Tragic Beginnings Chapter 13: A Chance Encounter, an ever after fanfic

Chapter 13: A Chance Encounter

Night descended on the beautiful countryside of France. For as dreary as the day had been the night proved to be active and alive. The storm raged on, bringing loud thunder, bright lighting and more rain then anybody could remember in a long time.

In the Gypsy camp Danielle tossed and turned on the hard ground. She was struggling to fall asleep but too many things were standing in her way. The mother she'd known, and Marguerite, the sister she'd always wanted to befriend, arrested. Arrested for keeping her and Henry apart. Danielle wondered what had happened to Jacqueline. Gabriel could not say with any certainty. What he had said was it was that the whole story was the talk of the market, everyone was buzzing about the poor little girl who was held captive in her own home, and finally found justice when she fell in love with the Prince.

Captive? That was an odd word to describe her situation. She never felt like a captive, No. Captives were people who were forced to stay in a certain place; She on the other hand stayed on the farm because she wanted to. She stayed because it was the only place she knew as home, and despite the abuse of her stepmother there were other more pleasant people on the farm who loved her. And she loved them in return. And she loved her house and her land, and the river that flowed to the east. No, Danielle was no captive. It really was funny the way stories morphed and traveled through Noble society.

If any of it was true then the Baroness and Marguerite were being held at the palace until their trial. Gabriel had stated that most people were in awe that a trial was even taking place, considering the crimes happened in the presence of the King and Queen. Whatever the outcome Danielle now held her father's title and all the things that came with it and nobody could take that away from her. She was free to start her life over with the people she loved.

First thing she planned on doing was to remove any traces of the Baroness and Marguerite from the home. She'd sell their possessions at market she decided. Then she's give Maurice and Louise the Baroness's old bedroom and Paulette could have Marguerite's and she would take the fancy guest room. She'd buy them all new clothes and pretty things that they had always wanted. Anything to make them feel loved and cared for. Then when everyone was settled, they'd all sit down and create a plan, possibly hire some more help and build the farm up from the roots. Oh they'd be so happy. All of them free to come and go and eat and laugh as they pleased.

It was all too much, so many plans, so many dreams within reach. A few times Danielle had to fight back the urge to get up and leave for home. A foolish instinct, with all the creatures that came with the night, and the storm would make crossing the river a dreadful task. No, she would have to wait until morning. Then she could start over. She'd go home.

Across the river Henry was having even worse luck in the sleep department. Although his insomnia was probably his doing. Why had he insisted on sleeping in Danielle's old bedroom? At the time it seemed like a good idea. He'd hoped that being around so many things that Danielle felt close too would help him understand her better. Perhaps even give him an idea of how to win her back.

Paulette had offered him the guest room, and now he wished he had taken it. The only thing he'd accomplished thus far was breaking into a fit of tears and giving himself what would defiantly be a stiff neck in the morning. Everything in the room wreaked of Danielle and it made him miss her ten times more then he already did. But it was the hair that made him cry. Clinging to the rug on the ground was a single piece of dirty blond hair. Danielle's hair. He picked it up and instantly regretted it. The tears flowed freely for a while, until he decided that they were useless.

Nothing was going to change until she was found, and she wasn't going to be found with him in a fetal position crying. For a long while he fought back the urge to go charging into the night and search for her. But that was silly. He'd never find her in the dark. It would have to wait until morning.

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Before the sun had the chance to fully emerge Danielle stood on the riverbank preparing to drive in. She took a moment to monitor the current and plot the best course. She noticed a large number of branches and logs bobbing on the surface realized that this was going to be quite a chore. She'd have to swim fast because that night storm had made the water choppy. All the extra water, which was dripping down from the mountains, made the river swell in size and move much quicker. Where there was once a nice sandy beach was now a thin strip of land, and even that seemed to be disappearing. She took a deep breath and braced herself. Then jogged a few steps and drove into the river.

Henry was tired. It had taken his forever to fall asleep and then as soon as he had was awoken by Maurice's frantic voice. He opened his eyes to see the older man standing over him and calling his name. Apparently a tree in the back pasture had been struck by lightning and broke in half. The tree had fallen onto the pasture's east side fence, and the horses, in a frightened frenzy had run away.

Henry and Maurice quickly got dressed, and soon they were fallowing hoof marks by torchlight. Maurice had found three of the mares in the apple orchard munching on fruit and two of the stallions were making a nuisance of themselves in the garden. That only left Gemini, the rogue, stubborn stallion of the pack wondering about the countryside. Henry had fallowed his tracks through the orchard, past the outer garden and was now walking down a winding trail through the woods, which he was sure, ended at the river.

