Jasmine sat by the river lost in her thoughts as the cool breeze blew her hair scattering it in different directions, the scream of young adults who were swimming in the river captured her attention as a little smile found its way to her lips. Jasmine loved this place a lot it was where she would go whenever she wanted some time alone off course it was always noisy because of the people who would come frequently but that was what she enjoyed the most, she enjoyed seeing how cheerful and excited they were, like children with no worries of life.
" stop!!!" a girl shouted as she tried swimming away from another girl who seemed to be her sister they splashed water on themselves as they both bursted into a mild yet cheerful laughter which was quite contagious as others who were swimming or just around began to chuckle as well.
"What is the reason for the smile on your face ...." Ana said coming to join Jasmine who greeted her with a small smile.
" so ...how was it, what do you think about Mr Arnold is he as inviting as the rumours claim," she said wiggling her brows curiosity written all over her face
" inviting? if that is a new word for arrogant then yes he is " she said rolling her eyes
"Something tells me that things didn't go well" she said as Jasmine stood up from where she was sitting a sour look finding its way to her face
" I have never seen a man so egoistic, so conceited . he irritates me " she fumed pacing around
" stay calm and tell me what happened " Ana said walking up to her stopping her to and fro movement as Jasmine explained what occurred with no detail left untold.
"wow he trampled all over your dreams and told you to indulge in knitting" she scoffed looking slightly angry, her anger quickly faded away and turned into a smirk
" you know I heard that people who can't stand each other often end up in love with themselves...."
" well in that case you and Jayden would make a great couple " Jasmine said cutting her off, Ana crunched her face in disgust
"no! Never there is no way I would be in love with that drunken loser"
" and there is no way I would love that disgusting man " Jasmine shot back
" what is wrong with him though..."
"his so arrogant ....so ....."
"Charming? " Ana said
" ehew no!...no he's not charming at all .... he just so... uh" she groaned frustrated, she just couldn't find words to describe her distaste for him.
" hello beautiful lady " Jayden said walking up to them as Ana groaned turning to him with a frown forming on her face, Jayden took Jasmine's hands and placed a kiss on it as her sour look melted into a blush
" wow my day was going great until you arrived " Ana scowled
" Sorry darling I know you crave my attention but am not interested in you " he said demonstrating to her like she was dumb and deaf she glared at him trying to stare holes
" How are you ....heard you will soon become Mrs jasmine Arnold Amethyst," he said trying to form an accent, she rolled her eyes not saying a word
" well she doesn't like the idea of being Arnold's wife " Ana decided to be her mouthpiece
" wow I thought all the women of the village were in love with him "
" just like you assume all the maidens find you inviting and you forget that there are girls like Ana who find you irritating. As you can see am not like the other ladies of the village who want that egoistic man's attention " Jasmine curt him
" Someone is getting furious..... at this point I think you will be able to boil a pot of water " he said chuckling touching her face which had turned red from anger
" Could you stop irritating us for just a moment?" Ana said frowning at him
" you know you are welcome to leave if you do not enjoy my presence " he said pointing the way
"Why should I leave, you should leave I have been here before you ..."
"Enough! " Jasmine screamed getting the attention of almost everyone around.
" my darling!.... Jayd!....is that you. Oh, it is you! ....it has been so long since I saw you and you haven't been writing to me " a girl with dark curly hair screeched jogging up to Jayden as she pounced on him giving him a tight hug
" Maria?...." he replied with uncertainty in his voice
" My name is Lily don't you remember me, the time we spent together in my father's cottage, remember you said my name was lovely and you would do anything for me ....you said we would get married after I am back" she said, lily the daughter of a famous sailor would follow her father to every trip he went to, she was his only family and hence wants her always close to him
" I said all that "Jayden said with shock written all over his face as he tried recovering forcing a smile
"Who are they," Lily said looking at Jasmine and Ana.
" I am Jasmine..." She said walking up to her and attempting to look intimidating
" we are his friends, "Ana said stopping Jasmine's attempt to intimidate her she was quite amused by this sight and was not going to allow Jasmine to spoil this little fun for her
" your Jayden has missed you a lot he would always talk about you and tell us how much love he has for you ...right Jay," Ana said smiling
" Really? " the girl said with a smile clinging to Jayden like he would evaporate if she didn't hold on to him she blushed provoking Jasmine as she clenched her fists in anger
"yes?" he said looking horrified he had the expression of one who was about to be eaten by a lion.
