CastHaven

Chapter 1: The Husband

The lights in the ballroom dimmed for a moment, as if a great hand had passed over the three huge chandeliers lighting the room. Lightning flashed, turning the draperies in the hall a darker shade of red; a shade akin to blood. How fitting, the man reading the Book of Promises thought.

The crush of bodies present and the sound coming from the ballroom speakers muted the low rumbling of thunder coming from outside. Dark clouds could be seen through the full-length windows surrounding the ballroom and torrents of rain poured down from them, as if the wrath of heaven itself had been incurred by some foolish mortal.

No one in the gaily-colored ballroom had such morbid thoughts, however, except maybe for one person standing at the back of the hall, lounging indolently against the wall, his left leg crossed over his right, a finely crafted wine glass held in his hand. His eyes narrowed as he looked upon the ceremony being performed in the center of the room.

A woman sat on the throne-like chair set upon the dais. She was not dressed as the rest of the women were, in their typical long evening gowns and large corsages, carrying a glittering handbag, but rather in the crisp, wrinkle-free, much-coveted uniform of the General.

Another flash of lightning made clear the fine-boned features that made up that delicate face, though the man did not need any type of light to describe her. He knew that face, had memorized every flawless square inch of her by heart. Her large grey eyes had been her greatest attribute, followed closely by the midnight-black hair that curled softly to her waist. To say that she was pretty, would be an understatement. She was exquisite. Had been so from the first day that he had first met her.

The man remembered clearly the life they had together before…all this.

The eyes of the woman on the chair rose to meet his at that moment, as if she could read his mind and her eyes softened. He knew what she was thinking: the time that they first met. But that was a long time ago, in a quiet, out-of-the-way town on the outskirts of the city. A town that was no more.

The soldiers had ruined it all.

He breathed in sharply and turned his thoughts away from the dark memories that came to mind, tried instead to concentrate on the droning voice of the man officiating the coronation ceremony. Only a few words could be heard clearly from his position at the back of the hall, despite the respectful quiet that dominated the ballroom. “The deeds of this lady had been many and filled with glory…the battle of Sheara shortly won after the….she has shown much talent in the fields of war, bringing our country much stature amongst the Allied Nations. She has defeated the last general, finding out his dark secrets….”

Ah yes, the man mused. He had almost forgotten about the ex-general. The man that had ruled the land of CastHaven with an iron fist for the past two decades, making life miserable for all the citizens within, with the exception of the various titled positions that offered some measure of protection against his tyranny.

But who was he to accuse another without first looking at oneself, the man thought. His own hands were less than clean, despite being a doctor who was supposed to save lives. He had failed in his task in the most horrible way that a person could fail at something: he had not been there when his little girl had died. Not been there when the soldiers from another country had attacked, slaughtering the townsfolk. Not been there when his wife and daughter had fled the town in a state of panic. Not been there when his daughter had tripped and fell…and been trampled to death. His presence could have changed it all. His presence could have…What? Stopped Faye-dra from doing the things she did following her only child’s death? Stopped her from joining the army determining to put a stop to this madness? Stop her from becoming the ruthless person she was turning into?

Stop her from being the person she was today, sitting upon the dais, a jeweled sword on her lap, being coroneted ruling General of the country?

His hand tightened on the stem of his wine glass and it shattered in his hands. The sound caused several people to turn his way and he smiled apologetically, murmuring that he was all right and that it was just a small accident. Nothing to worry themselves about.

He took the proffered towel held out by one of the serving men and proceeded to wipe the mess the wine had made on his expensive custom-made jacket. A different color stained the white cloth; blood. He became aware at that moment of the cuts the broken glass had made on his fingers, of the small slivers of glass that were embedded in them.

The doctor looked up momentarily at his wife, to see if she had taken notice as she once had, but she was staring at the opposite wall blankly, parroting the vows the official was reading from the Book of Promises. She would have been worried a long time ago. Now, she was much too busy for trivial things like spilt wine and cut fingers.

A feeling of sadness came over him.

Much had changed between his wife and he.