⋇ A GLAUCOUS FORENOON
It was a new dawn, and the world exuded of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside. Selm’s grounds, like the surrounding farmland, was maintained with deep mature hedges and old stone walls covered with blooms in soft, fluttery bursts. The birth of the General’s eldest was radiant — a newborn endowed with her mother’s light tresses, emitting pure laughter.
Eleanor was, undoubtedly, a child fostered with endearment by the Duke. Despite his theatrics and strict mannerism that vexed her in her teenage years, she cherished her father well. Kept close to her chest was a heart-shaped pendant. Her nickname was inscribed against its golden surface. Throughout her adolescence, she treasured such.
Yet, deception and infidelity came — meeting the maiden’s ears. A man she revered and loved, now exposed before her piteously.
How could papa hurt mama so?
A looming figure stood by the jewel-sea of a sweeping plain with ragged mountain ranges, veiled and obscure. Numb fingers trailed along a garnet heart, the necklace brilliant from the moonlight. Ire had been coursing through her, the woman discontent as she tore its chains from her neck. Quaking, the eldest scion flung the delicate object into the waters as she thought of the patriarch’s ill caused death.