Chapter VI
The Memories
Time had surely flown when the frosty bitter winter approached. It had already been weeks into their marriage, weeks since her departure from her parents, her homeland, where she had so many good and bad memories. Memories that she always tried to avoid thinking about when she was around Henrik, or when she was alone, staring into the starry night. Things have changed for the better, she told herself. You need to move on and stop living in the past. He probably already has, so surely you can manage to so as well. Stop pitying yourself. There are worse things in the world that are worth crying over. You have a new life, a new family now. Embrace it. Make the best of it. You only have one life, live it. He's not worth your time. Not anymore…
How am I supposed to make the best of things, when it makes my life a living hell?
Things weren't going so great between her and Gabrielle. Gabrielle still held onto her many great suspicions of Delphine, one of which was accusing her of only using Henrik as bait to get into the kingdom and steal their fortune.
"You never loved him. You can take off the masque now! Drop the pathetic act. We all know you hated Henrik before you ever married him. What's with the sudden change? Your mother is behind all this, isn't she? Like mother, like daughter. I should've known. You people sicken me!"
Gabrielle was unquestionably ambivalent of Delphine's family, especially her mother. She had blamed Delphine's mother for poisoning her mother's jasmine tea on one of her many visits to the château. "She's pure evil, I tell you," she'd declared. "I can tell evil from distance afar. I was bestowed with a gift, and I can tell you right now that my keen eyes don't lie." She then incessantly accused once more, "That woman is as malevolent as the devil himself!"
Delphine had found Gabrielle a tad weird, or perhaps out of this world. She had the most outrageous mind and thoughts. But one thing she knew for sure: she had to agree with Gabrielle on one score, that her mother was indeed a wicked woman. One that was wicked enough to kill Delphine's unborn child. What kind of person in their right mind would kill their daughter's only hope of life?
But that was it the past, and she tried to force it out of her mind. She wasn't supposed to think of anything negative or anything that had to do with her past.
"Delphine!" a voice clamored through the hallway, and burst into her room, startling Delphine. "What's this?" The voice revealed itself as Gabrielle, holding up a torn-up picture.
Her heart just stopped when she saw it, and she quickly snatched the picture of out Gabrielle's grasp. "Where did you get this?" Delphine demanded angrily.
"The maid found it in one of you dresses," Gabrielle informed her. "Care to share? Or should I call Henrik up and we'll have a more interesting conversation."
Looking down at the picture, Delphine brushed her thumb against the soft painting in her hand, and tears were imminent at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall onto the picture. Drawing in a deep breath to hold the tears back, she forced herself to look up, but found her head refusing to move, her eyes still fastened on the picture.
"I'm waiting." Gabrielle tapped her foot impatiently, with her arms crossed over her chest as if she was hungry for a fight.
"What's going on?" Suddenly Henrik entered and joined the girls.
"Uh, nothing," Delphine sniffed and looked up at her husband a bit hastily, which only made Henrik more suspicious.
"I would check on her occasionally, if I were you." Gabrielle glared at Delphine evilly. "Better yet, make it frequently."
"What in the world are you babbling about now, Gabrielle?" Henrik snapped at her indignantly, proving he was tired of all her propagandas about Delphine alleged attempts to take over their home. "You can't just leave things well enough alone, can you?"
"Why don't you ask her?"
"Delphine, what is she talking about?" Henrik softened his voice and looked at her affectionately.
"I---I" The words didn't seem to want to come out as she looked at him with saddened eyes.
"Look at her hand," Gabrielle insisted.
As Henrik went in to reach for the picture, Delphine pulled away and tore it into shreds, letting the crumbled paper fall to the floor. "It's nothing," she assured him. "It's nothing"
"It seems she had a lover boy on the side." Gabrielle butted in, enjoying the argument.
In shock, Henrik glared at Delphine angrily but managed to ask, "Is that true?"
"No," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "No, I haven't seen anyone. Please believe me."
"This is what you get for marrying a Romanian, a big bag of disgrace," Gabrielle spat. "They'll chew you up and spit you out like tobacco. The masquerade has fallen apart, now do you believe me?"
"What masquerade are you talking about, Gabrielle?" Delphine questioned in anger.
"Your so-called love for Henrik," she accused again. "Your attempt to take over this kingdom."
"For the last time, I have never faked my love for him," Delphine defended herself. "And it never even crossed my mind for a second to rule this place on my own."
"Can you please stop these accusations?" Henrik pleaded in annoyance. "We have to go to visit your parents in an hour, and nothing has been packed. Where are all the maids?"
"Downstairs," Gabrielle replied, and still remained stubbornly in place.
"Delphine can you please get the maids?" Henrik asked her with care in his voice.
Trying to please her husband, she nodded and exited the room, leaving Gabrielle and Henrik behind, looking at each other in disgust.
