Chapter III
The News
Months had passed as the delightful spring turned into a dreadful summer. The temperature rapidly rose into the most boiling point of the season. Blazing hot sunrays beamed into the well-constructed castle, and shined into the huge room, shining into the eyes of the young princess. Squinting her eyes, she groaned and moaned as she tossed and turned, throwing the cover over her head to block the unpleasant light.
"Delphine!" The husky voice of her mother sent a chill down her spine, and she shuddered. Something told her something bad was going to come her way. Before she could answer, her mother burst through the wooden door with a maid. "Delphine," She called out again, this time flipping the cover off her head revealing her big, puffy, tangled honey-brown hair. "Get up! We're off to the market."
"The market?" she asked, still having her eyes shut while sitting up.
"Yes."
"I thought you said that place was filthy," she commented.
"Well, just get dressed," her mother commanded. "Teresa, help her pick out a dress," she said, turning to the maid.
"Yes, milady, the princess will be down in a jiffy," the maid nodded politely.
"Oh, and Delphine, Chloë will be accompanying us on this delightful morning," her mother added.
"What?" she shrieked in outrage, and giving herself a headache from the high-pitched tone. She had always disliked Chloë. She was always so annoying and always acted childish. And she was such a tagalong.
"Now, Delphine, calm down. We all will be family soon, there's no need for such an outburst," the queen calmly informed her.
The young princess let out a grunt and slopped back down onto the bed. Not only did she have to put up with her now, but also she had to put up with her for the rest of her life!
"Hello, Izzy!" A squeaky voice bounced into the room, giving her goosebumps.
"Chlöe," her mother chimed.
Delphine's eyes popped out just hearing that name, Chloë! Ah, gosh, did she have to see her now; as if it wasn't bad enough she had to spend the day with her. She always hated it when Chloë referred to her by her middle name, Isabelle. And especially when she squeaked, "Izzy!" It sounded like as if some middle-aged snob woman was calling out for her poodle.
"Whoa, your hair looks awful!" The spunky young Princess of Austria shrieked, then bursting out laughing. "Wait till Henrik sees you like this! He'll probably break off the engagement."
"That'll be a dream come true!" Delphine told herself, right before shooting an eerie glare at Chloë. Then suddenly she felt an uncomfortable churn in her stomach that made her squirm, but as always no one noticed as all of their attention was on Chloë.
"All right, enough, you two," Victoria ordered, "Enough." She then turned to Delphine and ordered: "Get dressed, and we'll be waiting for you downstairs."
"Yes, mother," Delphine answered grumpily, and rolled her eyes just as her mother turned her back.
"Come along, Chloë," the queen commanded firmly.
Out in town, the incredibly hot sun beat down onto the stands that were set up along side of the walls. People hid themselves under cloths or rags that they used to clean their stands with, or practically anything that was big enough to hide them from the madness of the sun. For the more fortunate people, they hid under their umbrellas.
The sun was unbearable; it was flaming against Delphine's sensitive beige complexion as she tried to hide herself under the umbrella that she had to share with Chloë, who kept jerking it over to her side.
"Would you please keep it still?" Delphine snapped in annoyance.
"Sorry," Chloë apologized and straightened up the light pink sateen umbrella, which matched up with her light pink sateen dress with white lacing.
Strolling down the busy market, something suddenly caught Delphine's eye. Trying to push past people to get a better glimpse of the unique figure, it suddenly struck her mind who it was. "Amador," she whispered to herself.
"What?" Chloë intruded her thoughts.
Paying no mind to her, Delphine took a step closer to the stand and smiled to herself, noticing her mother was only a stand away. Just as she was approaching, she caught Amador eyes. A smile formed on his face, and a grin danced on her lips. Rushing over to the cart, and pretending to look at the timbers, she looked up slightly, so it wouldn't look so obvious to the people around her, especially her mother and Chloë , and then she whispered, "Hello."
"Hello," he greeted back in a low tone, his eyes still on her.
It seemed as though they hadn't seen each other in ages, but in reality they have spent almost every night together. But they still couldn't take their eyes off of each other; it seemed they forgot everyone around them.
"Delphine!" Her mother called.
"Huh?" She snapped back to reality.
"Delphine, let's go darling!" her mother chimed again. This time she turned towards her mother, but only found she was face-to-face with Chlöe.
"Hello!" Chloë greeted with a big grin on her face.
