Chapter 7

Romantic

Morning had come, and Noel had awakened earlier than usual. Not much was going on that morning as far as she knew, so she decided she had enough time to have a leisurely and peaceful breakfast in the garden while reading one of her favorite poetry books. The book she brought with her into the garden was a collection of love poems and such from various popular authors. For some reason, she was in the mood for reading these literary works about romance, despite the rather complicated situation she was currently in which made her stomach churn at the thought of love. Perhaps it was not because she was tired of love but because her perceptions of true love were being skewed and challenged and thus needed fortification in her mind.

As Noel came to the middle of the garden, she caught sight of the small ceramic-design table by the morning glories and rosebushes. She smiled and sat down on a matching chair and set her book down in front of her as one of the household servants came and brought breakfast to her. The small white tray consisted of a lemon poppy seed muffin, a cooked egg, and a warm cup of orange pekoe tea with honey and sugar. Noel thanked the servant with a sweet smile; the young woman responded with a smile as well and left, allowing for the girl to enjoy her peaceful solitude. Noel opened up her poetry book and began to read a few small poems, nibbling lightly on her lemon poppy seed muffin. After reading a Shakespearian sonnet, she turned the page a few times. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the printed title, ThePassionateShepherdtoHisLove:byChristopherMarlow. Noel stopped turning the pages, and her eyes brightened up with curiosity. She heard many things about this poem, but surprisingly this was one of the only few Christopher Marlow poems she had never read before. With

interest, she started from the first verses of the poem and read along,…

"Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of th purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love."

"What a sweet poem," Noel said to herself as she pondered about what she read. In her head were images of the shepherd in the poem as well as the many colorful gifts and benedicts he offered to his love. But it was one single aspect which Noel was questioning the most—the shepherd's use of luxurious gifts just to woo his beloved. This man who did not make a fortune at all was offering so many fine things of flowers, gold and amber, more than what he probably could even afford, and all for a lady. Why did he feel the need to sacrifice so many things which did not matter at all in love? Oh, but if only he knew, and if only all men knew. A girl desiring love does not care about all the treasures of the world, even if she has the opportunity of being richer than the Princess of China. To any female, the most precious jewel in the world is the very thing which does not come with a price at all, and that is the heart. And so, instead of wooing the lady with gold, flowers and amber, all the shepherd had to do was woo her with his heart, his compassion, his kindness. Only then would the woman live with him and be his love.

"Noel? Noel dear?"

Noel immediately snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the voice. She closed her book and looked over her shoulder. "Mother, is that you?" she asked.

Lady Vermillion then came into full view as she walked around the corner of the pathway, wearing her pink silk robe and slippers and her hair in a bun. "Oh, there you are, dear. Good morning," the woman said with a smile. "You woke up earlier than usual today. I see you are enjoying the fresh air."

Noel softly smiled back. "Good morning, mom. And yes, I thought it was a lovely morning, so I decided to have breakfast out here."

"Wonderful," replied her mother with a cheery expression. "Anyways, I just came to tell you about something. This evening, your father and I shall be attending a friend's dinner party."

"How nice," replied Noel, wondering why her mother was telling her this.

"And that's not all," continued Lady Vermillion. "Moments ago, I received a call from your dear fiancé, Captain Hazama."

At the sound of this, Noel's stomach instantly turned painfully. Her soft smile sank into a frown. "O-oh?" she said in surprise as she tried to hide her upset mood. "What for?"

"He asked if he could visit the residence sometime today, so I agreed to let him come and visit you while your father and I are away. Oh, you two will have a wonderful time together. It will be nice and romantic. We are even arranging for the cook to prepare a most lovely dinner for both of you tonight."

Noel tried to smile as she shyly replied, "H-How wonderful, mother. Thank you…"

"Hmm?" Her mother frowned in confusion. "Is everything alright dear?"

"Of course… S-sorry. Just a little shaky from this tea is all…"

"Well, the new tea we bought is a bit strong. Perhaps we should get you decaffeinated tea next time, dear. Would that be better?"

Noel nodded. "Yes, that would be better," she replied.

