Wife of Vladimir ||Book One||

Her Present

"Two months passed without incident. The villagers kept their peace and we kept our own. The conflict between us began to resolve itself as things slowly started to return to normal. My servants would return to the village to continue collecting concerns, though not as often. I still wanted to make sure their safety was guaranteed before going back to that.

I forbid Rosetta from going at that point. While I knew my servants would manage, as Franklin always went with them, I felt concern at the thought of Rosetta going with them. We hadn't been married a full year yet and I still struggled to know her capability. While she had been able to withstand her father's beatings, I wanted to ensure nothing like that ever happened to her again. I wanted to be with her the next time she went, but knew it would be impossible.

To get my mind off of the villagers, I focused on what was coming up. The biggest one was Rosetta's birthday. It was her eighteen birthday. I made an elaborate plan to celebrate the event, doing it all completely under her nose. My cave came in handy when it came to hiding decorations and gifts. I wanted to make sure she was surprised and that when the day came, she would understand just how special and important she was. Rosetta never brought up the day, so neither did I. Part of me always wondered if she would have let me forget had I not known. It was her first birthday away from her father; her first birthday, almost, on her own.

I didn't know how her birthdays had been with her father and didn't dare ask. I had tried to avoid asking questions that involved her father. The last thing I wanted was for her to be reminded of what had been. I only wanted her to feel and acknowledge what had become instead.

The night before her birthday, I forced myself to sleep. I wanted to be able to stay awake with her throughout the day. I warned all the servants that I would be moving about during the day. They kept the curtains closed, only allowing candlelight to light the way. I had hoped that Rosetta would exchange the light for time with me.

Instead of sleeping the day before, I had remained awake and alert within my cave. It had been difficult and I had filled the time with going over each plan I had for her birthday. It allowed me to sleep a little easier through the night, but not by much. I struggled to stay asleep during the night as I heard the forest bursting with life from all the animals that were waking up. They called to me, but I forced myself to ignore it and remain sleeping.

When I heard morning arrive in the mansion as the servants began to stir, I had never been more excited to wake up. While I was exhausted, it was completely worth it. It was for her, and for her I'd move mountains. I'd always find a way to do the impossible if it meant she'd have a lasting memory or would understand how loved she was.

I hurried up the stairs into the bedroom from my cave, a palm-sized box clutched in my hands. I had never been one for giving gifts before Rosetta. My father and I had sometimes exchanged gifts, but it was never something that happened as often as I wanted to do for Rosetta. I wanted to gift her the entire world.

As I came into the room, I noticed that she was still fast asleep. I smiled as I quietly walked across our room, sitting down on the bed beside her. I relaxed my hand into her hair, carefully moving my fingers through the strands as she slept. 'My darling Rosetta, it's morning,' I whispered as I leaned down and peppered kisses across her cheek. The pace of her heart quickened the tiniest bit, allowing me to pull back just in time to see her eyes begin to flutter open.

Rosetta smiled at me through half-opened eyes as she rolled off her side and onto her back. She rubbed her eyes while yawning, beginning to stretch her legs beneath the covers. 'Morning already?' She mumbled, soon sitting up on her elbows.

While she woke up, my eyes did their normal examination of her. I had gotten used to loving every detail of her when I was close to her like this. I thought it was the lack of light, but she appeared paler than normal to me. The gift still in my hand distracted me enough to leave the subject behind. I held it out in my palm, merely grinning as I waited for her to notice what I had.