I Followed Fires

XXXII. Adèle

Only if she had the king and queen's permission to leave court and return to their home, she would be the happiest woman in all of France.

Court life was pleasant, at first, and she once felt a rush of excitement each morning she awoke to the sounds of castle servants pacing through the hallways, and being given the honour of spending a week of her life with the king and queen of France. But she longed to return to her home, where she belonged. She also began to worry of the state of her father, who grew more discontent each day because there was no letter from her, notifying him that they are soon to depart from court life and come back home, but alas, she had not even written it. In response to the absence of this particular letter, her father wrote to her continuously, including her mother, who had finally returned from their summer villa to their château. This was the only thing that seemed to please Adèle, as she has suffered a great loneliness for the past few weeks.

The reason behind why she and her little brothers had not returned to their home yet is mainly because of Francis and Mary. They adore Theo and Cyril far too much for Adèle to ask them to return home so suddenly. It would mean taking a source of their happiness away from them, thought Adèle, and it would be a positively stupid act to do so, especially if them is the king and queen of France and Scotland. Apart from that, Adèle was also unable to return to her home because there was only one man who stopped her from doing so, and that man was Bash.

She groans every time she perceives the sound of his name spoken by another. She rolls her eyes when she hears young female servants talk of his looks. Soon, it became evident that she could not stand even the sight of him, which French court realized. It was not due to jealousy that caused her hatred and vexation. No, she was not even slightly envious of Kenna and Bash's upcoming marriage, she stated to her friends in court numerous times. It was, however, because each time she attempted to make plans for her return to her home, from seeking permission from Francis and Mary to preparing the carriage and horses for the voyage, Bash would unexpectedly stop her. But he did not do this directly, for Bash was clever.

 As Adèle carefully began planning her return home and conversing in whispers with servants, stable boys, and her maids, Bash would always find a way to tell her men to stop whatever they were doing, for he told them false excuses in such a believable manner. Adèle soon realized this when one of her men told her that Bash reported she had fallen ill, and could not return home so quickly, and that's why the request for the horses were cancelled. Adèle was perfectly infuriated by this, and stormed to Bash's bedchambers in raging anger, as her face grew red.

"Why can't you allow me to return home where I leave you and Kenna in peace? What have I ever done to you that you continuously stop me from ever making plans to return home where I can be with people of my own blood?" She remembered asking him this, during her confrontation in his bedchambers.

"French court loves you too much to let you leave, Adèle," He replied calmly. "And I don't think Mary and Francis would be pleased to know that their friend has left in such short notice, taking Theo and Cyril away from them as well."

"God, you're such a bastard." She turned away from his face.

"Technically, I am a bastard." Bash replied, with the sly smirk on his face.

But Adèle did not want to think of him at all. She removed all thoughts of his ridiculously sly smirk, his clever replies, his blue eyes..

Stop it, Adèle, she said to herself.

She returned to the loneliness as usual. Her days were spent either riding to the lake when Bash and Kenna weren't having their lovers' picnics, or when Bash wasn't simply riding on his own in order for them to be alone. She hated this habit of his; how he was always present in places where she did not want him to be. If there was only one thing she desired more than to return home to her parents with her little brothers, it was for him to leave her at peace.

She had to reasons for this. Firstly, the sight of him disgusts her, as she has clearly shown. Looking at him makes Adèle fall in love with Bash even more, and that is why she intends to avoid him as much as she could. If there was one thing she did not need right now, it was to fall in love with another man, especially a man who is engaged to someone and is soon to marry. Secondly, if they were caught to be seen together, without any other court member present, it would cause a scandal. If this were to happen, she was sure that Kenna would spend each second of her life trying to destroy her, and rob her of every little respect she would have left. French court would shun her out as well, for she would be spoken of as the woman who lusted after a man who is engaged, which was something that is not largely appreciated in Catholicism, nor any religion for that matter, or society.

As these thoughts began to fill up her head, Adèle groaned. What she had not known, though, was that she did this publicly. In front of Mary's ladies-in-waiting. And a large part of French court.

"Are you ill?" asked Greer, one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting whom Adèle has taken a liking to. "You seem quite unnerved. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," She smiled.

Adèle kept telling this white lie to herself until it seemed as if nothing was wrong, as she has stated, when obviously, she knew that simply everything was wrong..

..for Bash and Kenna were to marry in two days.