“Not getting ready yet?” a familiar voice asked. Leila smiled at Roger quickly hurrying to hug him.
“It’s not for a few hours,” she replied.
“Your mother figured you had run off again and since Nalick couldn’t come look for you, I figure I should,” Roger explained. “Anatolio is worried about you.”
“I’m fine, just a little sad,” Leila replied, knowing it was no use lying to him.
“This is your wedding day. You can’t be sad. You should be happy,” Roger explained. Leila nodded but did not smile.
“Come on kid, I’ll walk you back to the house. Your mother left your dress for you on your bed.” Roger put his arm around her and began to walk her back up to the house. “Ten years is a long time. There is no need to worry now about it. Just think, it hasn’t even been ten years since you chased Erich home, and yet, it feels like a lifetime has passed.”
As they neared the house, Leila quickly hugged him again before opening the door. It felt like she had known Roger forever; however, it had only been eight years. He was right that ten years would be a long time. Roger waved as she shut the door and went to her room. Lying on the bed was a long off-white dress that had been sewn by her mother. Leila smiled picking up the delicately made dress.
Slowly, Leila slipped into her wedding dress. She could remember when she was ten and her oldest brother got married. She complained for hours that her mother was making her wear a dress, but as soon as she put it on it all changed. Leila spent hours twirling in the dress watching the hem swirl around her. As Leila slipped into the dress her mother made, she again could feel the magic of it. It lifted her spirits as she looked at every detail her mother had included. Leila noticed the small purple flowers on the hem. This was her real wedding.
Leila was ready long before the guests started to arrive. She sat and tried her best to occupy herself with anything she could find but her thoughts continued to drift back to Nalick and what her life would be like without him. As she continued to wait, she climbed upstairs into the room Ruth had been sleeping in. She could see every detail of her old room was completely mimicked even down to where the windows were. Leila walked to the nearest window and slowly felt the lace on the curtains. They were the original curtains from her room, just freshly washed. While sitting on the bed, Leila stared at the pattern the quilt pieces made. As she lay on the bed and felt lost as to why she could not be happy on her wedding day, she wished she could see Erich if even for just a moment just to be reassured she was making the correct choice.
Leila was interrupted from her thoughts as she heard Anatolio calling her name. She stood and walked to the staircase. As she took one step, she stopped as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. I can’t do this, she thought. If I marry him, then I agree to let him die. The tears continued to trickle. She had finally found love again, only to find it was temporary. Ten years is not enough time. I can’t do this again. I can’t lose my love. Leila leaned against the wall searching in her mind for alternatives.
At the bottom of the stairwell Anatolio stood watching her. Tears flowed freely down her face. Slowly he approached her and stopped on the step below her so that he stood eye to eye with her.
“I can’t do this,” she said to him barely even a whisper. “By marrying him, I sign his death warrant.”
“This was never your choice,” Anatolio explained.
Leila began to cry more. “How could he do this to me? I don’t want to be alone again.” She began crying harder. “If I just stay here,” she started, but she stopped as Anatolio gently took her face in his hands. Ever so gently, he leaned close to her face. His lips gently touched hers.
“You will never be alone again,” Anatolio promised, staring into her eyes while wrapping his arms around her. Anatolio could not contain the love her already felt for her and held onto her tightly. “I will always be there for you.”
Leila looked deep into his eyes. The boy she normally saw back was gone. In his place stood a man. For the first time, Leila could see him for who he was. With his tight grip around her, Leila realized Anatolio was right. He had not left her alone since the day she first entered Lexia. Anatolio gently wiped her tears away as he regretfully let go. She had stopped crying, and he could see the change in her eyes.
“We need to get you to your wedding before you are late, my queen,” Anatolio said while adding a bow.
“Nalick would understand if I told him I got lost on the way,” she joked as he smiled and took her hand to lead her down the stairs and outside. Her hand fit perfectly in his.
Anatolio and Leila walked in silence to the tent by the lake that was filled with her family and friends. As she neared the open doorway, Anatolio stopped. Leila turned to him, and he smiled as Ruth ran to greet her. Ruth handed Leila flowers as Anatolio quietly slipped into the tent before she could protest. Ruth led the way between the seated guests. Her parents proudly watched her walk their way. Leila smiled as Anatolio moved and stood beside Nalick. Leila stopped near the front of the tent, and Nalick turned to greet her at Anatolio’s prompting. Leila slowly moved near Nalick and as he took her hands in his she gazed intently up at him. She could see no fear or regret in his eyes- just complete happiness. Leila knew then that even though her life was not going to be exactly how she wished, she was certain as everyone had promised, she would be happy.
Epilogue
A week and ten years after their wedding in the North Country, Nalick woke early for his trip with Phillip to Dria. They had been planning the trip for months and Phillip was eager to leave the palace for some peace and quiet after the birth of his first son. Nalick carefully checked his desk before having breakfast. The letter he had written Leila was still there waiting. Everything was in order to transfer power to Leila for the next five years until Connor reached his fourteenth birthday and could claim the throne. Sadly, Nalick ate before walking upstairs to say goodbye to his sleeping children.
