Love's Embrace

Dominic and Gloria are in for a surprise when they walk home from school.

Five years later

 

            Dominic and Gloria have been a courting for over four years now. The two were very much in love. Dominic would walk Gloria home from school everyday. The whole community knew that one day Dominic and Gloria would marry. The two were inseparable and no one bothered to break them apart. One day as winter was fast approaching something happened that no one was expecting.

            Dominic was walking Gloria home from school as usual. He let her wear a white sweater of his because the wind was blowing. They walked down the street and could see the multi colored leaves on trees and the piles of fallen ones in people’s yards. Dominic held Gloria close to him. His uncle had tried to tell him that he was falling for this young girl too fast, but Dominic didn’t care to listen to him. Nor did Gloria listen to her parents about them eventually both parents knew that they wouldn’t be able to stop them so they let them be together.

            “I can not believe winter’s coming already.” Gloria said holding Daniels arm close to her.

            “What? I like the snow!” Daniel said giving her a smile.

            “I know I don’t”, Gloria said still gripping his arm.

            “Can you believe we have to right a paper is Mrs. Hamen’s class”, Dominic said quickly changing the subject.

            “Yea, I like writing though.” Gloria said staring off into the distance. “Who’s that with your uncle?”

            Dominic looked away from her to where she was staring. They were a few houses down from their own. There was a carriage in the front of Dominic’s yard with what looked like a soldier standing next to his uncle. “I don’t know. C’mon”, he said to Gloria pulling her forward to the point they were in a brisk walk. As they got closer they could clearly see the man was a soldier. He wore a uniform with a blue coat that had the symbol of the king only the best soldiers got to wear a blue coat to cover their uniform. Dominic and Gloria approached and could see that the two men were involved in a deep conversation. Dominic could see the sorrow in his uncle’s eyes as the soldier was talking to him. He made sure they picked up the pace a little faster.

            “Dominic, I presume”, the man said. Dominic could see clearly now that the man was in his early forties late thirties he couldn’t tell which. The man towered over him by almost a few feet. He wore a big smile that was overshadowed by his thick red hair and mustache surrounded by freckles. The blue coat he wore was nice and instantly recognizable to anyone in Asyanara. The blue coat was a symbol of King Maric’s horsemen. The horsemen were fought guerilla style and they never played fair. Any opponent of Maric’s would shudder at the sound of their name.

            “Yea”, Dominic nodded his head while looking toward his uncle. He could see the chubby man’s eyes were a pale red. Gloria just held onto Daniel with her arm and stayed silent.

            “I am Alex Wolfe. I was sent here to take you home.” Alex said pointing toward the carriage in front of Dominic’s home.

            “Home…home where?” Dominic said stepping toward Alex. “This is my home I have been living here for nine years I don’t remember my parents.” Dominic said turning around. Gloria couldn’t believe it either, Dominic had never mentioned another home to her.

            “They remember you Dominic.” Dominic just rolled his eyes and turned around. Alex walked toward him to face him. “When the war began your father”, Alex let his voice trail off to think of better words. “Your father…became a very important person and people were trying to kill you. Your father knew that the only way to keep you safe was to keep you with your uncle.”

            Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but Gloria beat him to the punch. “Who is his father?” Gloria asked getting in between Dominic and Alex. Dominic looked up to Alex.

            “Your father has paid me a great deal of money to make sure that his identity stays secret. You will find out once I take you to him.”

            “That doesn’t sound safe.” Gloria said looking to Dominic who seemed to be taking her caution advice.

            “I assure you ma’am it is very safe considering I’m the one who brought you here in the first place.”

            Dominic looked toward his uncle who was holding his suitcase. He didn’t remember him going inside, but he wasn’t paying attention to him. “Is it true?” Dominic said walking toward the man. He loved his uncle and always thought of him like a father and on some days wished he were.

            The man walked toward Dominic his fat feet stumping toward the ground. “You’ve been like a son to me.” He said putting the suitcase down near his feet. “Yes it’s true. I always knew that you would go back to him.”

            For Dominic it felt like a slap in the face. Gloria was too busy taking in the whole situation. Dominic supposedly comes from a very important family with a lot of money. Dominic is leaving. She let her mind adjust to what she just said.

            “Wait”, she said grabbing Dominic’s arm.

            Dominic wasn’t expecting her too and she caught him off guard. He looked at her he wasn’t quite sure what was bothering her. Why was she upset? He was the one being told to leave.

            “You can’t have him”, Gloria said her face a flushed red. She was staring toward Alex.

            “I will let you too talk for a moment. We must be going soon Dominic.” Alex said while walking across the pale green grass to the carriage and standing near the door.

            “You can’t be taking him seriously.” Gloria said grabbing a hold to Dominic’s other arm.

            Dominic was too wrapped up in his own feelings to focus on hers. “For a long time I thought my parents threw my away like garbage. Now I found out they want me back. I have to go.” Dominic said picking up his suitcase.

            Gloria was shocked at his dismissal of her. “What about us?”

            “What about us? This is my family I’m talking about.”

            Gloria sank to her knees. Her tears flowing down her pink cheeks.

            Dominic realized what he said. “I don’t mean it that way. What if I stay and something happens and I miss my only chance to meet my family? How would you feel?” He said reaching his hands out to her to pull her back to her feet.

            Gloria couldn’t say anything, but look down. She realized she was being selfish. She just always thought that her and Dominic would be together forever like everyone said. Now he was being taken from her and she felt as though the world was closing in on her and she couldn’t breathe.

            “I love you Gloria. I will always love you. I will come back for you as soon as I can.” Dominic said to her and then he walked close to her until there was no space in between them and leaned his head in. He parted his lips and gently kissed her. It only made Gloria cry more because of it, but she kissed him back too. He moved his back even though she still felt like kissing him. She tried to lean in again, but he only moved back. He gave her a half smile and walked toward the carriage. She watched him get in and she couldn’t contain herself any longer.

            “Wait”, she screamed as the carriage began to take off down the street. The carriage didn’t stop right away, but then it did. She ran towards simple brown carriage with two horses with all the power she had. She saw the door open and Dominic stepped out. For a moment she hoped he had changed his mind, but knew that wasn’t the case because he wasn’t holding his suitcase. When she finally reached him to tried to speak to to convince him to stay with her.

            He just touched her lips with his tan hands. He gave her a smile with his sparkling brown eyes and then he kissed her again. This one felt much powerful than the other she felt her whole body kiss him. She didn’t want to let him go. She would hold onto him like this for always. Then he released the kiss and she wanted to die. “Don’t be sad. I’ll be back and I’ll marry you Gloria DeCampl, only you.” He said and she felt herself loosen her grip on him. Then she saw him disappear inside the carriage and it continue on down the street. She immediately ran home.