"Chloë!" Phoebe shrieked. "You scared me half to death."
"Delphine!" her mother intoned.
"Yes, mother, I'm coming," she answered like an obedient little child. Turning away from Amador, she then brushed her shoulder brusquely against Chloë's to get her out of the way.
Looking back at Amador, she mouthed, "Farewell" to him and slowly walked off with Chloë accompanying her by her side.
"You like him, don't you?" Chloë suddenly whispered.
"What is it any business of yours?" she spat.
"I know how you feel," Chloë declared, still whispering, frightened that the queen would overhear her.
"What do you mean?" Delphine murmured.
"I know how you feel," she repeated. "It's not always picturesque when your life is being drawn out before your eyes. You don't get to make decisions. You don't have say in anything. It's hell, I know." With that she bounced off, leaving Delphine thinking.
***
"Okay, I'm tired." Paige announced, "I'm off."
"Night!" Piper and Cole said in unison.
"Night!" Phoebe said lazily.
"Leo!" Piper shrugged her shoulder, which knocked Leo, who was resting his head on her shoulder out of his sleep. "Why don't you go to bed, too?"
"Yeah," Leo said sleepily. "Night."
"Night!" Piper and Phoebe said.
"Cole, are you tired, baby?" Phoebe turned to Cole who was resting the side of his head on his fist.
"Uh, no, not yet." Cole said patting Phoebe's lap.
"Ok."
***
The walk was tormenting. Sweat covered Delphine's and Chloë's faces as they rushed into the house. Maids with cool towels were at hand, and they each grabbed one.
"Oh Lord, I could've fried out there," Delphine complained. "When did the heat become so unbearable?"
Walking off to her room, with Chloë following right behind her, she let out a tiresome sigh.
"You know I really meant it when I said 'I know how you feel'," Chloë said.
"I know," Delphine nodded, smiling at Chloë. She didn't seem so bad after all. She seemed more mature when adults weren't around. Maybe her immaturity was just a cover so she could get some attention. Probably because she was the youngest of the Färber family; her siblings, Gabrielle and Henrik, were the talk of the town since Gabrielle had just wed a famous writer, Leonardo Mellinio, and Henrik was about to wed her. There was no time for little Chloë. Urg! Henrik. Just thinking of the name gave her a foul taste in her mouth.
"I'm not just an airhead everyone thinks I am," Chloë sadly stated. "It's just that, being like this helps me get through the day. I just want to be as happy and jolly for as long as I can before I end up like you."
"I beg your pardon!" Delphine turned to her with an insulted look on her face.
"I just meant I want to enjoy my youthful time as much as I can before being sent off to a foreign land," Chloë added. "I know you don't love Henrik. Heck, neither do I, but unfortunately we're siblings. I just wish he weren't such a jerk sometimes."
"Wow, you're more grown-up than I thought," Delphine apologized, "I'm sorry for being so stingy toward you."
"Forgiven," she happily declared. "Life is too short to be mad at anyone."
"You know, there's one thing I've been dying to get off my chest." Delphine said.
"Feel free to share."
"It's confidential."
"Anything that has been or will be said in this room will not go beyond this room," Chlöe vowed.
"I'm in love!" Delphine affirmed happily as if she was on cloud nine.
"With whom?" Chloë asked intriguingly.
"You know the lumberman at the market today?" Delphine questioned with a big grin.
"Him?" Chloë outburst.
"Shh!" she shushed her. "Yes," she answered with a whisper, blushing. "He's wonderful! He's like no man I've ever met. He's handsome, and so loving. And he's a wonderful lover!"
"You made love to him?"
Delphine nodded, while the grin was still visible on her lips. "He saved my life, Chloë, I could've died drowning, but he saved me!"
"Drowning?"
"Yes, it's a long story." Delphine dismissed it and continued on, "Have you ever met a man and your heart just started singing and your stomach filled with butterflies?"
"Yes," Chloë admitted, "Yes, I have."
"That was how I felt when I met him," she recalled, "I just feel so free when I'm with him." Delphine swirled into the air then slopped onto her bed, "He makes me feel ALIVE!"
"I see." Chloë stated, chuckling. For as long was she had known Delphine—practically her whole life—she had never seen her this happy before.
Quickly standing up, Delphine gave herself a head rush. She held onto her head, and Chloë rushed to her side and grabbed her upper arms to support her balance.