Many more restless hours passed and they were on their way to Romania.
Down the rugged countryside they went, the carriage bouncing bumpily along on the road. They made several stops along the way to rest and relax, their journey stretching out over several days. As dawn cracked through the frosty night, they were on the road again, riding until they reached a wooded area. Delphine pulled the curtain to the side gently with her fingers and dreamily looked out the small window to let her eyes wander around the wood. Nature had always brought out the inner child in her. No matter how she felt, Mother Nature always managed to work her natural magic and set her soul free. Free for the world to see. Free to express herself… in oh so many ways.
She smiled to herself. She loved the smell of nature. Its wonderful fresh scent, and its picturesque landscape; especially in the spring.
Spring. Suddenly memories of her sneaking out into the wood every night last spring brought her to a bitter chuckle. It was silent, silent enough to avoid Henrik's attention. She remembered all the sights. She thought all those awful memories had been banished from her head. But how can anyone forget something so mesmerizing as her time with Amador?
They didn't know each other for that long but they had shared the love and the experiences that took normal people years to have together.
Soon, they passed a lake. It was the exact one that she had almost drowned in.
Memories started flooding back to her.
She remembered that day. It had been the first day she had ever gone to town by herself. She remembered tripping over someone's foot and being saved by a strong arm, an arm that had saved her more than once.
His image gradually worked its way into her head. His face that had captured her attention, his beautiful, mysterious blue eyes that had captured her soul, his charming smile that had captured her heart.
More memories came flashing back as she remembered the two of them making love for the first time. He had made her feel so safe and so loved. Now and then, she could still taste his kisses and his touch. His sensual touch that made her lose herself in his embrace.
She could see his face when she made love to Henrik; such a disturbance, she thought. Sometimes she could hear herself screaming his name, screams of pleasure.
Then she woke up, and found it was all but a dream. Frightened that she had possibly cried his name out loud, she checked to see if Henrik had heard her. Thank Lord he was still deeply asleep. Reclining herself back down on the pillow she acted as if she had never had the recurring dream; she erased it from her mind and went back to sleep.
He had cared for her more than anyone ever could. When he had found out she was expecting, he had put his life on the line to run away with her, to save her and their child from her mother. But he had not cared enough when he'd ripped out her in her heart, changing his mind about their attempt to run away. Even when she'd told him she loved him. Maybe love wasn't enough. It sure hadn't been enough to save their child.
Then her memories fast-forwarded to the day her parents had found out about her pregnancy. The morning after the abortion, she had lied her way out of the situation. She'd told them that she had run off to the market the day she had asked her mother's permission to go. She explained she had taken off on her own and was abducted by multiple men and they had done unspeakable things to her.
When her mother asked her about Amador, she had lied again, saying that he was the person who had saved her life. Her alibi had saved Amador's life as well as hers.
Blinking to erase those images from her mind, drops of tears strolled down her cheeks. When she opened up her eyes again, she brought her hand to her cheeks and lightly swept the tears away trying not to smudge her makeup.
Noticing this, Henrik worriedly questioned his wife, "What's the matter?" Turning to him slowly, she replied in a low voice, "Nothing, just admiring nature."
Nodding his head slightly with uncertainty, he didn't know whether or not to believe her, so he let her be and turned away.
He knew something was different about her. Many months ago, she hadn't been so enthusiastic about their marriage. But then something seemed to have happened to her.
Her whole attitude had changed to be exact. She had been a mystery to him ever since they'd gotten married. However, he preferred to keep that mystery a mystery. There was no sense in cracking it; he liked things the day they were and didn't want to interfere and risk breaking the bond between them.
Elsewhere, Amador was lying alone on a bed of leaves, thinking about Delphine. Thoughts of her invaded his mind night after night. There was not a second when he didn't think about her.
She was his life. His everything.
He'd been alone, abandoned, and forgotten. Then she'd come along. She had made his life worth living, had made him alive again. His soul had died the day his mother passed away, but Delphine had turned it all around. She'd made him want to look forward to the next morning. She'd made him the happiest man alive. He had begun to look forward to the night when he got to see her, her beautiful face, the sparks in the eyes. And to hear her speak. Anything bad that may have happened during day was all erased when he heard her voice, her angelic voice.
Her love had meant more to him than anything in the world. Whenever he had heard her name when townspeople spoke about her, he'd felt proud because she was his. His. And no one else's.
Really? Was she really yours? he asked himself. At one point she was. At least it feels like it. Like she was mine. Like she belonged to me.
He had learned about her marriage to Henrik and he often wondered how it had worked out for the both of them, how they dealt with the baby. His baby. The baby that had been conceived by love, their love.
Clearing away the thoughts, he stacked up the logs that were lying next to him onto the cart and headed to the market.