Lady Vermillion smiled again. "Splendid. Now, I shall be going inside to take a bath." Noel's mother then turned and started to walk away as she fixed a strand of her hair and pulled it back behind her ear. "Perhaps you should come inside soon. It looks as if it will rain."

"I'll come in a moment," said Noel. As her mother walked away and left, Noel returned to her poetry and read through a couple more poems before closing up the small book and setting it down on the table. Noel then sat there for a brief moment, sitting with her hands on her lap, thinking to herself while looking down at the book. After a moment, the girl finally let out an unhappy sigh, crossed her arms and set her head down on the table beside the book. She closed her eyes, pondering to herself about what her mother just told her. Once again, Hazama was coming to spend time with her, only to be as cruel and tyrannical as usual to her when nobody was watching. Then again, she was prepared for it. She had to be, because there was nothing she would have been able to do to change it anyways. But as of now, tonight was not what she was concerned about the most. What lingered in her thoughts more than anything was Jin's most recent visit in the night. Over and over again, she thought of Jin's rare and surprising demeanor from what she had seen from him last night. She could vividly remember everything, just as she had always known from the rare times when Jin was ever kind. His smooth, low voice like the hum of a bee continuously sounded like an echo in her mind, softening his confident and caring words. The shimmering gleam of his deep eyes haunted her imagination as she remembered what he looked like when he spoke this way. Most importantly, she could remember his sincere touch from when he held her hand, for there was nothing more comforting at that very second when he let her know that things were under control, that everything would work out, that all wrong would be purged of in the end. And who knew? Maybe Jin would even find a way to stop the marriage from happening…

The sound of thunder in the distance interrupted Noel's thoughts. She looked up, and through the trees was a sky painted in dark grey and suddenly faded of sunlight. Feeling a small raindrop fall on her delicate cheek, she immediately closed up her book and tucked it under her arm. She picked up her tray and walked down the garden pathway with quick little steps. More raindrops started to fall and make little dark spots on the stone path, becoming slightly bigger and more frequent every minute. Noel luckily reached the doors before it began to pour outside, even though her silk blue robe and long golden hair were slightly wet. She opened the glass doors and walked in, shutting the doors behind her. After a servant had taken her breakfast tray for her, Noel took her poetry book and headed up the red staircase going up from the large drawing room and into the second-floor hallway. She continued to walk down the enormous hall as she passed by a few doors as well as some paintings and antiques decorating the walls. She finally turned to a door on her right and opened it, walking into her bedroom. After closing the door behind her, she walked over and flopped onto her bed, then looked at her poetry book again while holding it in front of her with both hands as if observing a valuable jewel. She once more opened up the book and flipped through the pages a few times until she came across the same poem she recently scanned. She read over some lines here and there, again and again, absorbing the information deep within her mind and causing her to wonder more.

Noel remained in her room silently for a few more minutes while still looking at the same poem. When she felt her eager and wondrous thirst was satisfied, she closed the book and set it to the side. The girl crossed her arms and rested her head on the soft, silken covers. As she gently shut her eyes to think, she fell deep into relaxation within her own imagination as soft, colorful pictures emerged in her thoughtful mind. For Noel, everything was serene at the moment; not one distracting thing disrupted the harmonized flow of her thoughts and emotions. She remained this way even as she opened her shining eyes back up again, and when she did open them she moved over to the side of her bed and grabbed the small picture frame off of her nightstand, containing the photo of herself and her other fellow classmates from the Academy. Noel held the picture in front of her, though her attention was not toward her best friends in the front of the scene smiling and laughing. Her sight went directly to the tall blond boy in the background wearing a gentle golden smile on his fair face. Noel held a deep gaze at this boy in the photo until letting out a sad and weary sigh. Looking down, she took the picture frame and hugged it close to her heart with her sad, thoughtful expression still remaining visible in her eyes and lips. "Jin…" her pink lips whispered softly, "if only it were that easy to tell you…"

