Death Do Us Part

Dream I: Fondness

15 years ago. . .

Young Lovely gazes outside the carriage heading to England with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Goodbye, Sthénos, she thought. You were a really great friend. I hope you grow up to be a handsome man someday. Goodbye, old home. Goodbye, Greece.

She feels a hand on her shoulder and looks back to see her father, Rinus, with a glint of concern in his eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong, Oraios?" he asks softly.

Lovely wipes her eyes and sniffs, crawling to her father to lay her head on his lap. He rubs her head as fresh tears fall to the side of her face at the mention of her Greek name.

"I miss home," she whimpers. "I miss my friends and our lovely house."

"You'll make plenty of new friends where we're going," her mother, Anteia, says.

"And there's a house just as lovely as the one we had waiting for us," Rinus smiles, trying to brighten his daughter's spirit. "You'll be just as happy in England as in Greece."

Lovely closes her eyes and nods, falling asleep. The gentle rocking of the carriage and the sounds of the trotting horse lulls her into a deeper sleep.

_____

Lovely's new home was completely different from what she was expecting. She hadn't expected them to settle in a small, middle-to-lower-class village. She thought they moved to a more upper-class area of the country since they were almost considered nobles in Greece. As for their house, it was a simple cottage on a small hill with others like it scattered across the English countryside. Lovely was disappointed, but she didn't want her parents to see her dissatisfaction with thinking about adjusting to her new life. She tried to find a bright side to the circumstance. At least she would have a roof over her head to keep her cool on summer days and warm on winter nights.

"Do you like it?" Rinus asked. "I know it's not like our mansion back home. I thought you would want to live in a more simple home."

Lovely smiles and embraces both her mother and father. "I like it very much!"

"You do?"

"Yes! Why wouldn't I?"

"We thought you would have wanted a larger home like our old one," Anteia explains. She slowly glances at her husband. "This was the best your father could do."

Rinus shrugs. "I thought it was nice. What's wrong with cherishing the simple things? Besides, it's much quieter out here compared to the busy streets. I'll be able to get a good night's sleep for once."

I'll have to rely on the crickets or rain to help me sleep, Lovely thought. I can't sleep in dead silence.

"Good thing there's a school nearby," Anteia smiles. "She'll make new friends there and around here, too. That is...if there are children around her age living here."

Lovely grew nervous at the idea. "Doesn't everyone speak English here? How can I make friends if I can't understand a word they're saying?"

"We can teach you to speak English!" Rinus exclaims, scooping his daughter into his arms. "All you need is a couple of phrases to get by."

"What if someone wants to talk to me more? You can't make friends without getting to know each other."

Anteia brushes a stray hair from her daughter's face. "You're right, Oraios. You can't possibly expect to make friends if you don't understand each other." She turns to her husband. "Now that I think about it, we shouldn't send her to school until we're sure she knows the language at a decent level."