Chapter Three

Love Is My Folly

For the next four years that followed, I spent all of my time with Seth, and I never set my eyes on Benjamin of Kulornia again. My stepsisters continued to loathe me, and my mother began to scold me for minor mistakes, such as dropping the water bucket into the well.

On the eve of my fourteenth birthday, I spotted the silhouette of a young man coming toward the cottage. Since we usually had no visitors at our home, I notified my mother and sisters, who immediately joined me in our garden.

"Oh stepmother!" chattered Adelaide and Marie. "A visitor!"

"Hush," my mother cautioned as the stranger drew near.

My elder sisters quickly lined up beside one another, and Angel purposely pushed me to the ground.

"Welcome," my mother greeted the stranger warmly, "What brings you to Biddle, sir?"

I desperately tried to see the stranger's face, but since I was on the ground behind my sisters, their long and fat legs concealed not only me, but my view as well.

"I have come to pay my respects to the loyal people of Biddle."

The stranger's voice sounded so familiar!

"And who may those people be?" my mother inquired.

"The villagers, and those among the outskirts of town."

Without warning, my stepsisters disassembled from their formation, and although I was still concealed from the stranger, I was allowed to have my first look at him.

He was tall, with hair the color of a chestnut brown and eyes that were a startling shade of green. I've seen eyes of that same color before, although I have forgotten when.

"Angel!" my mother barked. "Prepare a cup of our finest herb tea for this young man!"

"Yes, mother!" Angel replied in her sweetest voice, making sure that the stranger knew that it was she who would prepare the cup of tea. I couldn't help rolling my eyes at her changed behavior, and Seth couldn't help but let out a small laugh that he immediately covered with fake coughs.

We followed Adelaide, Marie, Stella, Angel, and Grace into the cottage, but we stayed hidden from the stranger's view. Besides, mother would never notice this amid the giggles of my stepsisters.

"Who do you suppose he is?" Adelaide whispered to Stella, unable to hide her smile.

"Well, he does look around my age!" Grace gazed longingly at the stranger.

"Grace! You cannot surely assess a person for his age! You must do so by his passion for love!" Marie was having a romantic daydream again.

The girls were interrupted by my mother's cries.

"Arabella!"

"Yes, mother?" I didn't bother hiding my irritation.

"Will you -"

Mother only got through half of her sentence before the stranger, who spoke in an amused tone, interrupted her.

"Miss, do you know who I am?"

It took me a moment to realize that he was speaking to me.

"No, sir."

That made him laugh, and ignoring his laughter, I was just about to return to my room when I was struck by a memory.

"You!" I couldn't control my astonishment, " You're Benjamin of Kulornia!"

I could hear my sisters' audible gasps behind me, but I paid no attention to them as I glared menacingly at my long forgotten enemy.

"What are you doing here?" I didn't bother to act cordially.

"I came to pay my respects."

"After four years?" Grace spoke up.

"Hush up, girls!"

My mother seemed to have recovered from her reverie. After, ushering us all out of the house, she shut the wooden door and returned to conversing with Benjamin. My sisters, Seth, and I all watched from the window while my mother seemed to seethe at Benjamin's words. We waited for five minutes until finally, mother ushered him out of the cottage and ordered him to leave Biddle. Benjamin relented, his spirits seemed sunken as he walked past our garden and followed the path to the forest. He didn't look back, nor did I.

It was dark outside when I awakened from my nightmare. The dream was a frenzy of horrible scenes, but one I remembered was of Benjamin's retreating back as he walked gloomily towards the forest. Within seconds, I made my decision.

I changed into my day clothes, took my treasured bow and arrow in the case of emergencies, and retraced Benjamin's steps into the forest.