November nights are especially stricken with melancholy, as if the ghosts of all winter past come rushing to haunt her heart.
She was a captive of her love, her desire, and her dreams.
There's always a special quality to the loneliness of dusk, a...
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"The deepest of despair fashions the strongest of believers" -Unknown
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The pond-side air was pungent with the fragrance of Hyacinth. The leaves danced in an unheard melody. In there, sheltered by a mighty maze of tall hedges was their own paradise, their secret garden, built for both of them. Fashioned from their woven souls was the door that lead to it. It existed only for their love, a place where their souls mingled and expanded in safety. Away from prying eyes and watchful stares.
The apple tree was the jewel of their garden. The way Sebastian had planted it made it so they would be drinking in the aromas of the late summer blooms, soothed by the waterfall between the two fish ponds.
Ruth held her hands up to feel the cascading light, a brilliant white shaft illuminating the verdant like a million wands of pine wave in the arboreal air; that place was magical, she can feel it from her fingertips to her core.
It was a beautiful day in April. She sat her back against the bark of the walnut tree. It had been a few weeks since Sebastian's sudden marriage and she had spent every day with him in his arms like nothing ever happened but he was torn between duty and love, navigated the delicate balance of his life and the hidden world they had carved out for themselves, the king had begun to be angered by his absence, demanding he be closer to his new bride, to build a prosperous relationship with her, for the sake of his kingdom.
And when Sebastian came walking through the threshold of the garden with slumped shoulders and a defeated look she knew from just glancing at his approaching figure, he came barring ill news once again.
"He says that I do not spend enough time with my bride and that our relationship could affect the kingdom if this goes on," He said, eyes downcast, brows furrowed. To her, it seemed like her lover had aged a lifetime since this wretched marriage.
Ruth knew that his father would not be so pleased with his constant absence. The king was a demanding man and when it came to his son and heir he was quite unforgiving. She was beyond joyful at the prospect of Sebastian's unwavering company, whenever it was time for them to depart for the day he would always sulk and whine about going back to the palace in fear of stumbling into the 'sore sight of a wife' as he always put it.
The mere thought of that woman as his wife always bubbled a bitter taste in Ruth's mouth. She knew it was only a false alias in her lover's eyes yet still she could never help but feel a hot rod of jealousy against her gut whenever she was reminded of her.
She gazed deeply at his face, it was the odd twinkle in his eye that made it look like something seemed afoot. She observed the subtle shifts in his demeanor-furtive glances, a deeper cadence, and an occasional nervous twitch from his upper lip that betrayed his composure. It was as if he were concealing a well-guarded secret
