Unwittingly

Eleven

Somewhere with a Monarchy, 1835

"Emray?" Amelia's voice cut through the silence of the parlor.

I had walked into the parlor and settled down with embroidering, and the two other women in the room had done the same. 

"Yes?" I replied after a couple seconds' debate about whether or not to ignore her.

"I'm ever so sorry," Amelia came into my line of sight and I could tell she was truly sorry.

"I'm sorry as well," I said firmly, "I treated you with disrespect."

Amelia laughed without humor. "I was the one who prompted you to act in such a way. I was selfish and mean and completely reliant on the thought that Damien could love me. I assume he told you about the three dates?" 

I nodded.

Amelia sighed, "Well, then you know about the blackmail. I staged the dates around times I knew you'd be out, except the last one. It was dreadfully wicked of me to do such things to you, but the last date was yesterday. I told Damien I no longer held envy for you and we parted as friends. I hope that we may do the same, although I completely understand why you wouldn't be able to find the heart to forgive me."

Amelia smiled a type of smile that expressed that she had been heartbroken before and was truly remorseful for making me experience it.

Before she left the parlor, I stopped her.

"Amelia? I forgive you."

She left the parlor with a smile.

~o0o~

The night air was cool and still. No wind blew, yet it was chilly.

I was wrapped up in a shawl and scarf, waiting for Damien, Rosalie, and Ethan. They had agreed upon meeting here at nine- but I had come five minutes early. Surely those five minutes were up now?

The view was still breathtaking, and Damien had said something about another planet coming into our sightline tonight. Said that the planet was Saturn.

My education wasn't good enough to get me passed the ground, I only knew a bit of math and chemistry, a bunch of literary english, and how to hold my own in a sword fight. My mother had kept my schooling down on the ground, because looking up so much would hurt my posture.

I did it anyway.

And here I was, watching the stars twinkle all by myself, and I felt free. Free in the way a ray of light can hit the water of the lake and disappear entirely. Free in the way that a bunny hops home after getting dinner for his family. No one way, just in the middle of the different kinds of freedom.

"Am I interrupting something, darling?" chills ran up and down my spine, but not from the cold. Damien's warm arms encircled me from behind, and I was no longer cold.

"No," I breathed, "just trying to find Saturn."

"Well then," he breathed, "you'll need to look over at the other part of the sky."

I followed Damien's movements and turned around. There, a tiny ball of yellow and red glowed, with faint rings around it.

"Wow," I whispered, afraid to talk at a normal volume and shatter the moment.

"It is truly wonderful," Damien said, but when I looked up at him, his brilliant blue eyes were settled on me.

I turned away, blushing, and looked back up at the sky.

"Awww," I heard Rosalie coo, "we can come back later."

"Oh, you're perfectly alright," I said.

"Yes, let's start the ride. Saturn is revealing herself to us tonight. It's a wonderful time to ride," Damien offered me his arm and the four of us walked down to the stables.