Heart part 1

Chapter 49 - The Interloper

28 Years Ago

***

An hour before Heart's forceful departure, one of the many sights that filled their eyes at the time was a scene they'd seen countless. Outside the walls of Cyend's capital, unbeknownst to anyone but them, a woman was out by the river in the dead of night.

Was she alone? Far from it. In her arms, a baby wrapped in some kind of cloth laid sleeping.

On a day some moons ago, the king of Cyend, Oplin Elengair, was galavanting around the city. While she was out shopping, by pure chance, she happened to catch his eye. One thing led to another and before she knew it, she was leaving a local inn, clothes ruffled, with a new hefty purse of coins in hand. Later, she would come to discover that she was pregnant. For several months, she went on to carry the king's illegitimate child.

Not once during any one of those long days did she consider telling anyone the truth, let alone the king. She was afraid of what might happen to her or her family if such a scandal was revealed. What the king might do to hide his shameless indulgences. What the queen might do when her undeniable wrath erupts. What those around her would think. What her husband would say.

The amount on the line at the time was too much for someone like her to ignore. For all her life she's been poor. Falling in love never changed that. Getting married seemed to only make things harder. Having their daughter only further complicated things. She's never felt spite toward any of these though. In fact, they've brought her much happiness. More than she ever deserved. But the idea of how much more could be brought with a heavy purse by her side, not just to her, but to her husband and daughter as well, the offer was too much to ignore. Especially during times like those. For a woman, it was hard to get a job not to mention one that was fair.

For the longest time recently, she felt like she was trapped in a cage. And the offer was like a way to open the door. If only she had opened her eyes sooner and looked out beyond the fence. Then maybe she could've seen that the outside, while not as riddled with muck, was just as wet and heavy with rain.

If you're having a hard time understanding, just look where she's standing. How muddy it was and how the rain drenched her face. All suffer comes from somewhere.

With her reflection's glare staring up at her, she peered into the flowing water below. Turning her head, she parted the cloth and looked down at the baby's face.

She had convinced her husband it was his. The look of joy that rejuvenated his face that night was one she would never forget. She remembers her daughter asking if that meant she was going to get a sibling, and how overjoyed she looked when she reluctantly answered yes. Once she's done, she plans on telling her husband later that day when he returns from work that the birth wasn't a success. Her heart clenched at the idea, at the look in his eyes, but there was little else she could do. Her hands were tied.

In the moonlight, the baby's green eyes shined back up at her.

Some may question, if she was able to convince her husband and who knows how many others, why not stick with the lie and raise the child? And to that she would have to say, how could she even fathom an attempt at raising a child from a man she holds no love for and one brought into being from such a transaction? A thing that weighs over her, a thing she wants nothing more than to forget. Disagree all you like, but there's no feasible way she could bring herself to do such a thing. There's no way she could give a child surrounded by all those things the care it requires. Who is she to force such a trapped life to live? To send it down the same road they've all been looping?

" I'm sorry for forcing this upon you. I'm sorry I couldn't." She mouthed, pulling her finger away from its delicately small hands.

With a final glance, she looked back to the water and all its stillness. Kneeling down along the bank, she began to lower the baby into the water. The further it lowered, the more the water climbed until eventually the baby was fully submerged. Once it was, she let it go. Beneath the surface, she could see it struggle as its own weight dragged it further below. Water splashed and stirred. One after another, bubbles floated to the surface. At first, many but the number dwindled quick. At the height of the action, another moment before the baby was about to drown, that was when Heart was pulled and dragged away, doomed to never see the end.