"Whoa, are you all right?" Chloë asked concernedly.
"I'm quite all right, I think."
"Easy does it." Chloë settled her back down to the bed.
After many more hours of the private conversation, Chloë soon left.
It was such a wonderful feeling to finally share her feelings with someone. It was nice now that she had someone to confide in about the love of her life.
Night had fallen once again, and it was time for her to go. The nighttime was her friend now. At this time, she could be anyone and anybody she wanted. She can just be a girl in love with a wonderful peasant boy, and not worry about being caught by anyone.
Climbing out of the window and clinging to the strong thick vine on the side of the tower, she slowly slid down inch by inch, carefully trying not to make a sound when she made her landing. As quiet as a mouse, she tiptoed to the back of the castle only to find the guards guarding the back entrance. She picked up a few pebbles and rocks on the ground and flung them onto the opposite side of the tower, hitting one the guards on his irony head gear, sending metal clink banging in his head.
Covering her mouth, she took a run for it, while all the guards rushed to the injured guard's aid.
Running as fast as she could, as if her life depended on it so she wouldn't lose any visitation time with Amador, she rushed through the woods and came knocking on the door.
Straightening out her dress, and fixing her hair quickly, just in time when the door cracked opened with Amador standing by it, a smile spread across her face at the sight of him.
"It's been a while," Amador joked.
"It sure has been," Delphine went along, "Aren't you going to invite me in? Or are you just going to let me stand here in the cold?"
"Depends," he smartly replied, "What's the secret code?"
Without even bothering to reply, she leaned in and kissed him.
"You get it right every time." He swept her off her feet and carried her in, kicking the door shut with the back of his foot.
He let her back down to her feet in the middle of the room, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as his were around her waist, and she gazed into his eyes lovingly and whispered, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too." With that, he lowered his lips of hers and devoured her with lustful and desirable kisses. Suddenly, a throaty sound rushed up her esophagus. She quickly let go of the kiss, and then there it goes again. A big gulp of distasteful food crawled up her throat and came out her mouth, spilling all over the wooden floor, and Amador jumped back a few feet disgustedly, then finally asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"
Before answering, she let out another pile on the floor.
"Does that answer your question?" she asked out of breath.
"All right, come on sit down." Amador ordered, as he grabbed two clean rags and gave one to Delphine to wipe her mouth off with, settling her down onto the bed, and then with the other rag he covered the mess on the floor. "Have you been sick?" he asked.
"A little, I suppose." she answered, covering her mouth with the rag.
"You shouldn't be out so late if you're sick. It's unhealthy," he lectured her, while getting up to get her a cup of water.
"It wasn't anything serious," she replied, "Just a little head rush now and then. And besides don't you want to see me?"
"Of course I want to see you, darling," Amador said, handing her the cup of water. "I'm only looking out for your health." He then suggested, "Perhaps you should see a doctor."
"I don't need to see a doctor. I'm perfectly well, don't you see?" Delphine replied stubbornly.
"No, you're sick," he argued. "It would make me feel a thousand times better if you would consider seeing a doctor."
"But, what if something is really wrong with me, then I wouldn't be able to see you anymore."
"Would you prefer it if I take you to see a doctor?" Amador asked.
"Really?"
"Yes, my father used to be good friends with this man who's a doctor. I can ask him for a late meeting and we can go. Then we can go to an apothecary if necessary."
"Sure."
"Great." Amador said then kissed her on the cheek.
Many more nights had passed and the appointment hadn't been set up yet. Until one full moon night when the day had come, her appointment had been set up.
Doing the same routine like every night since spring, she sneaked out to Amador's cabin and met up with him.
"Are you sure he won't recognize me?" Delphine asked worriedly about her getup. It was a disguise just so no one, particularly the doctor, would know who she was. Dressed in Amador's late mother's clothes, she strolled down the deserted street linking arms with her lover.
"Yes, I doubt that anyone could possibly recognize you under all that makeup," Amador answered, looking adoringly at her. "Are you nervous?"
"Just a bit jittery," Delphine answered, taking in a deep breath.
"It'll be fine," He assured her.
"Just hope so."
Soon they reached their destination.
Knocking on the door nervously, Delphine took a deep breath as Amador wrapped his protective arm around her. Gripping onto the back of his shirt tightly, the door opened and out came a jolly voice, "Well, hello. Welcome to my home."
