The Chains of the Blood, chapter 3: Consultation
The Chains of the Blood
By: Thorne
Collaborators:
Hoshiginiro http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hoshiginiro/
Dorian Longstreet http://www.furaffinity.net/user/dorianlongstreet/
Special Thanks to: Valery http://valery91thunder.deviantart.com/
Chapter 3: Consultation
Her greeting still chimed in my ears; I struggled to find my words but managed to reply. This young had a warm smile upon her gentle face, and brown eyes that could cool any ill tempered heart.
"Good afternoon madam, I was just wandering by when I spotted your house; which peaked my curiosity, bringing me upon these steps." I stated. She giggled at my response.
"Well it is a pleasure to see somebody, I don't get many visitors, whom might you be?" she asked.
"My good lady my name is Jonathan Hensleigh of Hickory Town." I replied with some pride.
"Well my good sir, tis a pleasure to meet you, I am Amaria Worchester," she replied sweetly.
"This is a lovely place you have here my lady, I had no idea that anyone lived out here." I stated. She blushed a bit at my statement.
"I do live out of the way don't I, it's sad that I live so isolated," she said with sadness in her voice but her smile didn't fade. "Please come sit with me for a while, tell me about your town." She requested. I did so, walking up three wooden steps to get on the wooden deck. I pulled the chair to her right out and took my seat. She was wearing a flowery perfume, the likes of which I have never smelt before. She adjusted herself so that she was facing me, she was clearly quite eager for a conversation with me.
"Hickory Town is a small town, not quite as big as Philadelphia, however it's still growing." I explained. "It started out as a simple colonial settlement, but we are beginning to really grow up into a good size town." "We've got a school, and several presses have sprung up, people continue settling there so there is plenty of a work building houses." Amaria hung onto my every word, smiling warmly as she listened. "The town has done well for itself, an export of timber has allowed it to experience some notable success." I continued as Amaria watched me with intent.
"That is very interesting," Amaria replied, "I wish I could see this town, it sounds like it's becoming a busy place." "What about you Jonathan? What brought you out here today?" she asked eagerly. This bothered me some, I didn't want to trouble her with my problems, and furthermore she was a stranger and didn't need to know my business anyways. Yet my tongue failed to listen to my mind.
"I've come out here to do some thinking, my mind has been quite troubled lately," I replied.
"Oh my," she exclaimed, "what is troubling your mind so terribly deary?" I wish she hadn't asked me, my tongue again revealed my bottled up troubles.
"Well today was my wedding day, my nervousness of the matter drove me out here," I explained. "I've been contemplating all the issues in my head all day." Her eyes were fixated upon my face, wide eyed with anticipation her warm smile was replaced with a more curious look. This look of hers made me a more uncomfortable, I felt like she could see into to me.
"How can you be so troubled by a joyous occasion, your bride isn't hideous is she?" Amaria asked with ornery smirk.
"No, the issues don't lie with the beauty of my bride, but perhaps I would be less nervous if I were marrying a homely woman," I replied attempting to sound witty.
"Do you love this woman you were to be wed to?" she asked curiously.
"Yes I do love her, and she loves me, she is my sweet and gentle Loraine," I replied proudly.
"Well if the love is there what could there be preventing you from marrying her?" She asked bluntly. My uneasiness increased, beads of sweat began to run down my back.
"The issue at hand is a financial one, I don't believe I can support her or a family, I might not even be able to support myself." I stated. She now had a perplexed look upon her face.
"Why is that?" she asked with a chime to her voice.
"Well I have no means of supporting my dear Loraine," I said, "I wasn't raised in a trade and I have no means of acquiring money." She frowned upon hearing this, the perplexed look still upon her face.
"I don't see how that could get in the way of true love," she stated. "Love conquers all obstacles!" she exclaimed her eyes were bright and a warm smile returned to her lovely face. She was reminding me of Loraine, but her fairy tale version of love failed to see the obstacles before me. "Or was I the one with the strange outlook on love?" I thought to myself.
"Miss Amaria, those are sweet words but I don't believe you perceive my situation." I stated. "You see part of the problem is my lack of a trade, the bigger part of the problem is my lack of self confidence, I feel like I am so undeserving of her love." Upon hearing this Amaria licked her lips in a peculiar manner, but they returned to their warm unbiased smile. Revealing my internal conflict seemed to have an effect on my own mood, I found myself easing up and becoming more comfortable with Amaria.
"You poor thing," she exclaimed empathy in her voice, "You are torn up on the inside, a battle with yourself." How right she was, my mind set on defeating itself, feeding upon my very soul! I felt like crying, but I was able to hold it in, a man should not cry in front of a woman.
"Amaria, it's just how I am, I've always been this way, the only person with confidence in me is my dear Loraine, and I failed her today," I exclaimed miserably, my voice cracking upon the words Loraine and failed. My eyes were beginning to water up; I fought to maintain my composure.
"Have you tried praying, Jonathan?" She asked sincerely. Her question saddened me.
"I haven't that's another failure on my part," I stated. A tear slipped past my control, running down my right cheek, dampening my cheek on its way down. She noticed the tear and she stopped its descent with her napkin. She was a sweet lady, such a tenderhearted soul, like my Loraine. Another tear slipped from my eyelid, this one too was stopped by the napkin of the lovely miss.
"Awww it's alright Jonathan, don't be afraid to tell me about it," she told me in a caring voice. "It's good to talk about these things."
"I just feel awful, I feel like a disappointment," I stated another tear escaped my eye only to be captured by Amaria's napkin.
"Jonathan, you seem like a good fellow, you need to stop putting yourself down like this," she told me in a caring manner. "How about some tea?" she asked me, "it might ease your nerves a bit." The dainty miss poured some tea into a spare cup, her delicate hands working quite perfectly. She handed me the tea and I sipped on it, holding the cup with both hands.
For a while we just sat there sipping on the tea, about an hour and a half passed before we resumed our conversation. A few friendly glances were exchanged and we both observed the scene of the clearing and its pond. Amaria had unintentionally pried from me my true feelings of my situation. I had tried to put forth a front, but her tenderness made such a defense useless. Perhaps stronger men could have held such a front, but emotions aren't easy for me to conceal.