The swim across the river was harder then Danielle anticipated, even with all her mental preparation. It was simply impossible to swim fast enough so that the current wouldn't sweep her away, and look out for foreign objects at the same time. Somehow she made it however, and as she crawled up onto the opposite bank she was glad it was over and done with.

As she walked up the beach she heard something rustle in the bushes and she instantly remembered how she ended up at the Gypsy camp in the first place. Her first reaction was to plot a curse of escape, and she feared that would be the river. As the unknown presence grew closer she recognized the sound of footsteps and realized that it was a person walking on the path. The same path that emptied into her apple orchard on the other end. Now she was intrigued. Rather then run she decided to stay and see who this person was. If it was someone who wished her harm, well then there was always the river.

A hand cut through the bushes, and soon an entire human form made it's way from the forest. Danielle froze. The figure froze. Their eyes locked and for a moment there was absolute silence.

"Henry." Danielle said softly.

"Danielle." Came the response, which was just as soft, "your okay. And you're here. Wow." He blushed slightly realizing that he sounded really stupid.

"I'm fine." Danielle agreed in a manner she'd perfected over the past few days.

"Good. That's good." He said nodding his head.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Henry was still a bit groggy and easily confused.

"Everything."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific." A small smile spread across her face, but it was more of a nervous reaction then a kind gesture.

"Did stepmother and Marguerite really get arrested?" She waited to see recognition in his eyes. When he smiled she found the courage to continue. "Did you really leave the farm to me?" His smile grew wide and Danielle could feel herself grow giddy. It was true. It was all true. "What of Jacqueline?" She asked and she began to walk up the beach towards him. Henry forgot all about the still missing stallion and joined her on the walk back to her house. He was careful to keep plenty of distance between them. He had just found her, and the last thing he wanted was to startle her and risk her leaving. So as much as it pained him to walk side by side a good four feet of cold air in between their bodies, he knew it was necessary.

"Jacqueline is at the manor. In fact I left her in charge until you returned home." He kept his eyes focused on his feet. He knew if he gazed at her too long the urge to touch her soft kiss would overcome him and then he'd be in serious trouble.

"How did you know I would come back?" She too had her eyes cast downward and for many of the same reasons. She wasn't sure how to talk to him. She wasn't sure how to handle the situation. And as much as it pained her, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to.

"Because you love this place. It's part of you." She nodded. God he knew her too well, or correction, he used to. That was before the masque, before Le Pieu. "I want you to have the farm Danielle. It's rightfully yours, it always was." He paused, suddenly finding no words to express just how he felt. "I want you to be able to make all your dreams come true. I want you build this place. Build it out of love and devotion. I want you have everything your heart desires, and I want to help you in any way I can." He shook his head. No, that didn't sound right at all. What a blubbering idiot he was. He searched for the words to somehow back track and tell her what he truly meant, but before he could she spoke. He shut his mouth and lavished in her words.

"Thank you for this Henry. You have no idea how much this means to me. I… I don't know what to say, and if I did I fear it would never do. Am I dreaming?" She stopped and looked up at him and Henry managed to catch her eyes with his. He studied them from their shape to the angle of each splash of color. Beautiful.

"You're not dreaming. I promise" He finally whispered. He soon realized that he was staring, and that Danielle probably was uncomfortable with the attention. He felt a pang run through his heart at the realization, but shrugged it aside. He cast his eyes back to his feet and continue to walk to the manor of the Baroness Danielle De Barbarac. Danielle fallowed him and maintained the distance Henry had placed between them. "It's because I want you to be free and happy that I came over yesterday." Henry said after a long silence. 'What the hell was that?' he thought to himself. 'Has my tongue suddenly gone lame?'

"You were at my house yesterday as well?" She asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Why yes. Maurice and I inspected the grounds. They're in relatively good order considering the many years they've been neglected. We decided that besides the barn needing repairs, that the other problems could be healed with a few more farm hands and some patience."

"Why did you do it?" The concern in Danielle's voice had been replaced with annoyance, and suddenly Henry realized he was treading on dangerous grounds. Although for the life of him he didn't know why.

"Why did I do what?" Perhaps if he knew what the problem was he could find a way to fix it.

"THIS! All of this!!" Danielle motioned to the land and to the house in the distance.

"Why did I give you the land? Because as I told you it was rightfully yours and I wanted you…"

"You felt sorry for me that's why!" Now Henry was really confused. How had he managed to mangle a simple walk to the manor?

"No I didn't…" He was already in trouble. May as well try to explain.

