chpter 9 : forgiveness

It felt like a dream to Abby.
One minute she was having a chat with her dear mother Geraldine & the next, she was being dragged - rather roughly - into a dark corner by none other than James.
Mother didn't mind, of course. Everyone knew that Mrs. Geraldine loved all the children - from her bloodline or not - & she respected their affairs of the heart.
Which was how Abby found herself being stared down at by James in an isolated corner of... The stable? On top of it all she was missing her awaited & well-deserved dinner.

That bit didn't feel like a dream. It started off as a nightmare, really.

But after she & James had a hushed conversation - if the word was even in the right context.
Abby didn't manage to say a word (except for inquiring where her brother was to which James assured her that it was fine, Adam was seen going to the Hills). & even when she did, James did not allow it.

He just kept going & on as if the end of the world was coming tomorrow!
At first, Abby couldn't make out what he was saying - about opening someone's eyes by not telling lies ('Why do the words sound so familiar?' Abby wondered).

Then, it became clearer.
James then began talking about blooming flowers & hail storms...
It was as if he had rehearsed the speech.

But the look in his eyes - which, at the time, were a shade of the ocean during a thunderstorm, in Abby's opinion - was genuine.
It was real.
It was something she was confident that that was... Just for her.

"W-what are you trying to say, James?" Abby managed to stutter after he had come to a halt (or out of breath).
"I am saying that... I have made an ass of myself & I would wish for us to... Be friends," he said.

At that minute, Abby wished that the ground would open, giving her an option to go inside the hole.
She knew that it was a very noble thing for someone - a man, especially - to apologize. But those were not exactly the words she would want to hear after the graciously practiced speech.

She knew that remaining friends with James was just not enough for her.

All of her life Abby had never spoken up for herself. Her headmistress of the school would serve a whip every time a girl would even dare to contradict the higher authorities.
"Geishas were meant to please," the headmistress would say every time, drilling the very phrase into the minds.

But then, standing there with James by her side in a secluded corner, Abby could not remain silent.
"No," she said softly (although she may have taken a stand, she could not just yell the answer!)

James' heart stopped beating. "No?"
"No," Abby said once more. "I do not wish us to be friends."
A beat passed. "You do not?"

She took a step forward. "I want to be more than friends."
Whatever reaction Abby was hoping for, James' expression was not one of it.
A wide grin slowly spread across his (handsome) face & his eyes lit up.

"Well. That is a relief." he said, his voice seemingly deeper.
"Is it?" she said.

It was turning into a game, Abby thought excitedly.

He took a step forward & by then, the two were practically nose-to-nose... Or if the case may be, eyes-to-neck.

"It is," James said with a grim nod.
There were no words after that.





Meanwhile, Anna still had a burden weighing on her shoulders.
"Take in a deep breath, Anna. You can do this. May Lord be with you," she said to herself.

As she walked her way towards the stable, she recalled back the earlier hours she spent with one of her dearest friends, Amy.

"I am sure that Adam would accept you," Amy said as she made her bed.

By then, the two had made an armistice & accepted one another's apologies ("I am sorry for ignoring you, Amy." "I am sorry for having myself drunken, Anna.")

Anna shot her mistress a skeptical glance across the bed.
"Now you know what I have to endure, my friend," Amy muttered as she smoothen the crease at the bottom of her bed.
"But I speak the truth! Whereas your words are for my mere comfort," Anna said.
Amy let out a weary sigh & said, "Whatever you say, Anna. Only the Lord knows the truth."
"Thank you, miss." Anna gave a little curtsy & found a pillow thrown harshly onto her face.

She smiled to herself. Such memories really could be weighed in as gold.

As Anna reached the stable door, she heard ruffling noises & abnormally loud breathing.
The first thought that came to mind was that Adam had found another woman.

But after all those incidents she had had with Adam, Anna had learned not to jump to conclusions.
Instead, she took in a deep breath, knocked on the door & went into the stables.

Instantly, she regretted it.
There she saw her best friend, Abby next to James, her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist.
Anna felt odd - she felt happy for the new couple but she was also mentally disturbed from witnessing the after-scene of Abby & James doing...

Well. Doing something she really wished she did not see.

"Adam is at the Hills, Anna," Abby said as she recovered from her previous (ahem) engagement. Anna noticed that Abby's Japanese accent was heavily slurring her words.
"Oh. Well, thank you," Anna headed the door but before she went out, she quickly said to the flushed James, "Thank you."

