Remembrance

Chapter 4: Memories

.~.~.~.

The sun shone brightly outside announcing the start of another beautiful day. Emily was preparing breakfast while Joshua sat on the table drawing. Emily softly hummed to a familiar tune as she worked. Breakfast was almost ready and she was about to call Ulquiorra when the a knock came from the door. She stopped in the living room unsure of whether to answer the door or not.

Before she could ponder it any further Ulquiorra appeared beside her, and placed his pale hand on her shoulder before looking down at her and smiling at her. "Its alright, I'll get it," he comforted. Emily gave a small nod consenting him to answer the door.

As he opened the large entrance door a man dressed in red and gold appeared. He gave a small bow before handing him a letter rolled up with a seal all too familiar. Ulquiorra gave a small nod and the man hopped on his horse and rode off.

As Ulquiorra closed the door he opened the letter and scanned it quickly. He finally looked up at Emily with a concern look. Emily waited anxiously, afraid that it was bad news, saying that Ulquiorra had to go back or something worse.

"It's a letter from my mother," he responded, afraid of her reaction, but all she felt was a lump on her throat. From the very beginning Ulquiorra's mother detested her, and she wasn't ashamed to show her dislike. How she remembered the first day she had met her.

[flashback]

Emily twiddled her thumbs back and forth as the carriage carried them across an open field ever nearing towards their destination. Ulquiorra sat by her side, unsure on what to say, he was as nervous as she was. It had been a while now, since they had met each other, but Ulquiorra had finally taken the first steps to realize their love towards one another, he had asked her to marry him.

Of course, Emily had answered happily, for she bore great feelings towards him, but obviously that wasn't the problem. What was the problem that put these two young lovers in a delicate situation was the simple fact that they were on their way to meet Ulquiorra's mother, who was not at all pleased after receiving his letter.

Ulquiorra had written her a letter, to prepare her in a way, for their arrival, after all he was all too familiar with his mother's stubborn attitude. She had been furious when she had read the contents of the letter, for she had already arranged a marriage with the daughter of a good friend of hers. She was wealthy, pretty, what could possibly go wrong? But then again, there was the young girl's attitude, which completely annoyed Ulquiorra, and he had simply refused her from the start, pretty looks and money did not interest him in the very least.

His mother, thinking that he wasn't serious, had continued with her plans, and when she received the letter, proving the opposite, she was horrified. She simply saw that this new girl had ruined everything for her son and she was prepared to send her back from where she came from, no matter the cost.

Days passed and she remained infuriated and never sent a response back, but as well as her son knew her, she knew him, and she knew that he would bring her nevertheless. So angrily and desperately she awaited the arrival of the two, ready to separate the union.

"It'll be fine, once she gets to know you," Ulquiorra tried at consoling the poor agonizing girl beside him. She looked up at him, her auburn eyes filled with fear, but either way offered a soft smile, pretending that she was alright. With that being said they entered the town where Ulquiorra had grown up in.

In no time they were both getting out of the carriage and into a stone pathway. Ulquiorra guided his fiancée, her hand around his and walked up to the large entrance, where an elegant wooden door greeted them. Ulquiorra smiled once more towards this lovely lady and then knocked on the door.

Moments, no seconds, passed before the giant door creaked open. A young girl wearing a simple gray dress and white apron answered the door before exclaiming in joy, "Sir Ulquiorra! It's so wonderful to see you again!"

Ulquiorra gave her a small smile and nod at the girl. "I'll go call your mother," she said before running off to who knows where. Ulquiorra and Emily slowly walked into the house, he hadn't been in quite a while.

There were some old gray pictures on the wall, and Emily seemed to take an interest in them. She walked up to them and analyzed each one carefully. "These are photographs of my family," he informed as he stood behind her.

Emily took another step to analyze the next picture when a huge smile spread across her face, "This is you, isn't it?" she asked.

Ulquiorra gave a small smile and nodded. She looked at it closer before complimenting it, "You were so adorable!" she responded happily before looking up at him.

A small frown grew in Ulquiorra's face, "Were?" he asked playfully. Emily blushed a bit before shaking her head.

