I Followed Fires

XXXI. Bash

It was uncanny to him, how Kenna could be display such bright joy and happiness in one second, and become enraged by something in another.

She bawled throughout the night. During the intervals of her tears, she often screamed and shouted at him, her voice ringing through the halls. Bash tried to calm her down, and yet his efforts did not cause any change. Her erratic behaviour reminded him of the moods of the sea, as Kenna often switched from one mood to another in plain minutes, even seconds. The reason behind her wrath was because of Bash, no doubt. It was always because of him, and no other.

"You are engaged to me," She yelled, as tears flowed down her cheeks, and pointed a finger to herself. "You are not engaged to that wench Adèle Prouvaire!"

"Kenna, she was the one who gave up everything for you. Can't you find a little kindness in yourself and avoid calling her names? She is not a servant, nor she is a lowlife. She is one of the richest and respected young women in all of France,"

"You are defending as if she was your betrothed. Remember who you are engaged to, Bash. Remember who you are going to be married to you for the rest of your life,"

"I was helping her carry her little brothers back to the castle, and there were torrents of heavy rain. Who else was there to help her? No one else but myself, Kenna." 

"You could have called a guard, or a servant, or someone, but not you," Kenna said, almost nearing a scream.

"And this is how you expect me to treat our guest? Kenna, a sign of disrespect from me towards Adèle would get me exiled from the castle, and then we shall never be capable to marrying. Think of this carefully, Kenna. You are spitting words that you do not mean. You are not thinking straight, my love," Bash said, as he touched her upper arms.

Bash breathed a heavy sigh, and then proceeded to hold Kenna's shaking hands. Her face was red, her eyes were bloodshot, and the tears had not ceased to fall down her cheeks. Standing before her, as she exhibited herself in such a state of melancholy and distress, Bash began to sympathize with her. If he had caught his betrothed in the rain with another man, who seemed to have shared an intimate relationship with her, he would have been infuriated as well. And so, he apologized, which was something he regretted in the coming days, for it meant that Kenna had truly believed that Bash loved her, and is not infatuated with another young woman. "Forgive me, my love," he spoke in a soft tone, as his fingers caressed the edges of her face and lifted her chin as their eyes locked. "I regret what I have done. I am your betrothed. I should pledge my love to you and only you,"

She remained in tears, but he caught a small smile on her lips. This small smile was a sign of her returning to her normal, usual self; something Bash was grateful for. "And you do not love her anymore?"

"I..." Bash thought long and hard of the sentence he was forming in his head, that he was to use to reply to Kenna's question.  "I am no longer in love with her anymore."

That was the second lie he told her.

And yet, she believed him. "And you're not simply lying to me to make me happy?"

"No." He averted his eyes to the ground, then back to hers.

A third lie.

Bash planted a small kiss on Kenna's forehead, and soon she returned to her regular state, one where she was not flailing around, and bawling her eyes out. The kiss, too, was also another lie.