Chapter Six: A  Horrible Night, a Week, and a Wonderful Night

 

            *Hiiro sloshed back to the farm. He was now cold. He was still wet. The sun had begun to set only a few minutes ago, an already the heat of the day was gone, replaced with dry, cold whipping winds and an emptiness the day had hidden. But the numbness in his feet and hands, the fact that he could no longer feel his nose or ears, the fact that his hair was stuck straight up in every which way with drips of water still beading off each strand made no difference. It all made no difference because his unleashed rage and pent up anger at his lovely new wife were keeping him warm.

            How dare she perform such an act? And now, because of her, he was set behind half an afternoon in planting work. How dare she. She was a conniving little wench who wasn’t worth it. And he was going to tell her so. No, he was going to scream at her so. To hell with being polite- it was obvious politeness would get him nowhere with her. Finally the stables were in sight.

Before he could do anything to the toad of a woman sitting in his mother’s old room, he needed to check on his horse. Hiiro snorted to himself as he stomped into the barn. She had probably just left the horse standing, dirty, un-brushed, and unfed. Such a woman thing to do. Entering the barn, he was thoroughly whistled at.

“Lord Hiiro, you look like a mess. May I offer a towel?” The head stable master grinned and held out the towel to his Lord. Oh, he had heard what had happened. When Serena had come into the stable she had been laughing and smiling so hard he had to beg her to calm down to find out what had been the source of her amusement. She had relayed the story to all in the barn- some twenty of the house serfs, men and women alike. By the end, all had been laughing at their Lord’s predicament. They, of course, had known that being left behind by a woman would not be the only thing that their Lord would be mad at when he returned. And now their assumption was playing true.

“Why do you laugh Carl?” Hiiro sneered. Did the serf know something about why his Lord looked the way he did?

“My Lord, you needn’t worry about your steed. Lady Serena came in and took care of him.” The serf winked at his Lord.

“Lady Serena was here?” Hiiro looked up. “And she actually did the work on the horse herself?”

“Of course. Whenever she borrows a horse, she always does the tending to herself when she returns. She took care of yours when she returned from the lake today.” ‘Carl’ answered, still smiling.

“Tell me then. Did she tell you what made me so late?” Hiiro asked, his eyes darkening.

“Of course my Lord. It was very noble of you to save her, but she wouldn’t have drowned anyway, sir.”

“And why do you say that?”

“ Lady Serena has too much pride to give up that easily. She probably would have made it across the lake, and then crawled onto the bank and died if she had been planning on it. Forgive me for speaking so frankly sir, but I do believe you hurt her feelings.”

“The woman has no feelings. She’s a heartless rag, useless and…”

“My Lord!” Carl cried in horror.

“My Lord, you are young yet, merely sixteen. I am a good deal older than you, being an old man at the age of thirty-nine. Allow me to tell you: Lady Serena is as upstanding, kind and gentle as they come. She has perfect manners, the ideal, quick-witted mind, and is willing to work for what she wants. Do not begin bad mouthing her. At least she must be better than whatever wife you have stuck in that room up in the tower.” Carl spoke definitely. Hiiro stood still. Even the serfs didn’t know Serena was the same as Serenity? Deceiving wench. Without so much as a second thought to what Carl said, Hiiro dropped the towel and flew off, once again on a mission to correct the young woman who had cost him so many minutes of useless time, both mentally and physically.

            “And then he had the gall to tell me I was ‘welcome’ for him saving my life! I mean, honestly Rachel, Molly! Could he have been any more stuck up about it? And I didn’t need his help! I would have made it across that lake anyway!” He heard the voice through the heavy door. It was obvious she was upset about the ordeal, otherwise she wouldn’t be yelling as much. But that was not going to deter Hiiro from what he had meant to achieve. He took out his key and unlocked the door. Flinging it open, he stood in the doorway, still a little damp, rage radiating from his eyes.

            “How dare you.” He spoke low and harshly. “Rachel, girl, get out.” Hiiro addressed Rachel and Molly. Rachel gave him a sharp look, almost warning him not to go overboard, which she knew he would do anyway, then sighed and dragged the younger girl, Molly, out with her, closing the door behind her. When Hiiro knew they were alone, he turned his attention back to Serena.

            “Serena is it? Or should I say Serenity. No matter, it’s all the same to me. How dare you pull such a stunt with me!

            “What stunt?” Serena smiled innocently. He could yell and scream all he wanted to, she was going to win this argument; she wouldn’t rest until she received an apology.

            “You know damn well what stunt I am speaking of. First, you deceive everyone in this citadel about your identity. Serena indeed. Your name is Serenity, and from now on you will be referred to as such. Then, you had the nerve to yell at me at the lake after I so graciously saved your life. And last but not least, you left me without my horse, in the middle of the forest. I had to walk back, and miss the last hour of plowing. I haven’t even seen my fields since I left at noon.” Hiiro bellowed.

