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| First of April |
Disclaimer: Rose of Versailles belongs to Riyoko Ikeda, not me. I am just adding some more imagination.
Where was I? Why wasn�t I familiar with this place?
I thought while I found myself in the grove and standing on a small gray brick bridge across a streamlet. As I looked around�the bright blue and clear sky, contrasting red, orange and yellow leaves� these were colors of autumn.
This was April!? It should be spring, not autumn!
For a moment, I thought I might have gone mad, but it was really autumn! I was sure of it when I saw red leaves falling one by one down onto a clear and shallow stream of water and being carried away by the course of the water. My eyes followed them. Then I saw a white hand picking a red leaf from the water surface. Not far away from me, a girl held a red leaf in her hand. She had blond hair, was tall and slim and dressed in boys� clothes. She was standing on a black rock nearby the stream bank.
Why did I think that? According to the dress, that should be a boy. But why did I believe that this boy was actually a �girl�!?
Then I saw her kissing a red leaf in her hand and turning her face toward me� Although she wasn�t standing too far, I couldn�t see her face! And before I could say something, she had disappeared!
�Wait!!!� I shouted, and my eyes suddenly flew open. I was in my bedroom, wrapped in the soft cushions of my grand bed.
Dream� it was just a dream�
But I saw everything so clear that it had seemed real� Thinking back about the dream� leaves were flowing with the course of water� I realized then that my life was like those leaves somehow� The red leaves couldn�t resist the current; I couldn�t refuse the King�s order as well.
It was too early and the sky was still dark, but I couldn�t close my eyes and sleep again. I decided to get up and step out of my room. Before I could leave, my eyes met the red roses in the ivory vase on a small round table near the big windows. Somehow it harassed me. Red roses reminded me of what I had just dreamed. Actually, there was no relation between red roses and red leaves (in my dream). The color red however, annoyed me quite much at this time�
Nobody in my family would wake up in such an early morning except the servants and maids. As I made my way to the garden, Liane, a young maid, was selecting the roses for decorating the mansion. They used white roses for mother�s and Tristan�s rooms, while pink roses were for Isabel. The living and dining room were decorated with brilliant yellow roses and red roses were for me.
�Monsieur�?� Liane cried. She looked surprised when she greeted me �Good� Good morning, � Monsieur.�
I didn�t bother to think about why her voice was trembling. And I didn�t look at her face. I was solely focusing on the roses, so I didn�t see the red color on her cheeks. I said �I never knew that you gather all the roses in early morning.�
�Uh� Monsieur� well� Actually, the time before sunrise is the best time for harvesting plants�� She replied.
�I see. By the way, do you see Hubert? Did he already wake up?�
�Yes, he is in the stable. If you like I will call him.�
�Keep working! I�ll call him by myself.� I said and made steps to the west side of the garden. Then I stopped abruptly, turned my face to Liane and said �I�d like to have white roses in my room today.�
Now I saw her eyes widen as if she couldn�t believe what she just heard. �But�red roses are usually� I mean�� She tried to say and yet couldn�t find the words.
Her gesture annoyed me quite much. �What�s the problem?� I thought for myself, but aloud I said: �Can�t I change? Well I�ll take a walk for a while, and I hope to see the white roses in the ivory vase when I get back to my room.�
Hubert was feeding the horses when I opened the stable door. Maybe it was because I walked in so quietly or because he was concentrated on his work, I didn�t know. It seemed he wasn�t aware that I was inside the stable and standing behind him. I was thinking about riding horse to the grove near the mansion. However, I changed my mind while I was watching Hubert, who was a stableman at our mansion. He sang a song when he gave fresh and green grass to the horses. I noticed that he hadn�t refilled the water yet. I shook my head as I thought about how much time it would take to feed and prepare the bridle and saddle of my horse�
I didn�t want to wait even half a minute this morning.
So I decided go to the grove walking. I didn�t know why I had made this decision. I had been confused inside after waking up and the dream was stuck in my head.
