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The fire creaked and dimmed the empty library in a soft glow. Silence reigned over the room, except for a quiet breathing, coming from a tall woman figure, standing in front of the fireplace.
Despite the late hour, the woman didn’t seem to mind and was instead wide awake, her heart beating strongly in her chest. She knew she had to hurry, the dinner had been over for a while now, and she had told her husband that she would take a digestive walk in the gardens and join him promptly afterwards.
Yufina, her eyes locked onto the paper she was holding, wasn’t in the gardens and neither was she taking a walk.
She had just received a letter from her lover, and she had been caught reading it over and over again for the past fifteen minutes. The words hadn’t changed a bit, but the simple fact that she could hear his voice in her mind as she read and imagine his smile was enough to make every reading seem like a new one.
And yet… she had to throw this letter into the fire. She couldn’t let her husband or anyone else for that matter lay their hands on it.
Taking a breath, Yufina convinced herself that this time, it would be the last reading. She would mark those cherished words into her heart and then shove them away safely where no one could read them.
She closed her eyes… then reopened them and read.
“Dear Yufina,
My beloved. I hope this letter finds you well. I know you have said to stop passing letters to you but I have been missing you terribly. I long for the next moment we will see each other, hoping it would be longer than the wait and knowing it will be worth every ache my heart is going through while we are separated.
More times than never I wish for a world where we could live out love daily, at the fullest. Where I could kiss your hands and embrace your warmth enough to feel my heart beating in harmony with yours. Yet the simple fact to love you and have the honor to share your lips is more than whatever I will ever ask for.
I long for you. For your voice, for your soul, for the lowest of your lows and the highest of your highs. I always have and I will always do, as I have been pleased to realize that this was never meant to be a passing sentiment.
Those kinds of warmths do not leave the heart of the one enamoured. I am here to make sure you rest assured that you have someone, out there, who is always waiting and ready for our moments together. My heart is and will be forever yours, hence I would not have it any other way.
Please, dearest, come visit me soon.
With my sincerest and deepest feelings,
—Karchess Crim.”
Yufina held the letter close to her heart, as if she wanted to mark the words there. She wanted to keep the letter safe, and read it every day and night.
She looked at the fireplace in front of her. The same fire that always burned too much of her lover’s letters. It almost felt like a sacred ritual now, and both knew of it. And yet, Karchess still continued to send them. To find new ways to ensure they would arrive safely and without any trouble for the Queen. For her reputation. He never minded the fact that Yufina had to burn them, as he knew she was returning every single feeling described in those.
She sighed. She tried to tell herself that setting them on fire was only a way to lock their love even stronger, and to her defense? It seemed to be true as the more time passed, the more Yufina and Karchess ached for each other.
Which was why, instead of feeling her heart break as she let go delicately of the paper, Yufina felt it grow softer and even warmer, her chest mimicking the sensation of the fire growing.
Only did her mind wander into the fact that she had to go back to the marital bed, the Queen grimaced only slightly. As she walked back to the hallway, she pictured the next moment she would be able to spend with her lover…
And that was enough for Yufina as well to keep on going on.