"Come on Julia! Can't you hear the sound of the horses approaching the farm? Hurry up dammit and shoot once and for all!" – With glassy and slightly red eyes; holding back tears as she felt a lump in her throat make it hard to breathe, Julia held the gun with both hands pointed at the chest of the man standing in front of her.
His knees were shaking and his index finger on the trigger seemed stiff, as if his body refused to respond to such an order. She knew that this was one more opprobrium on her shoulders, that the guilt of staying alive would follow her until her bones reached the grave.
Yes, more and more the sound of the steeds' hooves echoed over the cobblestones that led to the main entrance of the farm, like the beat of a clock that moves its hands, frightening with its sound what a sepulchral melody within the room.
The sweat bathed the white skin of his forehead, spilling over his beautiful green eyes, which contrasted with the blue of the coat of his crown officer uniform. While her delicate lips trembled with impotence at not being able to utter a word.
"My daughter, it is not your fault that you were born a woman. If you had been a boy, my title could have passed to you, without you being condemned to live a lie for all these years. But this kingdom will never see women as anything more than an instrument to produce heirs. I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything for you, my beloved Julia" – Rogelio Buenaventura Valera, was known among the nobles for being a man of integrity and remarkable principles. Heir to the dukedom of Valera, he made countless contributions to the development of the kingdom of Antioca . From the economic to the legislative, his knowledge placed at the service of King Edward II was never questioned in his loyalty.
Except for a single detail that was impossible to avoid, even for the most intelligent person in the midst of a kingdom of patriarchal roots.
Within the circles of the nobles, there was a long-standing struggle for the successors of King Edward II. On the one hand, there were those who wholeheartedly supported the first prince as a direct successor to the throne line. On the other hand, a faction was strong in its interest for Princess Elena, as the first-born , to take the crown. But the existing laws on succession issues that affected the heirs of the great noble houses, had a counterweight so that the princess herself was not taken seriously, because there were no precedents within the nobility for a woman to inherit. .
Knowing such a situation, King Edward secretly entrusted his faithful minister Rogelio to advocate for changes in the laws of succession within Parliament. In order to guarantee the promotion of his eldest daughter, for which he did not hide having his greatest approval in contrast to the first prince.
Seeing the opportunity to restore the honor of his beloved Julia, Rogelio spared no resources or time at the cost of making powerful enemies within the chamber of the nobles.
Within the walls of the palace where only secrets are usually heard in whispers, Julia made her rounds through the corridor that led to the chambers of the first prince. For her, the whispers of the maids were things that she did not usually take into consideration; Except for those rumors that had to do with Rafael, the first crown prince.
"Why the frown so marked Andrés? Are you still getting angry at the licentious tongues of these vulgar commoners? Maybe you should have them cut so they stop disturbing your ears" – Placing his thick hand on Julia's delicate shoulder, Rafael smiled subtly while with his eyes he glared at the maids, who hurriedly left the corridor without noticing. time for their faces to be distinguished.
Five years had passed since Julia's appointment as personal guard to the first prince; the highest distinction to which a noble could aspire, although for her it was more of a burden due to the risk of being discovered.
Within the secrets of the palace, it was known that Rafael enjoyed sharing his bed with beautiful young men at night. Of which, many times Julia had to take care of dispatching before the sun rose, so that the secret of the young prince would not be discovered.
"Crown Prince, be so kind as to take your hand off my shoulder. We are in a public place and the walls not only have ears inside this palace" – Letting out a laugh that echoed in the walls of the corridor, Rafael withdrew his hand from Julia and quickly changed his countenance to a more severe one.
She knew it, that defiant look devoid of empathy in the prince's eyes was something that made her blood run cold no matter how many times she had witnessed it. Even more so when those brown eyes stared into his as if he wanted to devour him with their gaze.
– " It has been five long years, since I chose you as my personal escort, Andrés. And in this time, as much as I wanted to give you all of me, you despise it as if it were a cheap gift.
- " My lord, I have never thought of it like that..."
-" Shut up!" – Taking her tightly by the neck crashing her fragile body against the wall, Rafael did not hold back squeezing the delicate skin of Julia's neck. Who uselessly held the thick wrist of the corpulent prince with his hands, who pressed his fingers making the young woman feel at times that her life was ending.
