Roaring Hearts

Chapter 6

"To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life."  Les Miserables, Victor Hugo.

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Settling into that vessel, Hasnaa
said goodbye to her home country determined to never
return. She knew she would never see the sunrise again in Kalu village and she had accommodated her soul and body to that notion.

The voyage to London was long and every moment she spent confined in that vessel the more she regretted her
decision. The more time she spent with James, the more convinced she was that she made a horrific blunder; a blunder that was too late to amend, a blunder that just cost her everything she held dear. But James was always by her side to convince her otherwise and bring her back to her senses.

Hasnaa had never been so indecisive like she was throughout the journey to England. Did she make a mistake by choosing love over duty or had she been right in leaving everything behind in the name of love? Whether she was wrong or right that had to be seen when she got to her destination but she prayed to find peace and a family in James's hometown.

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James noticed Hasnaa's withdrawal one week after they had started their journey. Her insistence to stay away from him and her refusal to talk to people on the barge, was enough indication that something was not right with her. He noticed she had become a shadow of her former self. Confused by her behavior he tried all he could to ensure she felt like herself again.

Somehow, he found a way to make her come around every single day by showing her how much she meant to him. Hours turned to days and days turned to weeks, it had been a month at sea and James had informed Hasnaa they had traveled half of their journey. As the weeks went by,
Hasnaa had come into terms with her decision and the confusion she had left earlier had slowly withered off.

James gradually noticed that her withdrawal from him disappeared and she slowly came closer to him again.And everything was back to normal. It had been only a few weeks; only a few weeks of Hasnaa sequestering herself from him and it had felt like an entire eternity and he wished to never experience the pain he felt.

He was determined to never feel the same again and he had devised a plan to assure that his love with Hasnaa always prevailed against all crises and what better way to ensure this but to make her his wife.

Hasnaa sat glued in a chair that was in the ballroom of the ship, her mind lurching with thoughts of her future with James. She preferred to think of her future rather than to flood her mind with regrets of abandoning her family. James had been staring at Hasnaa for a while and had been contemplating on whether to approach her or not.

James took measured steps towards Hasnaa and stopped by her chair. He leaned down and as Hasnaa shrunk forward, James held her hand in his own. She held her gaze. "Are you sure with your decision to follow me?" James inquired.

"Going back is not an alternative, James." Said Hasnaa. "My love for you is true and as long as I'm breathing I'll follow you wherever you go." Her face lit up as she held James's face in her small hands.

"I'll take that as a yes. And I wish to authenticate our relationship before God and everybody else. Will you marry me?" He knelt down and pulled out a gold ring out off his pocket.

"Refusal is not an option." Hasnaa had been willing to
yield into James' proposal -- and his proposal meant that she will never be alone ever again. She would be bound to James in holy matrimony. James realized that he would never get a straightforward answer from Hasnaa and he had to live with that because she was the woman of his dreams. James leaned nigher until her lips were almost kissing Hasnaa's lips. "The wedding ceremony shall be tomorrow, I have made all the arrangements," James whispered.

"I will be James' wife ---by this
time tomorrow I shall be someone's wife," Hasnaa whispered to herself as the idea began to sink in.

The subsequent day James assembled all the people in the ship who were willing to attend their wedding ceremony to the ballroom.James had assured Hasnaa a grand wedding and an appropriate one when they got to London, England. One that would be officiated in the eyes of God and of course in the presence of James' family; in the dearth of Hasnaa's family.

James had been successful in acquiring a chaplain to officiate his wedding. And he had found a dress presentable enough to match a wedding dress; at the very least. The time came for their wedlock and James stood at the designated place waiting for his bride. And minutes later, Hasnaa appeared.

James stared at Hasnaa whose
black eyes were fixed at his blue eyes, her lips were pressed together in a fine line. He saw her release a sigh as she walked towards him. He solely fixed his gazes at the beauty which was soon to be his Mrs. for as long as he shall live. Her brown skin shone like never before, he exclusively fell in love with her because of her skin, it captivated him as he had never seen such in London. Her gown was a pure white; not fancy but it suited the occasion.

Hasnaa took her place next to James and waited for the ceremony to commence. She never dreamt of a wedding so she did not have any expectations but it immensely hurt her that the happiest day of her life was commemorated away from her loved ones and amidst strangers. She paid no heed to the chaplain's words and she only responded when she heard her name.

And then and there she said the most dangerous words she could have ever said, I do. She listened to James' vows and they were different from the vows she had heard from the previous weddings she had attended but she knew the white men did things differently from her own people.

"By the power vested in me by the state I now pronounce you man and wife." And then the crowd present broke into an amen.

They might have journeyed from Kalu village as lovers but they were sure to arrive at London as man and wife. And that's how Hasnaa's and James's happy life started or may I say ended...

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Hope you enjoyed it!

Hasnaa and James will have a better wedding in the coming chapters. This wedding wasn't even decent but it had to be done in order for James' family to have a reason to accept Hasnaa.

Thank you for reading it means a lot to me. I can't even begin to explain how happy I am to write this story and I will be forever grateful to those who take there time to read the book.

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