The Memories
Time had surely flown when the frosty bitter winter approached. It had already been weeks into their marriage, weeks since her departure from her parents, her homeland, where she had so many good and bad memories. Memories that she always tried to avoid thinking about when she was around Henrik, or when she was alone, staring into the starry night. Things have changed for the better, she told herself. You need to move on and stop living in the past. He probably already has, so surely you can manage to so as well. Stop pitying yourself. There are worse things in the world that are worth crying over. You have a new life, a new family now. Embrace it. Make the best of it. You only have one life, live it. He's not worth your time. Not anymore…
How am I supposed to make the best of things, when it makes my life a living hell?
Things weren't going so great between her and Gabrielle. Gabrielle still held onto her many great suspicions of Delphine, one of which was accusing her of only using Henrik as bait to get into the kingdom and steal their fortune.
"You never loved him. You can take off the masque now! Drop the pathetic act. We all know you hated Henrik before you ever married him. What's with the sudden change? Your mother is behind all this, isn't she? Like mother, like daughter. I should've known. You people sicken me!"
Gabrielle was unquestionably ambivalent of Delphine's family, especially her mother. She had blamed Delphine's mother for poisoning her mother's jasmine tea on one of her many visits to the château. "She's pure evil, I tell you," she'd declared. "I can tell evil from distance afar. I was bestowed with a gift, and I can tell you right now that my keen eyes don't lie." She then incessantly accused once more, "That woman is as malevolent as the devil himself!"
Delphine had found Gabrielle a tad weird, or perhaps out of this world. She had the most outrageous mind and thoughts. But one thing she knew for sure: she had to agree with Gabrielle on one score, that her mother was indeed a wicked woman. One that was wicked enough to kill Delphine's unborn child. What kind of person in their right mind would kill their daughter's only hope of life?
But that was it the past, and she tried to force it out of her mind. She wasn't supposed to think of anything negative or anything that had to do with her past.
"Delphine!" a voice clamored through the hallway, and burst into her room, startling Delphine. "What's this?" The voice revealed itself as Gabrielle, holding up a torn-up picture.
Her heart just stopped when she saw it, and she quickly snatched the picture of out Gabrielle's grasp. "Where did you get this?" Delphine demanded angrily.
"The maid found it in one of you dresses," Gabrielle informed her. "Care to share? Or should I call Henrik up and we'll have a more interesting conversation."
Looking down at the picture, Delphine brushed her thumb against the soft painting in her hand, and tears were imminent at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall onto the picture. Drawing in a deep breath to hold the tears back, she forced herself to look up, but found her head refusing to move, her eyes still fastened on the picture.
"I'm waiting." Gabrielle tapped her foot impatiently, with her arms crossed over her chest as if she was hungry for a fight.
"What's going on?" Suddenly Henrik entered and joined the girls.
"Uh, nothing," Delphine sniffed and looked up at her husband a bit hastily, which only made Henrik more suspicious.
"I would check on her occasionally, if I were you." Gabrielle glared at Delphine evilly. "Better yet, make it frequently."
"What in the world are you babbling about now, Gabrielle?" Henrik snapped at her indignantly, proving he was tired of all her propagandas about Delphine alleged attempts to take over their home. "You can't just leave things well enough alone, can you?"
"Why don't you ask her?"
"Delphine, what is she talking about?" Henrik softened his voice and looked at her affectionately.
"I---I" The words didn't seem to want to come out as she looked at him with saddened eyes.
"Look at her hand," Gabrielle insisted.
As Henrik went in to reach for the picture, Delphine pulled away and tore it into shreds, letting the crumbled paper fall to the floor. "It's nothing," she assured him. "It's nothing"
"It seems she had a lover boy on the side." Gabrielle butted in, enjoying the argument.
In shock, Henrik glared at Delphine angrily but managed to ask, "Is that true?"
"No," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "No, I haven't seen anyone. Please believe me."
"This is what you get for marrying a Romanian, a big bag of disgrace," Gabrielle spat. "They'll chew you up and spit you out like tobacco. The masquerade has fallen apart, now do you believe me?"
"What masquerade are you talking about, Gabrielle?" Delphine questioned in anger.
"Your so-called love for Henrik," she accused again. "Your attempt to take over this kingdom."
"For the last time, I have never faked my love for him," Delphine defended herself. "And it never even crossed my mind for a second to rule this place on my own."
"Can you please stop these accusations?" Henrik pleaded in annoyance. "We have to go to visit your parents in an hour, and nothing has been packed. Where are all the maids?"
"Downstairs," Gabrielle replied, and still remained stubbornly in place.
"Delphine can you please get the maids?" Henrik asked her with care in his voice.
Trying to please her husband, she nodded and exited the room, leaving Gabrielle and Henrik behind, looking at each other in disgust.