My life as the red leaves in autumn�
I still heard the sound of leaves falling� I needed to go back to reality! It was spring now!
The sun appeared on the horizon. The dark sky became a gray, then blue one when I finally reached the grove. I had been here several times in summer, fall, winter and spring. When spring would come�the parched trees would have become green; the ground would have been covered by grass and wildflowers.
Above me were white clouds and green leaves. Beneath me was the soft grass. Many trees were surrounding me; some of them had a white stem and some were brown. Blooming wildflowers expanded throughout the forest and made the ground so colorful� blue, pink, white and yellow�
Now a cold breeze was touching my face. The sweet sound of birds reached my ears. My nose smelled the fragrance of flowers mixed with the green of grass. And my eyes saw a lot of silver butterflies flying above those wildflowers�
When I got back the mansion, everybody was woken up already. Father and Tristan were having some tea together in the wooden pavilion in the garden. He nodded when I greeted him, then let me walk towards the house without any further comment. I thought I was lucky somehow that I was his second son. Different from Tristan, my elder brother, father had never bothered to concentrate or be strict with me that much.
Tristan followed me into the house and asked simply �Where were you, Victor?�
�Just walking around the grove.� I replied.
�You did?� He asked by surprise then continued �You still have the time for this when a match is going to start soon?�
I shrugged instead of answering. Tristan stared at me for a while. Then, finally, another question came to his mind. �You don�t like this match, do you?�
�Well. If you had to have a duel with a woman, would you be all that happy with that?� I asked simply.
He fell silent� Then he put his hand on my shoulder and smiled tenderly. I didn�t want to talk about my feelings anymore. I changed the topic by mentioning my youngest sister instead. �Where is Isabel by the way, I don�t see her around?�
�She left home about half an hour before you came back.� He paused as he saw the doubt on my face, then continued �Her friend� I mean Mademoiselle Gaetane, stopped by and asked her to accompany her to Versailles.�
Now I saw Tristan grinning. �They want to see the fencing duel! Well, I can say they want to see Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes, actually!� He said.
�Oh� I�m not surprised.� I was laughing while I said �I�ve heard the rumors and it seems all the ladies want to meet her.�
And before we could continue the conversation, I heard a soft and tender voice calling �Good morning, Victor.� Mother was standing behind me.
I kissed her cheeks and she smiled. �It�s quite late now, Victor. Are you hungry? I didn�t have breakfast yet. Would you like to eat with me?� Mother asked.
�I�ll gladly follow, mother!� I said. Then mother and me had breakfast together. As though she knew my emotions, she didn�t touch the topic of �the match� while we were talking at the dining table�
Usually noblemen would have a servant coming along with them wherever they would go. Likewise the others, my servant Marc accompanied me to the parade this day.
I wasn�t hurrying when I rode towards Versailles. I moved slowly and kept my eyes on my surroundings. There were big trees along both sides of the road and they stood in bloom. Now the road to Versailles was covered with pink and white petals.
Riding beside me in silence for a long while, somehow Marc broke the silence: �Monsieur, it�s almost time.�
I gave him a light smile then simply said: �Don�t panic. We�re almost there.�
His eyes widened a little. He stopped his words for a while. Maybe he was thinking about continuing or not. Finally, he said lightly: �You don�t seem to like it much...�
�Of course not!� I said with intense voice. �I can�t be proud of myself of defeating a woman.�
Why do I have to obtain the position of the Commander this way?
Notwithstanding, Marc and I stopped our actions abruptly when we saw a girl standing under a blossomy tree crossing our way.
Why did I think that? Why did I believe she was a �girl�? According to the dress, that should be a boy.
However, my doubts disappeared when I got closer. And I knew I was right when I heard her words: �I am waiting for you, Captain Gerodere.� She paused for a second before she said: �I�m Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes.�
I felt that time had stopped and I couldn�t breathe easily. I had never felt like this before�
She was indeed beautiful!
