This is me celebrating the fact that last night, I finished my last piece of assessment for the year! (Hence the out pouring of stories :P) It's also why this one got a little sappier than I'd planned. Ah well...

Thanks to INfamouslyCK for proofreading and to all those reviewing, you never fail to put a smile on my face :)

Enjoy

xx

Jer tamničara od mom srcu...

My love,

I will admit, when I first received your most recent letter, I was tempted to throw it away. I thought you were lying to me, lying about the future you were promising and it nearly broke my heart. What probably didn't help my mood was the fact that it had been three whole days since I had bathed.

Do you remember me telling you a while ago that when I first received your letters, I wrote responses? Well, the response to your most recent is one of the few I still have and so, I figured (to allow me more time to jump back into bed and ravish you) I'd include it. Well, it is a severely edited version because, truthfully, the original version is so painfully sappy and romantic in parts that it hurts to read.

Dearest Helen,

Please, please my darling stop hiding from me. I don't know how much more of this I can bear. These past few months have indeed been close to unbearable and, I fear the next few shall be just the same.

You are right in assuming that our last meeting nearly broke my heart. Surely you knew how I felt about you, that I loved you more than Druitt ever could. And then, to add insult to injury, you offered me your assistance, promising me money and employment and all other wonders that I never could accept. Then to hear you scream at me such words of unguarded fury... Well it was almost too much for me. I wanted nothing more than to throw these letters at you and demand that you explain how you could one day write to me with such passion when you claimed to hate me with every bone in your body.

And we'll just skip ahead a page or so here... I do tend to babble a little it seems...

How am I to trust your promises of a bright future Helen, when I have no idea where you are or even if you are who you claim to be? I love you Helen, I truly do but the way you write makes me think that the future you speak of does not involve you and I in the capacity that I long for.

Oh gosh, that was depressing... Here's something that's a little more, well, happy isn't quite the word but I think, if you ever needed any more proof that you have always had my heart, this is it...

Helen you are truly a goddess. Until I met you I knew where I was going with my life, I knew what I was doing and everything felt so very clear but then, you and your pretty blue eyes destroyed each of my carefully designed plans and for that I shall always be grateful. You are, without a shadow of doubt, one of the very best things to ever happen to me and, although it seems I will have to wait for a very long time, I yearn for a time when I can claim you as my own.

And we'll cut it off there because most of what I wrote after that point we covered last night and while you expressed how much you enjoyed it many, many, many times, I feel it would be ungracious of me to rewrite such lewd thoughts. In truth, I only wrote them because I never expected you to read it.

Oh, I'd completely forgotten I'd written the next bit. It's a far sweeter than some of my other musings...

And with that, fair Helen, I shall end my rather long letter with good tidings for Christmas and the New Year. Your letter is the best gift I could ever receive because, with it comes the promise of your affection. Should you see a clutch of mistletoe in the upcoming weeks, I urge to you avoid it like the plague. Save such kisses for me, ljubav. And on New Year's Eve when all the other couples around you are kissing, have a drink for I do not doubt there are many men out there who would wish to claim your sweet lips. If I am in your heart, then you are in my very soul, darling. You may never read this but I'd like to think that one day I'll find the courage to tell you.

You know what? I don't think I've ever told you that. Perhaps I ought to.

Well, on that note, I'm going to go profess my undying love for you. Again. Stay well and save your kisses for me.

Yours,

Nikola.

PS: Actual mistake, I swear. You're the one who had to correct it. I did ask if I should rewrite the entire page but you said it wasn't a problem. Blame yourself, darling. (And you loved it, don't try to deny it)