I Followed Fires

L. Adèle

Her afternoons were mostly spent waiting for a letter from Bash. She hoped and hoped that she would one day receive a letter that notified her to return to France, for the plague has ceased to take away the lives of the people of France.

To her disappointment, the letter was yet to arrive, and so she spends her time lingering in her bedchambers, or out in the fields with Theo and Cyril. On sunny afternoons and sometimes mornings, Adèle could be found on her bed, reading a book, or sitting on the wooden chair on her balcony and gazing out into the Italian landscape. On this particular afternoon, she was doing the latter. And so, she sat on the small wooden chair, stretching out her legs and leaning her head backwards. She wore a white dress made of light and sheer fabric (which she would definitely deem inappropriate for any other occasion except for a scorching hot afternoon). It exposed her shoulders, along with her neck. What she loved most about this dress was that the length stopped right below her knees, thus it was not too long, but not too short. She was barefoot; for she did not care enough to wear shoes that afternoon.

Her hair fell to her waist, and locks of her dark hair blew in the wind as she looked off into the fields of flowers. Adèle's fingers traced the horizon; a wavy line, due to the amount of mountains that was in the area. She saw the small village that was not too far from the house, and imagined farmers placing the results of their crops into wooden carts, where they will be sent off into the nearest town. She also imagined children running through the streets, just as barefoot as she, with their innocent faces painted with dirt and grime. 

At times like this she discovered the true meaning of pure bliss; it was the feeling of not having to think of anything, as well as not to care about anything. Breathing a heavy sigh, Adèle chuckled when she heard the sounds of Theo and Cyril running through the rooms downstairs, as their maids were chasing them.

She began to fall asleep, but her afternoon nap was postponed when she heard a servant entering her bedchamber. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is a visitor downstairs. He says it's very important that he sees you,"

"Who is this visitor? Did mother or father greet him when he arrived?"

"I'm afraid your parents are away, miss. Forgive me for not telling you sooner, but a friend of theirs unexpectedly invited them. They will be gone for two days, I think, and they have taken one of the carriages with them."

"Did they know this visitor was going to come?" Adèle rose from her chair, walking over to the servant. She left her balcony doors open to let the breeze enter her bedchambers.

"I do not know, miss," replied the servant, a young girl with a petite figure. Adèle soon remembered that the servant's name is Rose. "Why do you seem so worried?"

"Forgive me if I am troubling you, Rose. But our family barely knows anyone in this area, and I am worried that this visitor may pose potential danger to our household. It may be a thief or a robber disguised as a nobleman, for all I know.."

"I don't think the visitor is a thief or a robber, miss, because we have seen him before, back in Aix-en-Provence."

Surprised, Adèle almost immediately came running downstairs. She did not find the visitor standing in front of the main entrance, and she soon became confused. But then, she turned her head and saw a familiar figure standing before the fireplace, facing the hearth. Slowly approaching towards who she assumed was the visitor, Adèle's excitement and curiosity could explode any minute now. 

"Are you the visitor?" asked Adèle shyly, as she kept her distance between her and the strange visitor.

The man turned around, and when she realized who he was, she almost wept. Adèle came running to him like a child, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Sebastian," she uttered.

"I've missed you, my lionheart."