Hours were spent in the doctor's house talking about Delphine's condition. They were finally released when the full moon sat high in the night sky, showing them their way back into the wood.
"It can't be," she murmured.
"It'll be all right," Amador said lowly.
"Will you stop saying that?" she yelled in rage, "It will not be all right!"
"Calm down, calm down." He grabbed her and pulled her in for an embrace. "Everything will work out."
"You won't be saying that when I'm dead," she muffled against his chest.
"No, listen to me." He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "You're not going to die."
Said nothing, she buried her face into his chest and tears of fear just started rolling down her cheeks. Holding onto her tightly, he nestled his face into the crook of her neck and cried along.
Standing there for as long as they could, they finally let go of each other and wiped one another's tears away.
"I love you, no matter what," he assured her.
Leaning down to kiss her, she suddenly interrupted, "I can't return home now."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't. I just can't." Delphine trembled with the words, "My mother, she'll kill me. Literally!"
"You don't know that for sure."
"Knowing my mother, she'll do just about anything to keep her reputation clean." She looked at him intensely.
"Where are you going to stay?"
"Your place," she answered a bit hastily.
"My place?" he inquired, shocked by her suggestion. "What will we eat?"
"I brought some gold with me, it'll be enough to cover us."
"You are completely out of your mind."
Grabbing his arms, she pulled him along and ran to her castle.
"What are we doing here? It's dangerous." Amador whispered to her behind the thick bushes.
"I'll gather my clothes and some more gold, and we're off." She answered just about when she about to walk out of the bushes.
"You know making an attempt to run will not solve any of your problems?"
"But it will spare a life," she shot back, then she ran off. Amador reached out his hand to grab her back, but unfortunately she was one fast girl. He was about to call out for her, and then suddenly remembered the guards, so he closed his mouth.
Watching her climbing those vines just amazed him. He'd never seen such a daring, energetic and spontaneous girl before. To think about it, she had more nerves than he'd ever have.
Distracted by her waving from the tower, he looked up and motioned his "what" look to her. She held up a luggage of clothes, signaling for him to come and catch it. He ran quickly to the tower, and Delphine let the luggage slip through her fingers and drop to the ground. Before it could reach the ground, Amador dived in and caught it. Smiling at him, she then grabbed a small velvet bag and tied it onto the lacing that was draped around her waist and started climbing back down the window.
Terrified that she might fall, he moved wherever she moved to catch her in case she fell. But, surprisingly, she made it down safely.
"Let's go." She grabbed his hand and about to walk off, but unexpectedly the guard cut them off. Gasping in horror, Amador clocked the guard with the luggage and off they went, the rest of the guards still occupied on the lookout on the other side of the castle.
Running for their lives, they finally reached the wood.
Opening the door for Delphine, Amador then placed the luggage by the nightstand and picked her up to swirl her around the room.
"We did it!" he shouted.
Laughing uncontrollably, Amador set her down onto her feet and gave her a peck on her lips.
"Not yet," Delphine answered with a tad of concernedness in her voice.
"What do you mean?"
"The guard saw us." Delphine looked up at him with worry in her eyes. "He'll eventually report us back to my mother."
"Where else can we go?" Amador asked.
"I don't know, but I can't let mother find me. She'll tear me into shreds." Delphine said, frightened for her life by her mother. "We have to leave immediately…before dawn approaches."
"To where?"
"Wherever the moonlight will lead us." she answered.
"What will we be traveling by?" Amador asked bewilderingly, "I haven't got a horse."
"We'll find one, one way or another. Just as long as it leads us to the last place my mother would think of, of finding us."
"You mean like steal one?" Amador questioned in outrage.
"Certainly you don't expect us to walk barefooted, now do you?"
"That's such an exaggeration."
"Well, how do you suppose we travel?"
"I don't know, but certainly we aren't going to steal."
"Fine. I'll just leave some gold for them in return." She settled the argument. "We don't have time for arguments. We have to leave if we wish to keep our heads."
Sighing deeply, Amador gathered his belongings and then turned to the nightstand to pick up the wooden frame that contained his mother's picture, wrapping rags over it so it wouldn't be damaged on the way.
"I'm ready," he said, sadly taking a look around the empty room.
Nodding her head, they interlaced their hands together and out the door they went.
