I Promised You - William and Ophelia (4 page)

“Thank you, I miss my Robert a great deal,
however, he died saving others, many, many years ago. And you,
Genevieve, I have heard quite a few stories of what you have been
up to. You now have a son! What a beautiful child he is, how proud
of him you must be.” Rose said. “I am so happy we have found each
other again.”

Julia presented Ophelia with a peal encrusted
hair ornament which was not unlike a spider web in shape. She told
her to keep it with her always and that it would allow her to leave
this land when the time was right. Ophelia’s own mother, Rose,
placed her hands on the hair ornament and spoke a few words. Sparks
flew from the pearls and a puff of gold mist appeared.

“Gertie, look!” Ophelia said, turning to her
sister. “Gold mist, not blue.” William look at the both of them and
said “Blue?”

Ophelia turned to William. “William, my love,
you do not seemed surprised or worried about what we have just
witnessed. Could it be that you are one of us after all?”

William looked at his bride to be and spoke
with a touch of sadness in his voice. “If only that were true, my
love, I would be honored. I spoke the truth before by this very
waterfall. Julia took me in when I was but a small boy. I have
known about Julia for many years now.”

“But you never spoke of it, it would have
made things much easier if you had.” Ophelia said.

“I love you, Ophelia, but my loyalty to Julia
runs very deep as well. I would never speak for her or discuss her
life in any way without her permission. I hope you understand.”
William said.

“You are a good man, William, and I know that
you will be loyal to all of us. I am so happy that you and my
sister will be as one.” Gertie said, giving her new brother in law
a hug. “I still can’t believe that Ophelia is marrying before me!”
Gertie laughed.

“Look, here comes the people from the
village. We can begin now.” Rose said. The little boys of their
village walked in a line and the one in front was playing a flute.
It seemed that the entire village turned out to witness the wedding
of Ophelia and William.

It was a beautiful day and Ophelia made a
beautiful bride. She pinned her new hair decoration into her dark
brown hair and she carried the little bouquet of wild flowers that
Gertrude handed her. It was the happiest day of Ophelia and
William’s lives.

Time went on and Ophelia was now with child
herself. William continued to drive the wagons to procure food and
other goods needed for the Palace and to take Gertie back and forth
when she visited with her sister and mother.

“I don’t feel right being at the Palace when
you are going to have a baby.” Gertie told her sister. “Watching
over Julia and her son instead of taking care of you and your
child.”

“Do not worry about me. I have mother and
William to watch over me. My time is fast approaching. I feel like
I have ten children in me.” Ophelia laughed.

“Look it as well.” Gertie said, falling
quickly into their old banter.

“So tell me, what is the news from the
monarch? I am glad you are happy there, Gertrude, but I wish you
would come back home. Enough time has passed for you to know what
might happen, and now we have Julia with us.”

“The huntsmen that Mathew and the King hired
will be arriving soon. Mathew and the King have been delayed again.
As you know, there is no queen and I believe, and Julia does as
well, that they are doing less work and more drinking and gambling
than befitting their rankings. Of course, Mathew is only a pretend
royal family member, being married to the king’s second cousin and
all. The longer they stay away the better. As for me, I have
settled into life in the Palace quite well and Julia and I are true
friends now, although she still treats me as her servant in front
of others, but we have to play the roles until we can leave the
Palace forever.”

Gertie took a long lock of Ophelia’s hair and
tucked it behind her sister’s ear. “With William with you most of
the time, Julia and Hugo would be alone. I know I could come back
home now, but I am rather comfortable there in the Palace.” Gertie
said.

“Imagine that!” Ophelia laughed.

The Great Evil had arrived and although the
King was not in attendance, he decided to stay at the Palace. He
had been paid well and intended to do his job. The fact that
Gertrude was also in the Palace and possessed such great beauty,
made his decision final.

One day Gertie noticed a beautiful red ruby
ring that Julia was holding in her hand. “What a bright stone! It
is very fetching! I noticed you looking at it once before and
wanted to ask you about it then, but you put it away quickly and so
I held my tongue.”

