Out of desperation, Danielle fell on her knees. "Your highness!"
"Nicole, what are you doing?!" He knelt beside her and lifted her face up to meet his. "I thought you were married," he said gently.
Danielle, taken aback at what he said, shook her head sadly and avoided his gaze. "No, I'm not." She closed her eyes, allowing him to lift her to her feet and embrace her.
"You're not?!" Henry breathed relievedly and spun Danielle around in the air. "Oh, Nicole, you have no idea how much I've missed you."
Until that moment, Danielle had allowed herself the happiness of being in his arms again, convincing herself that everything would be fine and that they would be together from then on, but the mention of the name 'Nicole' shocked her back into reality. Tensing, she disentangled herself from his arms and took a step back from him. 'I have to end this now.' She choked back tears. A plan began to form in her mind.
"You missed me?" Danielle tilted her head to one side and crossed her arms to steady herself. "I'm surprised that you even had time to think of my name," she paused, and as Henry began to protest, she added, "-after all, you are getting married shortly, are you not?"
Shocked, the prince took a step toward her, "You don't understand."
Danielle laughed incredulously, "I don't? Tell me, your highness, what don't I understand about you announcing your engagement to Marguerite de Ghent last night?"
Henry's face paled; this was not the reunion he had pictured. Suddenly the tables turned; instead of thinking she betrayed him, he had betrayed her. "I thought that -"
Danielle cut him off, "That I was married? Why didn't you try and find out for yourself the truth, rather than take the word of my cousin, whom you know would have done anything to get you to marry her own daughter?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but was at a loss for words.
"Because," Leonardo, having ended his 'talk' with Gustave, broke in, "- the boy is an utter fool."
"Isn't that a shame." Danielle said sarcastically. Then, curtsying clumsily, but not without dignity, she nodded to Gustave. "Your highness, I must be going. Good day, signore." She bowed her head politely toward them both and grabbed Gustave's hand. "Run" she whispered to him.
"Coward," Gustave hissed. Danielle ignored him and sprinted away from the path.
"Nicole!" Henry panicked as he saw the two take off, "Wait!"
"No! Just please stay away!" Danielle couldn't let him catch her. Gustave stumbled and yanked back on his hand.
"Tell him the truth!" he cried. "Please, for your own sake."
She shook her head and charged in another direction; she could hear Prince Henry's heavy boots pounding the ground after her.
Trees, bushes, and branches flew past her as she ran blindly through the woods, not paying attention to where she was going. The only thing she was aware of was her pounding heart, and Henry close behind her.
A cramp began to tug at her from her right side. 'No,' she thought. 'I'm so close.'
Fighting the pain, Danielle slowed but still kept running, clinging to every last bit of hope. A large root stuck out from the ground, and went unnoticed by Danielle until she tripped over it. Jolted, she finally realized where she was: the orchard of the Manor de Barbarac. She couldn't believe she had raced all the way back to a place she had, just this morning, hoped she would never see again.
But there was no time for her to sit and wonder. Picking herself up from the ground, she dashed toward a shed only a few yards away. She yanked open the door, and at the last moment decided against going inside. He would expect her to go in, so instead she hid behind the shed where, if discovered, she could escape easier.
"Nicole!" Henry cried, emerging from the woods. His face was red from running, and his dark hair tousled. "I thought that you of all people would at least listen to what I have to say!"
'How did it get this far?' Danielle wondered to herself, crouching low on the other side of the shed.
"Prince Henry!" Rodmilla's voice cut Danielle like a sharp knife. Her nostrils flared and held her breath. More than anything, she couldn't be caught now.
"Your highness, what on earth are you doing? I heard you yelling from inside," the woman lied. In truth, she had been waiting outside ever since he had left. She had tried to keep an eye on both da Vinci and Henry, but they had wandered into the woods and disappeared.
Henry bent over, endeavoring to catch his breath. "Nothing, Madame, I -" he hesitated, unsure. "I met the Comtesse Nicole de Lancret walking in the woods." Rodmilla's eyes widened in shock and her fair skin grew a pale, ghostly white. "She left quite suddenly, but left her shoe behind. I meant to return it to her, but she had quite disappeared from my sight. Did you, by any chance, see her?" He took great care in studying Rodmilla's reaction, searching for the smallest sign that she would lie to him.
Rodmilla quickly regained her composure and shook her head sadly, "No, your highness, I didn't see anyone here by that name. I'm sorry." Her eyes scanned the area, looking for Danielle. 'When I find her, I swear I will kill that girl,' she thought grimly to herself.