Following the moonlight trail, an army of guards suddenly stopped them…
The News
Months had passed as the delightful spring turned into a dreadful summer. The temperature rapidly rose into the most boiling point of the season. Blazing hot sunrays beamed into the well-constructed castle, and shined into the huge room, shining into the eyes of the young princess. Squinting her eyes, she groaned and moaned as she tossed and turned, throwing the cover over her head to block the unpleasant light.
"Delphine!" The husky voice of her mother sent a chill down her spine, and she shuddered. Something told her something bad was going to come her way. Before she could answer, her mother burst through the wooden door with a maid. "Delphine," She called out again, this time flipping the cover off her head revealing her big, puffy, tangled honey-brown hair. "Get up! We're off to the market."
"The market?" she asked, still having her eyes shut while sitting up.
"Yes."
"I thought you said that place was filthy," she commented.
"Well, just get dressed," her mother commanded. "Teresa, help her pick out a dress," she said, turning to the maid.
"Yes, milady, the princess will be down in a jiffy," the maid nodded politely.
"Oh, and Delphine, Chloë will be accompanying us on this delightful morning," her mother added.
"What?" she shrieked in outrage, and giving herself a headache from the high-pitched tone. She had always disliked Chloë. She was always so annoying and always acted childish. And she was such a tagalong.
"Now, Delphine, calm down. We all will be family soon, there's no need for such an outburst," the queen calmly informed her.
The young princess let out a grunt and slopped back down onto the bed. Not only did she have to put up with her now, but also she had to put up with her for the rest of her life!
"Hello, Izzy!" A squeaky voice bounced into the room, giving her goosebumps.
"Chlöe," her mother chimed.
Delphine's eyes popped out just hearing that name, Chloë! Ah, gosh, did she have to see her now; as if it wasn't bad enough she had to spend the day with her. She always hated it when Chloë referred to her by her middle name, Isabelle. And especially when she squeaked, "Izzy!" It sounded like as if some middle-aged snob woman was calling out for her poodle.
"Whoa, your hair looks awful!" The spunky young Princess of Austria shrieked, then bursting out laughing. "Wait till Henrik sees you like this! He'll probably break off the engagement."
"That'll be a dream come true!" Delphine told herself, right before shooting an eerie glare at Chloë. Then suddenly she felt an uncomfortable churn in her stomach that made her squirm, but as always no one noticed as all of their attention was on Chloë.
"All right, enough, you two," Victoria ordered, "Enough." She then turned to Delphine and ordered: "Get dressed, and we'll be waiting for you downstairs."
"Yes, mother," Delphine answered grumpily, and rolled her eyes just as her mother turned her back.
"Come along, Chloë," the queen commanded firmly.
Out in town, the incredibly hot sun beat down onto the stands that were set up along side of the walls. People hid themselves under cloths or rags that they used to clean their stands with, or practically anything that was big enough to hide them from the madness of the sun. For the more fortunate people, they hid under their umbrellas.
The sun was unbearable; it was flaming against Delphine's sensitive beige complexion as she tried to hide herself under the umbrella that she had to share with Chloë, who kept jerking it over to her side.
"Would you please keep it still?" Delphine snapped in annoyance.
"Sorry," Chloë apologized and straightened up the light pink sateen umbrella, which matched up with her light pink sateen dress with white lacing.
Strolling down the busy market, something suddenly caught Delphine's eye. Trying to push past people to get a better glimpse of the unique figure, it suddenly struck her mind who it was. "Amador," she whispered to herself.
"What?" Chloë intruded her thoughts.
Paying no mind to her, Delphine took a step closer to the stand and smiled to herself, noticing her mother was only a stand away. Just as she was approaching, she caught Amador eyes. A smile formed on his face, and a grin danced on her lips. Rushing over to the cart, and pretending to look at the timbers, she looked up slightly, so it wouldn't look so obvious to the people around her, especially her mother and Chloë , and then she whispered, "Hello."
"Hello," he greeted back in a low tone, his eyes still on her.
It seemed as though they hadn't seen each other in ages, but in reality they have spent almost every night together. But they still couldn't take their eyes off of each other; it seemed they forgot everyone around them.
"Delphine!" Her mother called.
"Huh?" She snapped back to reality.
"Delphine, let's go darling!" her mother chimed again. This time she turned towards her mother, but only found she was face-to-face with Chlöe.
"Hello!" Chloë greeted with a big grin on her face.
