The Crimson Chains That Bind Us

Chapter 2: Late Evening Surprises

The chapel bells rung slow and stead as the viewing began. My siblings stood beside, my elder sister carried her infant son in her arms. My elder brothers face darkened with grief, seemingly on the verge of tears as we walked the long aisle of the church. Each side of the chapel was filled with those who came to pay their respects to mother. Father was kneeling in front of the transi, his head bowed in prayer. Mother was surrounded by many candles, red roses which had been her favorite flowers was scattered the ground below her. A black cloth covered her legs, the closer we had gotten to her the weaker I began to feel.

Even in death mother was beautiful, her long white-blonde hair that both I and Helena had inherited was combed and left in soft waves covered her shoulders. Her ashen skin was cleaned, her frail hands were placed on her chest with a single white rose placed in her hands. We kneeled beside father, bowing our heads to pray for mothers soul. When the bells stopped, the funeral began.

"Lady Carina Brecht was not only a dutiful wife and mother, but was a shining jewel to those who came to know her." The priest words were gentle, and yet they brought me no peace. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, tears beginning to fall. "May the Goddess watch your journey to the afterlife as you take this final step alone." A sobs broke out throughout the chapel as the bells began to ring again signifying the end of an era.

I spent my days from after mothers funeral, unable to leave my bed. Beth, my maid , tried to tempt me to leave from my depression. But I remained devastated, and locked myself away, disconnecting from the world around me. Unwilling to see anyone, my brother tried to sway me, but I only remained in my grief. I laid and stared at my towering windows, I watched the Brecht valley surrender to winter's cruel grip, watched as the roses had succumbed to the cold winter air. And just as my heart broke free from the shackles of sorrow, where I was strong enough to leave the safety of my bed. A new trouble began to sprout and with the sunrise of the week of my wedding added to my despair, the weight of responsibility bearing down on my soul.

A week after we laid mother to rest in the family tomb, my siblings came to bring me small comforts. My elder sister Helena came to visit me often with her infant son in her arms, bringing tender wishes of my upcoming nuptials and to recite our mother's stories that she had told Helena before she married Count Charles. She perched herself on the chair near the fire in my room, her voice was what brought a glimmer of hope. And whispered secrets of the wedding night, something that I had wished mother was here for. My elder brother and heir to the Brecht Dukedom, Theodore would had brought me small gifts from his journey across the kingdom.

One stormy night, two days before my wedding, heavy footsteps shattered my fragile peace. With one a final glance at the rose garden slumbering under a blanket of snow. I steeled myself for what lay ahead, though fate's design seemed unusually cruel. As I left my room for the first time in days, I descended to meet the midnight riders, only to find King Edward himself astride a stallion black as sin. Father was already there to greet our esteemed guests as well as half the employees who worked for my family.

Edward, like his late father the old king, was tall and lanky. His handsome face wore a haughty sneer spoke more than words ever could - this man valued only power. With him rode a small retinue, including a towering handsome stranger cloaked in furs and a dark mystery.

"Lord Brecht, I wanted to present the man who will wield your family's alliance - Duke Ashton Dragmyr." Edward's oily voice oozed satisfaction at their discomfort. His eyes lingered on me, a of look of displeasure flashed across his face. Dragmyr dismounted in silent grace, exuding danger. He was handsome, as if it was carved out of granite by the gods. His dark grey eyes cold as the dark winter night, and finding myself wanting beside my feminine grief. Nevertheless, I curtsied to our king and my soon to be husband.

My father bowed, his words clipped. "You honor us with your presence, Sire." Father voice was gruff. "We have your rooms prepared for the upcoming festival."

Edward grinned wolfishly. "Good, I am happy to have a break from court. The happy couple shall wed within a few night time. See to it that it's done." With that, he dismantled his horse. He kicked the horses legs with a mad laugh. "I am tired, I shall retire for the night." Father gestured to a maid to show the king the way to his chambers and his entourage followed behind him. "Good night, Lady Farrah." We stayed silent until only the Duke Dragmyr remained, handing the reins of his horse to a servant nearby.

A tense silence lingered in the wake of the king's entourage, three souls shackled to duties greater than themselves. For me, the stranger Dragmyr represented not promise, but a future forfeit before it began. Nonetheless I curtseyed obediently to my soon-to-be husband. But in the Duke's indifferent gaze, I found no reprieve - only an emptiness as desolate and endless as Brecht's frozen plains.

"Congratulations on your engagement, Lady Farrah." Lord Ashton said with a benevolent smirk. His grey eyes took everything in and left nothing. "Although Iam sorry for your recent loss, forgive me for the inconvenience that I have caused you ." I shook my head, my eyes reflecting my despair. Father stayed silent, perhaps uninterested in the one sided conversation. "Sorry but this is not how I wanted it to be." He only peered at me, reading my face easily as his remained blank. I wished to know what he was thinking about behind those dark eyes.

Father bravely stepped forward, breaking the awkward silence. "Duke Dragmyr, a servant shall show you to your room as you stay until the wedding." Father gestured to a servant girl who stepped forward, she curtsied but kept her head low. I could see her shoulders shake with fear, she was unfamiliar to me. Must be new the dukedom. "Although I hope you treat my daughter with kindness in the days to come. Forgive her unwelcoming domineer, still mourning." But, his plea was met with a sardonic laugh.

"Sentimental won't save us if war flares up again. I advise you to keep your hopes realistic." With that, he turned and walked through Brecht's oaken doors, the servant girl rushing after him. His leaving left me feeling more vulnerable and lonely than ever before. Father glared at me, I winced at his disappointment. An hour after the Duke and Kings arrival, my brother came for a visit. I bared my soul to Theodore, he listened intensely. Accepting each complaint with a willing and trusting ear.

"They say the Duke wields magic as fearsome as any sword," Theodore murmured quietly.  A small cough escaped his lips, I stared at him concerned. Few days after burying mother a cough had made its way to my brother. It concerned me, but Theodore promised that it was nothing. He took a sip of water before continuing. "Legends circulate from Dragmyr countryside, he has hold of spirits conjured to vanquish enemies."

I shivered. "Can such powers be contained once the war ends? What demons plague his mind from past battles, to make a man so cold?"

Theodore squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Yet others call him just - never inflicting cruelty without reason. His magic safeguards us all from greater evils afar. Perhaps in time, you may come to comprehend him, my dear sister." He gave me a hopeful smile as he stood to look out the window. I followed him, standing beside him with the shawl wrapped tightly around my shoulders. Only darkness waited beyond the panes of glass. "So please lay your worries to rest," he squeezed my shoulders before leaving me alone in my room. A cough escaping his lips.

Doubt gnawed at my gut, keeping me awake as the castle dozed. Through cracked windows and in the early morning I spotted Lord Ashton in the rose garden, Lord Ashton stood alone under a sky of twinkling stars, an outcast seeking answers in the endless void. Would I ever decipher the haunted stranger destined to be my partner through this life and beyond? The future remained veiled as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon. I tore apart my fast on solo dawn, my mind whirling with the mysteries of Lord Ashton. And then i saw it, like a horse leading me from my reverie into the stark reality of the snowstorm outside. Lord Ashton turned, his eyes searching the windows till they found mine and through the snow-filled windows, and fear clinched its icy talons in my heart.

I dreaded the days that were coming. Days became hours, and the invitation to the marriage ceremony was sent in the cold in hastily manners. Despite the growing apprehension, there was still hope in the shadows through anemic sunlight and thinning clouds. Only time would reveal if the dead winter would end in passion and bloom into spring or if delicate hopes and dreams under winter's cold siege would wither and die.