene's intentions.
"I do not wish for you to bear a marred image of Amelia, please do not hold any ought against her; I just want you to know so you can be safe", the daughter of the Walterus Estate said.
"Yes, of course, I understand", Alessia nodded, leaning forward curiously.
Charlene began saying as much as she had observed:
"Well, you know I have most all my clothes made by Lady Hildeth's? So I visit the boutique once a while to make specific requests and I realised that Amelia was one amongst the staff who was not of best reputation and was greatly despised by the rest of her mates. Lady Hildeth does not regard her much either, but she keeps her for labours solely because her family desperately needs the income. I do know, however, that Amelia is not of the greatest use with them."
She knew she hadn't strayed far from the truth in as much as she had said that far. There were no alterations to Alessia's expression, and so she continued:
"And Lady Hildeth is kind in allowing her to labour and receive a salary at her boutique despite the futility. However, the other maidens working there do not like her, so I am uncertain as to what sort of inconvenience Amelia causes them, for they are all quite amicable amongst one another. She seems to be the odd one. I know most of the knights and none of them have fair opinions of her form what they see while passing the area, so I have reason to assume she is an unkind person."
At such point, Charlene was driven to fabricate things about the dame in order to win Alessia's judgement. The young noble's brows drew close to each other with concern. "What did they see her doing?" she asked.
Now, the daughter of the Walterus House knew the issues that Erion had spied from the Heartrim household. Thus, she knew what light to portray Amelia in, in order to win Alessia's hatred for the girl.
Charlene began, "I am in great hesitation to relay this to you, but I have heard that she goes in the late of the night to the dark of the woods and it is assumed that she meets men. They could be men of high society to lend her valuable favours, men who could be betrothed or even married!"
There was a sharp gasp from Alessia.
And so, the Walterus damsel proceeded, "I just wanted you to be careful; maybe she is as nice as she is to us because we are high society and she wishes to win our grace. If anything, I hope she does not take advantage of your innocence."
Alessia held a hand softly over her lips and nodded, "I am glad you told me. I did not dare assume someone as kind as her could hold any malicious intentions within." Then, the young maiden's green eyes appeared pensive, before she asked, "Why then did you allow her to join the Reading Association?"
"Well, as much as I know that she is not safe, I feel bad that she is so rejected by her own companions and has no one. I specifically requested for her to deliver my dress, because making errands to a prestigious estate would give her much favour with the others at work", Charlene said, with a sad smile written over her lips.
She knew that her father had specifically requested for the dame to deliver the dress and presently, it was convenient that Amelia was a part of the Reading Association, so they could keep a close watch on her.
"Oh, Char, you are such a kind person!" Alessia cooed, elated by the sweetness that was her companion.
"Ah, my dearest! I have had so many people tell me that, but I never understand. I am only simply doing my duties as a person who helps those she can", Charlene giggled. "I have feared many times that she may ruin the garments on the way hither, for reason of contempt, but I cannot resist. This is the only means by which I can help improve her reputation. But of course, she did not ruin this dress today"
"Oh so that's why she had come to the Estate? To deliver the outfit?" the young lady could not seem to take her eyes off the gown.
"Yes", Charlene laughed. "Do you like it?" she asked, brushing the creases off the satin laces.
"It is most enchanting", Alessia beamed. "And it looks all the more flattering on you!"
"Ah, thank you, I did like it a great deal myself. I had it specifically made this dawn", the blue eyed beauty winked.
"I see. What's the occasion that called for a tailor-made gown?" the Heartrim damsel asked, curiously.
"Ah, my dear Alessia, did you not hear of what had happened this morning?" Charlene asked, placing a hand on her cheek, before quickly adding, "Oh, it's no matter; the news must have only spread after you had already come to the Estate."
"Oh, I am quite so sorry, what did I miss?" the beautiful, young noble woman seemed most put off by the weight of her negligence.
Charlene's gaze met her guest's green eyes and she said, "Well, I had received a letter straight from the Regent Queen early this dawn, stating that Crown Prince Rayzenn was coming to meet me today! And he visited our Estate just before the Reading Association's meeting this noon."
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