As the stables door closed & the sound of Anna's footsteps were already harsh whispers, Abby faced James & demanded, "Why did Anna thank you twice?"
"Because... I've finally listened to her," he said rather sheepishly.
"Oh."





The mere scent of foals was overwhelming for Anna. The moment she entered the stables, tears were threatening to spill from her eyes (the smell was the cause, not the... 'Scene').
She could not remember the last time she had stopped by the stables to have a chat with Adam.
Anna could not even remember how they had met - which was troubling because before all those silly dramatics, Anna would repeat that moment a thousand times over in her head. Lord knows!

She was running towards the sacred Hills as fast as her legs could carry her.
Anna dared not yell out his name, in fear that he might run away.
When she (finally) reached the foot of the Hills, Anna thought that her breath might be taken away - she had caught sight of a dark silhouette standing alone, his back facing her.

Anna longed to run & cling to Adam's arm or maybe even play with his hair, which was badly in need of a trim.
She yearned for so much...

As Anna walked towards the figure, Anna caught Adam's familiar scent - a faint whiff of foals mixed with a bar of clean soap.
"Not throwing pebbles?" Anna asked offhandedly as she reached his side.
Adam looked down in surprise. It felt as if it had been three whole seasons since Anna said a word to him, let alone give him her (wonderful) smile.

He did not know whether it was a game to test his patience (& temper) or perhaps she was about to tell him that she was about to marry her beloved James.
But Adam decided to play along with her... & he knew that he could never rudely brush Anna off.
"I couldn't find any," he said quietly, focusing his attention to the Lake.
"Would you like to know a secret?" Anna asked mischievously.

Adam groaned inwardly & began praying to his Lord. He knew that she was going to flaunt her engagement ring any moment...

But instead of staring at a rock on Anna's finger, he saw her pointing at a particular side of the Lake.
"There are many pebbles stored at the side there. It was said that the sphinx statue would come to life & quietly hide the pebbles for those who were in true need of wishes," Anna said.
"Is that so?" Adam asked & looked down at her.
She nodded her head solemnly & - Lord help him - a smile crept upon his face.

But as Adam realized that he was dangerously close to surrendering the silent war, he abruptly said, "What do you want, Anna?"
He felt Anna stiffened. She knew it would not be easy. She should know it would not be easy. "Regarding of what you said to me during our last encounter... I honestly had thought that James had given up on me." She paused when Adam stopped walking to give her a curious yet murderous glance. "His feelings were not real," she assured him. "He was merely confused."

Just like that, everything came pouring out - explanations of his (& her) behavior, their relationship, their history. Everything.
Or nearly everything. She did not dare inform him about her recent discovery in the stables.
After that, Anna was felt a strange ease when she heard Adam let out a muffled swear while running his hand through his scruffy hair.

"Lord... There is no wonder why you were in such distress," Adam finally said.
Anna felt uncomfortable. She decided to change the subject. "We're here."

The two looked around & saw an equally beautiful scenery at the south side of the Lake. As Anna said, there were more pebbles there.
Adam scooped a handful of the stones. Some were round, some square, some oval... Most of the pebbles had a sleek surface whereas the others had a slightly rough cover.

The stone he had was an oval pebble that fit nicely in his palm. He let out a sigh.
"& Adam?" Anna called out.
"Hm?"
"I'm just... I'm sorry for not listening to you. When you were trying to explain to me about the other night. I was just so..."

'So what?' Anna thought to herself. 'Hurt? Dejected? Betrayed?'
No. It was not the time to reveal those things. It was too intimate.
She'll tell him when the time is right.
Or maybe never.

"What I'm trying to say is that," she took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. You would never lie."
Adam found himself grinning. It was not because of Anna's sincerity but because he found it amusing to find her in such discomfort.
Was it really that hard to apologize?

He decided that if Anna could accept the fact, then he should be man enough to do it too.
"Thank you, Anna."
"What ever for?" she asked, perplexed.
"For making the first move."

They stared at each other for a while. Anna shivered, which was rather odd because the weather was not the least cold.
Adam bent down & leaned in so closely that she could feel his breath on her lips.

"I think it's getting late. We better be going," Adam said & got up abruptly.
Anna nodded, her head feeling heavy with disappointment. "We should."








The following day, Amy called her friends up into her chamber for a celebration.
She was ecstatic after hearing the good news (about James finally coming to his senses & the 'silly' feud between Anna & Adam was over) & decided to commemorate the account.

