Embrace the sun 1

Chapter 1

***

She met the winter sea.

He was the first dazzling presence she had ever seen in her life. He was a man of cold temperament and strong will.

"Welcome. Miss Amber Kaida."

The two faced each other. Their eyes met in midair, their gazes intertwined, rising and falling in a fiery blaze. As if they'd never seen each other before.

"Thank you for the welcome. Your Highness, Grand Duke Cliffrid."

The polite greeting was plausible. The smile on the woman's face was almost disarming. The man raised an eyebrow and smiled.

The woman's face warmed at his smile, as if he were complimenting her on a job well done.

He held out his arm. A white hand descended like a butterfly over his muscular arm.

A pair of piercing blue eyes and mysterious golden ones.

The two pairs of gazes locked once more. They lingered on each other, eyes that flickered as if hiding a fire underneath.

After a few seconds, the gazes untangled as if it hadn’t happened.

One day, the woman met a mysterious figure. The mysterious figure left her a short sentence. Then he disappeared like smoke.

[You own nothing].

One short sentence was her life as it was. She felt all her will disappear.

Because she really didn't have anything.

A family and friends to rely on, a noble birth, dazzling honors, and exceptional talent. None of that had been given to her.

Certainly not the happiness, wealth, and love that were the byproducts of such things. She knew sadness early on, but she never had the opportunity to experience joy. Joy, pleasure, happiness. For Audrey, these things were awkward and uncomfortable.

They became difficult emotions because she didn't know them well enough. Abundance and happiness had become a way of life that would never come. This was her life.

So she accepted the offer. She had nothing. All she had was a small body, a willingness to work hard, and a smile she could make without talent.

Smiling, she looked back at the man.

Listan Cliffrid. He was wind and forest, fire and mountain.

The words of someone who knew men well came to mind.

She had nothing, and she had decided to throw her life into the wild waves. With nothing, there was nothing to fear. No insecurity.

With nothing to protect, she had no reason to worry about the future and no will to live. There was no need to look out for her own well-being.

She abandoned herself, leaving everything to the stormy winter sea.

*** 

Audrey Eckbon’s days begin in the early morning hours.

Every day, she prepared breakfast for her mother, who was ill in body, and her sister, who was ill in mind. After eating with her family, she washed the dishes and prepared a quick lunch for them.

"Lena, you must have lunch with mom."

Lena, who couldn’t speak, nodded weakly.

"Mom, I'll be back."

"Take care. Audrey."

Linda smiled at her daughter as she sat by the window in the clear morning light. It was a languid smile, but it was warm. Audrey loved her mother's smile.

She opened the door and a chill rushed in, and she stepped out into the cold air, shoulders hunched.

It was time to begin the day's responsibilities for her mother and sister. Her days were always the same, and nothing changed with the changing seasons and the long passage of time.

As she walked through the fallen leaves, Audrey Eckbon’s body filled with strength.

I will be okay today. I will be okay. I will be okay.

The strength to console herself was forced.

***

[Farkai Bookstore]

Audrey worked in an old bookstore. She didn’t know how old it was.

She didn’t know much about the history of the store, except what people on the street told her.

This was Audrey's fourth autumn since she started working here. It was a new job after Linda's health deteriorated further and her previous fruit shop closed.

Mr. Finley, the bookstore owner, was a good man. He didn’t give her much work, and he let her read all the books she wanted.

His wife, Sophia Finley, made Audrey a delicious lunch every day. Sometimes she also brought her sweet treats. For her sweet tooth, it was like receiving a gift.

Their son, Ryan, was Audrey's age and taught her things he learned in school.

Mr. Finley's family was one of the nicest people she knew. Audrey loved the Farkai bookstore and the Finley family.

Even though she worried about her mother and sister, who must be depressed and housebound while she was away, she enjoyed her time at Farkai.

Sometimes she wished it was her home. There were times when she wished Mr. Finley's family was hers.

She knew it was bad, but she couldn't stop the thoughts from coming.

It was nice to be able to go to work at the bookstore, at least for a little while. It was a guilty pleasure, but there was nothing she could do about it.

It was Audrey's only joy.

It was full of funny stories and noble reminders of hope. The fact that she could escape from reality for as long as she was with them kept her going.

In the morning, the sunny weather took on a darker glow. Raindrops began to fall on a sign as the sky slowly turned gray. After cleaning up after work, Audrey opened the newspaper.

[Another Rebel Arrested in Byrne]

[Rebels to be severely punished]

[The Emperor's carriage heading to the Western Palace last night was engulfed in a surprise fire]

Audrey's horror at the image of a burning carriage settled back into the last line of the article, which said there were no fatalities. The idea of anyone being injured or killed would have been unfortunate and alarming.

In Byrne, the capital of the Reuben Empire, opposition to the current imperial family had been growing for some time. The severe punishment, Audrey guessed, would be death.

Their goal was to dethrone the current king.

If they succeeded, it would be a revolution; if they failed, it would be a rebellion.

She remembered the last words of Mr. Finley, who had been explaining to her the ins and outs of revolution and rebellion, as if to summarize, and though his face had seemed quite stony, it was not something she pondered.

The sun peeked out from behind the clouds. A mixture of cloudy light and warm sunshine covered the road, split into several streaks. The juxtaposition of opposites gave the scene a sense of strangeness.

It reminded her of a passage in a book about how when one door closes, another opens, like two sides of the same coin. It seemed to show hope and despair at the same time. Audrey suddenly realized that was true.

Lost in the clutter of the article, she picked up the newspaper and watched the rain fall.

The circular droplets of water had now soaked the pavement. The rain began to fall silently, but then it grew thicker.

Audrey watched as the rain began to fall with increasing intensity: people strolling leisurely under umbrellas, a woman running out of breath from the sudden downpour, and a man trudging along, leaving himself open to the rain with no way or reason to escape.

As Audrey looked out the window, she felt grateful for her current position of being able to escape the rain.

It was just as the dark clouds had completely swallowed up the sun that a man wrapped head to toe in a tattered cloak came into her view.

A grayish darkness quickly covered the streets. The wind picked up and the rain intensified.

A cloaked figure ducked under the small porch of the bookstore. The rain plummeted the temperature.

White steam rose from the cloaked figure, who could not be identified as a woman or a man. Putting down her newspaper, Audrey stood up and started walking. She opened the door and the damp air rushed in.

"Would you like to come in for a moment?"

Mr. Finley was always gone in the mornings, so Audrey had the place to herself from morning until noon.

He hesitated, then nodded and started walking.

Autumn in Selbur was quite cool. It was similar to early winter in other places, but the bookstore was warm. Mr. Finley kept the place warm for the customers and for her, who often got cold.

Audrey's love of books made her love coming to the bookstore even more.

The bookstore's smell was different from home, and it allowed her to stretch out of her crouch. Just being able to open her shoulders made her feel better.

"Here, have some of this."

She ushered him to the fireplace and handed him a cup of hot tea.

"You're a kind young lady."

A low, calm voice came from inside the cloak.

***