"What's going on here?" - A feminine voice but full of strength made a noise that took the first prince out of his barbaric trance. Accompanied by two maidens, dressed in a dark red dress with fine diamonds adorning it, Princess Elena rebuked Rafael who was still strangling Julia's poor humanity.
-" Andrés is my escort, do not dare to interfere in my discipline methods!"
-" Can a rabid dog teach manners? Even an ape knows the obligation of nobility better than you prince."
Dropping Julia's body to the ground, Rafael rushed towards his sister, being stopped in the act by the cold edge of a knife that almost grazed the skin of her neck. Accustomed to her brother's hostility, Elena learned from an early age in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Even with her father's reluctance, the princess considered that studying self-defense was an important asset for her physical integrity. Learning from masters brought from distant kingdoms, where women were seen as equals.
"Enjoy that empty confidence of yours while you can, I will soon see that arrogant smile turn into a sea of tears, dear sister" - Scaring the maidens as he abruptly made his way between them, Rafael left with the air of a fighting bull that had been thrown into the arena.
Getting up with difficulty while leaning against the wall, while putting her right hand to her neck, Julia sucked in breaths with difficulty, feeling her eyes bulge out of their sockets. Right next to her, the princess hurried to help her sit up properly, reflecting on her face a legitimate expression of concern.
"If you hadn't shown up for appointments just that day as I asked, you would have been assigned to my care. You are a fool Andrés" - With her heart overwhelmed by seeing him in such a way, Elena took her handkerchief wiping the sweat from Julia's face, while ordering her maids to take her to the shade of one of the trees in the interior garden of the palace.
Feeling the softness of the grass beneath her, Julia lost her gaze in the direction of the treetop as the princess's hand rested on hers. Unaware of the secret she kept in her heart, Elena silently loved Andrés. Like a maiden looking beyond the moon, the princess was mesmerized from a distance watching the young guard as he served the palace. Treasuring moments like this, where he could innocently brush the warm touch of her skin against that of his impossible love.
Being a royal princess, Elena had the immutable destiny of being given in marriage as a sign of alliance with a neighboring kingdom. Even if his father wished otherwise, to act impulsively to assert himself against the house of nobles was to weaken the legitimate authority of the monarch.
"If life were fair, I wouldn't mind being born as a commoner if that allowed me to be with you" - Like a whisper that was lost in the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of the tree, those words drowned between her lips reached subtly Julia's heart. Who simply lowered his gaze sadly, answering that message with a light squeeze of his hand to the princess.
Hours past these events, Julia was still standing guard near the crown prince's chambers, when her ears picked up on a heated argument behind Raphael's bedroom doors.
" There is no more time, the Duke of Valera has committed treason tonight my lord! If we don't act now, in two days the weight of their deceit will be impossible to reverse. If we act now, parliament will have to freeze legislative approvals to attend an impeachment trial. It is the only thing that will allow us to gain time to destroy all the tricks of that damned Rogelio" – The voice that was heard with great anxiety behind the doors, was undoubtedly Count Alberto Solera. An upstart nobleman who, colluding with the faction that supported Prince Rafael, was taking over the properties of other lower-ranking nobles whom he framed as enemies of the crown.
Exploiting his vassals within their territories with heavy taxes with which he secretly financed a clandestine army in support of the first prince.
"I know you have a particular appreciation for young Andrés. If he causes his father to fall from grace, he will lose his title as a noble and will be nothing more than a commoner. Don't you think that would have given you up?" – Feeling a shiver run down her back from the back of her neck, Julia took a step back, putting her hand to her mouth in shock.
She knew that her father was working on legal reforms for the succession of the inheritance among the nobles, but she never imagined that such scope could put the succession race for the crown at stake. If those despicable subjects were successful in their enterprise, not only would his father lose his life, but Princess Elena would also be at the mercy of Rafael's whims. Who, taking advantage of the fact that King Edward had been bedridden for several days, had carried his conspiracy to this point.
Hurtling through the palace corridors until she reached the stables, Julia hastily mounted her steed, bending her ankle against the stirrup of the saddle.
The pain that shot through his right leg made him gag as the horse flailed violently in the stable, trying to calm it down so it wouldn't attract the attention of the stable keepers.
The full moon that bathed the green meadow in front of her with its light, little by little was hidden behind thick storm clouds that threatened to drop a barrage. The cold wind that began to blow rocked her brown hair, confirming that those clouds were far from temporary.
