When The Gold Is Gone ✔ ~ trixya

Chapter 31: Letters From A Loved One

Months passed, green leaves turning orange, before Trixie heard from Katya again. It was a letter brought to her all the way from the front line where Katya was stationed. Trixie found herself thinking of all the letters she herself had sent during all those years when she was not allowed on Resvyan soil. So much had changed since then, and yet in one way it was exactly the same; the two of them were once again apart. 

With nervous hands she broke the wax seal and opened the letter, holding it up under the glowing flame of the candle that sat on her bedside table.

My dearest Trixie

These nights are cold without your arms wrapped around me, the days long without your smile to brighten them. Around me is death, sickness and starvation, and I must admit I struggle to hold onto hope whenever I see another friend die right before my eyes. The Forquesse has brought hell upon us, there is no doubt, but trust that we are fighting with all we have, for home and country.

I miss you greatly, my love. So much so that there are days when I see you stand on the battlefield before me, your arms open wide. I can only long for a day when I will be in those arms again. 

Days on the battlefield bring danger and fear, but I know I have an angel watching over me. For what else could you be, Trixie, but an angel? You who have stood by me despite all my flaws and deception. You who have sacrificed your home to be my wife. You must be an angel.

So protect me, Trixie.
Watch over me so this hellfire will not devour me too.

And please write, I long for your voice, but if I cannot have that I should like your words more than anything. I need your words now more than ever.

With eternal love,
Your Katya

Trixie wiped her tears away with the back of her hand as she saw droplets smear the ink on the page. It was heartbreaking to read of Katya's despair and great fear, but also comforting as it meant that she was at least alive. Any word is better than none, Trixie knew, and so she took out a piece of paper, her quill, and her ink, and began to write.

Darling Katya

Days without you are torture, and there is not a second when my thoughts are not on you. My bed is cold without your presence, the castle empty without your voice echoing through it's halls. I once again feel like the lonely fifteen year-old who returned to your castle after years of being kept away. Although I know I am loved this time, I feel the same unbearable loneliness that I felt back then. Life without you is simply too difficult, and I long for the day when this war is over and you return to my side.  

I cannot begin to imagine the horrors you must have seen, but I mourn our fallen with you, praying that as many as possible may be spared. But most of all I pray for you, and for your safe return. Reading your words brought comfort to an aching heart as I know you are at least safe for now, and I can only hope another letter will come soon so I may feel the same relief again.

My heart is watching over you as well as it can. I am no angel, but my wings will cover your heart should any swords attempt to pierce it. I will let no fire devour you, if it should try I will make the rain fall so it may quench the flames.

You shall be safe, Katya.
You shall be safe and return to me, no matter how many months may pass.

I love you, remember that.

Your devoted, loving wife,
Trixie

By the time another letter arrived the Resvyan lavender fields were already buried under layers of snow, the cold months of winter already upon them. Trixie could not lie and say it had not disappointed her to see the first snowflakes fall outside her window when the war's end was nowhere in sight, but more than anything she feared for their soldiers and her wife who would have to endure fighting in the freezing cold. 

My dearest Trixie

I know it has been too long since my last letter, but unfortunately it is getting increasingly difficult to send word. I hope this letter has found it's way to you, as many of the others did not, and I pray that you are safe and in good health. I pray that this war will not find it's way to the castle halls, and that your life will never be threatened. It is what matters most of all to me, it is my reason to keep fighting.

I know words on a page can not provide the same comfort as a hug or a kiss, but know that all my love belongs to you and that you are never truly alone. I am with you, always, as you are with me. Our souls are connected, and no distance can pull them apart. 

You say you are no angel, but I find myself in good health when others have fallen ill or worse to their death, and I must question your words again. For how else could it be that I am safe, if not for the protection of my angel? No, I think you an angel still, my guardian angel who shall see me safely through this coldhearted war. 

I long for the day when I am in the warmth of your arms again, it is all that brings me hope in this never ending  winter. I must also apologize for the promise I could not keep, the first snowfall was supposed to bring me home and yet I am still away from you. But I pray when spring comes that this war will have ended and that I may finally be by your side once more. 

Yours always,
Katya

Trixie had hoped Katya would be right, that spring would indeed bring her wife home, but spring came and went without the Princess seeing so much as a letter. Soon summer had passed too, with more and more Resvyan land getting lost to the Forquesse, and Trixie felt herself begin to loose hope. For although others had mentioned Katya being alive in their letters during the months of spring and summer, no one seemed to know where the Princess was, nor if she was still breathing, when autumn came round once more.