"No! That's not what I meant!" she tried to correct herself before chucking. Ulquiorra slowly moved in closer and touched her soft welcoming lips. He kissed her tenderly before being interrupted by someone coughing from the side.

Both of them removed themselves and looked towards the noise. An grown woman, around her 40's was standing right there wearing an elaborate burgundy dress, alongside her was the young girl that had received them with a shy smile.

Emily felt completely embarrassed for what they had just seen, especially since the elderly woman wore a frightening frown and just glared at the two. Ulquiorra finally decided to cut the dreadful silence and introduced them.

"Mother, I'd like you to meet, my fiancée, Emily" Ulquiorra introduced, his mother seemed as she were about to pass out at the mere word fiancée, but to both their relief she remained standing, awfully pale, but standing.

After that being said the dreadful silence filled the air once more, and all four of them remained there standing dumbfounded, awaiting for a response, and altogether nothing at all. The young girl fidgeted on what to do next, but finally she decided to do something. "Well, how about we eat something, you two must be starving! Come to the dining room and I'll fix you two something to eat," she invited cordially.

Emily and Ulquiorra smiled thankfully at the young girl and followed her, while Ulquiorra's mother remained in utter shock. Once they were in the dining room, both of them sat down and awaited for his mother to return. Emily frowned at him a bit, while he shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

The young girl worked diligently putting plates and setting up the dining table while other voices could be heard coming from the kitchen. As the young couple remained there sitting silently Ulquiorra's mother finally walked in, recovered from her shock.

She gruffly sat down on the opposite chairs from where they sat staring a Emily rather menacingly. The three of them sat in complete silence which didn't help one bit, finally his mother broke the silence. "And may I ask from where you're from?" she asked in an arrogant tone, and if that wasn't bad enough already, the answer wasn't going to please her one bit.

Emily's eyes widened a bit and hesitated in answering. To her relief, Ulquiorra answered for her, "She's from the countryside" he responded with a smile, hoping that his mother would stop frowning, but to no avail. His response just added to her anger that already resided in her every motion.

Luckily, for both of them, his mother did not respond, or talk for the rest of the dinner, as a matter of fact. Once dinner was over Ulquiorra decided to show Emily around, after all the place was a pretty vast. Ulquiorra's mother plainly refused to walk around with them and stayed indoors. She stayed inside watching them wander the wide garden, she felt really annoyed and couldn't help but complain to herself.

"What was he thinking!" she would comment to herself rather angrily. She started pacing back and forth not too sure of what to do about this union. Of course, she was determined to end it, but sometimes her son could be as stubborn as her and his quiet attitude drove her nuts, just like his father, but that is another story.

After much thought she decided to write to her. Perhaps, words wouldn't be able to talk sense into him, but maybe she could somehow convince him to reconsider. And that's exactly what she did, and she had agreed to come as soon as possible, after all she lived fairly close and could make it by the next morning.

By that time Ulquiorra and Emily returned from outside and were ready to retire for the day. His mother couldn't care less, oh wait, maybe there was. She did make sure that they slept in separate rooms, not that Ulquiorra and Emily had a problem, for they wanted to wait until after marriage. Though, his mother did it for she absolutely hated Emily for "stealing" her son.

The following day the sun rose as usual and birds happily sang from the trees. Ulquiorra and Emily arose bright and early ready to receive whatever this day had planned for them. "Good morning," Emily said happily as she walked towards Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra turned to her and a bright smile appeared on his face. She was wearing a royal blue dress that had golden vines embroidered on the top half. She looked so beautiful, her hair held up in a beautiful yet plain bun, some of her lose curls coming down beautifully. He walked up to her and held one of his pale white hands up to her cream doll face, "Good morning"

She felt heat rise up to her cheeks, still not used to being so close to someone else, causing her cheeks to turn reddish. He smiled at her reaction and leaned in to kiss her soft lips. She blushed a bit more, but happily received the kiss. When the sound of a carriage could be heard both of them reluctantly separated themselves. Ulquiorra gave her one more reassuring smile before heading downstairs hand in hand.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they received a rather shocking sight. Ulquiorra's mother was rushing to answer the door and you can see her happily receiving the guest. Ulquiorra looked at Emily a bit confused and both of them walked to see who had arrived.