Julia looked at Gertie and said “This ring is
very important to our wellbeing, Gertie. We must keep it safe at
all costs. It will be our way out of here forever. Come, sit by me
and I will explain its power and how to use it.”

When Julia was finished explaining the ring’s
capabilities, Gertie was amazed. “And that will actually work? For
all of us?”

“It must, Gertie. The huntsman has decided to
stay. As you might already know, he is known as The Great
Evil.”

Gertie felt her legs giving out under her.
She steadied herself by holding onto the bedpost. “The Great Evil.”
She said, repeating the dreaded moniker.

“Gertie, him being here is not my idea at
all. I stand for nothing that my husband or the Great Evil does. My
cousin does not feel the need to make changes, but he is weak and
wishes to be more powerful and gain the respect of others, so he
will do whatever this Great Evil person suggests he do. Please
believe that. I feel ill just knowing that man is here.”

“Surely he will not stay long since your
husband and the king are not here, correct, milady?”

“I do not know.”

“William should be back shortly from his
gathering. We must start planning now, for our time is growing
short.” Julia said.

William drove the wagon to neighboring
villages to gather food and supplies. Quite often he would be gone
for days. William made it a point to talk and listen to people to
gather any information he could that would be helpful. He knew that
Julia had summoned her friends Cynthia and Ashton to come to the
Palace to increase their numbers and help plan their escape when
the time came. William reported all he had learned to Julia and
Gertie, but tried to spare his wife any unnecessary stress.

William usually came straight back to the
Palace from one of his trips. But he had been gone for days now and
he was anxious to get back to his wife, so he went home first. When
William got home he found that Ophelia had given birth to not one
child, but two. Two beautiful little girls. “Go, William, bring
back Gertrude!” Rose said.

“I will go tomorrow or the next day Rose, for
now I want to spend with my wife and new daughters.”

Julia and Gertie were discussing the soon
arriving Cynthia and her husband when they heard a very excited
William downstairs calling for them. William was back from his
gathering trip. As the two women rushed to see what was happening,
they saw William laughing and smiling. “There you are! Ophelia has
given birth! We have two girls!”

Julia and Gertie wanted to be happy, but they
only grew more afraid. “William, the time has almost come, when we
must leave here and never come back.”

“But we can’t leave, not with the babies.
Where would we go?” Julia did not know how to answer him, and
Gertie told him to wait outside for her so that she could go with
him to see the new babies.

“Are you going to tell him, Gertie?” Julia
asked her friend.

“And what good would that do? It could only
cause more pain.” Gertie answered. I shall go see my sister and
mother and speak what needs to be heard. All must go well, time is
so short.”

On the way to see the children, William
reported that The Great Evil was questioning people about their
neighbors and threatening them. He also admitted that he was living
in fear for his wife and children.

William noticed something wrong with Gertie.
She looked pale and almost in a daze. She did not answer when he
spoke so he put his hand on her shoulder. Gertie jumped as if he
had set her ablaze and a blue mist enveloped them both. “Gertie?”
He called out.

“William, I did not hear what you said. I am
very glad you are back from your travels and that your children
have arrived. We have many troubles. The Great Evil is here,
although he is out somewhere at the moment. He is staying here even
though the King and Mathew have not returned Gertie told him,
almost in a whisper

“Gertie, what has happened? There is
something different with you. Even your hair looks a different
shade. It is almost as if the fire has gone out in your eyes and
even in your hair.” William said, alarmed. “Are you ill?”

“I am fine, William.”

“Are Julia and Hugo alright?”

“They are fine, The Great Evil is gone for a
few days now and he has no use for a child and a mother. We must
hurry, William, I need to see my mother and sister and get back
here. There is much to be done.”

William could hear the fear in Gertie’s voice
and looking at her in this state was almost painful. He had noticed
the way she winced as if in pain when he touched her arm to help
her into the wagon and he once again asked her if Julia and Hugo
were in harm’s way.