"I bet you aren't." Danielle inhaled sharply. What was Gustave doing? "I bet you know exactly which way Danielle went." he continued.
Rodmilla opened her mouth to protest, when the prince cut her off, "Who's Danielle?" He frowned in confusion, "It's Nicole de Lancret that I'm looking for."
Rodmilla bowed her head solemnly, hiding a malicious grin. Finally, she could end this little masquerade her conniving step-daughter had made.
"I'm sorry, sir. I tried to keep it from you as long as I could. I know that you cared very much for Nicole."
Gustave growled menacingly, "No tricks, Rodmilla. I won't let you turn her into some criminal."
Sending Gustave a glare that would make anyone writhe, she continued, "Comtesse Nicole de Lancret is Danielle de Barbarac, a servant in my household."
Henry frowned, looking to Gustave, who nodded gravely. "But- I don't understand. How-?"
"Danielle is a deceiver, my lord. I have always been wary of her and her wily ways. I am sincerely sorry that I did not have her locked up before you fell into her corrupt hands."
"You lie!" Gustave shouted. "She is no such thing and you know it! If anyone's a deceiver, it's you!"
Danielle sighed despairingly, fighting back tears. So this was the end of it. Biting down hard on her lip, she decided that now would be a good time to escape, while they were distracted. She glanced cautiously over the corner of the shed; both Henry and Gustave's backs were turned to her, and only Rodmilla faced her direction.
Taking the chance, she edged away from the shed and began to crawl on all fours toward the wood, keeping her eyes on the three people in case she was spotted. Rodmilla saw her; her face paled even more, but she quickly glanced away. 'She's letting me to leave. She doesn't want me here any more than I want to be here.' Danielle felt a pang of misgiving, knowing she was giving Rodmilla exactly what she wanted by leaving.
Then Danielle chanced a look at Henry, she couldn't see his face, but his arms hung limply by his side and his head was bowed low. 'What have I done?' Danielle's heart went out to him, the love of her life. She had fallen in love with him, and was letting him go.
"She's a servant," Henry repeated slowly, his voice shaking. "A commoner.
Danielle fought back tears. The Prince would never forgive her. Carefully rising from the grass, she escaped into the woods.
"If you please, sir." Gustave bowed before the prince and took a shaky breath, "Danielle loves you, honestly and truly. She is NOT a deceitful person as the baroness said. Danielle, by right, is of noble blood. Her father was a nobleman, but she-" he pointed accusingly at Rodmilla, "-turned her into a slave when he died."
"You liar!" Rodmilla shrieked, "You have no way to prove that! I took Danielle in as a servant when she was but fourteen, my lord. I never-"
"That's a falsehood and you know it!" Gustave's face turned red with anger. "Danielle was not born a commoner, you are the most-"
"ENOUGH!" Prince Henry bellowed. He gazed threateningly at Rodmilla, "Tell me the truth, and if you lie to me again I swear you shall be punished severely."
Rodmilla, now shrinking back in desperation and fear, said in a very small voice, "It is as the boy says, your highness. I did marry Auguste, Danielle's father. But your highness, you must understand, when he died I had no choice but to-"
"I have heard enough," Henry's glare silenced Rodmilla immediately. "Let us go inside; I have an engagement to break." Danielle's boot still clutched firmly in his hand, he swept past Rodmilla, who buried her face in her hands, and made his way toward the manor with Gustave following not far behind. "Wait-" Henry paused and glanced around the field, "Where is da Vinci?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as Danielle had begun to run, she realized she still had left her shoe behind. Squinting in the dark, she tried unsuccessfully to locate it. 'Oh well,' she thought despondently, 'I suppose I can manage without it for a while.'
Using the moonlight as her guide, she trudged through the thick forest, trying to find her way back to the road. At that moment, Danielle had never felt more alone; Gustave had abandoned her, Henry felt betrayed, and she was walking away from the only home she had ever known. She was too tired to cry, even though she desperately wanted to.
"Well, I got what I wanted, I suppose." Danielle muttered bitterly aloud.
"What was it that you wanted?" She jumped in the air at the unexpected voice.
"Who's there?" She almost half-believed that it was Gustave again, except the voice sounded much older.
"Calm down, Danielle." She felt a delicate hand lie comfortingly on her shoulder, "I won't hurt you."