Amy, Abby & Anna had a secret feast of bread & wine, which Anna snuck from the pantry. After cleaning up, Abby & Anna went off to finish their duties, leaving Amy behind.
She could not follow her two friends because of her uncle's new orders.
"You shouldn't join the servants crew, niece. It is unheard of! You would be the laughing stock of your generation! Imagine, being in the company of the lowlifes. I forbid you to be present in the same room of those good-for-nothings!" Master Zeddy boomed.

Amy's response was nothing but a bow of her head (only to hide her scowl, not to show her respect).

She kneeled at her bedside to open the box underneath her bed. Amy felt her eyes getting wet but she forced herself to hold back the tears.
'He does not deserve this,' she thought to herself as she eyed the moisture on her fingertips. 'How could he abandon me? How could he abandon his own village? What ruler would do such a thing?'

Amy coughed as the dust rose from the lid of the box. The letters were crisp & a little moist from the humid weather.
She wanted to burn them all but couldn't.

She just did not have the will to do so. All those letters... That was the only gifts she had received from him.
Those were the only memories she could get ahold of.
& now... Now he was engaged to be married to some blue-blooded woman & was missing!

Does he not care? she thought furiously. Does he not care how he worries other people? How could he be so selfish? Thinking only of himself.

An hour passed & a knock was heard on the door.
"Miss?" a lady said.
"Come in."
"Miss, your uncle requests for your presence."

Amy suppressed a curse in her mouth.

Before the maid closed the door, she hastily added, "Please do be quick. There is also a visitor waiting."
"A visitor?"

Her heart leaped. It couldn't be her friends from her former life. They would not even remember her by now...
So could it be...?

She decided not to risk herself hoping. She would certainly cry if she found herself disappointed.









"Ah! There's my beautiful young niece! Come in, come in!" her uncle Zeddy's voice thundered.
'Do not need to yell, Uncle. You may be deaf, but the rest of us aren't,' Amy thought bitterly.

But she was instantly suspicious. It was a rare occasion for her pompous uncle to think of anyone but himself (& his wife, if he remembered), let alone compliment.
What was he up to? she thought.

A young man stood up from the chair & bowed to Amy. He took her right hand & placed a gentle kiss upon it.
"My lady," he murmured.

Amy flustered. He was certainly good-looking with his clean blonde hair & sparkling blue eyes.
He was also quite tall - an inch taller than Jeffer, she assumed.
& he was certainly quite a gentleman.

The young man sat across Amy & beside Master Zeddy.
Master Zeddy was smiling from ear to ear. Amy was so distracted by the devastating good looks of the stranger that she completely forgotten her suspicions of her uncle's odd manners.

"Ah, yes. Shall I make the introductions? This is my niece, Amy Shari," her uncle said slowly & politely.
'Yes, yes. Get on with it. We all know my name,' Amy thought hotly. She was impatient to find out the charming young man's name.
"She was every bit as beautiful as you claimed her to be, sir," the stranger said.
Amy found her face heating up with pleasure. She supposed it would be alright if her uncle kept stalling with his snail-pace...

"& this is my colleague's son, Edmund Cadathy."
"Charmed," Edmund said with a bow of his head & a smile on his lips.
"I'm sure," Amy batted her eyelashes.






"Anna, Abby, Adam & James, this is Edmund," Amy said as she held onto Edmund's arm.
Edmund kissed the two girls' hands & gave a nod of acknowledgement to the two boys.

"So you'd be visiting Amy daily, you say?" Anna asked, curious.
"Yes, I am. Though the distance is more than three miles, it really is worth the journey," Edmund said as he looked down at Amy.
She blushed some more.

As the 'pair' walked away, Anna said, "I do not trust the man."
"But he is very good looking! How can one not approve? & this is probably the best for Amy. She could not just wait for the Pharaoh her whole life." Abby said as she clung onto James' arm.
"Although I have to say, Edmund does give an odd aura," Adam said & walked to Anna's side (whose face had a sudden faint red appearing on her cheeks).

The foursome decided to leave it at that. A few minutes later, Abby & James went to do a few chores, leaving Anna & Adam behind.
There was a barrier of silence between the two until Anna suddenly said, "I disapprove of this. We, Adam, are going to keep an eye on this Edmund."

With that, she excused herself to finish the sewing, leaving a very alarmed Adam behind.