~ooo~

Noel waited in the drawing room patiently while looking out the tall, giant windows, only to see nothing but darkness. She looked over at the large clock above the fireplace to see that it was already six o' clock. "Captain will be here any minute," she whispered to herself nervously. She clenched the satin ball gown-style ruffles of her short red dress and adjusted the black ribbon around her small waist. She checked the rest of her appearance as well, making sure that her black sandals did not hurt her too much and that her styled bun was well in place. She was worried about displaying any slight imperfections whatsoever, since she knew how well Hazama's keen eyes could pick up on any displeasing detail and thus give him another opportunity to jeer at her for not looking her best or not appearing enthusiastic about his visit. Noel could have been full-out honest and not do all this for someone she did not even wish to attract, but she wanted as least trouble as possible for tonight. She wanted to at least have a somewhat pleasant experience without it all ending in harassment or tears. Her efforts, however, did not prevent the looming sense of anxiety she was currently under. She remembered Jin's advice not to be anywhere alone with Hazama if her gut feeling was telling her not to. Plus, she could not believe that her parents would even trust the man well enough to be alone with their daughter for the night while they were away, but that was simply because Hazama appeared as a modest young gentleman in the eyes of her parents. But Noel had more experience with the serpent; she knew better. If her mother and father saw what she had seen, their opinions would change dramatically.

Noel was suddenly alerted by the sound of the doorbell chiming throughout the entire manor. One of the maids walked into the drawing room and spotted Noel sitting on the couch. "My Lady, your guest has arrived," said the perky young maid with a smile.

Noel stood up and straightened out her dress a little. "Thank you, Rosalin," she replied sweetly. The maid nodded and left the room. Noel followed behind, walking down the hall while trying to maintain her composure. Her black shoes made noises on the hard marble floor which echoed throughout the hallway. As she moved closer to the end, she could hear the opening and then the shutting sound of the doors of the residence, followed by the faint murmuring of voices. Noel's heart started to beat faster; she knew right away that the servants must have already let the guest in. She finally stepped out into the large front hall. The giant doors of the household stood from across. Noel looked around at the scene; a couple of maids were already there in front of view yet standing off to the sides, bowing and welcoming the one standing in the center,… who was none other than Captain Hazama.

Noel's sea green eyes widened as she stood from across the room nervously. "W-Welcome, Captain Hazama," she greeted with a shaky little voice as she slightly bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to have you here on this lovely evening."

A maid had already taken Hazama's black coat and fedora from him. The green-haired man's slanted eyes turned straight to Noel. He smirked. "Aaaaah, Miss Noel," he said in his usual silver-tongued tone. "The evening is lovely indeed, but before me stands something far lovelier than that." Hazama began to walk toward Noel. In his hand was a large bouquet of assorted crimson roses presented neatly with ice blue floral paper and a pink ribbon to go with it. He took this bouquet and knelt on one knee in front of Noel, holding it out in front of him. "For you," he said affectionately as he looked up at his fiancé and smirked.

Noel's stomach did knots at the thought of how phony his charming demeanor was, but all she could do was try her best to smile politely. "T-thank you," she said as she took the flowers from Hazama and caressed the rose petals for a moment. She then handed the bouquet to a maid and told her, "Put these in a vase, please." The maid nodded in adherence and took the flowers with her back down the main hallway.

Hazama stood back up. "So, what's for dinner, Noel dear?" he asked.

"The cook has prepared a special spaghetti dinner for us," replied Noel.

"Ah, excellent." Hazama took Noel by the arm and wrapped his arm around hers. He faced the hallway and looked down at Noel. "Shall we?"

Noel returned his look with a surprised face. "O-of course," she said to him. "The dining hall is just down this hallway and to the r…"

"Excellent! Let's go," interrupted Hazama. He immediately took Noel by the arm as he speedily walked down the hallway with bizarre enthusiasm. Noel tried to keep up with him and looked at him nervously. Even a few maids looked at the Captain in bewilderment and stood there for a few seconds, then looked at each other and blinked.