            “Oh? I deceived you did I? As far as I know, no one has called me Serenity since my mother died ten years ago. Serena is my name. Secondly, you are stuck up, rude, and egotistical. How dare you assume I need ‘saving’, as you put it, and then go and ‘welcome’ me for it without finding out. And third, if you hadn’t gotten me so mad and been so rude, I wouldn’t have had to punish you, and you would have had your horse.” She countered, just as loudly.

Downstairs, all of the serfs had gathered to listen to the couple’s argument. A few of them were mildly surprised to learn Serena was their new Lady, their Lord’s new wife, but most of them took it in stride. What was more interesting was the way she defended her position. Most women simply apologized for foolish behavior. Lady Serena explained and expected the apology to be directed towards her. She was a strange one, this one.

“You? You? Punish me? Ha!” Hiiro gave a short laugh. “ You are the one at fault here. You are selfish, annoying, ungrateful, and bratty. You locked yourself in this room and didn’t even bother to let me know you had come out!”

“Maybe I didn’t want you to know. Did it ever occur to you that the world does not revolve around you?” She began raising her voice.

“ I know the world doesn’t revolve around me. But you seem to have the foolish idea that it revolves around you. You are forbidden to leave this room until you can apologize to me properly. On your knees.” Hiiro sneered. The serfs heard noting after he spoke his words. The dead silence shot chills up and down their spines.

“Forbidden?” Serena’s voice dropped to a cold whisper. “No…” Her breathing stopped. She felt light headed. He had… taken away… her freedom… no…

“Se…Serenity?” Hiiro asked as he watched her go from flushed and angry to deathly pale. Her azure eyes rolled back into her skull and her small form fell forward, onto the floor. Hiiro just stood, looking down at her still form. Was she…?

“Rachel!” He called in terror. The older woman burst through the door in an instant and surveyed the scene. Gasping, she rushed to Serena’s still form. What had taken place between the two during the few moments of silence? Checking for the girl’s pulse, she found it was faint, but still intact. The girl’s face was dappled with sweat, and she was cool and clammy to the touch.

“Hiiro, whatever you said to her, she’s gone and fainted dead away from fear. Pick her up and place her on the bed. Then leave. And don’t you return to this room until you learn what your mistake was.” Rachel told him, not paying any attention to him, only focusing on Serena.

“Rachel, I-” Hiiro began. But he was speechless.

“Just lift her to the bed Hiiro. The good Lord knows I haven’t the strength to do so.” She said faintly, worry lines etched heavily into her forehead.

“As you wish.” Hiiro replied calmly. He moved forward and lifted the tiny shell of the woman onto the bed. It was odd, looking at her laying so pale and helpless. Only moments before she had been in a heated argument with him, and now she was laying vulnerably upon the bed. A twinge of guilt pulled at his heart, and he recognized, at some basic point, that this was his fault, that the reason she was comatose was somehow because of him. But on the surface he pushed away those facts and re-built the layer of ice around his heart, deeper and thicker than before. No weak woman was going to drag him down. He still had a planting season to finish, after all.

Rachel stood over Serena’s lithe yet still form. She was still out of it. Perhaps her heart had gone out because of the heated debate she and her son had been having. Rachel was beyond furious at her son for this as well. How could her own son, the boy she had raised from infancy, be able to create such destruction and still have no conscience over it? She was sorely disappointed. And she had just been getting to know the real Serena as well. Leave it to her cold-hearted son to destroy all possible relationships. A fit of coughing brought her out of her thoughts.

Serena gasped for a deep breath of air and coughed when she took too big of a deep breath to quickly. Trying frantically to sit up, she roughly shot up and moaned in pain. Every bone ached. What had happened? She remembered being in this room with Hiiro, having an argument, and she remembered him telling her she was confined to the room- that was it. She hadn’t been able to deal with the fact that he was locking her in.

“Serena dear?” A timed voice filtered through the room.

“Rachel?” Serena croaked. Her through burned. “Hiiro?” She asked.

“I sent him away. What happened dear? Did he hit you?” Rachel asked, pleading Serena would tell her her son hadn’t done anything to hurt her physically.

“No, he didn’t touch me. I, he,” Serena took a breath. “He told me I was confined to this room until I apologized. More like begged to be forgiven.”

“You fainted because you were confined to this room?” Rachel asked skeptically.

“Yes.” Serena blushed. “Like I told you before. The more he tries to control me, the more I will hate him. I hate being confined. I need freedom, I need the ability to move about. And your son stole my freedom tonight. He caged me. And I can’t do anything about it. It broke my heart I suppose. Rachel, I’m sorry. I don’t think anyone will ever be able to break the fever your son suffers from. His heart has been buried for too long under too many layers of ice to be salvaged. Especially by little annoying women like myself. I’m sorry.” Serena sighed.

“Serena, dear, please don’t give up all hope yet. Yes, Hiiro has ordered you to stay in this room. But look on the bright side. I can finally teach someone needlepoint.” Rachel smiled and Serena managed a laugh. She hid the slight tremor of pain that slightly shocked through her heart.