"Signore da Vinci?" She could see him now through the shadows, his long white beard contrasting with the darkness. "What are you doing here?"
"Coming after you, of course. I was just about to join Prince Henry after overhearing all the commotion, but saw you sneak into the other edge of the wood, so I followed you." Leonardo frowned slightly and gazed thoughtfully at Danielle. "Why were you leaving?"
Danielle's chin began to tremble, and her eyes brimmed with tears. Just when she had felt all alone, here came this odd little man to give her comfort. "Henry hates me for sure, now." She whispered.
"Nonsense, child! Henry could never hate you. He loves you more than anything." Leonardo patted her cheek comfortingly.
"You saw the way he said, 'commoner', as if it was a filthy word. He sees me as nothing more than a deceiver now." Danielle sighed and wiped away a solitary tear that had escaped down her cheek.
"You are mistaken." Leonardo said firmly, "Because what I saw was a man completely in love, confused and falling apart. He needs you to explain it to him, Danielle. He needs you." Leonardo cupped her chin and made her look into his eyes, "Don't run away from this. If you do, you will regret it your whole life."
Danielle smiled and kissed the man's hand gratefully, "Thank you, signore. I know that you are right, but -" she looked away from him
"Danielle-" she gazed up at him questioningly, "Do you really love him?"
She nodded her head emphatically, "Yes, yes, I really do. I love him so much."
Leonardo smiled at her and wiped away her tears, "Then there is no 'but' involved. Your love for him is all that matters." He clasped his hand gently around her arm and steered her toward the Manor de Barbarac. "Now let's be on our way."
Danielle took one step forward, but then stopped. "No."
Aghast, Leonardo's eyes widened, "What do you mean, 'No.'?"
Danielle shook her head. "I am a fool if I think I can go back there and expect him to forgive me." Her eyes brimmed with tears and she glanced apologetically at da Vinci. "I know you're giving me reassurance, just to make me believe he would forgive me. But, I saw for myself how he felt, and I know that-" her chin trembled dangerously, tears spilling out. "Thank you so much, signore, for all you have done." she kissed his cheek and turned from him. "I just can't do it. I'm sorry."
Da Vinci widened his mouth in shock, grabbing at empty air as she disappeared behind trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry's mouth was drawn tight as he scowled at Marguerite who stood simpering in front of him. Her mouth fell open and her painted face paled under her make-up.
"What do you mean 'The wedding's off'?" She rushed over to him and grabbed his arm, "You can't meant that! Why?!" She dug her nails into his flesh and her eyes widened in alarm.
Henry snatched his arm away and glanced at her stonily, "I am sorry, Marguerite, to have misled you, but it was a mistake from the very beginning. I should have never asked you to marry me, especially since I don't love you."
"What does love have to do with anything?!" Marguerite screeched, her face reddening. "You announced that I was to be your wife! You can't take that back now! And- And- No matter what my mother did, it should have no reflection upon me! I had no idea what the conniving woman was up to! She's insane!"
Rodmilla, hovering in a corner, shot her daughter an evil look, "How dare you!" Her hand reached out toward her daughter and she slapped her sharply across the face, "You have as much to do with it than I do, if not more!
Henry sighed heavily, and stepped away from the both of them. "If you'll both excuse me, I have to find Signore da Vinci." The women ignored him and continued to swear at each other.
"Find me? I'm right here." Da Vinci emerged from the hallway and smiled sadly at his friend. "You should know better. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"That you have reminded me of many times," Henry smiled relievedly at Leonardo. "Thank God you're here. You have no idea how much I've needed your support these last few hours."
Da Vinci's nodded knowingly, "I think I might have a vague idea." He sighed heavily and glanced morosely at Henry, "Now, Henry, about Danielle-" Henry looked at his friend in shock, "How do you know?"
"It's my business to know," Leonardo approached his next statement lightly, "Henry, Danielle is gone."
Henry's face fell. "Gone?" he croaked.
Leonardo nodded solemnly, "I met her in the woods; she ran off. I'm- I'm sorry." The old man shuddered and patted Henry comfortingly on the back, "I know how much-"
Henry held up his hand, stopping him. "No." He said, his voice low and hoarse, "It's supposed to be this way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
Alright, due to the fact that I felt bad about making this first one so short, and I still wanted to work a little more with it, I've decided to lengthen it. I'm not sure how long I plan on having this go; I guess it'll run till I use up all my 'ever after fuel'. Well, please r&r. Will update the next chance I get.
