Change, a Romance fanfic - FictionPress.com

Change.

It’s something that happens so quickly that if you don’t really bother to look, you’ll never really know how it happened…

With the game, you don’t realize…

Change just happens…

Too quickly for you to see it…

Too quickly for you to regret it just in time…

“I think he will marry soon.”

My hands paused in my work of kneading the dough that would later be placed into the oven for baking. It would be for our dinner tonight.

Andrea sighed, looking up at me from her needle pointing. “Mother hinted at it last night. I think Noah will soon be asking Guinevere’s parents for her hand.”

I felt something within me tighten. It all of a sudden seemed difficult to breathe.

“Oh,” was the most I could mutter. I returned to the kneading but I was not putting much effort into it. At the very least I was just squeezing the dough.

“I wish…” Andrea said, but her sentence trailed. “Never mind, it is a silly thought.”

Normally, I would have questioned her and urge her to elaborate. Today, however, my thoughts were elsewhere and so I did not bother pursuing it. Silence settled between us as we continued on with our own work, both of us lost in separate thoughts over the same person.

It seems so long since we were close, Noah and I, that sometimes I can’t help but believe that our moments together was some elaborate dream. No friendship between us was left. There was just the occasional hello, the sparkle in his eyes appearing from time to time, but always it would disappear when we walked by each other. There were times when it seemed like he would break this barrier between us. Moments when he would open his mouth, ready to say something to me, perhaps to apologize for what happened all those years ago- if he knew what it really was he did. There were times where I was about to break the silence, to say something, anything again to make things right. I hated the separation between us, and as the years passed, the gap became wider and wider. I knew that soon that gap would become too big for us to overcome.

About a few months later after that night when I saw Noah and Guinevere together that their relationship became known to the public. Their courtship was no longer a private matter, and what with Noah’s family having prestige among the villagers, his relationship was all anyone could talk about. Everyone couldn’t help but love the perfect young couple who represented true love. My mother and father would discuss it from time to time at the dinner table, and it was all I could do to not cry. Everywhere in town I went, there always seemed to be some mention of them, and with the town being small, I always saw them. They were always laughing, holding hands, and sometimes, if my luck failed me, I would see them in a private corner somewhere, intimate and loving.

It killed me.

Andrea wondered what happened between Noah and I. Neither of us gave her a real answer, and soon she let it go. Still, I could tell that she was sad for us. Many times I wanted to tell her about the battle that raged within me, but I couldn’t. I was so scared to speak my thoughts and feelings out…. Fear kept me from being true to my friend, but most of all it kept me from being true to myself.

I thought I would always live like this…

And then….

The game came.

No one could believe it really. The sounds of the bells ringing across the village brought urgency to all who heard. Utensils, toys, and any other objects one held was dropped and immediately everyone took their family and rushed out their doors. As everyone gathered outside and began the forward march to the church, whispers spread, prayers were muttered, and children that cried were silenced. Fear was everywhere, its presence hidden in the silence and in the rapid beating hearts of the people. No one knew why or what was happening, but they just knew that they had to be afraid.

The bells that were placed in the church towers were there only to serve as a signal for all of us to meet in times of crisis... All my life they were never sounded… Until now. Who knew such old bells that were never in use could carry so much power over all of us; its sounds vibrating immensely and spreading everywhere. Its ringing telling us to march… Its command so powerful, no one dared to question it, no one dared to ignore it.

“Mother, are you all right?” I placed a hand on my mother’s shoulder as we walked along with the crowd. She was evidently shivering, and her face was pale.

“Your father… I hope this has nothing to do with him,” she murmured. She clutched her hands together and began to mutter a prayer.

Seeing her like this, I grew afraid as well. Father was off on a political meeting held in the nearest town, Lilith, to negotiate over trading deals. He was serving as a substitute for Noah’s father and had been gone for three days. He was due to be back tomorrow.

“It will be all right mother,” I said, but my voice was soft, like a child, and did not carry any tone of confidence to reassure her. My words meant nothing to her.

She continued on praying.

Fear.

It is a formidable opponent. Some say it should be used to build one’s character, to build one’s strength.

But for the weak, fear has so much power over them. Fear crumbles souls, it enhances cowardice, and it takes away hope, love, chances.

Fear.

It always defeated me… And the thing was, I never tried to fight back.

Fear.

It uncovers the weak from the strong…

It uncovers the cowards from the heroes...

And I was the coward.

“Everyone please remain calm,” Noah’s father, Heath Montgomery, called out to all of us in the big church, which was big enough to house the whole town.

The moment everyone was seated, the whispers were spoken louder, and soon everyone began to talk. Panic and anxiety heightened, spreading all around the room.

“Something urgent has happened,” Mr. Montgomery said. His voice was deep and booming, his figure was tall and imposing, and so as he stood up on the stage, everyone grew quiet.

Our leader was talking.

“As some of you know, Jeffery Reyes went to Lilith to discuss trade business between our two towns,” Mr. Montgomery continued. I stopped breathing as fear gripped my heart. I clutched my hands tightly together, trying to prepare myself for the coming news. “However, Lilith was ambushed by the Frays just hours ago.”

Everyone gasped immediately and began to murmur the news to themselves. Meanwhile my mother cried out and began to sob. I placed my arms around her, trying to support her. I couldn’t believe the news.

The Frays were a growing group of rebels who opposed King Germaine’s rule. There were rumors that they have been taking towns in the East of the Kingdom of Legra, but no one had heard that they had advanced to our section of the Kingdom.

“As of now there has been no news of any killings. However, we must expect that the Frays will soon be advancing towards our town. And because of that, we must start to build our defenses as well as join alliances with the other local towns,” Mr. Montgomery said. “We have already sent messengers to inform King Germaine as well as to our neighbors, but for now we must rely on ourselves. I ask that all of you remain calm. Any young man that are willing to volunteer to fight, please report to the Hall tomorrow at noon. We will begin prepping for a possible battle soon. But for now, all we can do is pray for the safe return of Jeffrey Reyes.” With that note, Mr. Montgomery left the stage.

Everyone got up their seats, families approaching other families to discuss what was happening. A crowd surrounded Mr. Montgomery, asking more questions. Others began to crowd around mother and I, as they expressed their sympathies. But I don’t think both of us heard; we were both too overcome with worry and shock to fully process what was going on.

I glanced up, searching the crowd for Giles, wanting to see him in hopes that maybe he could comfort mother better than I could. However, as my eyes searched, they suddenly landed on a pair of intense green eyes...

Noah.

We stared at each other for a minute before I turned away. But within that minute, I saw what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

I saw the worry, the regret, and the pain. But I also saw something else…

I am here for you.

Can years of separation and unspoken words tangled together with unresolved issues be solved so easily with a simple glance?

Could that look you gave me fix it all?

Could you have protected me if I allowed you to?

All that time we let slipped by was all wasted….

You were so close, yet so far… Not within my reach….

I saw you, but I couldn’t see you…

Regrets, regrets, regrets….

I miss you…

I need you…

Where are you?