The first door he opened had an unmade empty bed in it as Nalick had expected. Tim was always up before everyone else training as hard as he could so that Leila would allow him to take easy runs from Roger’s courier station. The next room was that of Connor, the heir to the throne of Lior. Connor was nestled between his covers quietly sleeping. Nalick sat beside him and watched his eye lids flicker. To an outside observer, they would see Connor as Nalick’s child, but beyond his head of dark hair, there was little resemblance. Every day Nalick could see more and more Connor was growing into the person Gabor had promised to Nalick before he was even born. Nalick had no reservations leaving his country to him knowing Connor would live up to every expectation. Nalick kissed him before checking on each of his other children: Isabella, Jeffrey, Nathanial, and Ava. Except for the youngest, they all had his dark hair and tan skin, though they all displayed a mixture of his and Leila’s personalities.
Somberly, Nalick returned downstairs to Leila still in bed asleep. She had asked him to wake her before he left, but he just could not do so. If he did, Leila would be able to read his eyes and know what was going to happen. He sat for over an hour watching her sleep. Every now and then Nalick would gently stroke her face or hair, trying to will himself to stand and leave her for one last time. Gently he touched her stomach knowing she was pregnant with the one child he would never meet. Nalick wiped the tears from his eyes as he again tried to stand.
“Goodbye my love,” Nalick said silently to Leila and his unborn child. Gently he kissed her forehead before he forced himself to stand. He was not afraid of dying and had accepted his fate the day he first saw her, but it was difficult to give her one last goodbye. Leila was everything he could have ever hoped for in life. He could have never found someone as bright, loving, and caring as she was. Even after he was gone, she would still be the bright light that their children depended on. Leila was the best wife and mother, and Nalick was proud to have married her.
“You will never be alone,” he added, slowly walking away.
As he st
opped at the door to their wing of the palace, Nalick gave one last look around. It had been his home his entire life, but it never really felt like a home until he had found Leila. The quietness around him was in stark contrast to the normal chaos of six children, aged from three to fifteen, running around. Nalick sighed as he could hear Phillip down the hallway. Nalick quietly closed the doors, hoping that in future years his children would still remember him. Hastily, Nalick tried to be more cheerful, so that Phillip would not notice.
Leila woke from her sleep to find Nalick had already left. Leisurely she sat and yawned. Leila had asked him to wake her before leaving but again he forgot. Leila slowly stood and wrapped her robe around herself walking to the kitchen to get a cup of tea. It would still be an hour or two before any of the children beyond Tim would be awake. Unlike her normal morning which she spent in the garden, for some reason Leila felt like sitting on the balcony. Leila stood by the rail and looked down below at Nalick and Phillip checking the cart filled with their supplies for their trip. Phillip noticed his mom and eagerly waved to her. Leila waited for Nalick to turn to her also, but he did not.
Leila’s hands began to shake, and she set her tea down on the seat. She knew what this meant. She had been waiting since their anniversary the week before. Leila continued to watch, but he did not look up. Leila was so caught in the thoughts racing through her mind she didn’t hear Tim and Anatolio approaching from inside their home. Tim joined his mom and watched his dad below.
“He’s not coming back,” Tim said the same thought running wild in Leila’s mind.
“No,” she replied quietly. “He’s not.”
Anatolio moved to Leila’s right while Tim stood on her left. Anatolio placed his arm around her hip, and Tim placed his around her shoulder. The two men supported Leila while she was doing her best not to break down. Below as the cart moved to the gate, Nalick turned and glanced one last time at his home and wife. Above Leila stood with Tim on one side and Anatolio on the other. Nalick was sad to see her one last time, but happy to see she was not alone. His plan had worked; he had made sure of it. Leila would never be alone again. Nalick had seen the future, and in time she would be happy with Anatolio. Nalick did not regret his choice, to stand beside her.
Acknowledgements:
As with any work of fiction, there are many people to thank along the way.
First off- to you the reader. Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I have been writing as long as I can remember, but you are the first to actually read my works. If you liked it please leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your own blog, my blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. The greatest help you can provide to keep a writer going is supporting them through spreading the word about their books and leaving them with a few encouraging words.
Secondly, and not any less important, I’d like to thank my husband who has pushed me to finally let other people read my works. This novel was written over five years ago; while he was at work on Saturday mornings, I was at home with nothing to do but write (we only had one car at the time). So I set out to see if I could write a novel. Five weeks and 180,000 words later, I had done it. Thanks to his encouragement, I have continuously edited to make it to the point I am at today and finally have the courage to publish it. Thanks hubby for all the encouragement and nudging along the way.
Third on my list are my finishing touch people- cover artist, beta readers, and editors that have made my novel a better read for all that followed. A special thanks to my editors Morissa Schwartz, David Calver, and Eric Boler. Thank you for all your help making the story better and catching all those oops moments. Thank you Wicked Cover Designs for a wonderful cover and making this process feel so much more real.