“Rachel, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to stay still long enough to learn any needlepoint. If anything, now that he’s confined me up here, I’d like to start reading more books. Do you have any?” Serena gave a sad smile.

“I’m sure I can scrounge up a few for you. Why don’t you lay down and rest for now? I’ll go fetch you something to eat.”

“Of course.” By then, Serena was already half way asleep, sunk deep into the giant pillows and warm blankets that lay on the bed.

Over the next week, Hiiro noticed a difference in the way his serfs looked at him. They avoided speaking to him as much as possible. He knew they were speak about him behind his back, and he knew they had developed a new, unspoken fear of him. Every time he tried to counter his new ‘bad reputation’, it ended up blowing up in his face and his serfs only tried to avoid him more. He didn’t understand why they would begin to distrust him after a small, unimportant argument he had had with his wife. Was it that they trusted her more than they trusted him? Or was it that her beauty and charm had bewitched them? Either way, it left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Hiiro had tried numerous times to see Serena, but without his apology, Rachel refused let him see her. He was at his wit’s end. And to add to all of the problems already existing, the monk Benedict returned from his self imposed ‘journey to redemption’ for trying to take over Hiiro’s fief. Quickly filled in on the situation around the fief, the monk had tried his best to get a glimpse of Serena, claiming he only wanted to council her, but failed miserably. Rachel had placed two of the burliest foot guards at her door to keep unwanted visitors out- including Hiiro.

Finally, Hiiro decided everything had gone too far, including himself. He had to win back the trust of his serfs, the trust of his confidant Rachel, and he needed to do it soon. Even if the only way to do it was apologize to Serena.

“Rachel.” He acknowledged her when she answered Serena’s door.

“What have you to say for yourself Hiiro?” Rachel asked coolly.

“I have come to apologize to my wife. May I please see her?”

“Very well. But keep it low key, alright Hiiro?” Rachel finally relented. He only nodded. Rachel opened the door. “Serena? You have a visitor.”

“Oh Rachel! I’m not dressed properly!” She called back softly.

“It will be fine for now.” Rachel gave a crisp nod to her son, then closed the door behind her as she walked out. Hiiro entered and looked for his wife. Finally his eyes lay upon her petite form. Serena was curled up near a window. She was dressed in her nightclothes, but had on over her the same heavy velvety blue cloak she had worn when he had first met her. What surprised him the most was not that she was sitting near the window, but that she was not staring idly at the stars. Instead, she was pouring through one of his old French books.

“Do you understand the words?” He asked her bluntly. She looked up suddenly, recognizing who her visitor was by his voice. She held her head high and inwardly sighed. This would take a while.

“Yes, I understand the French perfectly well.”

“Where did you learn?” He asked, trying to humor her. Surely she could not read it.

“My father had a friend, a Frenchman by the name of Jean Pierre. I learned most of it from him. I myself picked up the rest of it.”

“Will you read some aloud to me?” He asked. She knew he was testing her.

“Very well. Je parle francais, mais je ne parle pas l’allmond parce-que c’est tres difficile.” She read. Hiiro grabbed the book and confirmed it did indeed read what she had spoken.

“Very nice. Do you know what it means?”

“Of course. Without understanding, there would be no use in reading it. It meant I speak French, but I don’t speak German because it’s very hard. Was there something you needed, besides to curb the urge to try to insult my intellect?” She sighed, blowing her golden bangs from her eyes.

“Yes. I wished to formally apologize to you. I overstepped my bounds and should not have been so harsh with you.” Hiiro said uncomfortably.

“I suppose that is the best apology I’ll ever receive from you, even if you don’t truly mean it. Then I accept.” She sighed. He narrowed his eyes.

“Why do you say I do not truly mean my words?” He asked.

“Because. It’s obvious. Your eyes won’t lie you know. Only your mouth.” Hiiro looked visibly uncomfortable.

“Well.” He stood and turned to walk away. “Oh. And, I release you.”

“You, you mean I can leave this room now?” She asked, eyes starry and tears threatening.

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” It was so faint he barely heard it. But he heard it. Just in time to have her latch her arms around his shoulders and hug him tightly. His insides tingled and Hiiro jolted at the shock of electricity that flowed through his veins from where her skin made contact with his. He pushed the foolish nonsense from his mind and allowed her to hug him a minute more. Then she let go and nodded to him. He mumbled a goodbye and left the room.

Serena felt elated. She was free. Perhaps there was hope for Hiiro Yui after all. She had only needed to apologize, and though he hadn’t meant it when he did, he had taken it a step further and given her her freedom back. Maybe She should try to cure him, to break his fever. For Rachel. Yes. She would try to help the selfish, egotistical creature for Rachel. And at least he wasn’t so bad looking… almost pleasing- if he would smile that is. Well, she would just have to work on him, wouldn’t she?*