Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction / Original Stories Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ The Empire ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The celebration had moved on to the Blackwood’s kingdom by the time Seth and Cassandrah had arrived. Though they both silently wished that they could have more time to one another, duty did call and both countries had placed their lives on hold to celebrate the union of both parties.

From the moment they both set foot back on ground, there was no time for anymore-unaccompanied instances with one another. They were quickly ushered to the grand orchard, where the reception was being held, and straight to the receiving line.

For Seth, it was a normal routine to shake all towns people, lords, and ladies hands alike; to thank them for attending such a joyful occasion. However, it was quite an overwhelming experience for Cassandrah. She tried her best to remember everyone’s faces with their names, yet as the hour drew to an end, looking down the line; she still had hundreds more to go. She felt completely defeated.

“Aha! There she is,” a boisterous sound stated.

Cassandrah looked over to the voice, just in time to be lifted off the ground by a mammoth of a man. He was beaming from ear to ear as part of his sandy blonde hair covered his eye.

“Watch yourself, Harold.” Seth jokingly warned as he notices the utter surprise on his wife’s face. “Don’t mind him, dear, he has no manners.”

Harold merely grunted as he gently placed her back down.

Cassandrah wasn’t given any time to recover from shock before two more identical men appear right by her side, towering over her, their heights almost identical to that of Seth and his giant friend.

“Barely married a day, and already you call her ‘dear’, Seth?” jested a raven-haired man, his grey eyes twinkling as he glanced down her direction.

“Cassandrah, I’d like to introduce you to Vanonber’s top General’s. They are my closest advisors and I hope that you will soon trust them, the way I do. General Harold Walsch,” he nodded to the burly man who was now eyeing one of the maids that was passing out drinks. He was a very intimidating person as he stood a little bit over six feet tall, blonde hair and steel blue eyes.

“General Rafael Demuth,” Seth continued as Cassandrah cast her gaze to the brown-haired man, standing only an inch shorter than Harold; his brown eyes had warmth towards them as he reached for her hand and quickly kissed it.

“It is an honor to meet you,” he softly murmured.

“I will introduce myself,” the raven-haired man interjected as he takes a step towards her, “Blake Kensington, milady,” he stated as he extended his hand to her. He was a very somber looking man, with his grey eyes seeming to scrutinize her, as if he was trying to delve in her thoughts to see if she had any secrets to hide. However, being kept from the world, there really was not anything for her to be secretive about.

With that, she extends her hand to his and shakes it gently. It wasn’t a matter of time before she was left to stand there alone. The four men went and talked between themselves with Seth jesting Rafael about some monster or another that he had lied about.

While the men continued to have their own private conversation, she decided to continue with the procession, determined to memorize everyone’s name. Within a few moments into her greetings, with a family from the outskirts of Laroxshire, there seemed to be an uneasy tension that began to fill the place. As she cast her gaze around the garden, she could see and hear a slight buzz from one person to the other, glancing at her direction from time to time. It wasn’t long before she realized that half of the tension was directed to a black haired woman who had just arrived; and she was walking straight towards her direction.

The woman was almost identical to Cassandrah’s height, though the similarity ended there. She had piercing blue eyes that made Cassandrah quite uneasy, and her skin was almost pale in comparison to her own. Her hair reached to the top of her hips with slight curls at the bottom and peacock feathers holding part of her curls up. Her gown was quite gaudy, with its scarlet red color and embroidery designs of gold, silver, and brilliant green. It didn’t help that all the jewelry this woman wore around her neck seemed quite flashy as well. She reminded Cassandrah very much of a tropical bird, with the various colors she wore and the way she walked with her shoulders arched back and her nose to the air.

As the woman stopped a few inches away from Cassandrah, the whole room seemed to fall into complete silence. It was enough for Seth to finally notice the tension around him, ending his private conversation and looking around for the source of the problem. As his eyes rested upon the two women that stared silently at each other, he felt as if hell itself froze over. The tension radiating from Rose was undoubtedly there, Cassandrah was just looking quite perplexed.

She slowly curtsied in front of Cassandrah, “I am Duchess Roseanne Beveraux, milady and I would like to congratulate you on your nuptials,” her voice loud and clear as she made sure that Seth would hear it. “Watching your ceremony today,” she continued with as much sweetness in her voice as she could muster, “why, one could only hope to dream such happiness and love in their weddings; the way you both noticeably had today.”

Not sure as to why it seemed like everyone was waiting for Cassandrah’s response to her, but the woman seemed genuinely sweet though she still had an unsettling feeling about her. In any case, she smiled happily at her.

“I thank you, madam. I am genuinely happy and to be truthful, quite lucky, that this arrangement had turned out to be so well.” continuing to smile, she glances over to Seth where her smile slightly faltered.

He looked quite sullen as he continued to stare at this peculiar woman, his fists clutched to his side.

Without Cassandrah noticing, Rose walks over to him with a placid smile on her face. Once again, she curtsies in front of him, low enough for him to look down and take a glimpse of her cleavage, to remind him what he could still have. She looks up as she raises herself, her eyes shooting flames at him.