Many more restless hours passed and they were on their way to Romania.
Down the rugged countryside they went, the carriage bouncing bumpily along on the road. They made several stops along the way to rest and relax, their journey stretching out over several days. As dawn cracked through the frosty night, they were on the road again, riding until they reached a wooded area. Delphine pulled the curtain to the side gently with her fingers and dreamily looked out the small window to let her eyes wander around the wood. Nature had always brought out the inner child in her. No matter how she felt, Mother Nature always managed to work her natural magic and set her soul free. Free for the world to see. Free to express herself… in oh so many ways.
She smiled to herself. She loved the smell of nature. Its wonderful fresh scent, and its picturesque landscape; especially in the spring.
Spring. Suddenly memories of her sneaking out into the wood every night last spring brought her to a bitter chuckle. It was silent, silent enough to avoid Henrik's attention. She remembered all the sights. She thought all those awful memories had been banished from her head. But how can anyone forget something so mesmerizing as her time with Amador?
They didn't know each other for that long but they had shared the love and the experiences that took normal people years to have together.
Soon, they passed a lake. It was the exact one that she had almost drowned in.
Memories started flooding back to her.
She remembered that day. It had been the first day she had ever gone to town by herself. She remembered tripping over someone's foot and being saved by a strong arm, an arm that had saved her more than once.
His image gradually worked its way into her head. His face that had captured her attention, his beautiful, mysterious blue eyes that had captured her soul, his charming smile that had captured her heart.
More memories came flashing back as she remembered the two of them making love for the first time. He had made her feel so safe and so loved. Now and then, she could still taste his kisses and his touch. His sensual touch that made her lose herself in his embrace.
She could see his face when she made love to Henrik; such a disturbance, she thought. Sometimes she could hear herself screaming his name, screams of pleasure.
Then she woke up, and found it was all but a dream. Frightened that she had possibly cried his name out loud, she checked to see if Henrik had heard her. Thank Lord he was still deeply asleep. Reclining herself back down on the pillow she acted as if she had never had the recurring dream; she erased it from her mind and went back to sleep.
He had cared for her more than anyone ever could. When he had found out she was expecting, he had put his life on the line to run away with her, to save her and their child from her mother. But he had not cared enough when he'd ripped out her in her heart, changing his mind about their attempt to run away. Even when she'd told him she loved him. Maybe love wasn't enough. It sure hadn't been enough to save their child.
Then her memories fast-forwarded to the day her parents had found out about her pregnancy. The morning after the abortion, she had lied her way out of the situation. She'd told them that she had run off to the market the day she had asked her mother's permission to go. She explained she had taken off on her own and was abducted by multiple men and they had done unspeakable things to her.
When her mother asked her about Amador, she had lied again, saying that he was the person who had saved her life. Her alibi had saved Amador's life as well as hers.
Blinking to erase those images from her mind, drops of tears strolled down her cheeks. When she opened up her eyes again, she brought her hand to her cheeks and lightly swept the tears away trying not to smudge her makeup.
Noticing this, Henrik worriedly questioned his wife, "What's the matter?" Turning to him slowly, she replied in a low voice, "Nothing, just admiring nature."
Nodding his head slightly with uncertainty, he didn't know whether or not to believe her, so he let her be and turned away.
He knew something was different about her. Many months ago, she hadn't been so enthusiastic about their marriage. But then something seemed to have happened to her.
Her whole attitude had changed to be exact. She had been a mystery to him ever since they'd gotten married. However, he preferred to keep that mystery a mystery. There was no sense in cracking it; he liked things the day they were and didn't want to interfere and risk breaking the bond between them.
Elsewhere, Amador was lying alone on a bed of leaves, thinking about Delphine. Thoughts of her invaded his mind night after night. There was not a second when he didn't think about her.
She was his life. His everything.
He'd been alone, abandoned, and forgotten. Then she'd come along. She had made his life worth living, had made him alive again. His soul had died the day his mother passed away, but Delphine had turned it all around. She'd made him want to look forward to the next morning. She'd made him the happiest man alive. He had begun to look forward to the night when he got to see her, her beautiful face, the sparks in the eyes. And to hear her speak. Anything bad that may have happened during day was all erased when he heard her voice, her angelic voice.
Her love had meant more to him than anything in the world. Whenever he had heard her name when townspeople spoke about her, he'd felt proud because she was his. His. And no one else's.
Really? Was she really yours? he asked himself. At one point she was. At least it feels like it. Like she was mine. Like she belonged to me.
He had learned about her marriage to Henrik and he often wondered how it had worked out for the both of them, how they dealt with the baby. His baby. The baby that had been conceived by love, their love.
Clearing away the thoughts, he stacked up the logs that were lying next to him onto the cart and headed to the market.