"Nicole, what are you doing?!" He knelt beside her and lifted her face up to meet his. "I thought you were married," he said gently.
Danielle, taken aback at what he said, shook her head sadly and avoided his gaze. "No, I'm not." She closed her eyes, allowing him to lift her to her feet and embrace her.
"You're not?!" Henry breathed relievedly and spun Danielle around in the air. "Oh, Nicole, you have no idea how much I've missed you."
Until that moment, Danielle had allowed herself the happiness of being in his arms again, convincing herself that everything would be fine and that they would be together from then on, but the mention of the name 'Nicole' shocked her back into reality. Tensing, she disentangled herself from his arms and took a step back from him. 'I have to end this now.' She choked back tears. A plan began to form in her mind.
"You missed me?" Danielle tilted her head to one side and crossed her arms to steady herself. "I'm surprised that you even had time to think of my name," she paused, and as Henry began to protest, she added, "-after all, you are getting married shortly, are you not?"
Shocked, the prince took a step toward her, "You don't understand."
Danielle laughed incredulously, "I don't? Tell me, your highness, what don't I understand about you announcing your engagement to Marguerite de Ghent last night?"
Henry's face paled; this was not the reunion he had pictured. Suddenly the tables turned; instead of thinking she betrayed him, he had betrayed her. "I thought that -"
Danielle cut him off, "That I was married? Why didn't you try and find out for yourself the truth, rather than take the word of my cousin, whom you know would have done anything to get you to marry her own daughter?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but was at a loss for words.
"Because," Leonardo, having ended his 'talk' with Gustave, broke in, "- the boy is an utter fool."
"Isn't that a shame." Danielle said sarcastically. Then, curtsying clumsily, but not without dignity, she nodded to Gustave. "Your highness, I must be going. Good day, signore." She bowed her head politely toward them both and grabbed Gustave's hand. "Run" she whispered to him.
"Coward," Gustave hissed. Danielle ignored him and sprinted away from the path.
"Nicole!" Henry panicked as he saw the two take off, "Wait!"
"No! Just please stay away!" Danielle couldn't let him catch her. Gustave stumbled and yanked back on his hand.
"Tell him the truth!" he cried. "Please, for your own sake."
She shook her head and charged in another direction; she could hear Prince Henry's heavy boots pounding the ground after her.
Trees, bushes, and branches flew past her as she ran blindly through the woods, not paying attention to where she was going. The only thing she was aware of was her pounding heart, and Henry close behind her.
A cramp began to tug at her from her right side. 'No,' she thought. 'I'm so close.'
Fighting the pain, Danielle slowed but still kept running, clinging to every last bit of hope. A large root stuck out from the ground, and went unnoticed by Danielle until she tripped over it. Jolted, she finally realized where she was: the orchard of the Manor de Barbarac. She couldn't believe she had raced all the way back to a place she had, just this morning, hoped she would never see again.
But there was no time for her to sit and wonder. Picking herself up from the ground, she dashed toward a shed only a few yards away. She yanked open the door, and at the last moment decided against going inside. He would expect her to go in, so instead she hid behind the shed where, if discovered, she could escape easier.
"Nicole!" Henry cried, emerging from the woods. His face was red from running, and his dark hair tousled. "I thought that you of all people would at least listen to what I have to say!"
'How did it get this far?' Danielle wondered to herself, crouching low on the other side of the shed.
"Prince Henry!" Rodmilla's voice cut Danielle like a sharp knife. Her nostrils flared and held her breath. More than anything, she couldn't be caught now.
"Your highness, what on earth are you doing? I heard you yelling from inside," the woman lied. In truth, she had been waiting outside ever since he had left. She had tried to keep an eye on both da Vinci and Henry, but they had wandered into the woods and disappeared.
Henry bent over, endeavoring to catch his breath. "Nothing, Madame, I -" he hesitated, unsure. "I met the Comtesse Nicole de Lancret walking in the woods." Rodmilla's eyes widened in shock and her fair skin grew a pale, ghostly white. "She left quite suddenly, but left her shoe behind. I meant to return it to her, but she had quite disappeared from my sight. Did you, by any chance, see her?" He took great care in studying Rodmilla's reaction, searching for the smallest sign that she would lie to him.
Rodmilla quickly regained her composure and shook her head sadly, "No, your highness, I didn't see anyone here by that name. I'm sorry." Her eyes scanned the area, looking for Danielle. 'When I find her, I swear I will kill that girl,' she thought grimly to herself.
