Julian sat at his desk, filling out forms and answering the reports from his troops at the border. The Northern border had been at unrest for some time and was seemingly on the brink of war. Since he was one of the 3 princes in charge of defending the northern border of Varadelle, he had a lot more work to do. With a heavy sigh, he put down his papers and rested his head on his palm.
Thinsen popped in soon after, with a stack of paperwork. “Nice to see you again, Julian.” He placed the heavy papers in front of him with relief.
“Ever since your troops caught those spies from the Nooridam Kingdom, we’ve been slammed with so much work in preparation for another breach of the border. I'll have to blame all this work on you, for catching those spies!" Julian didn't raise his head at Thinsins foolish joke, and Thinsen bowed down to look at his face.
“You look quite pale...paler than usual. What's on your mind?”
“I’ve been dealing with some unimportant matters recently, and I couldn't rest last night.”
“Why not? I thought your wife would always be able to lull you to sleep.” Thinsen chuckled.
“She wasn't there…”
“Oh, she wanted to return to her room?”
“No.”
“Then what? Where was she?”
Julian looked up at Thinsen. “I sent her to the western barracks for punishment.” Thinsen stared at Julian, dumbstruck. “You...you did?” he gulped.
Julian shook his head. “It was so stupid. I told the Alishen that she wasn't allowed to leave my room, and when she did, she took the punishment I gave the guards. What an idiot, she'll probably give up halfway and hide in the forest.” Julian’s heart fluttered a bit when he thought of her before he pinched his palm. ‘Stop fooling yourself, Julian, you never will love Angelique Vosce.’
Thinsen seemed petrified. “I have to go!” he said, turning and rushing out of the door, dashing to the bottom floor. Julian watched him leave, with a hint of curiosity. “I wouldn't mind a break.” He said, putting down his papers and following Thinsen’s trail.
…
Thinsen rushed out to the western border medical tent. Just minutes ago, before entering the house, he had seen a small woman being carried inside with nasty wounds on her legs. Now, Thinsen was frightened that the woman happened to be Angelique.
He reached the tent and could hear the sound of conversation and a soft weeping. He tore open the entrance of the tent and walked in, seeing a crowd of knights all gathered around a cot at the edge.
His heart stopped when he saw Angelique, a doctor cleaning her wounds. They were large and garish. Beside her, holding her hand, Minnielle sat, softly crying. The only relief was that Angelique was asleep, otherwise the pain must have felt unbearable, but Thinsen still couldn't calm down.
‘I’ve always known Julian was heartless, but he never has the brains to realise when someone is truly good. What kind of monster would do this to someone as good as Angelique.’
Just outside, Julian was walking, idly inching towards the tent. He snuck around the side and listened closely to the words of the doctor. He could hear soft crying, and murmurs of knights.
“Will she be alright?” The crying girl asked, choking on her words. The click of a medical box could be heard. “She’ll recover with a lot of time, but she will be in a great deal of pain when she wakes up. I wish there was some way to administer pain-relieving medicines, but her body is simply too weak to handle it.”
“Can she even handle that much pain with such a weak state?” Thinsen asked.
“I think she is able, she ran for a full 18 hours, through the night. She was smiling afterward.” a rough voice added.
“Yes, she may have run for 18 hours, but that could just mean she lost feeling in her legs after a while, maybe from the excessive injury. This is different, she cant simply lose blood to lose feeling again. She’ll need a great deal of care and support, and with hope, she’ll be fine in a month.”
The sobbing only got louder from the girl. “I should have protected you better Angelique.” she cried. Thinsen stepped back from the cot with his head hung.
Julian found a small hole in the tent and peeked inside. Something inside him felt pain when he saw Angelique, her eyes rested delicately, and legs bandaged, with blood seeping through. He turned forcefully and walked back to his office.
His efforts to forget her were futile, and the image of her lying there was burned into his eyes. “I'm such an idiot to continuously be tricked by her.” He cursed under his breath.
…
Angelique woke up groggily to a dark tent and the deafening noise of crickets. Her hand felt tight, and she looked to see Minnielle, crying as she slept. “What a fool.” She smiled. She took Minnielle into her arms and pulled into the cot to sleep beside her. She gently tucked her into the cushioned blankets.
Her legs were still numb, but the feeling of pain was returning. Angelique quickly made a small bowl of soup for herself and drank it, the pain fading away. ‘So, lesson learned. Just because I can't feel it doesn't mean it's not there.’ She stretched her arms out and got out of the bed, leaving Minnielle snugly asleep.
The night air was more pleasant now that she wasn't running for her life. She took a deep breath. The stars shined above and the trees rustled. A cold breeze chilled her face as she faced the estate.
“My Alishen, or should I say, Mrs. Angelique?” Angelique turned to the growly voice and smiled. “2nd Commander! What brings you here?”
“I only wanted to check your condition. Are you not in pain?” Angelique shook her head. “I feel fine, for now. I might as well spend my few moments of painlessness staring up at a gorgeous night. Care to join me?” The 2nd Commander sat beside her with a heavy thud.
“So, 2nd Commander, you know my name now. Can I get yours perhaps?”
“Of course, I am Sir Wilson Montina.”
Angelique stared at his face, creased with wrinkles, and with a trimmed beard. ‘Just like grandfather…’
“You remind me of an old acquaintance,” she said softly. “But, I’m afraid I won't get to see them ever again. They were wise, strong, and could lead an army. When I see you, I think of them.”
Wilson turned to meet her gaze. “I’m glad the person I remind you of was such a genius.” he smiled. Angelique turned back to the stars, and just a ways away, the glowing white estate.