Gertie did not tell William what had taken
place. If she had told William that the Great Evil had attacked and
raped her, he might act on impulse and would get himself killed and
maybe Ophelia and their children as well. Gertie pulled up all of
her reserve and powers and vowed to carry out their plans that
would keep her and her clan safe.

“Cynthia and Ashton have arrived now and all
will be well. We must go now, William.”

“William was in a hurry to get home himself.
He had been gone for too long and did not like leaving Ophelia
alone so soon after giving birth, even to deliver Gertie to
her.

On the way home to Ophelia, William told
Gertie the news he had heard. The Great Evil had a needle that
looked as big as a spike and he would jab it into a woman’s arm to
see if she would feel the pain. “For what purpose, Gertie?”

“It is believed that witches and spirits
cannot cry. I have seen this before. It is used as a test and if
the subject does not cry, she or he is deemed a witch and is thrown
into the fire or made to suffer great torture!” Gertie said.

“How could that work, Gertie? Wouldn’t the
spike hurt enough to produce tears immediately?” William asked.

“If it were a real needle or spike inserted
into the arm, yes. However, there has been a way developed to trick
people. The device has a spring in it which detracts so that when
the object touches the skin, it is drawn back into the tube and
does not actually puncture the skin. It does not hurt because it
does not stab you or break the skin.” Gertie said.

“Your knowledge is very useful, Gertie,
although I cannot imagine where from you have come to have it.”
William said.

“There is much that we have to offer,
William. But the knowledge comes with a price that is too much to
pay to share with others, I’m afraid. Has Ophelia mentioned that we
will be leaving this village soon?”

“Rose has spoken to me some. Ophelia was so
heavy with child that we had not spoken of such things.” William
admitted.

“When Cynthia and her husband are ready, we
will all leave together.”

“But where will we go? How can Ophelia
travel?” William asked, afraid for his wife and children.

“Tis too dangerous to stay, William. Our
leave will not be taken by wagon. I promise to tell you more as
soon as we have finished our plans. We might have to leave in a
great hurry, so please know that now and leave the rest to Julia
and me.”

“But how fast could we travel, with so many
of us and Hugo being a young boy and your mother and Ophelia will
have to move slower. Should we not wait at least until the babies
are older?”

“There might be time, William, but there
might not be either. We cannot take that chance. When things begin
to take place, it will be sudden and there will be no time for
questions then. You have to trust us and trust that we know best.
It might be dangerous to travel, but believe me, it would be much
more so to stay here much longer.” Gertie said. “Tell me everything
you have learned while gathering supplies. Ophelia is stronger than
you think, when we get home we can talk more of plans.”

William then told Gertie that he had heard
that The Great Evil had been on the path in the forest where an
older lady was walking. Before she could move, The Great Evil ran
over her and did not even look back.

“That is even more reason why we must be
prepared, William. We know now that soon he will return and he has
been leaving a path of destruction and death in his path.”

When Gertie and William arrived at William
and Ophelia’s house they saw two of the cutest little baby girls
they had ever seen.

“Ophelia, I am sorry that I was not with you
when our daughters were birthed.” William said, kissing his wife on
the cheek.

“I tried waiting for you, husband, but these
two little ones would not be put off.” Ophelia smiled.

Rose handed one child to William and Gertie
reached into the basket to pick up the other little girl.

“Oh my!”

“Yeah, about that, sister. I can’t believe
you actually did that to me! Worse, I can’t believe you would do
that to my beautiful daughter! You cannot imagine what birthing
little Luna was like! Thank goodness her sister Thelma’s birthing
was much easier.” Ophelia said.

“Well, you can see where it would be. I
forgot all about it, I’m sorry.” Gertie said as she held up the
little girl named Luna who had been born a minute before her twin
sister Thelma. Luna had the biggest posterior on a child that she
could ever imagine.