"Chloë!" Phoebe shrieked. "You scared me half to death."
"Delphine!" her mother intoned.
"Yes, mother, I'm coming," she answered like an obedient little child. Turning away from Amador, she then brushed her shoulder brusquely against Chloë's to get her out of the way.
Looking back at Amador, she mouthed, "Farewell" to him and slowly walked off with Chloë accompanying her by her side.
"You like him, don't you?" Chloë suddenly whispered.
"What is it any business of yours?" she spat.
"I know how you feel," Chloë declared, still whispering, frightened that the queen would overhear her.
"What do you mean?" Delphine murmured.
"I know how you feel," she repeated. "It's not always picturesque when your life is being drawn out before your eyes. You don't get to make decisions. You don't have say in anything. It's hell, I know." With that she bounced off, leaving Delphine thinking.
***
"Okay, I'm tired." Paige announced, "I'm off."
"Night!" Piper and Cole said in unison.
"Night!" Phoebe said lazily.
"Leo!" Piper shrugged her shoulder, which knocked Leo, who was resting his head on her shoulder out of his sleep. "Why don't you go to bed, too?"
"Yeah," Leo said sleepily. "Night."
"Night!" Piper and Phoebe said.
"Cole, are you tired, baby?" Phoebe turned to Cole who was resting the side of his head on his fist.
"Uh, no, not yet." Cole said patting Phoebe's lap.
"Ok."
***
The walk was tormenting. Sweat covered Delphine's and Chloë's faces as they rushed into the house. Maids with cool towels were at hand, and they each grabbed one.
"Oh Lord, I could've fried out there," Delphine complained. "When did the heat become so unbearable?"
Walking off to her room, with Chloë following right behind her, she let out a tiresome sigh.
"You know I really meant it when I said 'I know how you feel'," Chloë said.
"I know," Delphine nodded, smiling at Chloë. She didn't seem so bad after all. She seemed more mature when adults weren't around. Maybe her immaturity was just a cover so she could get some attention. Probably because she was the youngest of the Färber family; her siblings, Gabrielle and Henrik, were the talk of the town since Gabrielle had just wed a famous writer, Leonardo Mellinio, and Henrik was about to wed her. There was no time for little Chloë. Urg! Henrik. Just thinking of the name gave her a foul taste in her mouth.
"I'm not just an airhead everyone thinks I am," Chloë sadly stated. "It's just that, being like this helps me get through the day. I just want to be as happy and jolly for as long as I can before I end up like you."
"I beg your pardon!" Delphine turned to her with an insulted look on her face.
"I just meant I want to enjoy my youthful time as much as I can before being sent off to a foreign land," Chloë added. "I know you don't love Henrik. Heck, neither do I, but unfortunately we're siblings. I just wish he weren't such a jerk sometimes."
"Wow, you're more grown-up than I thought," Delphine apologized, "I'm sorry for being so stingy toward you."
"Forgiven," she happily declared. "Life is too short to be mad at anyone."
"You know, there's one thing I've been dying to get off my chest." Delphine said.
"Feel free to share."
"It's confidential."
"Anything that has been or will be said in this room will not go beyond this room," Chlöe vowed.
"I'm in love!" Delphine affirmed happily as if she was on cloud nine.
"With whom?" Chloë asked intriguingly.
"You know the lumberman at the market today?" Delphine questioned with a big grin.
"Him?" Chloë outburst.
"Shh!" she shushed her. "Yes," she answered with a whisper, blushing. "He's wonderful! He's like no man I've ever met. He's handsome, and so loving. And he's a wonderful lover!"
"You made love to him?"
Delphine nodded, while the grin was still visible on her lips. "He saved my life, Chloë, I could've died drowning, but he saved me!"
"Drowning?"
"Yes, it's a long story." Delphine dismissed it and continued on, "Have you ever met a man and your heart just started singing and your stomach filled with butterflies?"
"Yes," Chloë admitted, "Yes, I have."
"That was how I felt when I met him," she recalled, "I just feel so free when I'm with him." Delphine swirled into the air then slopped onto her bed, "He makes me feel ALIVE!"
"I see." Chloë stated, chuckling. For as long was she had known Delphine—practically her whole life—she had never seen her this happy before.
Quickly standing up, Delphine gave herself a head rush. She held onto her head, and Chloë rushed to her side and grabbed her upper arms to support her balance.
