Love Is Mine To Decide

My Departure

Father made it a point to shower me in praise and love throughout my time with him. It pains me to have lost both him and my mother to the sea. Yet ironically, the sea was where they were happiest. Free from the shackles that society had wrapped them into.

From a young age, father told me stories of the Dukedom of Ferriswood, a place that for years seemed like that of a fairy-tale. He told me about the greenhouse, apple tarts the chef made, and the love of his nanny. Nanny Bauman raised him in place of his mother, which always struck me as odd. In the entirety of my life, I always had mother and father by my side. My days filled with their love for each other and love for me.

My was father a runaway Earl-to-be. He'd fallen smitten with my mother a mere commoner and knew his parents would not agree. He'd abandoned his title, his home, his fortune, and in love gained me.

He met my mother during a festival he'd snuck out to in the capital of the empire. As he'd recall, her honey brown eyes left him smitten upon contact. Soft black curls cupping her face left him in a trance he'd had no intention to break free from.

My mother, Anais Bellrune, daughter of a farmer, could not deny the pull of attraction to my dear father. In her youth, she had never known love until him. It did not take long for them to steal away into the night, only a mere week after the initial introduction. To some, that may sound wild, but their love only grew deeper.

We live in a lovely cottage. My farther had built on farm land days away from the duchy. In my father's luck, no one had ever searched for him, so he led a peaceful life with my mother.

I can remember that from a young age, my father would fret over my appearance, constantly asserting that my future was mine to choose. No matter what circumstance I may face, he only wanted me happy.

How I wish you could have lived longer, dearest father of mine.

In the wake of you leaving me, I've nowhere to turn to other than the Dukedom of Ferriswood. A home you'd turned your back on oh so long ago.

"Micah? Micah Ferriswood?"

A man drenched from the rain called to me from a horse-drawn carriage.

"Yes, that is I."

"The innkeeper has requested I transport you to where you need to go. The fare has been settled. I will be ready when you are."

I looked over my parents' graves once more. Longing to see their smiles again, I turned away and began my journey to my new "home."

The rain against the shabby wooden carriage seemed to lull me into a trance. Almost as though the Goddess of Nature's heart was breaking along with mine.

Keep yourself together, Micah Roselle Ferriswood.

You know not what you are walking into.