The Fall of the Destined String

Prologue

PROLOGUE

THE GUST OF WIND BLEW AGAINST THE WINDOW.

The dim moon in the sky gleamed upon the ladies in the manor and there, mother and daughter sat together beside the hearth, warm and cozy under the roof. Her gaze was fixed on the firelight that glowed ominously, whispering a warning, a sign of an imminent day, significant to her lifetime would befall ahead of the young lady.

Her mother, the middle-aged woman was embroidering a flower on the garment. She glanced at her daughter in front of her with an air that motherhood had been a blessing to her.

"I've got good news." The middle-aged woman began, still stitching. "The young officer has eyes on you."

"Really? When?"

"In the ball last month during his sister's wedding. He asked you to dance, don't you remember?"

"Herr Vester?" The young lady wondered while brushing her hair with a silver comb. "Oh! The lieutenant, he is a good man."

"Yes, from what I can recall, that young fellow wooes you ever so much." She stitched on with an inscrutable look.

Her daughter placed the comb on her lap and pressed her forefinger on her lip as she paused to recollect. "Mind you, mama, I don't remember."

"Don't play innocent, my dear. I saw you two in the hall. What does the smile of joy indicate when lovers meet? They'll end up together."

"What are you talking about, mama? I often smile at everyone. Some believe it's a form of charity." The young woman said and shrugged her fine shoulders. "It's unlikely he'll ever ask me again."

The middle-aged woman laid down her embroidery upon the table and took out a letter from her dress pocket. "I think this letter can prove your statement wrong." and handed it to her daughter.

The young lady received it, glanced over the letter that was meant for her to read, and tore the vintage envelope with the tip of her fingers. She began to read the cursive writing on the piece of paper and touched the dried ink with her smooth thumb.

"Pretty handwriting." was her remark, her lips parted into a faint smile. "He makes awful jokes, I don't know why I have a feeling he is trying very hard."

"Certainly with a look like yours, Susie, it is obvious that this gentleman wants to take things seriously with you."

With a sigh, The young lady tossed the piece of paper aside, straightened her back in the chair and slanted her legs to the side. "It doesn't look like he is to me."

"He is, actually. You'll see that he is joking and teasing you around, a common sign when a man endeavors to impress someone, and finds her to be a suitable wife for him. His family even invited us to dinner in their house."

A prolonged silence reigned between mother and daughter. Her mother waited for her reaction, but her daughter's flat countenance nettled her a little. She broke the silence eventually. "You know, even before I was at your age, my mother was matchmaking me and I started looking around to find the right one."

"Yes, and he left you, eventually." The young lady blurted and gasped when she realized how painful her words were. She immediately put her palms against her mouth, feeling that she would rather bite her tongue off after this. It dawned her with remorse, and soon she freed it, rapidly clasped her hands before her mother, imploring for forgiveness. "I'm so sorry, mama. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's true, anyway." Her mother sighed, full of sorrow in her eyes that were left with tears years ago until it became dry. "But it was a different situation. Your father was being forced by his own family, back then, I didn't know he was. I was too silly and young, I had a dream...and that dream was to marry a man older than I was. To be sure, I never realized it at that time until I knew it was all a trap and the marriage has no love in it, yet years went on and you were born. While I was expecting for your brothers, things became worse when that close confidant of his came into the scene and stole our happiness away," She breathed with a note of bitterness in her tone, and she straightened her posture in the chair.

"Anyhow, your father and I are both free. Even if anything can happen, I have a feeling this officer will treat you well. At the very least, he won't cheat and abandon you, for I realized a man who has eyes like him are usually honest and understanding. I can tell even without his uniform, he'll still be a man in my eyes."

"You're saying that because he is not poor," The young lady retorted.

"At least he can support you, not as much as your father did, but he'll do... because I know he came from a good family background and I've been close with his mother for a long time. As long as your future will be rest assured, that will keep me at ease. I shan't let my daugher enslave herself just to work for her children, that's not how it works." The middle-aged woman returned in an icy tone and rapidly snatched up her embroidery once again. "You must marry, Susie, I won't let my daughter end up being a spinster and let herself be an object of gossip in our group of friends. That will never happen."

"Not this talk again," She groaned in sheer frustration. "Don't worry, mama, I won't. But you know what I truly want, without it I will be miserable."

"Tell me, then. What fulfills you without having to go through misery in your life?"

"Love."

The middle-aged woman shook her head. "Love is not enough," She paused for a moment and held her voice as eloquent as possible. "Without peace in the marital bond, there will never be love and you know that, Susie." She ended it in a cold tone, and the fire beside her couldn't soothe her pain since the poison that was hidden in her heart still remained.