~ooo~

"So anyways, I was talking to this guy, and you won't believe what he told me next! He looked right into my eyes and said, 'Piss off, you filthy bastard!' Can you believe his nerve?" Hazama continued to talk extensively while he took a few bites of his spaghetti. Noel simply sat there the entire time, eating her dinner, listening to Hazama without a single chance to speak. She had only taken one or two bites of her dinner, but a majority of the time she twirled her spaghetti a little with her fork and looked down thinking to herself. As he talked, Hazama did not notice Noel's behavior until he finally slirped another spaghetti noodle while opening up a slanted, sly eye to glance over at the girl. "Hmm? Something the matter, darling?" he asked while raising an eyebrow and tapping his fork on her plate.

Alerted, Noel snapped out of her thoughts as she saw his fork, then looked up at him and replied, "N-not at all, sir."

"Mmmm, you sure about that?" Hazama looked at her eyes as he stole a bit of spaghetti off her plate and twirled it on his fork. "Or is it because my conversation is boring you out of your mind?" He took a bite and slurped it up with the usual fox-like grin on his face.

"Of course not, sir," replied Noel sheepishly, intimidated by Hazama's attitude but remembering not to cause any problems with him. "I was just lost in thought for a bit is all."

"Is that so?" he asked. "You know it's impolite to daydream when someone's speaking to you, Noel my sweet. People will think you're… uninterested in them." He gave off a slight chuckle.

"… M-my apologies sir," Noel said sorrowfully as she looked at him. She started to feel a little more uncomfortable when she noticed the green-haired male's unusually suave smirk and fox-like stare.

"That's better," said Hazama. "Now, you seem like you're finished eating as well. Shall we to the drawing room? Just to, oh you know, sit by the fire, relax and enjoy each other's company?" His smirk became slightly more fox-like. He fixed the collar of his shirt a little.

At this point, Noel was growing more uncomfortable from the rather unusual vibe she was getting from the captain. Then again, she knew not to be rude to him by showing her discomfort, so relaxing in the drawing room seemed like the safer idea, ironically. "Yes. We shall," she replied to him while nodding her head. A servant came to clean up and took their plates and silverware for them. The couple stood up and pushed in their chairs, then left the dining hall. They both went down the large hallway and into the main drawing room. The place was rather large compared to most rooms in the manor; it contained many bookshelves towards the left of the room, and on the right was a fine set of sofas placed to face the giant marble fireplace that dominated the wall. Above the fireplace was a large decorative banner with the Vermillions' crest on it, decked proudly with red and gold. There were crystal-like lights on the walls, but they were not on; the only light which lit up the room was that from the fireplace, which apparently had already been lit by a servant ahead of time for them.

"My my, what a lovely room this is," said Hazama happily as he looked around. "Your home is rather beautiful indeed. And how fortunate it is to say that I will soon be calling this place our home."

"What do you mean, Captain?" asked Noel.

Hazama turned around to look at her in disbelief. "Well, don't you know, Noel? I'm going to be moving in soon with you! After all, we are going to be husband and wife, so it's imperative that we live together and share the same bed and all, right?"

Noel was instantly overwhelmed and confused. Captain Hazama would be living in the exact same home with her and her parents. This was rather puzzling to her, since she was always used to the traditional idea of the woman whom was brought into the man's home." But I thought I would be sent to live in your home…" said Noel.

"Huh? Oh no no, of course not!" said Hazama. "First off, I'm going to become a Noble soon, so I need an appropriate place to live, which is here with your family. Second, the place I'm living in right now is, eh, too small for the two of us, really."

"I see…" Noel still glanced at Hazama with overwhelmed and awkward feelings. Married life was indeed going to be rather uncomfortable for her, realizing that Hazama would be living there with her in the privacy of her own household. She even realized that it wasn't going to stop there; as her husband, Hazama was going to have access to cross her most personal boundaries. That meant being allowed to kiss, touch and hug her whenever, being permitted to see her unclothed, and especially sleeping in the same bed together every night, where there would almost always be a likely chance of exceptionally intimate behavior occurring. In short, Noel's personal space would no longer be hers. Nothing would be hers.

