During the night, the streets of Athea, the capital of the great Kingdom of Nodor, were mostly quiet. Only in the poor part of the city, where brothels and taverns frequented by shady persons, music and occasionally shouts could be heard.
It was in one of these taverns that a person wearing a long dark blue cloak entered. The cloak's hood hid the person's face. The small figure and the way the person walked gave away the fact that beneath the cloak was a young woman.
The woman stood in the door frame while surveying the interior for long moments. When her eyes found the person she was searching for, the woman walked towards him. Her steps were elegant, and while she walked between tables, men looked at her.
When she was in front of the table, she lifted her head and looked at a young man.
She sat at the table in front of him while her eyes studied him. He was around nineteen years old. His short hair was black, and his blue eyes shined with intelligence. His mouth was beautifully shaped. She had always found him to be very handsome.
Even if he had a piercing in the bridge of his nose, indicating that he was a bastard born in poverty, at first glance, he could easily be mistaken for someone born in high society.
"Rosalyn," he whispered the woman's name.
The woman looked around her with soft brown eyes. When she was sure no one was paying them any attention, she looked back at the man, "You can't use my given name while we are here! Someone might hear you!"
The man looked at her with apologetic eyes, "I am sorry, Lyn! It won't happen again."
Rosalyn inhaled deeply and talked in a low voice, "Why did you summon me here, Jayden?"
Jayden looked at Rosalyn with eyes full of sadness. "We need to talk. I rented a room, but I can order something if you are thirsty or hungry."
Rosalyn shook her head, "I am fine. Let's talk because I don't think I can stay too long."
Jayden and Rosalyn stood; he guided her up the stairs to the last floor. When Jayden opened the door to the last chamber, Rosalyn entered. Magic crystals illuminated the chamber, and Rosalyn walked over to the bed. She looked at it as if it was something foul and took her time inspecting the blanket and the sheet. When she was sure that it was indeed clean, Rosalyn took off her cloak, put it on top of a chair, sat on the bed, and looked at Jayden.
The young man looked at her with an amused expression. He knew how much she hated staying in dirty places.
"What did you want to talk about?" Rosalyn asked. She knew Jayden would not summon her during the week if it weren't something important.
Jayden walked over and sat on the bed next to her. He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly. "My Rosalyn. I am afraid I have to give you unpleasant news."
Her heart was beating like crazy in her chest. "Did something happen with your apprenticeship? Did your Master throw you out?"
Despite being a bastard born and raised in a brothel and never going to school, Jayden taught himself how to read and write, and even Rosalyn said he had beautiful handwriting. When Jayden found a Master willing to take him in and teach him how to be a scribe, he didn't hesitate. For the last four years, Jayden has been the apprentice of Master Mihel.
Jayden knew her family was rich, and she was used to luxury, and he was determined to work hard to give her the life she deserved.
Jayden shook his head, "No." He inhaled deeply, took her hand into his, and looked into her soft brown eyes, "You know that my Master is one of the most important scribes in Athea. And now, with the war that started between our Kingdom and the Kingdom of Litus, King Baswein asked Master Mihel to send as many scribes as possible, even apprentices. I have to go as well."
Rosalyn's eyes filled with tears, "For how long?"
Jayden felt his heart breaking. He hated making the woman her loved cry.
"For as long as I am needed," Jayden said. He caressed her cheeks with his knuckles. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Wait for me," he managed to say.
"Always," Rosalyn promised him.
His face contorted as if he was in great pain, "Do you swear?"
"I swear it upon our love."
"I love you so much, Lyn!"
Jayden hugged her, inhaling her sweet scent. She always smelled like lavender and jasmine, and he could never get enough of her sweet scent. He buried his nose in her long blond hair and stayed like that while listening to her heart beating.
"When are you leaving?" Rosalyn finally asked him.
Jayden looked at her, "Tomorrow morning. I wasn't supposed to go, but this morning Master Mihel told me that he also needs me."
Rosalyn's lower lip trembled, "I thought we had more time until you left."
"Me too," Jayden said and kissed her.
She grabbed his cloak and kissed him back.
He broke the kiss only to look into her eyes, "Can you stay a little longer? I don't know when we will see each other again, and I want to be with you tonight."
"Just a little longer," Rosalyn said. "I asked Juicea, my maid, to make an excuse for me in case my cousin, Minerva, is looking for me. You know how she is, constantly checking what I do or to whom I speak. I wish my father would send her away."
Jayden knew all about Minerva. While his Rosalyn was sweet, gentle, beautiful, and generous, Minerva was cold-hearted, arrogant, and even cruel. He hoped the war would not last long because when he returned, he wanted to go to Rosalyn's father and ask her hand in marriage. He might be just a bastard, but he wanted to make things right with Rosalyn. Ever since he became an apprentice, Jayden has been saving up money in the hopes of buying a house for when he would marry Rosalyn.
He pulled out a little box from his pocket, opened it, and took out a silver bracelet. "I know you deserve so much more, but when I return, I will talk to your father and ask for his blessing to marry you. If you want me."
In the Nodor Kingdom, when a man gave a woman a bracelet, and she accepted, it meant she promised him that one day she would marry him.
Jayden stopped breathing while he waited for her reply.
Rosalyn stretched out her hand, "Of course, I want to marry you!"
Jayden inhaled deeply, put the bracelet around her left wrist, and looked at her. "I will work hard to give you the life you are used to!"
Jayden kissed her while he started undressing her. Even if he had a few hours left until he had to present himself to Commander Maneld, Jayden wanted to spend as much time with Rosalyn as possible.
A few hours later both Jayden and Rosalyn left the tavern. He stood with her until she secured a carriage that would take her home.
Before Rosalyn entered the carriage, Jayden pulled her in for one last kiss.
"I will miss you terribly, Lyn. I will write as often as I can."
"I will also miss you. And I hope that you will return quickly."
As the carriage started moving, taking Rosalyn farther and farther away from him, Jayden felt his heart breaking. He didn't want to go to the war, but he had no choice.
Before turning on his heels and going to the little room he had been renting above the butcher shop, Jayden prayed to Inoss, the Fire God, asking him to keep Lyn safe until he returned from war.