“May you have all the happiness in the world.” she simply stated as she turns and walks away, back into the crowd of people who were slowly returning to the festivities at hand.

Cassandrah saw a slight anguish flash through his eyes before he turns back around to face his friends, who looked ill at ease.

“Care for company?” a feminine voice came from behind her.

She turned to face Melayna who saw the whole incident and felt her heart reaching out for the woman who knew nothing of the drama that had unfolded in front of her.

She curtsied and gave her mother-in-law a warm smile, “I would be honored if you would.”

“Come,” Melayna reached for her hand, “I think you’ve taken quite enough time out of your own wedding to greet people,” she says lightheartedly as they walk across the orchard towards the entrance of the royal garden.

“I fear I am a terrible person,” Cassandrah begins as she cast one last look towards Seth who didn’t seem to notice her absence. She looks back to Melayna, “As hard as I try, I can not seem to remember everyone’s name.”

Melayna laughs cheerfully as she gently pats her daughter-in-law’s hand. “We do not expect you to accomplish such a feat, my dear.”

“I do not want to disappoint anyone--”

Melayna quickly shakes her head, “From one queen to another,” she kindly starts, “you will never make everyone happy, and if you can achieve that,” she laughs, “you will be the first! And I will be the first to admit that I was wrong.”

Cassandrah smiled happily back to her as she clutched Melayna’s hand tightly. “I thank you. I do hope I will be alright,” she mentions nervously, “I have heard many stories of your sons’ accomplishments, and he is the one person I wish to not disappoint.”

Melayna tried to hide the sadness in her eyes, “It is true, and I believe my son to be a great
Man, I could only give thanks to his father for that; but,” she smiles fondly at her, “if he can not see how fortunate he is to have a woman such as yourself, then I have not done my job as a mother to him. He will be a fool, in my eyes, if he sees you as a disappointment.” Moreover, in her own mind, she feared it would be Cassandrah that should be disappointed with her son.

Humbled at what her mother-in-law thought of her, she meekly smiled and gave her a hug. Not used to this type of affection, Melayna was slightly stunned but returned the hug lovingly. From that moment on, there seemed to be a silent, unbreakable, bond that the two women had for each other. In Melayna, Cassandrah saw a mother she never had; and for Melayna, she found a daughter in Cassandrah that she had always hoped for.

“Speaking of my son, I am sure he is looking for you. We should return,” as Melayna turns back to the orchard.

“If you do not mind, I would like to stay here for a little bit more. I still am not used to being around so many people.”

Melayna turns to look at her and softly smiles. “Take all the time you need, my dear. I too forget that you had kept such a private life. I can’t imagine how you must feel having to be ripped out of that comfort and thrown into this crazy world of ours.”

“It is quite refreshing,” Cassandrah replies, “and overwhelming at the same time,” she confesses.

“I will tell my son that you are indisposed for the time being,” she continues to smile warmly at her as she turns back around and continues to walk back to the festivities.

Cassandrah slowly closed her eyes as she breathed in the flowers around her. She was thankful for the opportunity to be given to herself. She was far from missing the seclusion that her father raised her to have, but as she walked deeper into the garden, the voices from the celebration slowly fading away, she realized that it could drive you mad if you could not get some peace and quiet from time to time.

She slowly took her time to admire the flowers in the garden. They were mostly roses of different colors with weeping willows scattered around, creating seclusion in some areas. Ivory benches were set around a small lake with wild flowers seeming to sprout everywhere they possibly could. As she was admiring and breathing in a few lilies, she could faintly hear a woman crying from the distance. It came from a part of the garden that was concealed by overgrown plants and branches of an old Willow tree. Worried that the woman may be in distress, she starts to walk towards her. As she gets closer to the voice, she begins to move branches away to reveal the woman who was still sniffling. It was the Duchess from earlier, Roseanne; she was sitting on one of the gardens ivory benches with a cloth in her hand.

As Cassandrah looked more closely to her, she realized that the sorrowful sobs coming from this woman seemed to be an act. The woman’s mournful cries were somewhat overdramatic, and there was not a single tear in her eye. She was also glancing at her reflection on a puddle of water, fixing her hair from time to time; sobbing in-between.

A rustle from the trees, across from where Cassandrah hid, caught both women’s attention. Roseanne quickly turned her head away from that direction and fluttered her eyes rapidly, forcing a few tears to come out; she once again returned to her theatrical cries. Cassandrah was quite amused at the fact that the whole countryside had not heard her by now.

A man slowly appeared from the trees and Cassandrah quickly turned away, her cheeks turning pink. She had just realized that she was about to intrude in, what seemed like, a couples trice.
Wanting to give them their privacy, she begins to walk away but her foot is caught suddenly in midair as a familiar voice came from the man behind her. She held her breath as she slowly turned back around to witness Seth walking quickly towards the duchess, taking her into his arms.