Thirty Nights to Love You

It all began when Ivan Firestone received word that his lovely Florence was dying. He had experienced a lot of fearful moments in his life but none, not even when he was bleeding and surrounded by enemies with swords filled with grievance, brought the kind of fear he felt when he received the news. He had run all the way to the East Wing where she resided, the place he had deliberately stayed away from for a while. Florence’s face was pale and her breath was shaky. There were other people in the room with her; doctors from the royal clinic, handmaids, even the pack’s witch-doctor. Ivan’s legs, which had been running so fast, seemed to slow down the moment his eyes met Florence’s. He began to move slowly towards her, having to drag his legs. When he finally reached her, she sighed in relief. Ivan knelt beside her, holding her hands as tears threatened to spring out from his eyes. Florence’s lips moved but her words were inaudible. Ivan moved closer, pressing his ear against her lips. “Make them leave, all of them,” she muttered. Ivan stood up briefly and ordered everyone to leave in a firm voice. The room went empty, except for Ivan and Florence. Both of them were holding hands now, Florence’s grip tighter. “I do not deserve your forgiveness, my dear. I… I have hurt you deeply. I won’t live if you die. I will follow you and pay for my sins in the afterlife,” he said. His tears were flowing freely and Florence managed a smile. She raised her hand to his cheek and wiped his tears slowly. “Do not die, not on my account,” she told him gently. “Then stay with me,” he held onto her eagerly. “Live, my love. For all the pains I have caused you, I will repay tenfold. No, a hundredfold. I have been foolish but I will be wise from now on. Just stay with me… I will fix everything.” Florence tried to talk but she ended up coughing out blood instead. Sobbing profusely, Ivan wiped her mouth. He was shaken and terrified, now more than ever. With difficulty, she planted a smile on her face to reassure him but it didn't seem to be working. “Hold me, will you?” she muttered. He lifted her gently and sat on the bed, embracing her gently. He stroked her hair while she smiled, listening to his heartbeat. “I will come back to you. I will, no matter what it takes,” she promised, her voice sounding like a whisper. “You believe me, don’t you?” “I do,” he sobbed. “Don’t cry, not for me,” she told him gently. “Do you remember the first time we met?” He nodded, “How could I ever forget?” “Tell me about it.” “It was on that day in the forest. It was sunny and I had lost my way which in itself is funny because I never lose my way. I found you, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You had one shoe on and the other one was missing. You were…” He stopped talking the moment he felt her go stiff. With his heart pounding, he looked at her face only to find her eyes shut tightly. She wasn’t breathing and she was gone forever… or so everyone must have thought. Everyone but Ivan Firestone. ** “Milady! It’s time to wake up! Milady!” Sally woke up with a frightened shout and her handmaid, Amelia, rushed towards her anxiously. When her lady began to take deep breaths, Amelia breathed in relief too. “Did you have that dream again?” Amelia asked curiously. “What dream?” Sally gasped. “It’s a nightmare.” “But you said it was sad,” Amelia pointed out. “Look at yourself, aren’t those tears on your cheeks?” “That’s why it’s a nightmare. It wakes me up from sleep crying. It has happened so many times but I can't get used to it,” Sally said faintly. Amelia went to move the curtains and sunlight streamed directly at Sally, affecting her vision for a moment. She covered her face with her hands and then she got off the bed. “I should see a shaman,” she muttered. “A very powerful one at that, one that can stop me from having nightmares.” “You have seen seven of them already, milady. All of them turned out to be fake.” “I should blame you for that!” Sally exclaimed, her hands on her waist. “Did you lead me to the scammers deliberately? Maybe both of you made a deal to make me bankrupt?” Amelia scoffed, “I wish I could scam you, milady. But you see, you are too smart for me.” Sally smiled, her heart filled with happiness. She loved being complimented. “But frankly speaking…” Sally rushed to her maid’s side, holding her arm. “Don’t you know any powerful shaman? I don’t want those ones on the streets, they only lie to make money.” “You could see a witch. You could see the pack’s witch who stays at the Great Mountain. She is powerful enough to expel your dreams,” Amelia replied loosely. She had many things to think about and finding a solution for her mistress wasn’t one of her priorities. Sally hissed, “You speak as if someone like me can see the pack’s witch.” Amelia had been looking for an opportunity to change the topic and she didn’t fail to grasp it now. “Lord Zewulf wants you to pay more attention to your teachers, milady. He scolded me this morning, claiming your teachers have been complaining about your attitude,” she said calmly. Sally wasn’t surprised, not even one bit. “Which one of those lousy teachers reported me to my father?” she asked seriously. “I wouldn’t know, milady. But if you could work on yourself and…” Amelia tried to say but it landed on deaf ears. “Enough of that!” Sally raised her voice. “I am sure the one who reported me is the new teacher for my poetry classes. She sounded bossy and now she has shown her claws. I will…” Amelia knew what would happen. Her mistress would rant for the next twenty minutes and things would only go back to normal after she had spoken to her satisfaction. Amelia didn’t interrupt, that would only make the ranting longer. ** Sally was born to the noble Zewulf family as their only child. It was safe to say that she was doted on by both parents. Her father was Lord Tony Zewulf, the head of the noble house and one of the leading voices in the pack’s foreign affairs ministry. It was rumored that he would be made a minister soon and such rumors weren’t completely ridiculous. Sally’s mother was Lady Lily Zewulf, married to her husband and lord at the age of nineteen. Lord Zewulf didn’t mind that he didn’t have a male offspring. Instead, he put his all into raising Sally and she turned out well, maybe better than he had expected. She was astonishingly beautiful, making people wonder if she was really born into the Zewulf family as she definitely didn’t inherit the looks of her parents. Sally’s beauty was only the tip of the iceberg. She excelled in everything she did. Poetry, music, painting, sewing and cooking, military strategy and even basic martial arts. She was daring, adventurous and intelligent, outsmarting her parents on several occasions. Lastly, she knew how great she was and her self esteem grew to the extent that it resulted in pride. She was better than others, she knew it and she believed it. “Just try not to talk back to her,” Amelia tried to convince her. “No matter what, she is still your teacher. She knows better than you do.” Sally started to laugh hysterically. “Stop it,” Amelia pinched her slightly. “You know it is against proper etiquette for a lady to laugh without reservation.” She hissed, “There you go again with your boring rules.” “Someone has got to keep the rules around here,” Amelia pointed out confidently. She bit her lower lip as she spoke, “I know the new teacher is the one who reported me to my father. I have been playing nice with her but she’s about to get a piece of me.” Amelia sighed, tired of her mistress’s antics. “Let’s go,” Sally said excitedly, jogging to the gazebo where most of her classes were held. Amelia watched her mistress run off and then she ran after her, she didn’t have much of a choice.