Hitting the steed with the whip, Julia left at full gallop through one of the side entrances of the palace where she knew the guards would not be because of the shift change; trying to buy time before the machinations of the sinister plan of Rafael, who had already given his approval to the mean Count Solera.
Kicking up a light cloud of dust on the dirt road, the steed strode briskly, making Julia's uniform cape flap like the wings of an owl lost in the night.
From the correspondence that she used to exchange with her father because she spent most of her time in the palace, Julia knew that Duke Rogelio was not in the mansion in the capital that night, but in a farm on the outskirts of the territory. of Valera.
Because Count Solera was unaware of this, Julia would have enough time to warn her father to leave the kingdom while she found a way to protect him. However, such a task of convincing, he knew, would be difficult, since it implied not only that he abandon his dignity as a nobleman but escape as a mere criminal. But he would also put Julia's life on the line for helping a traitor escape.
The clouds that until recently only darkened the sky, began to drop a light drizzle that gradually formed a thick curtain of water that made it difficult for her to see the road in front of her.
The water lapping with the horse's hooves on the mud that formed on the dirt road, making it increasingly difficult to maintain speed. But curtailing her career now would put her at a serious disadvantage, when her father's enemies must have already noticed her absence when they raided the mansion.
Just when on the horizon he spotted a pair of luminaries that marked the main entrance to the main road of the farm, the steed's legs collapsed as his hooves slipped against the cobblestones due to the mud on his horseshoes.
The crash with which the animal collapsed threw Julia's body to the floor, who managed to cover her head with her arms, dislocating her shoulder in the process.
His body was completely bruised, both his ankle and his shoulder in such pain that it was difficult for him to maintain consciousness. Forcing her at times to bite her lips trying to withstand such intense punishment.
Due to his injuries and the intensity of the rain, it took him a little over half an hour to reach the entrance of the old house on the farm. That place that many years of his childhood, he used to enjoy during the summer in the company of his father and mother.
Crossing the threshold of the door, the young woman noticed that the place was plunged into complete darkness. Only illuminated for brief moments by the light of the lightning that filtered through the curtains of the windows.
Disturbed by the thought that she had arrived too late, Julia hurried with difficulty up the stairs that led to the second floor of the house. Leaning against the wall in an attempt to keep from losing his balance and breaking his neck on the fall.
When his eyes caught sight of the edge of the stave floor on the upper level, a fine light like that of an oil lamp filtered through the corner of his father's office door.
His heart began to beat rapidly, while he brought his hand to his waist looking for the hilt of his saber, preparing to face any enemy that faced him as soon as he crossed the door frame.
"My daughter! What are you doing here? This is not a safe place, if they discover you with me they will hang you" – With a serious tone of voice, which could barely stand up to the impression that this unexpected encounter meant to him. Duke Rogelio looked astonished at the face in which Julia's body was found, who, seeing herself in the mirror hanging on the wall of the study, could not help but go into a little shock.
The blue jacket of his uniform was torn and full of mud, his white pants were tinted by the pigment of the green grass against which he had rolled in his fall. His lips bore the deep marks left by his teeth as he bit them down to endure the pain, showing a slight shade of crimson that contrasted with his fair complexion.
"Father, you must run away from here ! Prince Raphael's soldiers will come to the estate to arrest you. You have to escape and stay alive. Count Solera has set a trap for you" – Almost losing her voice due to the pain she had to endure in her body, Julia begged her father with eyes full of desperation. Whoever looked saw how her daughter's face looked like a vivid portrait of the agony close to death.
"Julia listen to me, it's already too late for me! Earl Solera ordered in the morning to secretly arrest the nobles who supported me in parliament. If it weren't for one of Baron Vargas's servants, the fruit of our efforts would have been completely lost. I cannot waste the sacrifice of so many good men just because of an act of cowardice." – Oblivious to the whole situation, Julia had acted recklessly governed by her emotions. Intentionally forgetting her father's firm and stoic character, as if trying to convince herself that everything would be okay.
Unlike her, her father had remained calm in the face of the inevitable outcome of Earl Albert's betrayal, preparing copies of official documents that he gave to a servant who had hours since fled to the border to meet allies of the princess.
He knew that his fate was sealed, running away would only make Julia pay instead for the charges that Count Solera had brought against him. There was no hope of leaving the kingdom, not for a father who loved his daughter like the apple of his eye.
