So it looks like I'm updating quite a lot these days… hope the inspiration will still be there in a few weeks ^^. I just love where this story is going… I can't wait to write more and to share it with all of you.
Lola slept alone in their bed that night. She found herself feeling awfully lonely. Had anyone told her a few weeks ago that she would come to miss Lord Narcisse in her bed at night, she would have laughed right at their faces. The empty spot next to her on the mattress made her wonder if Lord Narcisse had decided to go meet another woman that night. She sighed while turning on her back and glancing at the ceiling. Lola knew that the lover of the woman in the diary had not been sent to Spain. The poor man probably succumbed to Lord Narcisse's sword. It made Lola wonder how she would react if she once stood face to face with one of her husband's potential affairs. She might try to convince herself that Lord Narcisse meant nothing to her, she would be lying to herself. Although she might not use the word 'love' just yet, something had grown in her heart, a feeling of fondness, an indescribable tenderness when it came to her husband. She might not approve of his ways, but he had proven her that he could be someone else when he was around her, and that was all Lola needed to know.
The realization that sleep would not come to her tonight, Lola got up and lit three candles that provided enough light for her to read the diary. She opened the little black book on the page she had marked with an orange leaf she had picked up in the park the other day. Putting it aside, Lola began her reading:
The physician visited us today. My husband found out about my headaches and decided to have someone check on me. The news the physician brought with him were rejoicing… for both of us, thankfully. I was told today that all our efforts to produce an heir had been rewarded. I am pregnant. I still can't believe it. There, inside of me, a small child will live and grow over the nine next months. Well, not exactly nine. According to the physician, it has already been a month and a half since this little miracle has made its nest inside my womb. Strangely, my husband's behaviour has changed since he's learned the news this afternoon. He is caring, looking after me and asking me regularly if I am feeling okay, if I am in need of anything. I must say, I appreciate the attention.
This paragraph made Lola smile softly. What she was reading sounded more like the Narcisse she had come to know over the short period of time they had spent together. Until last night, she had never seen him lose his temper. And even then, she was certain that if she had pushed him further, he wouldn't have become more violent and aggressive. Lola found her concentration fade until she had to put the book away. Sleep still wouldn't come. She wished desperately her husband were there… she wanted to feel his strong arms pulling her close to his equally powerful chest. She wanted to feel his breath on her face, she wanted to hear him mumble in his sleep like he used to do. Lola shook her head and wrapped the blankets around her shivering body after blowing out the candles. Lola didn't find sleep until early in the morning, shortly before sunrise.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"I really didn't feel like a party tonight", Lola complained once again. Kenna didn't listen to her and dragged her through the corridors. Lola felt ignored and she didn't like that at all. "Kenna, I'm tired, I haven't slept all night and all I want to do now is to go to bed" Her friend kept ignoring her and only gave Lola the toys meant for the servant's children, toys that were meant to be distributed the same evening at a small party held in the main hall. "Kenna, please go there without me, I really need to sleep, I am dead tired…"
"There is one thing you must know, Lola, when you are married you don't have a private life anymore. If your husband doesn't visit your chamber even for one night, rumours spread faster than you think" Kenna put the toys down and placed her hands softly on Lola's shoulders, "You have always helped me whenever I was in trouble, now it is your time to tell me everything. Is Lord Narcisse cheating on you?"
"No Kenna! We…", the young woman hesitated for a while before telling her best friend the truth with a sigh, "… we had a fight. He forbade me to see Francis and I didn't appreciate, he then blamed me of cheating on him and I didn't appreciate this at all. And eventually, I might have said something I shouldn't have…" Kenna didn't inquire further, which was a relief for Lola. "He was absent from our bed the whole night, I haven't seen him since yesterday night" Kenna nodded.
"Just keep your head high for this evening", Kenna advised her friend, picking the toys up, "just this evening. Try to discuss the matter with him after the party. All will be alright, Lola… I promise", she added with a reassuring smile. Lola nodded thankfully and followed her best friend to the main hall. They met up on the way with Mary and Greer and while Kenna cheerfully talked to the two women, Lola preferred to keep quiet. Did the rumours really spread so fast? Was the castle so small? Or did Narcisse really have an affair and someone had spied on them? If this had happened, Lola needed to know who that woman was. She didn't know what exactly she would do once she'd found out, but she would certainly not let her go away with it.