" And you know what, Jayden has been thinking of sending a marriage proposal to your family ...uh...am sorry " Ana gasped faking a face of regret, she bit her lips in an attempt to show that those words just slipped out of her mouth by mistake, jasmine nudged her using her elbow making Ana wince
" Really jayd oh am so excited am going to tell Father about this you should come meet my father .....oh wait his not around at the moment but you can take me to see your parents " she trailed off
"What?"Jayden and Jasmine said in unison
" ehem .... I think Uncle Avery is around today sure he is a busy man but family comes first he would love to see that his Jayden is finally settling down ...right jayd" she said with a smirk giving an innocent face as Jayden chocked, Lily patted his back making circles on them he raised his head a little tilting it to the side as he glared at Ana,
" Ana ! " Jasmine scolded as Ana shrugged smiling
" then let's go " she chuckled holding him tightly as she began to move him, Jayden turned back mouthing 'help me'
" wait !....are you sure you want to do this "Jasmine said as Lily's attention shifted from Jayden to her
" what are you "
"Jasmine..and probably your life saver " She stared at Jasmine for a moment which caused Jasmine to feel small under her gaze as she composed herself again clearing her throat
" haven't you heard of the bird flu that has been going around the village ....." Ana and Jayden looking at Jasmine confused
" what? flu!" they said in unison
" the bird flu remember ....it is quite contagious with just a single contact with the infected and boo you have it, there are no herbs capable of curing it. the outcome, death ....unfortunately Uncle Avery has fallen ill with the flu and has just a few days to live. of course, you wouldn't know about it since you haven't been in the village for months now " Jasmine said with a sad expression
" what? father is dying? " Jayden said looking shocked as Jasmine glared at him her eyes telling him to play along
" oh yes Jasmine is indeed right ....and you never know if you have contacted it until you start to cough blood and then die... My father's last wish is that I marry Jasmine and I love you, I really do but I can't go against my father's last wish " he said tears rolling down his eyes as Ana looked at him jarred he wasn't a ladies' man for nothing
" how is it that all this happened and I didn't know," Ana said smirking as Lily who looked scared for a moment gave a muddled look
" how come Ana doesn't know about it," she said turning to Jayden
" Eh....eh...well she has it!...because she has already gotten the flu and one of the signs is forgetfulness, she knows about father but just forgot, she is about to die " he said faking a concerned look before smirking
"What?" Lily and Ana said
" ah...am sorry I love you but since Jasmine is willing to marry you then it is alright," she said taking a step back from all of them
" Are you sure Lily?" he said stepping close to her
" yes ! " she shouted as she began to run everyone burst into laughter as they fell to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The token had already been sent to the Madradon family and the date for the pre-wedding and wedding ceremony was set, it was to be held five days after Mrs Vanessa Amethyst's birthday party which was a grand occasion a lot of important people were to be present there, officials, members of the council, important families like chief behek madradon, his wife emerald behek madradon and their two daughters Jasmine and Tatiana, Amos madradon, his wife parry madradon and their only child Anastasia madradon, the family of lieutenant Avery Heinzen his wife Mariya and their two children Alexa and Jayden along with some other royalties. they had arrived a day before the party, Arnold had sent a cart to pick up Jasmine and her family since they would be spending the evening in his house. soon after she arrived at his house she was forced to help around with the party preparations 'Jasmine go help out you need Arnold and his family to have a good impression of you' Emerald nagged, fortunately for Jasmine Arnold was too busy to spare her a glance.
" darling you look tired and pale you should go and rest, " Vanessa said with a small smile unaware of the great joy she had just brought to Jasmine anyway she wasn't interested in helping out
" uh...are you sure, I mean I love helping " she lied placing a small smile, she was fully aware of her mother's presence and wanted her to hear it from the horse's mouth.
" that is so lovely of you Jasmine but we have hundreds of servants who can take care of things so you should rest you must be tired "Her words brought a smile to Jasmine's face as she glanced at her mother smiling ear to ear before bringing her attention to the woman that was in front of her
" Since you insist, how can I refuse " she said trying to look disappointed as she dashed out of the ballroom trying to locate her room, the house was huge it made so much sense why Arnold was so proud, his house was like a palace. she kept walking through the hallway to see if she could recognize her room, every servant bowing to her as she passed
" uh...excuse me do you know where I could find my room " she said talking to one of the servant girls.
" am so sorry my lady I would show you to your room but madam needs my attention " she said
" it's okay just direct me" She followed the directions of the girl but some noise caught her attention, the voices seemed to belong to a man and a woman's curiosity took the better of her as she walked to where the noise was coming from.
" so it's the chief's daughter you decided to settle with, what does she have that I don't, is she prettier than I ....hmmm, Arnold you said you loved me " the woman said with a shaky voice she was lying in the bed next Arnold with no clothes
" you know quite well that no one can know what is going on between us, it will ruin my reputation if you still want this little spark of ours to continue then you will not make an issue out of this, be contented with what we have now because it can not exceed this," he said as he began putting some clothes on, he stood adjusting his dress before walking towards the door then glancing back at the lady.
