Hearts' Remedy
Chapter 23
A middle aged woman staggered out of Sai's house. She was badly beaten, her face was bruised and her back was slightly hunched over. Her red hair was streaked with gray. The beauty she once had must have died the day she was transferred to Sai's administrations.
Sai grunted, his impatience bloating him. "Come over here, woman!" He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward forcefully. The woman fell forward and landed painfully on her arms.
"Mother!" Naru cried, rushing over to help her mother.
"Sai, you don't want to damage the merchandise. I don't want to force a refund out of you," Darien spoke, with a tinge of anger in his words.
Sai was blinking rapidly, a sign of nervousness. "Yeah, I know."
"Four more horses. Healthy horses," Serena added.
"What is this?" Sai asked, irritated. "Do I look like a supplier of goods? I don't just give!" Sai was turning red again.
"Nine pieces each!" Serena offered.
Sai's eyeballs looked as if they were prepared to pop out of their sockets. He took this offer as well.
They were all ready to go, thinking that the transactions were complete however unfair they seemed. Nonetheless, the greedy Sai wanted more and it was no surprise to most what he did say next. "I'll be taking Naru back."
"Excuse me, but Naru's free," Serena retorted, "You can't own someone who isn't yours."
"She is a runaway! You made a mistake of bringing her back to me!" Sai screamed, turning somewhat purple around the cheeks.
"Fine!" Serena could not stand the place anymore. She wanted to get away as quickly as possible. "I only have six pieces left, so take them." She threw the pouch at him. "Just leave us alone!"
"This will not do," Sai mumbled. "The old one costs more than her! Listen here, you little cheap trash--"
Darien shot the man a look with a mixture of menace and rage. "Don't call her names like that." Darien's hand gripped the leather string around his neck and it snapped. "If it's gold you want, then here!" He flung a round medallion at Sai's feet.
"You're going to lose your home someday, Sai. Keep your precious gold safe and don't spend it all right away. You might need it to save your behind once I kick you off your own land," Darien threatened, turning quickly on his heels, and walking away from the scene.
"You can't do that! My rights are protected by the law!" Sai yelled, as he picked up the gold medallion.
One good look at the royal emblem emblazed on the gold surface erupted a groan from his throat. "What is it?" Serena asked him in surprise, still stunned at the way Darien just left.
"Here, take it," Sai sighed, throwing it to her. "I don't want their Majesties after me. I know what that Prince is up to. He wants to trick me… So that their Majesties can punish me…"
Serena caught the royal emblem and gasped. A symbol was intricately engraved on the gold surface where the sun cast its rays. The rose that nestled in the shield resembled a beauty finding a niche in a most unlikely home. The light danced around her face as she admired the beauty of the crest. It was real gold, but that quality was not why it was a priceless artifact. It was the meaning of the medallion that Serena knew, meant more than everything to Darien. It was a family heirloom.
"Let's go Naru," Serena said to her friend without glancing back at Sai. "Get your mother on a horse and we'll be off."
"As for you… Don't be surprised the next time I come back to buy this place. For I promise you, the next time I return that is what I will do," Serena said without looking back at Sai.
And the others left to catch up with Darien. Serena trailed somewhat, wheeling around on her own horse, the reigns of two other horses in her hand. She gave one last sad glance at the house that she detested. Then, she tucked Darien's medallion into her trousers and nudged her mare gently forward.
They moved fast, Serena thought in agitation, while sighting two horsemen just a bit ahead of her. Serena pulled up beside Naru.
"Where's Darien?" Serena's voice was edged with worry.
"Over there," Naru pointed a ways off, to the edge of a pond. There, they could see the prince sulking just at the ridge. "He told us to leave him alone for a while. He didn't seem angry, just sullen. Oh, Serena. Is it my fault? Can I help?"
Serena bent over to reach for her hand. She gave it a quick squeeze. "Why would you think it is your fault?"
"Because I brought him here to this horrible place."
Serena perked up at that and pressed her lips together. "The prince has seen much worse than this. I know he isn't troubled because of the helplessness he sees in you and your mother. There's something else bothering him and I'm going to try to cheer him up.
You go take your mother to the inn we just passed. His Highness and I will be back in a few." Serena pressed two silver coins into Naru's hardened hand. "And lighten up, will ya? I got enough sad faces to turn upside down already!"
A smile brightened softly across Naru's features. "You're good at remedying that, Serena. Thank you so much."