"Lola, everything alright?" Mary asked her friend. Lola almost automatically nodded, certifying that she was fine. She just hoped no one would ask her anything about her husband's absence. When they entered the room, the children already formed a circle around them, having obviously been told of what awaited them. Lola looked at their smiling faces and thought that those kids might not have seen new toys in quite a while. She felt good knowing that she was one of the people making those kids happy. She distributed the toys she had been given by Kenna and even accepted the children's hugs and kisses. Lola loved children, any child she saw was worthy of her love. Somehow, she found herself hoping she and her Lord husband would one day have children of their own. Lola's eyes instinctively searched for Lord Narcisse, finding him standing together with Lady Catherine only a few steps away from the ring of children. The young woman wondered if her husband might have found shelter in Catherine's bed… but she quickly chastised herself for being so silly. Narcisse would not cheat on her. She knew that he had been hurt by his past wife in the same fashion… he would certainly not do it himself, would he? Lola couldn't help but wonder.
"Go talk to him, Lola", Kenna whispered in her ear. Lola looked at her husband and took a deep breath before heading towards him, determined to apologize for her words. She hoped he wouldn't coldly send her away. Lord Narcisse saw her come towards him and turned to face her. That was already a good start, Lola reckoned.
"You have not joined me in our bedrooms the past night" Lola might have wished to choose her words more wisely, but she needed answers desperately.
"No… I went to the library and fell asleep there. I woke up shortly before sunrise and went to check on you and to change clothes. You were sleeping soundly, I didn't want to wake you so I left to tend to some… affairs" Lola let out the breath she had been holding in. If this story was true, she would have been worrying for nothing. She felt silly for believing that her husband had cheated on her.
"I'm sorry… I was worried something had happened…"
"No, you were worried that I had slipped under another woman's sheets…" Lola hated the way he read her like an open book. She looked at him apologetically, grabbing his hand in hers as if she feared he'd disappear again. Narcisse, seemingly taken aback by the sudden gesture, looked at their intertwined fingers and couldn't help but brush his thumb over the back of his young wife's hand.
"I'm sorry for accusing you of not being loyal to me. The truth is…", he stopped and looked her in the eye, wondering if he really should tell her the truth, "… you are such an enticing young woman, a man's heart will easily be tempted to… woe you" Lola knew he was hiding things from her, but at the moment, she didn't care. Although he looked calm, his eyes betrayed his helplessness. It made Lola's heart beat faster and swell with tenderness.
"And I am sorry for what I have said. But I am still angry at you for threatening my baby…"
"I never meant to…"
"Shh", she placed her finger on his lips, "I know. I don't want to speak of it anymore, let's bring this behind us. But from now on… no more lies! No more secrets. Please…" She lost herself in his azure blue eyes.
"As far as it doesn't become dangerous for you…", came the soft answer. Lola smiled softly and left her husband's side without as much as a second glance over her shoulder.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Lord Narcisse left the party after hearing Queen Mary announce Claude's engagement with Condé. He was frustrated that he hadn't convinced Catherine of the stupidity and consequences this betrothal would have on the French people. It sickened him to see a pure Catholic line being mixed up with Protestant blood. A Valois and a Bourbon… it was political suicide to see Claude and Condé married. Catherine hadn't appeared all that pleased, but yet she had let it all happen, pretending she didn't have another choice. She was not the King, she had stated. Shame, Narcisse thought, she would have made a really good one.
Blackmailing a King had never been one of Lord Narcisse's ambitions. He was not suicidal and loved life too much to endanger it in such a fashion, but Francis was young and foolish, there was no other way to make him understand the seriousness of the situations he was facing. Narcisse was certain that had he not been there all along, France would have long since fallen into the scary depths of anarchy. He was a patriot, he loved his country and wanted to see it bloom prosperously, he wanted to bring France to the top, to turn it into a powerful nation that all the other countries would fear. But to reach that goal, they needed a strong ruler, and Francis was but a child trying to fit in his father's oversized shoes. Henry had not prepared his son well enough… but in Narcisse's eyes that wouldn't have changed much, for Henry, despite being a better and more mature ruler than his son, had been more concerned about himself and not enough about the people.
