Authors Note:
Here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long folks. I got distracted, I'm writing a fic. using the movie Fast and the Furious.
Please review... I Loooooooooooooooove reviews!! =)
I hope you like it.
Enjoy....
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"He faced the dinner table and proclaimed that he had perhaps been a bit rash in his previous estimation of 'young Chris'.
"He proclaimed that when he had seen Christopher take his youngest daughter onto the dance floor, he had been blinded by rage. He had misunderstood and believed the young man's intentions towards his Belle. However, his eldest daughter had come to him recently and confessed to him a series of declarations that had left him open mouthed. Tearfully, she had admitted to him that she and young Christopher had had a series of tryst and that the young man had asked for her hand in marriage. She had confessed that although she would elope with him because of their great love, she would much rather that they have a traditional wedding. That it was not Christopher that was interested in Belle but his younger cousin, Robert Messina. That the only reason he'd taken Belle out onto the floor was because he knew her as his beloved's little sister and his cousins love interest and thus had wanted her to have fun. Having stated all this Richard Mendoza officially gave the hand of his eldest daughter to Christopher Messina and that of his youngest to Robert Messina. Offering heartfelt apologies to the Messina household and expressing his enthusiasm for the upcoming nuptials."
Karla paused here, "Instantly, the room was in an uproar. It never occurred to any of the guests to consult with young couples. Congratulations and questions about the wedding day were all people said to them. The Mendoza and Messina Patriarchs immediately retreated to the study to talk business, politics, and other things men talk about when two powerful families are about to be united. The Mothers began talk of reception halls and gown materials. The guests began planning what they'd wear and give as gifts to the two young couples who'd begin their lives together that day. And it was done, settled. Rosa would be Christopher's bride and Belle would be Robert's, a boy, by the way that she'd seen twice in her life."
Karla stopped here and allowed that information to seep into their brains. Then she sought Marguerites eyes and whispered gently. "They couldn't say no. You understand that, right? They couldn't say no, anymore than Richard would have been able to. It would have disgraced both family's. Made them outcasts. Christopher was willing to. He told her that just because their families said it, didn't mean it had to be. They'd elope, he said, move to England or America, they'd live their own lives without the burden of family honor, legacies, or heritage. They'd start their own legacies..."
"So why didn't they? What in gods name kept them there? Why did they give in? Why'd they let themselves be separated like that?... I don't understand... it doesn't make sense...it.... it just...." Marguerite asked in a slightly desperate tone, she could see these people in her minds eye, could see their agony at being torn apart, their desperation to find a way, anyway to be together. Roxton reached out and gently took her hand again. She leaned against him, glancing quickly at the door to the room in which their son lay sleeping.
"Because she wasn't ready. We must remember, Belle was fourteen. She was a child. As much as she wanted to rebel against her fathers word, she couldn't. You cannot erase years of breeding in an instant. Her father's word was law and it never even crossed her mind that she could contradict it."
"In all fairness, it never crossed my mind either. We weren't brought up that way. Defying him wasn't logical in our minds. Believe it or not, in her mind as well as in mine, it was far more logical for them to separate then to challenge his word."
"So they just... gave up.... they just let each other... how could they... how could they live like that?... ."
"They couldn't... live like that. It should have been are first clue that something terrible was going to happen. Situations like that could only last so long. That night we didn't speak, any of us. We each went home with our families and the next time I saw Belle was at her wedding. Till this day, I can still see their faces, Christopher's full of shock, like he still couldn't believe this was happening; Belle's full of anguish, like she understood perfectly what was happening; and Rosa's.... Rosa's full of triumph, like she'd won, and at that moment she had. She'd finally done the one thing she'd dedicated her life to - she'd outdone her sister."
"You know I really don't like this Rosa person, do you happen to know where I could find her. I've got a few things to say and do to her." Finn said brusquely after a moment of silence.
Karla smiled slightly, "Rosa died 12 years ago. The doctors never could identify what it was that killed her. It seemed to consume her day by day until finally there was nothing left. Personally I think that it was her very hate that fermented and grew inside her until it ate her up alive."
After a moment she added gravely, "She hated you Marguerite."
A shiver went up Marguerite's spine, but she forced herself to meet Karla's gaze. "I've been hated by many in my life"
"Not like this. She had won. She'd defeated Belle. It was an unspoken, unrecognized war that she had waged on her sister. And she had won it."
"Then you were conceived, brought into this world. And she hadn't won. She hadn't been able to defeat her sister, defeat the love between them. You were that sign. An unbreakable bond between them that united them forever and proclaimed with certainty that she had not won. She had lost. Belle had won."
"She hated you."
The room was silent, and a chill seemed to have seeped into it. Marguerite felt cold. A frigidness that started in her center and worked its way out. Roxton held her close but still he couldn't drive the chill away. Looking into the faces of her family, she saw her chill reflected in them. How could someone be so cruel? So awful? So... hateful. To their own sister...."
Veronica stood, and went to kneel in front of Marguerite. She took her free hand and gave it a squeeze. "You all right?" she questioned gently.
"I.... I don't know." She said numbly.
Veronica nodded, standing she pulled Marguerite to her in hug, whispering in her ear, "That was then, Today you are loved."
Marguerite gave a grateful smile as Veronica moved away. She opened her mouth to speak when, "Mo-mm-yyyyy......" came a wail from behind a door.