"Whoa, are you all right?" Chloë asked concernedly.
"I'm quite all right, I think."
"Easy does it." Chloë settled her back down to the bed.
After many more hours of the private conversation, Chloë soon left.
It was such a wonderful feeling to finally share her feelings with someone. It was nice now that she had someone to confide in about the love of her life.
Night had fallen once again, and it was time for her to go. The nighttime was her friend now. At this time, she could be anyone and anybody she wanted. She can just be a girl in love with a wonderful peasant boy, and not worry about being caught by anyone.
Climbing out of the window and clinging to the strong thick vine on the side of the tower, she slowly slid down inch by inch, carefully trying not to make a sound when she made her landing. As quiet as a mouse, she tiptoed to the back of the castle only to find the guards guarding the back entrance. She picked up a few pebbles and rocks on the ground and flung them onto the opposite side of the tower, hitting one the guards on his irony head gear, sending metal clink banging in his head.
Covering her mouth, she took a run for it, while all the guards rushed to the injured guard's aid.
Running as fast as she could, as if her life depended on it so she wouldn't lose any visitation time with Amador, she rushed through the woods and came knocking on the door.
Straightening out her dress, and fixing her hair quickly, just in time when the door cracked opened with Amador standing by it, a smile spread across her face at the sight of him.
"It's been a while," Amador joked.
"It sure has been," Delphine went along, "Aren't you going to invite me in? Or are you just going to let me stand here in the cold?"
"Depends," he smartly replied, "What's the secret code?"
Without even bothering to reply, she leaned in and kissed him.
"You get it right every time." He swept her off her feet and carried her in, kicking the door shut with the back of his foot.
He let her back down to her feet in the middle of the room, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as his were around her waist, and she gazed into his eyes lovingly and whispered, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too." With that, he lowered his lips of hers and devoured her with lustful and desirable kisses. Suddenly, a throaty sound rushed up her esophagus. She quickly let go of the kiss, and then there it goes again. A big gulp of distasteful food crawled up her throat and came out her mouth, spilling all over the wooden floor, and Amador jumped back a few feet disgustedly, then finally asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"
Before answering, she let out another pile on the floor.
"Does that answer your question?" she asked out of breath.
"All right, come on sit down." Amador ordered, as he grabbed two clean rags and gave one to Delphine to wipe her mouth off with, settling her down onto the bed, and then with the other rag he covered the mess on the floor. "Have you been sick?" he asked.
"A little, I suppose." she answered, covering her mouth with the rag.
"You shouldn't be out so late if you're sick. It's unhealthy," he lectured her, while getting up to get her a cup of water.
"It wasn't anything serious," she replied, "Just a little head rush now and then. And besides don't you want to see me?"
"Of course I want to see you, darling," Amador said, handing her the cup of water. "I'm only looking out for your health." He then suggested, "Perhaps you should see a doctor."
"I don't need to see a doctor. I'm perfectly well, don't you see?" Delphine replied stubbornly.
"No, you're sick," he argued. "It would make me feel a thousand times better if you would consider seeing a doctor."
"But, what if something is really wrong with me, then I wouldn't be able to see you anymore."
"Would you prefer it if I take you to see a doctor?" Amador asked.
"Really?"
"Yes, my father used to be good friends with this man who's a doctor. I can ask him for a late meeting and we can go. Then we can go to an apothecary if necessary."
"Sure."
"Great." Amador said then kissed her on the cheek.
Many more nights had passed and the appointment hadn't been set up yet. Until one full moon night when the day had come, her appointment had been set up.
Doing the same routine like every night since spring, she sneaked out to Amador's cabin and met up with him.
"Are you sure he won't recognize me?" Delphine asked worriedly about her getup. It was a disguise just so no one, particularly the doctor, would know who she was. Dressed in Amador's late mother's clothes, she strolled down the deserted street linking arms with her lover.
"Yes, I doubt that anyone could possibly recognize you under all that makeup," Amador answered, looking adoringly at her. "Are you nervous?"
"Just a bit jittery," Delphine answered, taking in a deep breath.
"It'll be fine," He assured her.
"Just hope so."
Soon they reached their destination.
Knocking on the door nervously, Delphine took a deep breath as Amador wrapped his protective arm around her. Gripping onto the back of his shirt tightly, the door opened and out came a jolly voice, "Well, hello. Welcome to my home."