"I bet you aren't." Danielle inhaled sharply. What was Gustave doing? "I bet you know exactly which way Danielle went." he continued.
Rodmilla opened her mouth to protest, when the prince cut her off, "Who's Danielle?" He frowned in confusion, "It's Nicole de Lancret that I'm looking for."
Rodmilla bowed her head solemnly, hiding a malicious grin. Finally, she could end this little masquerade her conniving step-daughter had made.
"I'm sorry, sir. I tried to keep it from you as long as I could. I know that you cared very much for Nicole."
Gustave growled menacingly, "No tricks, Rodmilla. I won't let you turn her into some criminal."
Sending Gustave a glare that would make anyone writhe, she continued, "Comtesse Nicole de Lancret is Danielle de Barbarac, a servant in my household."
Henry frowned, looking to Gustave, who nodded gravely. "But- I don't understand. How-?"
"Danielle is a deceiver, my lord. I have always been wary of her and her wily ways. I am sincerely sorry that I did not have her locked up before you fell into her corrupt hands."
"You lie!" Gustave shouted. "She is no such thing and you know it! If anyone's a deceiver, it's you!"
Danielle sighed despairingly, fighting back tears. So this was the end of it. Biting down hard on her lip, she decided that now would be a good time to escape, while they were distracted. She glanced cautiously over the corner of the shed; both Henry and Gustave's backs were turned to her, and only Rodmilla faced her direction.
Taking the chance, she edged away from the shed and began to crawl on all fours toward the wood, keeping her eyes on the three people in case she was spotted. Rodmilla saw her; her face paled even more, but she quickly glanced away. 'She's letting me to leave. She doesn't want me here any more than I want to be here.' Danielle felt a pang of misgiving, knowing she was giving Rodmilla exactly what she wanted by leaving.
Then Danielle chanced a look at Henry, she couldn't see his face, but his arms hung limply by his side and his head was bowed low. 'What have I done?' Danielle's heart went out to him, the love of her life. She had fallen in love with him, and was letting him go.
"She's a servant," Henry repeated slowly, his voice shaking. "A commoner.
Danielle fought back tears. The Prince would never forgive her. Carefully rising from the grass, she escaped into the woods.
"If you please, sir." Gustave bowed before the prince and took a shaky breath, "Danielle loves you, honestly and truly. She is NOT a deceitful person as the baroness said. Danielle, by right, is of noble blood. Her father was a nobleman, but she-" he pointed accusingly at Rodmilla, "-turned her into a slave when he died."
"You liar!" Rodmilla shrieked, "You have no way to prove that! I took Danielle in as a servant when she was but fourteen, my lord. I never-"
"That's a falsehood and you know it!" Gustave's face turned red with anger. "Danielle was not born a commoner, you are the most-"
"ENOUGH!" Prince Henry bellowed. He gazed threateningly at Rodmilla, "Tell me the truth, and if you lie to me again I swear you shall be punished severely."
Rodmilla, now shrinking back in desperation and fear, said in a very small voice, "It is as the boy says, your highness. I did marry Auguste, Danielle's father. But your highness, you must understand, when he died I had no choice but to-"
"I have heard enough," Henry's glare silenced Rodmilla immediately. "Let us go inside; I have an engagement to break." Danielle's boot still clutched firmly in his hand, he swept past Rodmilla, who buried her face in her hands, and made his way toward the manor with Gustave following not far behind. "Wait-" Henry paused and glanced around the field, "Where is da Vinci?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as Danielle had begun to run, she realized she still had left her shoe behind. Squinting in the dark, she tried unsuccessfully to locate it. 'Oh well,' she thought despondently, 'I suppose I can manage without it for a while.'
Using the moonlight as her guide, she trudged through the thick forest, trying to find her way back to the road. At that moment, Danielle had never felt more alone; Gustave had abandoned her, Henry felt betrayed, and she was walking away from the only home she had ever known. She was too tired to cry, even though she desperately wanted to.
"Well, I got what I wanted, I suppose." Danielle muttered bitterly aloud.
"What was it that you wanted?" She jumped in the air at the unexpected voice.
"Who's there?" She almost half-believed that it was Gustave again, except the voice sounded much older.
"Calm down, Danielle." She felt a delicate hand lie comfortingly on her shoulder, "I won't hurt you."
