"LEARNING TO LOVE"
-One Year Later…
Hitomi stood upon the roof and watched as the sun rose into the sky. She was thinking of her home again. She remembered on her last day there, she watched the sun come up and didn't have a clue that in a few days from that time, she would become the Queen of Fanelia. That thought made her even sadder. It had been one year since her wedding and she still didn't know one thing about her so-called husband. They had never seen one another, talked to one another, or touched one another. They ate at different times, they walked down different paths, they both talked with Merle, but Hitomi doubted that they had anything other than that in common. But how would she know?
The wind blew and Hitomi wrapped her throw-blanket around her arms tighter to get some more warmth. She had woken up to a strange dream that she had been having for weeks now. It was the same one over and over again. It always began and ended the same exact way. It starts out that Hitomi is running through a maze of hallways and rooms; right when Hitomi thinks that the maze will never end, she opens a door and finds her self by a waterfall. It is flowing clear beautiful water. She walks up to the base of it where it opens into a bountiful clear pool. She sticks her hand in the water. When she does, the water turns red. It moves up her hand and onto her face. Just when it is about to reach her mouth, she wakes up. The dream always leaves her with a cold feeling inside. She can never find enough warmth.
As the sun began to reach its peek for the morning, and Hitomi began to make her way back to her room. She knew that Merle was already up because she attended the counsel meetings every morning with the King. They always had their breakfast in the throne room. Hitomi made it to her room without anyone seeing her. She breathed a sigh of relief.
After ten more minutes of sitting in her room, Hitomi got up and made her way to the kitchen. Hitomi liked to eat with the maids for breakfast. They were always good company for her. It reminded her of her village when the women would make breakfast for the men on their anniversary to celebrate The Right of Marriage. The men would take the women to secluded areas and do things for them after dark.
The maids also let her cook. She smiled remembering the first time that she had done so. It was for the counsel meeting attendants. When they went out and served it to them, Balgus had asked whom the new cook was. The maids only smiled and bustled back into the kitchen praising Hitomi for her work. They said that even the King had noticed the difference and had liked the way that she had cooked it. Hitomi had only smiled and finished her own breakfast.
When Hitomi made it to the kitchen, she opened the door and was met by four maids. They all smiled at her and said their good mornings. Suzanne, the head chef, threw Hitomi an apron. She put it on and sat down at the table with the other girls. There was April, Carla, and Patience. Hitomi grabbed a shedder and began to take the skin off of the potatoes they were peeling. As soon as she joined them Patience began to let Hitomi in on all of the latest news of the counsel meeting.
"Well," she started leaning in a little more toward the other four, "I heard that Asturia is getting more money by the pound."
"Why will King Allen and Queen Eries on the throne, I wouldn't be surprised none," said April. "They're the best King and Queen Asturia has had since the Queen's great-great grandmother's time of rule."
"Well, I heard that the counsel was forcing Lady Merle to marry some rich noble," Carla said after a moment of pause.
Hitomi became interested then. "What? Why?" she asked.
April looked at her. "Well, the counsel doesn't think that it's proper for a woman of such nobility to go without a husband any longer. She's 17, they say. She should be having her first child, they say. Ugh! It makes me sick. It's not like the men go through the pains of labor anyway."
Hitomi got a little aggravated. "Well, it's not up to the counsel to decide when Merle is going to marry. And if I have to tell them myself, I will. It's not fair. I mean the men get to decide when they want things and how they want things, but what do we get to decide except what we're going to fix them for supper."
"Amen, sister," Patience said. "Where did you learn to talk like that? That's more words you've said since I've known you."
Hitomi smiled and said to them, "Well, I was always raised by the rule that it took a woman to bring the men into the world, and if it took a woman to take them out of the world as well, then so be it. My family was equals. The man did just as much work as the woman. It was considered the same with the woman's work as well. Everyone did something to help the family out. That's the way it was, and that's the way it should always be. My grandmother told me that when I was young. And if my grandmother said it, then you could live by those words."
Before the girls could answer Suzanne came over and slammed a new basket of potatoes on the table for them to peel.
"See what your gossips have done?" she asked, "You've done gone and got the missus to gossiping too!"
The girls began to protest.
"It wasn't our fault," Carla shouted out.
"I did it on my own accord, Suzanne," Hitomi said.
Suzanne looked down at the young Queen. "All right," she said turning away. Then she turned back. "Did your grandmother really say that?" she asked with interest.
Hitomi smiled and nodded her head.
"What else did she say?" Suzanne asked, picking up a knife. She sat down at the table and got a potato out of the basket, all the while waiting for Hitomi's answer.
Hitomi leaned into the table like the girls would always do. "Well…"
~%%%~
That night, Van and Balgus were in the training room, sparring. Van was trying to beat his combat teacher with the sword. He would always try and always fail. Van was winning at first, but then Balgus managed to get Van's sword out of his hands and point his sword at Van's neck.
He lowered his sword and smiled. "Not bad, Your Highness," he said proudly. "Not bad at all."
"One day, Balgus, I'm going to win one of these matches," Van said smiling back to him.
"A day I look forward too," Balgus replied.
The men shared a laugh and began to put their weapons away. Everything got quiet.
"Your Highness," Balgus said, "we must talk."
"What about Balgus?" Van asked with concern. When Balgus got serious about a question, then it was vital.
"The Queen," was all Balgus said.
Van sighed. He knew that this discussion would be coming soon. And he also knew that it would be coming from Balgus. Merle had already got him backed into a corner one day and told him a thing or two about his wife. She concluded her little speech with 'and if you had any sense at all, you wouldn't let that girl out of your sight!'
"What about her?" Van asked wearily.
"Sire, she is unhappy. Did you know that she cooks our breakfast every morning?" Balgus asked.
Van was surprised. "No. Why?" he asked.
"Because, Sire, she is lonely. She has no one else to talk to except Lady Merle and the maids."
Van just stood there in shock. For the past six months, his wife had been cooking his breakfast.
Before Van could get his mouth to say anything, Balgus continued, "Sir, if I had a daughter, I would want her to be just as kindhearted and loyal as Her Majesty is. I only brought this subject up to ask you a favor. Just talk to her. Get to know her. And if you don't fall in love with her after looking into her eyes for two minutes, and see what the rest of the world sees, then you two were never meant to be."
After a moment of Van just standing there and saying nothing, Balgus bowed, "Good-day, Sir, I have to retire for the night." And Balgus left.
Van just stood there for a moment digesting all of the new information that he had learned. Then he began to make his way toward the roof. He was going to need some time alone to think.