Wife of Vladimir ||Book One||

Her Worry

"We strayed far from the villagers for some time after that event. I prevented my servants and Rosetta from returning to the village after the mob. They had acted decent that night, but Franklin had been there using his abilities. Things could easily change when the two of us weren't around. I wanted safety for not only my wife, but for my servants as well.

To adjust to these changes, I made a wooden box that had a singular slit in the top. People could place notes and letters inside of it to express their concerns without needing anyone coming to the village to see how everything was. I checked the box at night and did what I could on my own. My safety was worth the risk.

After a few days over a week, I had put the incident behind us. None of us had dealt with the villagers and there had been no complaints made against me or my family. It felt like the villagers had forgotten. Rosetta, however, didn't forget.

Her worry plagued her more often than not. Rosetta begged me to stay home during the night, to stay by her side. Her greatest fear was that the villagers would turn on me and strike me down when I would least be expecting it. It was like her to worry, but whenever I'd try to convince her it was alright, the tears would fill her eyes again. She hadn't been herself the last few weeks, but I assumed it was stress. I dared not comment on it, in fear of making it worse.

'Rosetta, you need to breathe.' I stood before her one night, keeping my fingers tangled in her hair while my thumb caressed her head. 'They've all gone about their lives. Everything is calm. So long as I keep my habits hidden from their eyes, we've nothing to worry about.' I offered a smile as I watched her eyes glance up at me.

Rosetta tilted her head further into my hand, placing her warm hands around my wrist to hold it in place. 'How can you be so sure? Vladimir, it's never this easy. People don't just walk away from subjects like this.'

'Franklin's abilities are what made them walk away,' I reminded her as I ran my thumb across her cheekbone. I leaned my head down and began trailing kisses along her forehead in an attempt to soothe her. She felt warmer than normal, but it didn't worry me.

Rosetta shook her head, fully pulling away from me. She turned her back and began running her fingers through her hand. I noticed a tremble in her body and the skip of her heartbeat. 'You don't understand. I've seen people burned among other methods of torture and execution for things like this. This is a serious concern. They could turn on you, on us, any moment now!'

I walked up behind her, placing my hand upon her shoulder. 'They won't. I know my people.' I carefully trailed my free hand down her transparent nightgown sleeve. I couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors she had seen in Invea. With how Henry had treated her, the thought of how he treated someone that wasn't his daughter easily sent shivers down my spine. If there was ever a man that radiated pure evil, it was King Henry.

'Even the most predictable of people can lie. Please, promise me you'll keep cautious whenever you leave. I worry far too much for you.' Rosetta looked at me over her shoulder, the tears already beginning to glimmer as they rolled slowly down her cheeks. 'I can't lose you.'

'I promise,' I whispered as I pulled a cloth from my pocket, quietly wiping the tears away. I could tell the words didn't soothe her. Her body was still tense, stiff from a reality that hadn't happened and I thought never would.

I wish I would have been paying better attention. If I would have only listened to her instead of trying to ease her fears, we might be in a better place this day.

Rosetta had been sleeping less as a result of her worry. Every noise woke her, no matter how asleep she had been. She had been sleeping part of the night in our room and would switch to the cave with him whenever I returned home, but only after thoroughly examining me for wounds. She would pressure me to reveal all the events of my nights to ensure that nothing had happened. Only then would she truly fall asleep. Even before I got home, I could tell that she was barely sleeping. She'd try to stay awake for me, no matter how late it was. It pushed me to return home sooner than I ever wanted to, knowing that she wouldn't properly rest until I was safe in our room.