“Mrs.Angelique, I have a question, if you don't mind.” He asked. “What happened to you exactly? I was there when you arrived at this house a month ago, you were...pardon my words but...violent and angry. Now, you take the punishment for my own men.”
Angelique quickly coughed into her shoulder awkwardly. “How did you know I did that? Did they tell you?”
“No, but you just confirmed it.” he chuckled. Angelique scoffed a bit. “Well, I’ll tell you what happened then.” She cleared her throat loudly and laid upon the grass.
“I almost died not long ago, but was luckily saved. It seemed the only thing I truly had lost that night was my memory, which became shattered and disjointed. It was as if a new person rose from the lake that day. When I had pierced together the monster I used to be, I devoted my life to rewinding the past mistakes I made and trying to find a better life. That's how I ended up here.” She pointed to her legs, and left wrist with a grin. “But I don't mind. Through it all, I just hope to make people smile.” Wilson looked at her and flicked her shoulder.
“You aren't a comedy performer, you should care for yourself more.” He scolded. Angelique laughed. “See! Just then, you were exactly like him!” The two laughed, the stars staring down at them.
Julian watched as they conversed, leaning against a tree out of sight. He had also had come to see Angelique’s condition, but was met with a surprise when the 2nd Commander lumbered out of his own tent. ‘This hurts worse than when she said she didn't love me…’ he clutched his chest with confusion. ‘And it looks like I won't be sleeping tonight.’
Eventually, Wilson went back to his barrack, and Angelique was left to stare at the moon rising slowly above the estate. Julian stared as she hummed softly to herself, an unfamiliar tune. ‘What a strange woman.’ His eyes softened to her sweet face. ‘Yet, it seems every surprise, every argument, every sight or sound of her brings life to my day…’ Julian stared at his hand clutching his chest and quickly fixed himself. 'But...her story. I knew something was off.'
His eyes met hers for a moment as she turned, but she saw nothing, as he was gone into the night. She looked around for a moment, before returning to hum again. ‘I thought I saw a tiny puppy dog.’
…
Minnielle blinked her sleepy eyes. She was being hugged tightly by something warm, and soft. “Ah, good morning my little chipmunk!” She recognized the sweet voice, the red hair, the glowing green eyes. Minnielle shot out of bed and embraced Angelique. “Are you alright! Are you in any pain!?”
Angelique leaned in to whisper in her ear. “My food is a pain killer.” Minnielle stared at her. “Well, I mean, it is tasty but I wouldn't consider it a…” “No no, I mean, it removes pain! All pain!” Minnielle stared at Angelique and flopped back into bed. "You have gone mad, I will go to bed and pretend this never happened."
...
It took a few moments to properly explain, but eventually, Minnielle understood.
“I’m so glad that you aren't suffering!” Minnielle wiped a loose tear. Angelique stared at her and turned away. “We have to get back to work, Julian probably thinks I’m still running for punishment, so we can leave now. Let's hurry.” The two got up and snuck out of the back end of the tent into the forest line of the estate. “If we keep going this way we’ll end up at the carriage house and the stables.” Minnielle pointed through the trees to a small barn area.
They stole a horse from the barn and rode it from the area undetected while the servants all slept peacefully. Minnielle held onto Angelique as they rode down the dirt road into town. “Angelique, did you know how to ride a horse in your last life?” Minnielle asked as Angelique struggled to control the stamping horse. Angelique laughed nervously. “What if I said I hadn't touched a horse since I was 10?”
…
Julian sat at his desk with his hands folded. All the servants around him trembled for fear of their lives. It was this mood of dread that Thinsen walked in on that morning. The servants were in a long line outside his office, snaking around the staircase and the hallway. Thinsen nudged past them into the dimly lit office, where Julian’s glowing blue eyes could be seen.
Just as he entered, a frail maid dashed out from the room gasping for air. “My word...Julian what are you doing?” Julian turned away from the next servant in line over to Thinsen as he stormed inside. “Gathering intel,” Julian answered, his face now clearly seen by Thinsen, with sunken shadows and grey tone. Thinsen shook his head. “You look half dead, why are you doing this?”
“My wife isn't to be trusted,” he said. “She may be a monster in disguise.”
Thinsen struck Julian's desk with his hand. “Snap out of this madness, Julian!” he shouted, “You’re the only monster in disguise in this situation. Can't you see?”
Julian's eyes slowly shifted to Thinsen's angered expression. “What did you just say to me?” Thinsen stood his ground. “You are so cruel and heartless towards the Alishen, and you still don't see your faults? She hasn't gotten involved with you unless it is necessary, and you still choose to destroy her as much as you can. Has she not already proven she has kindness in her heart?”
Julian let out a hoarse laugh. “If you had heard what I heard last night you would believe I was right. She admitted it herself. She said she lost her memory, and only wanted to devote her life to goodness. Do you seriously believe that any human being would sanely say that?”
Thinsen straightened his coat. “In all honesty, yes, I believe that if she did say that and she was telling the truth.”
"Well, what about this?" Julian lifted his stack of notes. "I've interviewed half of the maids, and they all witnessed the Alishen, a woman who CANNOT COOK, prepare a full meal for them!"
Thinsen shook his head. "Although she may act strange, she still has a kind heart. That is all that matters to me, and it should be all that matters to you. Your desperation to find her at fault is pathetic, and I bet it is only to crush the fact that you are actually starting to admire her sociable personality." Thinsen turned and stormed out of the office, while Julian laughed behind him.
"You are a fool to fall into her trap, Thinsen!"
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