The King's Inamorata (A Queen's Tale #1)

A Weakened Heart

As Vivia sealed her letter the sun was beginning to set. A few hours ago the clouds parted to reveal the sun and it melted away the first snowfall of the season. It was just a flurry but it was enough to leave the dirt damp and the smell of earth traveled into the cottage. She stared out her window wondering what it was Luc was doing. She tried not to think of him too often but she couldn't help it. When he left he'd taken her heart with him.

"Goodness," Agna said. Vivia had not heard her coming up the stairs. "Could you be anymore despondent?"

Vivia also refrained from speaking of Luc at all times. His letters were the only piece of him she allowed herself to have and once she read them, replied, and put them away he was forgotten once more. This routine was meant to ensure that when Luc's letters eventually stopped coming and he disappeared from her life completely, it would make the heartbreak easier to bear.

"I am not," Vivia said simply. She put her letter in the drawer, intent on mailing it out first thing in the morning. "What are you doing here?"

Her best friend collapsed onto the bed. "Lounging, isn't it obvious?"

Vivia and Agna had been best friends their entire lives. She genuinely couldn't remember a time in her life that Agna was not there. Her best friend was woven into the thread of her life like a sparkling gold thread. When they were little, she secretly envied Agna for being the far more beautiful and vivacious one of the two. But how could anyone hate Agna? Her smile was infectious and she could make anyone's stomach hurt with laughter.

Her friend's eyes glittered. "He still writes to you?"

Vivia sighed and closed the drawer. "He won't. He loves you."

Vivia rose from her seat, a clear sign of her indignation. Agna rushed to finish her sentence.

"Viv, I could see it in his eyes every time he looked at you! So did Tomas. He loves you and he's going to come back--!"

"This I highly doubt," Vivia made her way down the stairs and Agna followed.

"Vivia, you cannot be angry at him. It isn't his fault that he has to return to Calais. He's a knight in the King's army and it's his duty!" Agna rambled irritatedly. "You're being unfair! You act as though you're the only one that misses him!"

Vivia spun on her heels once she entered the kitchen ready to spew whatever came first to her head, out of her mouth but no words came. Agna had left her speechless.

"He may have only been my fake cousin but he was a part of our family. I haven't felt that way in a very long time."

For the first time, she realized that she wasn't the only being affected by Luc's departure. How selfish of her to think that she was the only one in pain. Tomas was as lonesome as ever and much to her surprise, so was Agna. They had all spent so much time in each other's company. They were a trio for such a long time and now it was back to just the two of them.

Agna let out a deep breath and Vivia thought her best friend might cry. But she kept herself well composed. "He is a part of me just as much as he is a part of you. At least you have Tomas. I have no one...and with Luc pretending to be my cousin I don't know...I suppose I felt a bit normal again. Like I wasn't the pitied orphan girl alone in the world."

Vivia thought about hugging her best friend but then remembered Agna would not accept such an intimate gesture. She was too 'tough'. Instead, she decided to change the topic. "Have you heard from Tomas today?"

She got to work putting water to boil and setting up tea and biscuits for the two of them. She made sure to put one on the side for herself because she knew that once Agna got her hands on the plate, they'd be gone in seconds. "Working as usual. I heard Jia is ready to pop any day now."

"Hmph," Vivia smiled. "That's nice. I do hope that--"

The sudden screams and sound of a horse hooves meeting the earth with great force caught their attention. Agna sprang out of her chair and Vivia stepped away from the stove immediately.

"What was that?"

"Vivia! Agna! Is anyone there?"

"Oh my God," Agna was already running out of the kitchen. "That Paolo, Tomas's assistant."

The two of them ran out of the house and into the crisp, late fall air. A wind blew past them sending a shiver down Vivia's spine. It reminded her of the night she found Luc. But there was something dreadfully heavy hanging in the air around them. It didn't sit well with her.

Paolo was already jumping off his horse before it even came to a stop. "It's Mr. Ellspire," he was heaving. "Suddenly he just fainted and I didn't know what to do--!"

"Oh my God, Papa!"

"Where is he?" Agna demanded. "Is he still in town?"

"Yes, I called over Mrs. Herton from next door."

The three of them rode into town, Agna on her own horse and Vivia with Paolo. Every moment that passed she felt something like vice grip take hold of her. The air was reaching her lungs and she thought she would faint herself. They found Tomas outside on Mrs. Herton's stoop with his head in her lap. Mr. Herton was fanning him.

"What happened?" she demanded, frantically jumping off the horse. "Is he breathing? Papa?"

I lost my mother, she thought. I cannot lose you too.

"My husband put a mirror under his nose," Mrs. Herton said, her eyes filled with fear and worry. "He's breathing but faintly."

She knelt down beside him. "Papa? Papa, can you hear me?"

His words were faint, almost inaudible. They sounded like labored breaths. She continued to ask him questions but the most she could get out of him were the words chest and paint. He was suffering from a cold sweat and drops of water trickled down the side of his face. 

Everything inside her froze. "It's a heart attack."

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GUYS I AM SO SORRY I AM SO TERRIBLE PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

This is the last month of my junior year and it is INSANLEY crazy with tests, projects, state exams, SAT, etc. etc. I reallyyyyy am trying my best to post more often. To compensate I will post a few chapters back to back. I AM SO SORRY.

XOXO Lilly