"You have the same face as your late mother. How I would have liked your beauty not to be overshadowed by the heavy shackles of the succession" - Thinking those words to himself, walking slowly to his desk, Duke Rogelio opened one of the drawers and took out a pistol that he placed in the thin hands of Julia.
Taking five steps back, the duke exhaled a bit as he tried to calm his thoughts at the dire order he was about to give his daughter. Looking at her fondly for the last time, he changed his frown to one full of anger, as if another being inhabited his body.
"If it weren't for you, who were born a woman! Our lives would not have reached this point of no return!" – Seeking to intimidate his daughter's soul, the duke wanted any feeling of love towards him to be clouded by the negative emotions that were growing in Julia's mind.
Who, without understanding the situation, let her emotions flow by asking her father why he said such harsh words against her.
That man who for so many years loved her and cared for her with such care, was now in front of her attacking her, raging like an animal that does not have filial love for its offspring.
– " Why do you tell me that father? I am Julia, your daughter."
– " That is the problem, you are a daughter and not a son. A woman clumsily playing the role of a man. Without achieving a better thing than making a fool of himself by giving the image of a delicate man.
Look in the mirror, you're just a scarecrow in the uniform of the royal guard. You are far from being a man, just a satirical caricature of what you can never be.
The rudeness of those words completely broke Julia, who collapsed on the floor with difficulty bringing her hands to her face while shedding bitter tears from the depths of her heart.
All his life since he had the use of reason, he lived wearing a mask that society had imposed on him. Suppressing her deepest desires between frustrations, contemplating how the girls of other noble houses wore beautiful dresses and enjoyed their true being without the need to pretend anything.
From the academy to the knight training school, she had to endure the mocking looks of her classmates, who, seeing her as a fragile man, secretly frightened her, making her day to day more difficult.
Seeing that scene, Duke Rogelio wanted to take off his tyrannical mask and run to hug his vulnerable daughter who lay disconsolate on the floor in a flood of tears. But ruled by reason, he buried his feelings in the depths of his chest as if a heavy rock oppressed his heart.
The rain that had stopped falling let the silence of the night give way to the roar of the horses that came at full gallop to the farm. Count Solera's men had already caught up with Duke Rogelio, it was a matter of minutes before there would be no salvation for Julia. Unless , as a member of the prince's personal guard, he executed his father out of loyalty for treason.
The laws of the kingdom stipulated that if a descendant executed his ancestors for treason against the crown, the charges against him were annulled by demonstration of loyalty. All the evidence that Solera had imputed about Rogelio, had not touched Julia at any time. So that scenario of salvation for his daughter was a real possibility that he could not ignore.
-" What are you waiting for? Take the gun and shoot the hell out of it?"
-" I can't! Don't ask me to do that, as much as you hate me, I love you father! Don't put such a weight on me."
-" If you die, Princess Elena will have no one to protect her from Count Solera's machinations" – Julia felt as if a bucket of cold water fell on her, taking her out of her trance for a brief moment. Recalling Elena's words that afternoon, the young woman sat up once more in front of the duke while raising her arms pointing the gun towards her chest.
Put between a rock and a hard place, the young woman was confronted by her love for her father and her sworn duty to the royal family. Despite the fact that he was a traitor, that act would make her a parricide. And once her innocence was known, she would be ostracized in the same way.
In the eyes of the princess, any virtue or value that could have him would be on the ground. He would be nothing more than an outcast, someone who is far from any feeling of compassion or consolation.
"It's not fair father. This heavy burden that you have placed on me is something that I will not be able to bear until the end of my days. Without your love, without the love of the princess, what do I have left to live? – Swallowing hard as she focused the sight of the gun on the center of her chest, Julia sighed for a brief moment while the sound of the guards' boots echoed on the stairs approaching the office door.
-" I love you dad"
- " Me too, daughter"
Finished saying those last words, the sound of gunpowder rumbling in the chamber of the gun completely filled the room as the guards opened the door wide.
Before their eyes, the bullet pierced the duke's chest, cutting him down to death. Making his body fall to the floor of the room, filling the pattern of the carpet with his blood.
The guards hurried to take Julia prisoner, at the same time they approached the body to verify that it was not some trick.
Dragged out of the room, Julia looked at her father's inert body out of the corner of her eye, while she wept inside with the bitterness that filled her heart.