Hours were spent in the doctor's house talking about Delphine's condition. They were finally released when the full moon sat high in the night sky, showing them their way back into the wood.
"It can't be," she murmured.
"It'll be all right," Amador said lowly.
"Will you stop saying that?" she yelled in rage, "It will not be all right!"
"Calm down, calm down." He grabbed her and pulled her in for an embrace. "Everything will work out."
"You won't be saying that when I'm dead," she muffled against his chest.
"No, listen to me." He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "You're not going to die."
Said nothing, she buried her face into his chest and tears of fear just started rolling down her cheeks. Holding onto her tightly, he nestled his face into the crook of her neck and cried along.
Standing there for as long as they could, they finally let go of each other and wiped one another's tears away.
"I love you, no matter what," he assured her.
Leaning down to kiss her, she suddenly interrupted, "I can't return home now."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't. I just can't." Delphine trembled with the words, "My mother, she'll kill me. Literally!"
"You don't know that for sure."
"Knowing my mother, she'll do just about anything to keep her reputation clean." She looked at him intensely.
"Where are you going to stay?"
"Your place," she answered a bit hastily.
"My place?" he inquired, shocked by her suggestion. "What will we eat?"
"I brought some gold with me, it'll be enough to cover us."
"You are completely out of your mind."
Grabbing his arms, she pulled him along and ran to her castle.
"What are we doing here? It's dangerous." Amador whispered to her behind the thick bushes.
"I'll gather my clothes and some more gold, and we're off." She answered just about when she about to walk out of the bushes.
"You know making an attempt to run will not solve any of your problems?"
"But it will spare a life," she shot back, then she ran off. Amador reached out his hand to grab her back, but unfortunately she was one fast girl. He was about to call out for her, and then suddenly remembered the guards, so he closed his mouth.
Watching her climbing those vines just amazed him. He'd never seen such a daring, energetic and spontaneous girl before. To think about it, she had more nerves than he'd ever have.
Distracted by her waving from the tower, he looked up and motioned his "what" look to her. She held up a luggage of clothes, signaling for him to come and catch it. He ran quickly to the tower, and Delphine let the luggage slip through her fingers and drop to the ground. Before it could reach the ground, Amador dived in and caught it. Smiling at him, she then grabbed a small velvet bag and tied it onto the lacing that was draped around her waist and started climbing back down the window.
Terrified that she might fall, he moved wherever she moved to catch her in case she fell. But, surprisingly, she made it down safely.
"Let's go." She grabbed his hand and about to walk off, but unexpectedly the guard cut them off. Gasping in horror, Amador clocked the guard with the luggage and off they went, the rest of the guards still occupied on the lookout on the other side of the castle.
Running for their lives, they finally reached the wood.
Opening the door for Delphine, Amador then placed the luggage by the nightstand and picked her up to swirl her around the room.
"We did it!" he shouted.
Laughing uncontrollably, Amador set her down onto her feet and gave her a peck on her lips.
"Not yet," Delphine answered with a tad of concernedness in her voice.
"What do you mean?"
"The guard saw us." Delphine looked up at him with worry in her eyes. "He'll eventually report us back to my mother."
"Where else can we go?" Amador asked.
"I don't know, but I can't let mother find me. She'll tear me into shreds." Delphine said, frightened for her life by her mother. "We have to leave immediately…before dawn approaches."
"To where?"
"Wherever the moonlight will lead us." she answered.
"What will we be traveling by?" Amador asked bewilderingly, "I haven't got a horse."
"We'll find one, one way or another. Just as long as it leads us to the last place my mother would think of, of finding us."
"You mean like steal one?" Amador questioned in outrage.
"Certainly you don't expect us to walk barefooted, now do you?"
"That's such an exaggeration."
"Well, how do you suppose we travel?"
"I don't know, but certainly we aren't going to steal."
"Fine. I'll just leave some gold for them in return." She settled the argument. "We don't have time for arguments. We have to leave if we wish to keep our heads."
Sighing deeply, Amador gathered his belongings and then turned to the nightstand to pick up the wooden frame that contained his mother's picture, wrapping rags over it so it wouldn't be damaged on the way.
"I'm ready," he said, sadly taking a look around the empty room.
Nodding her head, they interlaced their hands together and out the door they went.
Following the moonlight trail, an army of guards suddenly stopped them…
