“He knew these last lines by heart and mouthed them now in the darkness. My reason for life. Not living, but life. That was the touch. And she was his reason for life, and why he must survive.” Ian McEwan, Atonement
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Chapter Twenty – Four
Spain mourned deeply for their lost king. The royal family also put on an appropriate display of mourning before the Court, and at the funeral which was attended by over a thousand of Spain’s noblemen and women.
Elena, who wore a dark veil and a heavy black velvet gown, thought that the funeral was very fitting for her father. It was large, grand, and the deceased King was showered with compliments, commending both his civic duties, his military endeavours and his exploratory missions.
The wedding of Carlos and Marisol had been delayed for a fortnight. Carlos needed to write home to his family while the royal family need to be seen in mourning seclusion for a while. A wedding was utterly inappropriate. Lupe, of course, would have to stay away from Court for several months while Joaquín found his feet in a new role. He had already had several meetings with his advisors and the coronation was being organised. He would be crowned in a few months’ time. Joaquín had already proven himself a firm and confident leader. He spoke with a certain assurance about him, making whomever listened feel as though their new leader knew exactly what was right.
While the country mourned, there was also the question of Joaquín’s heir, or lack thereof. While he was betrothed to Princess Athena of Greece, it was initially thought that she would come of age and they would be married prior to Juan’s death.
His council was already urging him to send for fourteen year old Athena, though Joaquín was not at all comfortable with that suggestion. He had seen Elena’s distress at her betrothal as a young girl, and he wanted Athena to have as much freedom as she could before she was brought to Spain. While honourable, the fact that Spain would be without an heir for another four years was unsettling to the council.
Joaquín had confided in Elena about his council’s suggestion that he call off the betrothal to Greece in favour of a princess that was old enough to wed. This, Elena knew, was not what Joaquín wanted. He did not want his first act as King to be terminating a contract with Greece. It would create unnecessary conflict. However, Elena also knew that the idea of their brothers being the next heirs to the throne was also unsettling to Joaquín. He needed a wife and he needed an heir, just as Spain needed a Queen and a young Prince of Asturias. Elena did not know if that woman would be Athena, or another young woman. Whoever it was, she hoped that she would make Joaquín happy.
While they sat in the church, singing hymns during Juan’s funeral service, Elena prayed for Joaquín’s good health. He was a deserving king, and his son deserved to be the next.
Elena also prayed for a successful meeting between her brother and David. The two had not yet met as the first week of Joaquín’s reign had been far too eventful. Joaquín, David and Elena were to have a private dinner that evening. Elena was nervous, but very excited. David had been looking forward to the meeting all week, as well. He was eager to make a good impression. He had already written home to his parents, telling them of the goings on in Spain. Chaperoned by Marisol, Elena had shown David as much of Madrid as she could while concealing her identity. She was supposed to be in mourning, after all. They had walked about the city, sampling whatever vendors were selling, while sightseeing and experiencing the day to day lives of the Spanish people. Elena had loved spending this time with David, even though they were closely escorted by Marisol. It was truly the first time that they had spent time together while knowing exactly who the other was. There was no secrets, no worrying and wondering if the other was being honest. It was an excellent insight into their future life. If this was what it would be like to be David’s wife, then Elena was sure that she would be very entertained.
Elena had, perhaps, obsessively over prepared for the dinner that evening. She had decorated the King’s private dining room herself with flowers, candles and a red silk table cloth. She had instructed the cook to prepare every traditional Spanish dish that she could think of. She was excited to share her country’s cuisine with David. While David had been residing at the palace for a week, he had only been receiving his meals in his bedchamber. Elena had organised a proper meal with as many courses as their stomachs could possibly handle.
At the conclusion of the funeral, the priest said a final prayer and the entire church uttered, “Amen.”
Joaquín led the procession from the church with Lupe, now the Queen Mother, on his arm. The royal family were journeying to their private cemetery while the other noble mourners had been invited to attend a reception at the palace.
The burial was somewhat peaceful. Elena felt that with every shovelful of soil that was being thrown onto Juan’s coffin, the insecurity, unease and pain was leaving her shoulders, metaphorically, of course, as she was still in a great deal of pain.
“We shall continue to wear black to show our people the respect that their monarch deserved, but we shall forget your father from now on,” Lupe announced just as soon as she was alone with her children.