Narcisse went outside to take a walk, in spite of the cold, in need of fresh air to clear his thoughts. Had would have done anything to avoid this marriage, even if that meant marrying princess Claude himself so she'd stay away from Condé. But even if Claude had been interested, Narcisse was already a married man. Married to a beautiful woman, to a very smart one as well. Ah, Lola. Young, naïve Lola. She was also just a child, but what she had gone through had turned her into a woman. Being considered the King's mistress and therefore being feared mustn't have been very pleasant for her. As far as Narcisse knew, the relations between her and her family were rather tensed. She hadn't spoken of it, but she had once received a letter from her father that stipulated she had been disinherited. Why exactly Narcisse didn't know, for he had stopped reading as soon as he had realized that this letter had not been addressed to him. Contrary to what people might think, he was a gentleman when it came to women. And despite the rumours, he had always treated his past wives gently.
Oh yes, Lola. He had grown attached to her in some way. Even after last night's fight (if you could really consider it as a fight), there was still something that had stirred in him when she had come to apologize for her behaviour. Although she had not been the only one who had made false assumptions. But Narcisse preferred to stay cautious. He had already been cheated on, he didn't want to renew the experience… and if blackmailing a King had never been part of his life ambitions, killing one certainly did not either.
It surprised him how different Lola was from his past wives. Although the conditions in which she had had to marry him had been the same, she had not reacted the way the other women had. She had tried to get to know him, she had tried to be a wife to him instead of ignoring him and secretly hating him. He had of course understood her wish to wait some time before allowing him to bed her, he had respected that wish even. And when they eventually had consummated their marriage, it had also felt different, somehow… more relieving, more pleasurable. She had made him feel wanted, unlike his past wives, who had just accepted to lay with him because it had been their duty (and because their fathers had threatened to disown them if their daughters didn't show loyalty to Lord Narcisse). But Lola had tried… she wanted this to work out.
"M'lord?", Narcisse turned around and saw a young stable boy run in his direction, looking puffed out and panicked, "M'lord you must get back to the castle quickly. Enemies have managed to get inside… we need every man to protect the people within the walls…" Narcisse didn't react for a short instant, wondering how those men could have possibly managed to get inside the castle without getting caught.
"Protestants?"
"I don't know, m'lord, you must come now!" Of course, why would anyone else try to get inside a fortified castle? No peasant in his right mind would even consider this eventuality. It had to be Protestants… then it struck Narcisse like a lightning bolt. Lola! Lola was still inside…
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
She had gone to the nursery as soon as she had heard. Rumours that enemies of the crown had managed to get inside the castle had spread like flames and Lola had had only one thought in her mind, namely to go protect her son with her life if she had to. Robert was not even crying. It was as if he sensed the danger. His eyes looked at her with a look of vulnerability. Lola shushed him and caressed his head tenderly.
"Don't worry, love. They're not here for us. They won't hurt us, I promise"
Her son looked worried, and yet so understanding of the situation. She had troubled comprehending how a babe could grasp the danger of the situation. Lola heard someone hit the door and thought that her time had come. But nobody forced their way in. They were probably looking for money, for anything of value. There was nothing valuable in a nursery. Robert made small scared noises.
"Hush, little one. Stay calm, all will be well, I pro…" But her words were cut off by a huge man entering the room. He looked huge, even taller than Bash, and thrice as broad. He grinned, showing crooked yellowish teeth. His breath smelled as foully as the man himself. His hands could have crushed her son's head without any difficulty. In his left hand, the hand of the devil, the man held a long sword. Lola felt tears well up in her eyes.
"Hullo milady. Ya look fine… 'd like to hav' a lil' taste of tha' fine breast…"
Lola felt like throwing up. In a desperate gesture of self-defence, she grabbed a vase that stood on the window sill and threw it at the huge beast facing her, but it didn't even seem to affect him. She wanted to scream when she felt his huge hand grab her breast, but the man was gagging her with a piece of dirty cloth he had taken out of his pocket.
"No' ya'll be all nice an' obedient, eh?" Lola was crying, she was begging the Lord above to spare her life. She noticed that she had thrown a blanket over her son's crib, shielding him from prying eyes. At least, he'd be safe. She felt the man's hand twist her breast with his meaty fingers.
"Yeah… let me ha' a taste o'…" But his words died when a sword pierced first through his shoulder, then through his stomach. Lola sobbed in relief as she felt his weight no more. She heard slashes, she heard the sound of blood spurting out of the man's wounds. Behind him stood a small figure, at least small compared to the huge form of the man who had just attempted to rape her. Lola had to concentrate in order to recognize her husband, standing next to her son's crib holding the bloodied sword in his right hand.
"Lola, are you…", but before she could hear the end of his question, Lola dropped to the ground, unconscious.