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Darien sat glumly by himself, feeling guilty. He did not want to just dismiss Naru and her mother like second class people. It was just that he felt like he betrayed his family a while ago. He gave away his father's gift to him.
Darien dangled his head just above the glistening water and stared at his own reflection. This was the face that his father had hoped would be a worthwhile king and most importantly a trustworthy son. What would he do if he found out that his son was selfish enough to break a promise?
Flashback
"Father, you called for me?
A boy of five stood by the throne where his father sat gazing down at him. He held his hands behind him to look more humble in front of the king.
"Why were the guards laughing when you came in?" The king asked in a soft manner.
"I really don't know, Father," the boy lied.
"Good enough." The king's eyes twinkled. "Where were you? And why are your trousers wet?"
"Ah… I was at the pond, playing."
"By yourself?"
The boy nodded. He never knew any playmates.
His father stepped off from his pedestal and stood in front of the little boy, eyes smiling. He rested his hands on the boy's shoulders, which pointedly stiffened at contact. The king suppressed the urge to laugh.
"I called for you to give you this." He pulled out the medallion and hung it around the boy's neck.
"Is this the…"
"Yes, it is." The king spoke proudly and now patting his son's head affectionately. "The kings give it to their son, in some incidents their first-born, whenever they feel like they have crossed a certain age. Those who come to age are ready in everyway at confronting their hardships and preparing their roles in leadership."
"I'm only five, Father."
"I know. Happy birthday Darien."
In all his excitement, Darien untied his hands from his back to grip the medallion, dangling around his neck. "It's really real!"
"Darien!"
A frog leapt out from behind Darien and started jumping around the room. "I'm sorry, Father!"
The king laughed. "So that was what you were hiding from me. How many times have I told you not indoors?"
Father and Son spent the next hour trying to catch a slippery frog. Soon ten more guards were needed to join the game.
End Flashback
It was selfish for Darien to give away the gift, listening to his own heart and only worrying about one thing in his life. What he hated most was that sometimes the mistakes he made targeted his feelings on other people. It was not a prince-thing. His mind was never in the right place at the right time, so things happened before he meant for them to. Or was something else the cause? He was making mistakes because he cared so much for another.
Staring at his grim reflection, he let his face relax and his mind stray. A ripple spread right in the center of his face as a rock dropped there. The waves expanded outward and managed to awaken him from his state of reverie. Golden hair and summer blue eyes appeared next to his image and he knew right away it was not his imaginings.
"You look like you have a lot on your mind," Serena said smartly as she plopped down next to him.
"I can get a lot off my mind when I have plenty of time just being by myself."
"Supposing so, I am to leave you here? Where were you when I needed comfort? If I remember correctly you were there for me," Serena countered.
"If this is about taking and repaying, I refuse to receive."
Serena shrieked in irritation. "You conceited jerk, I'm trying to help! Why do you think it's like that? Do I seem like I don't care about your feelings? Then, you're worse than most men I know if you think that way." Her sentences came in a rapid pace. She waited for him to say something in retaliation, but he was as mute as stone.
Darien's silent treatment only made Serena worry more. "Forgive me for raising my voice at you. It's very insensitive of me to…"
Darien hushed her with a finger to her lips. Serena felt the heat of the pad of his finger burn her upper lip. The gesture was so abrupt and unexpected.
"I like your company more when you're quiet, okay?"
Her timid nod allowed him to withdraw his finger. They were not counting the minutes they sat there alone together, but those minutes seemed like eternity. The serenity would not be broken by Serena because Darien would not allow it.
"That gold was yours," Darien said, "you were supposed to spend it on yourself. If only I still had my money… Then, you would still have yours."
"That gold was of no use to me, you know that."
"It's not the gold, no," Darien agreed, "but it was the thought in the gift that counted to me, Serena. Don't you feel guilty about giving it away?"
Serena watched him staring intently back at her, his eyes dark and hazy. "I never thought of it that way, but now that you've mentioned it, I do feel I have done wrong."
"That is how I feel, Serena. So there you have it. If I seem moody to you at all just get away. I can be unpleasant sometimes."
Serena shook her head. "Why did you give away the medallion if it meant so much to you?"
"Now, is not the time to say it," Darien sighed.
"Fair enough. Then, explain to me in your own words how you feel about it."