Last is my family and kids that take time to let mommy write and edit as an ongoing hobby that has now resulted in a published book. Thanks to my mom and dad, my husband, and my kiddos AK and KB.
Coming Soon Febuary 2012- a new series by B. Kristin McMichael
The Legend of the Blue Eyes
ONE
“Auntie, I’m leaving now,” Arianna Grace called into the busy diner kitchen from the stairwell. Her dark blond ponytail bobbed up and down as she jumped back onto the next step to avoid a passing worker. The short, black-haired woman in the middle of the mob of people, dirty pans, and food only nodded. To avoid the early dinner crowd Arianna hurried out the back door of the diner into the alley. It was Friday; the one day of the week Arianna did not help with the diner run by her guardians, Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean.
“Don’t forget to come straight home. We need to leave tonight at midnight to catch our plane,” a large man yelled from behind her. Arianna quickly nodded and waved to her uncle as she turned the corner.
Arianna ran to the nearby bus stop and ducked into the bus-waiting shelter to escape the light rain. Raindrops accumulated on the plastic enclosure and trickled to the ground as she waited. The old man shuffling along with his small black dog across the street waved to her as he continued to be led by the much younger dog. Every Friday Arianna took the same bus to meet with her friends at the movie theater. As the rain picked up, Arianna rushed from the bus shelter, through the open door of the waiting bus.
“Hi, Fred,” Arianna said to the portly bus driver as she swiped her pass which showed as belonging to Robert.
“Five o’clock movie, Ethel?” he replied with a wink.
“Is there any better time?” she responded as she passed the normal riders: the dark-haired tall girl always dressed in ripped, purple fishnet stockings matching the streak in her hair, the clean-shaven, young bald businessman wearing a suit and tie, the older gray-haired couple who shopped each Friday near the theater, the two twenty-something boys she always counted as brothers that went to the gym to play basketball, and the cute blond-haired, blue-eyed boy from her math class that always sat in the back corner. Just like Arianna, they all rode the five o’clock bus to the parking lot next to the theater.
“What’s playing today?” the young black man asked.
“It’s Mary Ellen’s choice,” Arianna answered, sitting behind him. “So I’m guessing it will be that new teen romance. I dunno the name.”
“Something Roses, I think,” he replied, putting his business papers away at her arrival.
“It’s my choice next week,” Arianna replied. “I’ll make sure to pick something bloody with a lot of action to make up for this week.” The man smiled and chuckled. To the outside world, Arianna was just a shy fifteen-year-old, but around her friends she was her normal, bubbly self.
As they neared the parking lot, Arianna walked to the front of the bus. “Fred, can you let me off by the theater before you turn?” The driver nodded as the rain poured down faster. He checked each of her hands. “No umbrella. I didn’t know it was supposed to rain,” she explained.
“Have fun, kiddo,” he replied as he stopped the bus as near to the door as he could get. “Keep dry.” Arianna smiled and waved as she ran from the bus to the theater door. The driver smiled back as she left. Everyone on the bus knew life had not been easy for Arianna, but despite everything she was always cheerful and friendly.
Arianna hurried through the door and out of the rain. She quickly scanned the lobby, but her friends had not arrived yet. As she had every time since she started Friday night movies with her two best friends, Arianna went to the concession stand and ordered her usual large popcorn and small drink. The teenager behind the counter filled the empty popcorn bowl that was sitting alone near the drinks. Arianna nodded her head in thanks as she took the bowl and carefully slipped her hand beneath the cardboard edge. She cautiously pulled the note from the bowl and slipped it into her sleeve.
Arianna sat down in the lobby and waited for her friends. She was eager to read the note, but she had to be careful. The writer had warned her if anyone found out about the notes they had been exchanging, she would get into trouble. It had been over six months since she received the first one. She thought it wa
s a prank by her friends, but both Mary Ellen and Tish had no idea what she was talking about. At first she didn’t respond to the notes. It was obvious the person knew who she was, but without knowing who the writer was, Arianna only glanced at the messages each time. It was not until the person told her he knew her mother and father that Arianna began to seriously read each note. She had only a very faint memory of her father, who died when she was four, and nothing of her mother who died the day she was born. No one, including her aunt and uncle, would talk about either her parents. Arianna didn’t even know if her guardians were siblings of her mother or father. They were the only family she had ever met and neither talked about their families or her parents. The complete silence and lack of any family often disappointed Arianna as a child. Though she never felt sorry for herself, she could not help but be interested in the notes from someone who claimed to know her parents, whom she knew nothing about.
The notes began with little questions Arianna had always hoped someone would answer. What color were my father’s eyes? What color was my mother’s hair? Was she pretty? Each week, she got answers to her unspoken questions: blue like, yours; dark brown; extremely. And again she would think of more questions. The last week she finally got the courage to ask the writer to meet her in person and left a note of her own. Arianna knew the dangers of meeting a complete stranger, but she had so many questions left unanswered and the note-writer had all the answers. There was nothing she had thought yet that he or she could not answer.