It has now completed an entire week without the children driving me insane or me strangling them. In fact, I was fully acting as a mother... to two children, Alan wouldn't let me touch him or be nice to him, I was still the enemy.
But now, I didn't care, I had two angels fawning over me and I was loving the attention. Now that Arthur didn't follow Alan around anymore, Alan started spending more time in the town with some boys he said were his friends, though I've never seen them before. At least he respected my wishes and always returned home before dark.
It was rainy often now in winter and it was so cold, I had to buy the materials and make coats for everyone before the snow starts. Even in that rain, Alan still goes into the town and spend the entire day there. I had no reason to stop him, so I just let him be rather than get into an argument with him.
It was that day it completed a week, it had rained early in the morning and the weather was chilly,
I accidentally pricked my finger again and sucked on it. I was so sleepy but I wanted to at least make progress with Maya's new dress before I sleep, but I kept drifting off and kept pricking my finger with the needle. Putting the gown and the needle in the basket I kept under the bed, I blew out the candle and wriggled under the blankets next to Arthur; he has been having those nightmares often, so I kept him close to me so that whenever he starts crying in his sleep, I'd be right next to him to soothe him back to sleep. I actually thought Maya would be the one having trouble sleeping but she was just like me, once she's asleep, she's asleep until morning. I must have drifted to sleep almost immediately but the sounds of hinges creaking woke me up and I was alert instantly. Seems like caring for Arthur has gotten rid of my deep sleep problem, it was almost like I was waiting for him to make a sound, then I wake up and soothe him. But this sound wasn't Arthur, it was
The children were in a good mood in the morning, as they focused all their attention on Julien; well, besides Arthur who was mostly quiet but that was no surprise.Because of how tired I was, I overslept and Julien let me sleep, because by the time I got up, the children had already eaten breakfast and taken their baths. I couldn't picture Julien as the nursing type but I was still grateful for his help."Good morning." I said as I got to the living room where Julien sat, reading a piece of paper. Arthur and Maya came to hug me in greeting and Alan just smiled."Did you get enough rest?" Julien asked, smiling above his paper."I did. I'm sorry I overslept, I stayed up sewing Maya's dress. And everyone is already bathed and fed.""Mama did it." Maya said, excitedly. I did?"Did what?" That's when I noticed everyone was staring at Maya. What's wrong?"Bathe us, and she made soup." She?"Who are you talking about?" I was confused.
To my surprise, Julien was in no hurry to leave; he took up the task of caring for the horses and swinging his sword every morning. And oh what a sight! Even in the cold, he was shirtless whenever he swung his sword, the sight of his bare chest still made my knees weak that I was always staring, forgetting myself. Ann caught me once and she wouldn't stop laughing at my embarrassment.Other than caring for the horses and practising with his sword, he stayed close to me, hearing me chatter about my childhood and the mischievous things Hailey did. He didn't offer to talk about himself and I didn't press him, I was content to let him know all about me.He even took me to the fair, just us, no children. I had a great time, looking around, playing silly games. What's more, I enjoyed the attention everyone was giving Julien and I. I was sure it was mostly Julien and I felt even prouder to be next to him. We looked like a real couple... A real happy couple.The af
"Gwen?" I opened my eyes, Ann was peering at me. I sat up immediately."Ann? What are you...?""You'll be late for your own wedding if you don't get up soon." My wedding? The wedding!! I looked outside, it was bright as day!"Oh no! It's this morning? Of course it is." I got off the bed. "I have to get the children ready and I have to get ready...""The children are ready and are at the church now with Julien. It's only the bride that has to get ready." What?"Already?! Why didn't anyone wake me up? Arthur's nightmares were worst last night and he wouldn't go back to sleep, I had to stay with him all night and then... Oh no! I don't have a wedding dress!" I rushed to the wardrobe and threw open the doors, searching through my five different gowns, nothing was suitable for a wedding. What do I wear to my own wedding?! Oh no, oh no!"Don't panic Gwen, Julien bought you a dress." I spinned around to see Ann holding up a... really gorgeous white
The shortcut was very short indeed and equally cold and narrow. My heart was in my mouth the entire time we rode on that narrow road, hoping and praying no bandits would pop out and attack us. Eric looked capable enough but he couldn't possibly be as strong as Julien and what if there are more men this time? I was so relieved when I saw Durnca come into view finally; it was already dark and my body ached from riding nonstop for hours. "Durnca, my lady." Eric said curtly, gave me a nod and he left! Just like that? How does he expect me to find my way home? Home...? Did I just call Rashord home? With Julien and the children? Ann and Eden? Yes, they are my family now. I just had to get our last family member and we'll all be together. I kicked my horse forward but slowly as people moved about and some stopped to stare at me. I ignored the stare and kept my eyes forward, wondering what pa and Hailey would say when they saw me. A crashing sound caught my a
No words passed between us until we got back to my house. Julien went in first to take a look at Pa while I saw to the horses. In a few minutes, Hailey came rushing out, grinning and blushing like a new bride after the wedding night. "Tell me Gwen, is that your captor?" "Yes, that's Julien. Handsome, isn't he?" "Handsome?! I've always thought Albert was the most good looking gentleman, but that man over there looks like... like..." She was struggling to find a word that best describes Julien's looks. "Like the Lord Himself." "Hailey! That's blasphemy." "Oh, forget that. They say the Lord created us in His image but Julien is the exact copy of the Lord." "I'm not listening to your nonsense before I get punished alongside you." I looked away from her and securely tied the horses' reins and took off their saddles. Then I got water for them before turning back to Hailey who studied me. "You seem upset. I was only maki
Hailey came by early as she had promised to say goodbye to us. I couldn't tell how but Julien already had Eric bring his carriage over as pa wasn't strong enough to ride. I really didn't want to leave Hailey again, but we couldn't be little girls forever.I begged her to continue feeding my animals while I'm gone and she agreed, then we hugged before I entered the carriage with pa and Julien.We took the shortcut again and there were no bandits. When we got back to Rashord, it was late and the children were already sleeping in Ann house, all except Arthur.Ann sat with him on the porch and as soon as he saw the carriage, he was already running towards it even before I could come down."You came back!" He shrieked, jumping around until I came down and accepted his tight hug."Of course I came back. Why did you keep your Aunt awake? That's not nice." I said as I carried him in my arms."It's alright, Gwen. Don't scold him." Ann came over too a
Arana was beautiful! It was so beautiful, I wondered why we lived in Rashord when Julien worked in Arana. The entire town was bright and it looked like everyone was well to do, not one house was poverty-stricken. I guess having a young Duke paid well.As soon as the carriage stopped in front of the Duke's mansion and we got down, Alan and Maya ran into the mansion and I would have stopped them but Ann said it was okay. How was it okay? Unless they had been there a lot of times and knew their way around.Ann took Arthur with her and they went in too. I had to forget about the children for a moment, it was my first time in such an environment, I had to blend in. I fiddled with my gown, one of the new ones I made for myself, wondering if it was nice enough for the party."Stop doing that." Julien laughed beside me, taking my hands away from my gown. "Trust me, you're the prettiest lady here tonight.""We haven't even entered yet and I am certain that my gown