It was late afternoon when I reached the mansion. As expected, Tristan and Isabel had been waiting for me.
�What happened, Victor!?� Isabel asked suddenly when I stepped into the house.
�Well, Marc came back earlier than me. You met him, didn�t you?� I said. �Then, I�m sure you got all the information from him that you need.�
Isabel opened her lips. �So was it true that you� she was victorious!? But Victor, how�� and before she could finish what she wanted to say, I interrupted: �Absolutely. Anyways, I�m tired and need to rest now. Isabel, shall we talk about this subject tomorrow?�
As soon as I finished talking, I hurriedly made my way to my private room.
Now I sat on a big cream colored reclining chair in my room. I didn�t recognize myself just then. There was a thrill running through my veins after the duel! Yet, it was neither disappointment nor embarrassment!
So what was this feeling I had after all?
Before my mind would drift off, I heard the loud sound of knocking on a door. Tristan opened the door while asking: �May I come in?� And he didn�t wait for my reply. Instead, he entranced my room and sat on the chair opposite me.
�How are you, Victor?� He started the conversation.
I laughed when I said: �What�s the matter, Tristan? Why do you ask me this?�
�I don�t know� I noticed� You look different than you did this morning.�
�Oh� Maybe I am exhausted.� I told him.
Tristan shook his head slowly: �Well� No� I meant to say you look better than this morning. Victor, you look more delighted!�
�Really? Even though I wasn�t the winner?�
�I would say yes!�
His words surprised me.
Was I delighted!?
Due to some reasons, he looked straight into my eyes for a short while. Then he asked: �How is Mademoiselle Oscar?�
�Great! She is talented. I have never met someone who is that excellent in fencing before.�
�Is she beautiful?� He kept asking.
And my lips moved, one corner of my mouth creating a smile. �Women are always beautiful in their own way.�
As if my answer had some affect on my brother, I noticed him turning into a stone. It took him just a few seconds to recover. �Hum� Really good point, my brother.� He said simply.
Then I just smiled and said nothing. Finally, Tristan got up and told me that it was getting late in the night now. Before he could leave he turned his face towards me. �Good night! And may your sleep be protected by angels!� He grinned before shutting the door of my room.
I found myself standing on a small gray brick bridge across a streamlet in the autumn grove again�
So I was dreaming� And yet it was the same dream as the night before.
Red leaves were falling one by one into a clear and shallow stream of water. My eyes followed them; the red leaves had fallen into a stream and were carried away by the course of the water. I knew what would happen next� And I was right! A girl dressed in boy clothes stood on a black rock near the stream bank and picked a red leaf from the water. Then she kissed the red leaf in her hand and turned her face toward me�
This time was different from the last time� This time I could see her looking and grinning at me� This time I could see her face clearly� And I knew her, I knew this girl� She was�
She was Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes!
My eyes suddenly flew open. The image of Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes disappeared and I saw a dark, cozy room instead! And I woke up too early again! And again I couldn�t close my eyes and sleep as I felt a thrill inside me. I felt my heart beating faster when I thought about the girl in my dream.
I must be out of my mind� All I could think of now was how beautiful she was although she had grinned at me� The illusion of her picking a red leaf from the stream was still stuck in my mind, and I must be mad as I wished I could be a red leaf in her hand� And I must be crazy if all I could think about just now was how lucky I was as I would be on her side in the Royal Guards�
A cold breeze was blowing through the room. I got up from soft bed, walked towards the big windows and opened them wide. Now the cold wind touched my entire body. I felt so fresh this day!
Then, my eyes met the white roses in the ivory vase on a small round table nearby the windows. There were usually red roses. Somehow the red color didn�t irritate me anymore� Red roses fit this vase more than white ones�
�Well, I should ask Liane about the roses in my room.� I thought. �It should be red roses as it had always been.�
~ THE END ~
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