Once Ulquiorra had a good view of the guest he seemed utterly shocked, he couldn't believe who he was seeing, and then he understood. It was obvious this all had to do with his mother and her indescribable stubbornness. A young lady around the same age of Emily, perhaps just a bit older, maybe by a year or two, stepped closer towards the house.

Ulquiorra's mother was just jubilant to have her there, speaking non-stop and trying to make her feel welcome in everyway possible. Suddenly, her ocean eyes shot up and caught a glimpse of him and her smile widened. "Ulquiorra!" she exclaimed. She carelessly threw her bag on the floor and rushed to greet her betrothed. She would have hugged him if she had not seen what laid before her eyes, the young Emily beside him, both holding hands.

She stopped speechless in front of the two, unsure of what to do next. Her golden hair swayed with the soft breeze coming from outside, she felt downright awful, to see her future husband with someone else, after all she had believed and taken the betrothal quite seriously.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked in a harsh tone, replacing sadness with anger. Emily wasn't sure how to react or what to say, Ulquiorra had told her about his betrothed, but according to him he had never agreed, yet this girl was telling her the exact opposite.

Ulquiorra stared at her a bit annoyed at her remark, and finally responded, "What do you mean?" The blonde stared at him unbelievingly, as if she didn't understand him. She as if she were about to make a scene, and well that's exactly what she did.

"What do I mean?! Hello! Who is she?" she exclaimed in a rude manor, not ashamed to point at Emily in disgust. She was really child-like and spoke her mind, which Emily shrink more and more with every comment.

Ulquiorra felt really offended and angry at her rude comments towards the person he was hiding hands with and whom he loved with all his heart. "I'd appreciate it if you would watch your language," he responded politely but rather coldly.

Emily wished she had never agreed to come, and wished she would just let this nightmare end, rather than prolonging it. Finally, she turned to Ulquiorra and gave him a weak smile, "Ulquiorra? I think I better go home," she said and noticed Ulquiorra's emerald eyes widen.

"No, why? Is it because of her?" he asked desperately wishing she would stay. Emily looked at his mesmerizing orbs and gave another soft smile.

"No, don't worry. I just really want to go back home," she said as politely as she could. Ulquiorra stood there perplexed beyond measure. Emily let go of his pale hand and made her way up the stairs and into the room she had her belongings.

She immediately began to pack the few things she had brought. She did her best to ignore all the thoughts flooding her mind, and refused to let a single tear fall, but it was obvious in the bottom of her eyes where a thin purple line resided there, showing her sadness.

As she gathered her belongings she hesitated in leaving, staring at the small bureau. She played with the ring Ulquiorra had given her, the compromise they had made, and then she quickly took it off and placed it on the bureau.

When she was about to turn and leave the room she found Ulquiorra standing there, a sad expression on his face. She looked at him briefly before shifting her gaze to the floor. She felt him walk closer to her, he put a hand on her shoulder, wishing she would look up, but she remained staring at the wooden floor. "Emily," he whispered, she didn't want to hear him, she didn't want him to convince her, so she moved to the opposite side and painfully walked out the bedroom door.

Ulquiorra stood there, hurt more than ever, and then as his eyes shifted from the place she had been moments ago to the bureau. There lay the beautiful golden ring with the diamond rock, alone and abandoned. He quickly grabbed it and followed her out the door.

"Emily, please wait!" he shouted after her down the stairs. When Emily reached the bottom she walked out the entrance, past his mother and his betrothed. The blonde watched confused as Ulquiorra's mother practically jumped with joy, as she saw the female his son had brought home finally leaving, for good.

Emily walked as fast as she could out the giant gate and into the lonely pathway that led to a town she wasn't too familiar. She walked the rocky pathway with her heels, tears slipping down her eyes now, unable to suppress her grief. It wasn't what she had imagined, the happiness she had felt was all washed away, she felt so terrible and lonely.

"Emily!" Ulquiorra shouted again hoping that she would stop walking away. He ran as fast as he could, but couldn't catch up. For every time he shouted to her she seemed to quicken her pace. Ulquiorra made a harder effort to keep up and just as it seemed she was only a couple feet away she made a drastic turn.