"Signore da Vinci?" She could see him now through the shadows, his long white beard contrasting with the darkness. "What are you doing here?"
"Coming after you, of course. I was just about to join Prince Henry after overhearing all the commotion, but saw you sneak into the other edge of the wood, so I followed you." Leonardo frowned slightly and gazed thoughtfully at Danielle. "Why were you leaving?"
Danielle's chin began to tremble, and her eyes brimmed with tears. Just when she had felt all alone, here came this odd little man to give her comfort. "Henry hates me for sure, now." She whispered.
"Nonsense, child! Henry could never hate you. He loves you more than anything." Leonardo patted her cheek comfortingly.
"You saw the way he said, 'commoner', as if it was a filthy word. He sees me as nothing more than a deceiver now." Danielle sighed and wiped away a solitary tear that had escaped down her cheek.
"You are mistaken." Leonardo said firmly, "Because what I saw was a man completely in love, confused and falling apart. He needs you to explain it to him, Danielle. He needs you." Leonardo cupped her chin and made her look into his eyes, "Don't run away from this. If you do, you will regret it your whole life."
Danielle smiled and kissed the man's hand gratefully, "Thank you, signore. I know that you are right, but -" she looked away from him
"Danielle-" she gazed up at him questioningly, "Do you really love him?"
She nodded her head emphatically, "Yes, yes, I really do. I love him so much."
Leonardo smiled at her and wiped away her tears, "Then there is no 'but' involved. Your love for him is all that matters." He clasped his hand gently around her arm and steered her toward the Manor de Barbarac. "Now let's be on our way."
Danielle took one step forward, but then stopped. "No."
Aghast, Leonardo's eyes widened, "What do you mean, 'No.'?"
Danielle shook her head. "I am a fool if I think I can go back there and expect him to forgive me." Her eyes brimmed with tears and she glanced apologetically at da Vinci. "I know you're giving me reassurance, just to make me believe he would forgive me. But, I saw for myself how he felt, and I know that-" her chin trembled dangerously, tears spilling out. "Thank you so much, signore, for all you have done." she kissed his cheek and turned from him. "I just can't do it. I'm sorry."
Da Vinci widened his mouth in shock, grabbing at empty air as she disappeared behind trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry's mouth was drawn tight as he scowled at Marguerite who stood simpering in front of him. Her mouth fell open and her painted face paled under her make-up.
"What do you mean 'The wedding's off'?" She rushed over to him and grabbed his arm, "You can't meant that! Why?!" She dug her nails into his flesh and her eyes widened in alarm.
Henry snatched his arm away and glanced at her stonily, "I am sorry, Marguerite, to have misled you, but it was a mistake from the very beginning. I should have never asked you to marry me, especially since I don't love you."
"What does love have to do with anything?!" Marguerite screeched, her face reddening. "You announced that I was to be your wife! You can't take that back now! And- And- No matter what my mother did, it should have no reflection upon me! I had no idea what the conniving woman was up to! She's insane!"
Rodmilla, hovering in a corner, shot her daughter an evil look, "How dare you!" Her hand reached out toward her daughter and she slapped her sharply across the face, "You have as much to do with it than I do, if not more!
Henry sighed heavily, and stepped away from the both of them. "If you'll both excuse me, I have to find Signore da Vinci." The women ignored him and continued to swear at each other.
"Find me? I'm right here." Da Vinci emerged from the hallway and smiled sadly at his friend. "You should know better. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"That you have reminded me of many times," Henry smiled relievedly at Leonardo. "Thank God you're here. You have no idea how much I've needed your support these last few hours."
Da Vinci's nodded knowingly, "I think I might have a vague idea." He sighed heavily and glanced morosely at Henry, "Now, Henry, about Danielle-" Henry looked at his friend in shock, "How do you know?"
"It's my business to know," Leonardo approached his next statement lightly, "Henry, Danielle is gone."
Henry's face fell. "Gone?" he croaked.
Leonardo nodded solemnly, "I met her in the woods; she ran off. I'm- I'm sorry." The old man shuddered and patted Henry comfortingly on the back, "I know how much-"
Henry held up his hand, stopping him. "No." He said, his voice low and hoarse, "It's supposed to be this way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
Alright, due to the fact that I felt bad about making this first one so short, and I still wanted to work a little more with it, I've decided to lengthen it. I'm not sure how long I plan on having this go; I guess it'll run till I use up all my 'ever after fuel'. Well, please r&r. Will update the next chance I get.