"I feel like I have forsaken my father's prized gift to me. He trusted me with the family crest and I lost it," Darien despaired, his gaze not leaving Serena's.
Serena looked like she was on the verge of tears and yet she laughed instead. Laughter that sounded like wind chimes echoed in his ears. Then in a blink of an eye, the medallion returned to its rightful place around the prince's neck. The instant he felt the weight of the crest against his heart he realized why she was laughing at him.
"There, like it never left," Serena said, still on her knees in front of him, laughing her head off. "You must feel better now."
"I don't know." The uncertainty in his voice brought Serena slowly back to her serious self.
"You don't know?" Serena was now scratching her head. The foreboding feeling that she had misread all those obvious signs about his missing medallion uprooted her glee so fast she felt unstable. Could it be that something else was disturbing him?
"The guilt is still here. I lost the medallion and I will remember it always even though my luck changed in the end," he finished.
Serena pressed her lips in a thin line. Even though, she felt eased that the medallion did relieve him of some stress, she felt hopeless in the end. He looked like he could not be reassured completely ever again!
"How can I comfort you?" She asked before another thought came to mind.
He studied her face outlined with concern for him. "There's always one way," he murmured, conjuring an image in his head right on the spot. "You can comfort me the way I comforted you when you were in the deepest state of despair when Sammy left…"
She looked at him critically. "I do not despair."
"You forget so soon," Darien said with one short shake of his head.
Automatically Serena blushed. "I do not."
"Then, will you offer me some comfort in the form of a kiss like that?" His voice died to a murmur. He never broke his gaze from her face even if she had already done so more than once. She did not reply, nod, or make any blatant or miniscule gesture to confirm his request.
Deliberately, he leaned forward to catch her sweet lips in his. The first one was soft and brief. He made sure to keep his eyes slightly opened to see the way her closed eyes moved under her long lashed lids. The first one was short for comfort and not to scare her away. He also wanted to see the way she reacted and if her reaction was to his liking then he would feel more comfortable.
When he pulled from her, she felt bereft of his touch. She opened her eyes, revealing a drugged gaze. She stayed put, not moving at all. Smiling, Darien leaned in again and took her mouth hungrily. His lips burned hers as they did their work for the first time in a whole new way. He had never kissed her with so much passion and fire in all the days that she knew him. She learned that tongues weren't only for talking, then and there, as he caressed the insides of her mouth lovingly. She had, by then, forgotten who was comforting who.
Darien remained a gentleman, and kept his arms to his side. He was never in a predicament such as this. He was only half aware that he would be embarrassed beyond anything he'd ever done that was embarrassing enough once he released her. It felt that way because passion, and something else, had never been palpable until they embraced in such a way. His surprise when he felt her responding, almost made him stop and withdraw back to his empty shell. Serena was not willing to let him go.
As if she felt him backing away, she coaxed him silently with the tender strokes of her tongue against his mouth. He brought his hand to the back of her neck and kept it there. Her little hands, somehow inched their way to the front of his shirt, where the material gathered.
For a second they pulled away to breathe and then got right back to it. Through this they were supposed to forget about their losses, guilt, and sorrow. Was this how one comforts another or was there a hunger to satisfy?
MW:
I finished the last few paragraphs in my sleep. Seriously... I'm going to sleep soon after I finish this note down here.
bunnybunny: I am not at all offended at your review. I like it. : Serena is so unreal in my story. I made her that way, so I keep her that way. So I'm sorry if it bothers you that Serena seems to be "spreading herself too thin." Hey, it would also help if you explain to me what you precisely mean by that in your next review. : We all have our opinions about the way Serena chose how to entertain the task of helping others. I suppose there are all sorts of ways to help people and that idea of being Queen and taking that leadership role is a fine way to do it, help others. However, no matter how tired and beaten my brain is, I like to examine outside forces as well. Those outside forces would be Serena's reasons for not wanting to be a queen; she hates life in a castle, she hates never being able to talk to people outside castle walls, she hates the general goody goodiness that people expect from a princess, like the medieval stereotype that all princesses most accept their arranged marriages ya dah ya dah yadah...
To the general public... Yikes! Do you have any idea how close to the end we are getting? The horror! AHHHHHHH! It's the sleep. That's all I need. Now, I'm off to catch some zzzzzzzz's... I'm sorry peeps. I'm not checking for mistakes in my author's notes anymore. Wicked tired over here. Hahahaha
Until next time... Ja