Emily turned away from the path and into the damp morning forest. She walked over vines and through branches, she didn't mind the scrapes she got through some thick bushes and she paid less attention to her muddied dress and shoes, all she cared was that she had to get away from that place and from him.

Ulquiorra hurried through the thick forest hoping that he would spot her somewhere, finally he caught up to her, she had paused to regain her breath. Luckily, for him she was facing the other way, so as quietly as he could he walked towards her. As his boots stepped on the leaves they crunched with the pressure causing Emily to turn towards the noise, her teary eyes widened and as she turned to start running Ulquiorra managed to get her wrist.

She yelled as he pulled her towards him. "Let me go!" she shouted defiantly. She had dirt all over and tears were streaming down her eyes, yet he thought she looked so beautiful and never wanted to let go. He didn't let go, instead he leaned in closer and embraced her thin, delicate body. Her cries became muffled as she clung to his white blouse and held him close.

She loved him as much as he did her, but she knew that they weren't destined to be together, and she couldn't pretend any longer, it was just hurting her even more. She sobbed quietly against his chest, wishing that he could somehow make everything alright. "Emily, please, please don't ever do that again," he pleaded softly.

She managed to look up at him, her tears blurring his face. "I love you so much, I would never choose anyone besides you." he responded sincerely. She remained staring at him, unsure of what to do next, she obviously couldn't go back even if she was welcomed.

"Even if my mom says no, I can't imagine living with someone else than you," he continued as he wiped her tears and some of the dirt on her cheek. "So, please don't leave me," he whispered as he held both of her hands "No matter what obstacle faces us, I'll always be there with you."

He slowly bent down on one knee and looked up at her, "Emily, will you please marry me?" he asked once more, hoping that she would say 'yes' the way she had a while ago. Sure things had changed and happened, but one thing remained the same, their love for one another.

Emily looked down at him, more tears ready to flow down her face and finally responded, "yes." Ulquiorra immediately got up, relieved that she had agreed and embraced her. She let the few tears run down her face as Ulquiorra carefully put the ring back where it once resided.

He looked up at her and smiled at her happily. He then swiftly embraced her and picked her up. She was surprised that he could lift her so swiftly and giggled in joy as she slowly leaned in to kiss his loving lips. Ulquiorra happily received the kiss and kissed her back. After a few moments they finally separated themselves in order to breathe and Ulquiorra carefully placed her back on he feet.

Emily stared at him, unsure on what was going to happen next, yet she trusted him to make the right decision. He looked at her and smiled as he put on of her loose hairs behind her ear, "Let's get out of here" he responded to the question in her eyes.

She looked at him surprised and confused, "What about-" she was cut off by Ulquiorra as he placed one finger on her red lips. He then picked her up, her whole body on one of his shoulders.

Emily was surprised and protested, "Ulquiorra! Put me down!" she persisted, but Ulquiorra refused all the way, until they were out of the forest. When he finally put her down Emily noticed the different surroundings and was about to inform him that he had gone the wrong way, but Ulquiorra answered before.

"The town is that way," he said as he pointed towards a small train station not too far from where they stood. She looked back at him perplexed.

"Come on, let's go," he responded as he grabbed her hand and walked towards the train station, heading home.

[End flashback]

Her memories were cut-off as she felt Ulquiorra in front of her, he placed one pale hand of his underneath her chin and gave her a reassuring smile, "Remember, no matter what obstacle confronts us, I'll always be there at your side," he responded.

She looked up at him, letting his words console her and gave him a soft smile and nod. She had doubt his love for her that time, but she promised to never let that happen, for he never let her down, not once.

Ulquiorra leaned in to give her a small kiss on her forehead and she gladly accepted it. "Everything is going to be alright," he finished. She looked up at him and smiled, this time a lot more happier.

She closed the space between them and gave him a small sweet kiss on his lips, "I know," she replied.

Sorry, mother doesn't show up til next chapter! This chapter was more of a flashback! :) Reviews and comments are happily appreciated! :) They help improve the story or at least gives me support and confidence that people like it! And I'm proud to say this is one of the stories most read! Thnxs soo much! :P