Bastian

“I’m really sorry,” Nick Becker kept on saying over and over again, Odette reassured him with a gentle smile as she put down her tea cup.

   “It’s okay, Mr Becker, don’t worry.”

   “I will persuade Tira.”

   “The more you try, the more she will resist, she’s a very stubborn child.” Odette couldn’t help but feel one last tinge of sadness she couldn’t quite erase as she looked at the empty seat next to Nick.

   Things had gone her way in the end. The two decided to leave Berg and due to the tight schedule, the wedding was going to be a simple one and once the reception was done, they would immediately board the ship to another country.

   Odette did not want to send Tira off like this, but she was left with no choice. What hurt the most was that Tira no longer wanted her sister at the wedding. It was hard to accept, but it was necessary.

“Let Tiara’s heart flow as it will.” Odette said as she picked up the pocket watch on the table beside her tea cup, calmly advised.

   Nick shifted in his seat, he had been uncomfortable and nervous the entire time and for good reason. Odette was the daughter of a Duke, niece to the Emperor himself and wife to a war hero no less. His tension heightened as he realized the weight of who he was dealing with.

   “But, to part like this…” Nick said, trying to swallow.

   Donned in an exquisite dress, Odette looked as if she had just stepped out of a painting and it was hard for Nick to come to terms with the fact that Odette and Tira were sisters, they were completely different people. Now he understood Tira’s love for her sister and the accompanying jealousy.

   “She won’t reject me completely, she will reach out in time, when she has calmed down, at least, the Tira I know will,” Odette said softly.

   Secretly Odette prayed Tira would come to understand, she didn’t like the idea of her going off and thinking that she was being abandoned by her sister. If only there was a way to make her understand that this was for her own safety. She could tell that Nick was coming round to understanding, though there was still a little confusion in his eyes.

   “Please take very good care of Tira for me,” Odette said, making to bid Nick farewell.

   “I’ll escort you,” Nick said.

   “No need,” Odette politely declined and hurried out of the cafe. The clock tower just started to chime the noon bell.

   Odette made straight for the tram, ignoring the attention her fine dress was getting as she dashed through the streets. She didn’t have the time to care about what others thought. The purpose of her outing was to attend a tea party, but first, she wanted to go for a little walk to catch her breath, is what she told Rainer, who was parked close by. She needed to catch the tram on time, or be caught in the lie.

   She made the tram and sat in solace at the back, taking a window seat so she could look out on the world and ignore all the vacant stares of those she shared the car with. Memories of the night she had escaped her bedroom rushed back to her, as the tram turned into the road that led to the naval base.

That night she wandered the darkened mansion like a restless ghost, aimlessly seeking distance from Bastian and Sandrine until exhaustion reminded her that she had been walking barefoot.

   The cold air of that night still lingered in her thoughts, even now. Alongside the vivid memories of her restlessness  and the moonlight that mirrored her state of mind. Throughout the night, she remained wide awake, unable to find solace.

When dawn broke, she returned to her bedroom, lost and exhausted. The soft light shone seemed to embrace her arrival. A few hours later, the morning sun was already shining brightly and Sandrine left Ardenne.

   “Thank for the good time,” she had said on her way out, leaving Odette to ponder over its rueful meaning.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Prepare to go to the palace by five,” Bastian said, crossing the foyer without further explanation.

“What do you mean all of a sudden? Madam is not home, so how do we handle this?” Lovis scuttled after Bastian.

   “Don’t worry, I don’t need my wife to attend me, just make sure the car and driver are ready when its time to depart,” Bastian said.

   “But is it not more customary to entre the palace by carriage?”

   “I don’t know about that, why bother?” Bastian flashed a grin and picked up his pace.

   “Are you sure master?” Lovis said, not attempting to keep pace with Bastian, dropping back a little way.

   But Bastian did not reply, he was distracted by a young maid heading toward him from the opposite direction.

   “What’s this?” he said, looking down at the maid who was carrying a small bundle.

   “Condolence letters and gifts for the mistress, from those who could not make the funeral.” the maid said, handing over the package.

   “Oh, condolences.”

   Bastian laughed as he helped the maid take the large bundle to Odette’s bedroom, opening the door so the maid didn’t have to struggle. The wind carried a scent on the air that prevented him from departing once the maid passed him by.

   While the maid placed the packages and letters, Bastian wondered around the room. The decorations and adornments in the room made it look like it had been frozen in time hundreds of years ago.

   As he wondered close to the bed, he saw that there was a small wicker basket on the bedside table and inside was a tiny suit, complete with bow-tie. As he reached out to examine the suit closer, a gruff bark almost made him jump and he became aware of Margrethe.

   “I’m sorry sir,” the maid said, hurrying over and taking charge of the dog.

   “Put her away, would you?” Bastian said dryly, turning his attention back to the clothes.

   As he examined the finely woven thread of the small vest, he noticed a tiny pair of socks too and unless Odette was starting a hobby in doll play, there seemed to be only one reason these clothes were here. He smiled as he laid the infant clothes to one side.

To you, what am I? 

He pondered, feeling as if he had once again reaffirmed the answer to that wretched question that shattered everything.

 “I’m nothing at all, huh…” he realized, a truth he had already known, but the passing time seemed to intensify the disgust within him.

   He took a seat in the long backed arm chair next to the window and made to light a cigarette. He looked about Odette’s bedroom, he could drive her out tonight, if he so desired. He would tell the Emperor of his intentions and then he could be as cold toward her as he wanted.

   He didn’t have to feel bad about it, after all, is it really that bad to force out a woman that never really wanted to be here in the first place?

   The more he thought about Odette soaring free as a bird, the stronger his doubt became. It didn’t make any sense. An unfaithful woman, a spy who stole the secrets of the company, a criminal who made her father a cripple. No matter what he thought of her, his true feelings did not change, and all the while he struggled to come to terms with how he felt, time was dripping away, hurtling toward the inevitable divorce.

   “Master, there is a call for you,” the maid returned, sticking her head around the door. “They said their name was Keller?”

   Bastian’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of surprise in them. Keller, the detective who had been keeping an eye on Odette during his absence to Ratz.

   Bastian pushed himself out of the seat, shaking off the cobwebs of thought and was distracted by something falling to the floor. In knocking his seat back a little against the dresser, he had inadvertently caused a bouquet to topple to the floor. When he picked them up again, he saw amongst the pink roses, a letter. It had a flying hawk stamped on it. 

Xanders.