Another assignment that we were asked to write a short story for that subject. i wrote it by myself within two days and thank God could finish it asap.huhu.. ^_^
Hope
The sound of thunder woke her up. She saw the window of the room was widely open. Her lady in waiting had forgotten to shut it properly. Quickly, she got up from bed and closed the window. Outside it began to rain. The night looked different. No star could manage to shine through the thick black clouds. Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door. She wondered what urgent matter brought them to see her in the middle of the night. Her lady in waiting was standing there with a man. She quickly gave him a courtesy bow.
“What’s the matter, my Lord?” she asked in a puzzled but polite tone. She was yet to recover from the surprise of the loud thunder. Percy did not quickly reply. He gave a sign to the lady in waiting to leave and she did. Then he looked back at her. Straight into the eyes.
“Hester, Edward’s dead. He’s murdered,” slowly Percy told her.
Years passed by. The old, gigantic grandfather clock at the living room was striking twelve times. Hester was still lying on her bed with trains of thoughts in mind. It was Sunday. The fourth anniversary of Edward’s death. He was found murdered in his room in House of Countville. Surprisingly, after the investigation was carried out, Edward’s cousin- Baron Gent was convicted with the murder. Based on significant evidence, he finally admitted to the evil. His reason was that he did not want Edward to be made a Count by the King. He did not want his cousin to be his superior. Every time thinking of it, Hester could not help rather than considered it as a very foolish deed yet had caused misery. Half past twelve, her lady in waiting came to inform that Percy would like to have a ride with her that evening.
Hester rode on her horse slowly through the bushes. It was spring and the flowers had started blooming. In a distance, she could see vast fields of green spread as far as eyes could see. The trees, too, were shading and cooling. She could even smell the freshness of air as she took a deep, slow breath. She closed her eyes and tried to engulf the feeling of emptiness inside her. After Edward passed away, Hester could feel nothing but loneliness. He was the one who could make her smile or laugh. Reddening the scar just above her upper lip. A scar that stretched to her left cheek. A remark that left her a memory of her mad-driven father trying to slash her. She did not know what had got into her father that day. She was just ten back then. But they said her father was furious after finding out that her mother had committed adultery and she was not his. That night her father tried to banish her but her mother got into the way and was stabbed to death before her father himself took his own life. She was later adopted by her aunt Baroness Marie since she was living alone after her husband Baron Philip was killed in a battlefield.
“I never thought you would come, Hester,” a voice softly touched her eardrum. She opened her eyes and turned. It was Percy. The prince flashed a smile.
“I’m always at your service, my Lord,” Hester gave a bow. For a moment she wondered why Percy had asked her out. The prince did not seem to ever bother about the throne. He would rather let his brother to be by his father, the King and he used to say he loved to be a free man. But he would be there if the King needed him. He just did not find life in the castle amusing. That was what he mentioned at least. They got off from the horses and sat under a shady tree near a crystal-clear-watered pond.
“I heard that you seldom go out for some air,” Percy said.
“I’m not feeling well. I’d rather be on bed for some rest,” Hester replied.
“It won’t do you good if you choose to stay in grief as long as you want. Life but comes and goes. Edward has been long gone. You should know by now,” Percy’s voice lowered when it came to mentioning Edward’s name. Hester was taken aback. She looked at Percy in disbelief.
“He was my fiancé, my Lord. And was a best man of yours I reckon. How could I let him go from my mind so easily?” Hester could hear the anger in her words. Realizing that she had been too much, she quickly asked for forgiveness and remained silent. Even Percy did not utter a word. Looking past the beautiful flowers and bees were buzzing around petals. Hester slowly put her fingers on the scar on her left cheek. It would be more enjoyable to have Edward to ride together with them. Like they used to be in good old days. Edward never seemed to be bothered by her imperfection when others would smirk every time when they saw her scar. She was on top of the world when he announced their engagement after a dinner at House of Countville.
“Those flowers look beautiful, don’t they?” Percy took her off her thoughts. She did not say anything but simply looked at the blooming buds. The prince was true. Percy smiled again. But this time, that smile took her by surprise. It was something she used to see in Edward’s. It was out of sincere. Eventually she could feel her cheek turn hot and she quickly looked away. Then suddenly, a hand touched her cheek gently. She was surprised and turned back to the prince. At this time, a soft kiss touched her lips. She was stunned. Numbness began to creep her veins in a blink of eyes. What did Percy just do?
“I never thought that he would tell me that he was going to propose you after the dinner,” Percy said as he looked deep into her eyes. She gulped as her heart was beating fast.
“I should’ve told you from the very first day those three words that would change our life forever. But Edward was such a quick man. As he always was,” he shrugged as if it was out of regret.
“But I knew I couldn’t let him down by getting into his way. He was so thrilled when you responded well to his intention. So I prefer to simply stay behind and let all the goodness for I’ve promised to ensure that you won’t be left alone and be happy,” Percy said again.
Hester did not know how she should respond. Her feelings were mixed. She quickly got up and took her horse and mounted it without turning her head. She galloped as fast as she could as she could reach home. That night she could not lay head asleep. What Percy did and said kept haunting her. It was true that Percy was always there for her. The prince was her childhood companion and was very close to her even before she met Edward. The prince was the one who helped her gained justice for Edward. Yet he never asked for anything to be rewarded. He never asked about her scar. He never did. He was just there. Looking after her in silence. But how could she move on? By leaving all Edward’s memory behind? She tried to compose herself but eventually found herself being accompanied by her lady-in-waiting.
“What do you think of the prince?” suddenly she blurted out. Her lady-in-waiting looked at her as if she was asking when the sky was about to fall down.
The next day, Hester went to see Percy but was informed that he had gone out to the park where they went the day before. She headed there. In a distance, she could see the man was throwing stones into the pond. Noticing her appearance, Percy looked bewildered. But she just smiled.