Hazama smirked. "You seem as if this info is a lot for you to digest," he said. "But I bet you just can't wait until I move in." He then merrily walked over to the couches and sat on the loveseat in the middle. He turned his head back to her, resting his elbow on the edge of the couch. "Come sit with me, sweetheart," he said with an interesting smile. Noel hesitated for a second but walked over and took a seat next to him. Right away, Hazama let out a yawn while stretching his arms out and stealthily sliding one arm around the petite young lady. His boney fingers tapped playfully along her upper arm, and then he rubbed the same spot lightly. "Mmm, darling you have rather soft skin," he said to her in a suave manner.

Noel started to get goose bumps right away from his fingers. "T-thank you," she replied with an awkward smile. She started to blush a little in embarrassment.

Hazama noticed Noel's crimson-shaded flush and became rather thrilled by it. He chuckled lightly while suddenly gazing into Noel's eyes. Noel started to take notice, and there was then a break of silence between them. His face came a little closer to hers, his countenance giving off a sensual vibe, and he kept his gaze for a moment longer, not once taking his serpent eyes off of her. All Noel could do was stare back, but not in the same vibe as his. She did not move at all as she looked at him, as uneasy as she was. A gripping pain welled in her chest and stomach while she wondered why Hazama was looking at her this way or what he was planning on saying or doing. Whatever it was, she was hoping he was not going to go too far. At that moment, Hazama finally let out another chuckle as he looked down and then back up at her. "You know," he said softly, "our relationship doesn't have to be so bitter, Noel." His hand began to creep all the way down her arm. "After all," he continued, "I can be rather… romantic." With a sly move, he pulled Noel closer to him, her face nearly to his chest.

Noel's face instantly turned a bright red. Surprised and nearly ready to panic, her widened eyes looked right up at the grinning captain. "C… Captain?"

Hazama did not say a word. Instead, he rubbed her chin a little.

Noel gulped.

Hazama brought his lips to her ear and said lowly, "I have a way with women. I know them well, top to bottom." He pet the back of Noel's neck.

Noel started to feel her nervousness and embarrassment intensify. Her body started to shiver a little. "C-captain really I…"

"Sssssshhh." Hazama pressed his finger to her lips. Then, as he took his finger away, Noel was ready to turn her head, but he immediately caught her lightly by her cheeks and turned her face back towards his.

Noel looked at him in shock.

Hazama locked his lips with hers and kissed her.

"M-mmph!" Unable to take it, Noel broke away from the kiss and coughed.

What Hazama looked like next was not at all surprising. He froze in his place and looked at Noel, only his facial expression changed from pleasure into slight, sharp irritation. His look was stern and pierced right into Noel like a small blade. Noel turned and looked up at him. Realizing what she had just done, her bright green eyes grew wide with terror at the thought of what he would say. "Noel,…" said Hazama in a soft, reprimanding tone, "did you just make a gesture of disgust?..."

Noel spoke out rapidly with a trembling voice. "N-no sir p-please I'm sorry I just-"

Hazama growled and reached out to Noel. He grabbed her by the arm and roughly pulled her up and against him, Noel's feet slightly dragging and unable to take hold of the ground. He glared at her aggressively with his now open golden eyes. Noel shook and whimpered in pain from the intensity of his grip. "You know I said for you not to be so insolent with me," he snarled at her. "I try to be nice to you, but I can take that all away if I see it—!"

The doorbell chimed throughout the entire house.

Hazama groaned angrily. "Shit… they're home," he muttered. He turned back to Noel and said sharply, "You better not tattle-tale to them about this." He then let go of Noel's arm and shoved her away, causing her to fall back. She slowly got back up and fixed her dress a little, looking down to hide the melancholy in her eyes. Hazama stood up from the couch and adjusted his tie a little. One of the maids walked into the drawing room and notified Noel that Lord and Lady Vermillion had returned home. Noel and Hazama both followed the maid towards the doorway and out the room. Noel walked out into the hallway before Hazama did, trying her hardest not to show how upset she was. Hazama followed from behind, but before he walked out he noticed a small, 20 pound bill sitting on a bookshelf next to the doorway. After his eyes scanned the scene cautiously, he grabbed the bill and slipped it into his pocket, then exited the room.

The room remained completely empty. Outside one of the large glass windows, however, remained the figure of what appeared to be a tall young man. And from the dim light of the fireplace, one could take notice of his blond hair and deep green eyes.