" get dressed before someone sees us....oh and yes she is a lot prettier than you are "Jasmine felt sick at this sight so Arnold was having an affair a rush of anger and disgust hit her, she felt insulted that she was to marry a disgusting man like him he was already with a woman so what does he want from her. she had stood close to the door which was slightly closed looking through it trying to see the woman he was with as he motioned towards the door about to open it she quickly hid hoping he wouldn't see her, he walked away without looking around leaving the lady sobbing she soon stopped before putting on her clothes and left the room giving jasmine a chance to glance at her.
"Bella! " she gasped, Bella the daughter of Topaz one of the council members who had been arrested for theft was accused of stealing the provisions sent by the king.
her attention was soon captured by the ruby bracelet that was lying on the ground which should be Bella's she entered the room and picked it fighting the urge to run after her and inform her that she dropped her bracelet.
she walked out as she continued her search entering a room that she was almost sure was hers. it was dark so she lit the candles surprised to see paintings instead of her comfortable bed. they were different paintings of women, couples, a family portrait, and vegetation, her eyes darted to another which seemed to be Arnold
" beautiful " she muttered the artist was quite talented it looked so much like him soon her attention was drawn to a painting board which seemed to be covered with a white cloth she removed it as she studied the features of the unfinished painting. it had blonde hair and a heart-shaped face it seemed to be a woman with no eyes, mouth, nose or lips.
" what are you doing here?" a hoarse voice said making Jasmine scream as she turned around to see the owner of the voice
"Arnold...." she whispered trying to breathe properly he had scared the living daylight out of her
" Did I startle you?" he said coming close to her as she moved back
" am sorry am not to be here" she motioned to the door his words stopping her
" Madrid Gallon he was the one who painted this portrait," he said pointing to the portrait of himself, Madrid gallon is the most famous artist known around the entire Chamdragon empire and far off
" I have heard of his wondrous talent just not seen it " she said as she walked up to the painting with amusement written all over her face
" it takes two things to make an outstanding painting, the painter and the object being painted ....so it is beautiful not only because of his magical hands but my good looks as well" he said smirking as she rolled her eyes
" All the paintings here were his doing " she said looking at the unfinished painting
" well am quite a painter myself don't mean to sing my praises but I could confidently say am as good as he is if not better " he said as he showed her some of his paintings which were quite impressive but her attention was still on that unfinished painting she couldn't help but feel like the painting was familiar
" and this," she said pointing
" oh it is a painting of my future bride," he said as she looked at him confused
" a painting of me ?" he smirked as he held her making her sit on the available chair
" yes just not completed it because I wanted to paint looking at you so I could get your piercing eyes," he said using his hand to caress her cheeks she flinched her thoughts wondering to what she had just witnessed . he had asked if he could go ahead with the painting and she consented to it she was curious on how it would turn out, he often directed her on the posture she was to possess to make the portrait a masterpiece.
" There is just something wrong with your position " he said walking up to her
" is it the dress" he added looking at her dress intensely before trying to adjust the dress pulling the arm of her dress so it would expose her shoulders
"What are you doing " She stood up abruptly feeling uncomfortable before adjusting her dress back
" am a little tired....excuse me" she said about leaving as he held her hand stopping her
" am not done with the painting, You are to leave when am done," he said looking at her shoulder and then back at her face
"well I am done with the painting," she said looking at the hand that was on hers
" you know one word I hate ?...it is 'no' It makes my blood boil because Arnold gets what he wants " he said pulling her to face some paintings
" do you see this happy family, it is the portrait of my great-grandfather, these are pictures of my ancestors and their wives. they were the best wives ....you know why because they were quiet but look at this one " he said pointing at the portrait of a woman who was bald jasmine gasped a frown formed on her face she wondered what offense she would have committed, these were punishment given to harlots or women caught committing adultery they would shave off their hair and make them walk round the village naked.
" her tongue was cut off and her hair shaved off because she dared to go against her husband's wishes. sit ...." he said pointing at the chair
"was that a threat ?....you seem not to know me. I am not moved by empty threats and if I do not want something then no one can force me to take it" she said looking straight into his emerald eyes as she tried pulling her hand from his grip but instead, he pulled her closer to him holding her hand tightly as he smirked
"Why do you task me ?"
"Pardon?"
" Why do you pretend like you are not attracted to me " he said with a smug smile as she frowned
" Mr Arnold your problem is you are so egoistic that you do not recognize a clear rejection when you see one"
"Now let go," she said as she successfully pulled her hand away from his.