"Yes you did, Henry, admit it!"

"Admit what? I…" His bumbling only seemed to make her even angrier. But it wasn't his fault; he wasn't doing it on purpose. He honestly had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Admit that you felt sorry for me!! You felt sorry for me because I am beneath you in status. You felt sorry for me because you didn't know, and when you did know it's too late because we were in love. Then, you had a choice to make, the throne, or me and you chose the throne. THEN when it all came back in your face, you felt sorry because you couldn't stop what happened to me!!" She was screaming by now, her face bright red. Henry stood in stunned silence.

"What did happen to you?" he finally asked.

"So you give me things that you think will make me happy. You think if you throw enough money around that it will all go away. That somehow all of this will be erased! That's why you did it Henry! You did it out of guilt." She completely ignored his question, but Henry barely noticed. Danielle softened a little when she realized he was crying and for a moment she appeared to be working on an apology. But none came; instead she did what she'd grown so accustomed to do doing in the last few days. She turned around and ran, leaving Henry frozen in defeat.

Danielle stormed into the kitchen of the manor. Her face was still red, her mind racing. She paced back and forth, trying fiercely to tame her raged mind. How had this happened. How had she allowed her life to get so out of control?

"DANIELLE!! You're Home!! Welcome back dearie!" Paulette embraced Danielle in a warm hug. Danielle didn't have the heart to tell her that she was in no mood for a touching moment. After all, they hadn't seen her in a while, and she thought sure they were worried. Before Danielle could object Paulette had merrily called Maurice, Louise and Jacqueline into the kitchen. They all hugged her, and Danielle would have been grateful for their apparent concern and relief. But she was in no mood.

Just when she thought things couldn't be worse Jacqueline asked her in a chipper voice if Henry knew she was home. Her eyes grew stormy and the room was instantly silent.

"What does it matter if HE knows?" She bellowed. "He is NOT a member of this household, and I will not have decisions hanging on his approval. We are free of the Baroness, and shall remain free from nobility henceforth. I WILL pay Henry every coin that he has loaned to us. We are not destitute. I am going to my room." The room stayed silent longer Danielle left. Paulette and Louise exchanged worried glances.

Something was defiantly wrong.

"Okay, how the hell did we go from 'Thank you so much Henry' to 'Admit it HENRY!" Henry asked himself out loud. He was back at the beach, where just moments before he'd stumbled into Danielle. His eyes were focused on the hoof marks left in the sand but his mind was a blur. This couldn't be real. When did his life become a living hell?

He had decided in the wake of their argument that returning to her house wasn't a good idea. He and Danielle hadn't exactly parted on good terms, and even if by some miracle she was happy to see him, he was just too shook up to make the trip. He decided instead to continue his search for Gemini, the missing stallion. The trip would give him a chance to process what had just happened and calm down. When he found the horse he'd return it to the pasture, then he'd find Gwen and head back home.

"So we started off good," Henry continued, still talking to the silent air, "then I mentioned my inspection of the grounds. Then it all went to hell. Surly she couldn't be upset that I was here without her knowledge, could she?" Henry slapped himself across the face. He was going batty. His brain must be dead. How else do you explain asking the river for love advice?

"She said I did it out of guilt. That I was feeling guilty about what happened, so I gave her THINGS, objects, money." He stopped when he realized she was right. He felt horrible about everything, and part of him assumed that if she were comfortable, maybe she'd be okay. Maybe she'd forget about it. But he forgot something. Danielle was raised a servant. THINGS didn't make her comfortable, the way it made him relax. THINGS, objects meant nothing to her. And yet he gave her things so that she would be happy.

"This is about money isn't it?" Henry whispered, forgetting to care that he was still talking to the river. "She's mad because I'm throwing my money around. And when I do that, it feels like I'm taking pity on her, on the farm. But Danielle hates pity. She wants to work and struggle for everything she has. If she didn't earn it, that she gets no satisfaction." If Henry thought his thoughts were chaotic before then he was in for a rude awakening, cause that was nothing compared to this. "I look like a big fat jerk. Like a pompous ass sweeping down and taking mercy on this poor farm so I can feel good about myself for saving the little people. I disgust myself." He decided, again out loud.

"Danielle doesn't want a hero. She wants a friend, someone she can talk to and feel safe with. And my money makes her nervous, makes her feel like a beggar." A mischievous smile spread across Henry's face. Somewhere in his brain a plan was forming. "I think I can remedy that situation." For the second time that morning Henry forgot about Gemini. He went instead to search for Gwen so he could head home. He needed to have a very important conversation with his father.