Lupe had said several things like that over the past week. It had been made clear that she had felt just as oppressed by Juan as Elena, though Lupe was more skilled at hiding her displeasure.
While Lupe retired to her bedchamber to begin her private mourning, no doubt with a dish of churros and a gothic romance novel, the four Del Fuego siblings went to the reception where alcohol and nostalgic stories were being exchanged.
The siblings stayed for an appropriate amount of time before leaving to mourn. Of course, Elena and Joaquín had another engagement. Marisol was escorting David to the dining room while Elena and Joaquín walked together.
“Stop fidgeting, Elena. If he is as wonderful as you say then I am sure I will like him,” Joaquín said, chuckling quietly.
Elena pulled the dark veil from her head and freed her hair from the tight bun, allowing it to hand loosely around her waist. “Thank you for agreeing to this dinner, Joaquín,” she said gratefully, “it means a lot to me.”
Joaquín smiled. “If it is important to you then it shall be important to me. You are my favourite sister,” he said simply, “and I love you.”
“Do not tell Gabriela that,” said Elena coyly.
Joaquín rolled his eyes. “Perhaps motherhood will mellow Gabriela. Otherwise, I did not like the way she treated you.”
Elena did not have the time to explain to her brother that Gabriela had been horrid to Elena because she was jealous and that she had envied the ease of Elena’s early life. They soon arrived at the dining room which was not guarded as per Elena’s request. She did not want any eavesdropping.
Joaquín opened the door and allowed Elena to enter first before following and closing the door behind him.
The private dining room was small and cosy. In the centre of the room was a circular dining table with three, velvet cushioned chairs. On the far wall was a long buffet with the various prepared courses covered by silver dome lids.
Sitting at the dining table was David, who was anxiously fidgeting with the napkin on his plate. He immediately stood and bowed respectfully to Joaquín.
Her amused brother smiled deviously. Elena glared at him in warning. She did not want Joaquín to be cruel just because he was in a powerful position.
David chivalrously pulled out Elena’s chair and she sat down before both men joined her.
“You are David Wilde,” stated Joaquín. He helped himself to the champagne that was chilling in the centre of the table. He poured himself and Elena a glass but neglected David’s.
Elena pouted and took the bottle from Joaquín before filling David’s glass as well. “¿Va a ser amable?” she hissed. She did not want Joaquín to be unkind just for the sake of making David uneasy.
“Yes … Your Majesty,” replied David nervously as he took a sip of champagne. “My name is David Wilde.” Elena took David’s hand under the table and she squeezed it comfortingly.
Joaquín smirked. “Did you know that in our language, your surname is translated to salvaje?” Elena rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Joaquín was going to say. “Salvaje means wild, savage, fierce, untamed, feral … would you characterise yourself as any of these words?”
“No, I would not,” David said firmly, “though you cannot blame me for my surname, nor does it define who I am.”
“On the contrary, your surname defines you in every way possible. It is who you are, your history and your future. For example, our surname is translated to ‘fire’ in your language, the method of death by which you will suffer if you even so much as harm one hair on Elena’s head.” Joaquín’s dark eyes looked deadly.
“Joaquín!” hissed Elena.
“No, it is alright, Elena,” assured David. “It is true, your surname defines who you are. My surname belongs to a good and honourable family. My parents have led by example and I plan to have a marriage as loving and as faithful as theirs. I would throw myself into flames before I let any harm come to Elena. I know we share a mutual determination to keep her safe.” David became more confident as he spoke. Elena was glad. She did not want him to feel intimidated by Joaquín.
Joaquín smiled, enjoying his answer. “Good,” he said, satisfied.
“Good?” repeated David.
“Yes, good.” Joaquín nodded. “If my sister is to become a Salvaje, I need to know she is going to be taken care of. So, David Salvaje, tell me your intentions.”
Elena feared that ‘salvaje’ was going to be a teasing pet name that Joaquín would call David frequently.
Elena could see that David was holding back a retort. Once he and Joaquín were friends, she was sure that both men would have no qualms with insulting each other playfully. “My intentions are honourable, I assure you.”
Elena knew that to be true. She had given David the opportunity to ruin her and he had sought another route, an honourable route.
“They had better be,” replied Joaquín. “What you must understand, David, is that Elena and I were born to privilege, however, our destinies differed because of our sexes. Women are disposable royals, David. We have no use for them. It is not how I would like to rule, but that is how it has always been. I had watched my elder sister be punished for being born a girl and I was not about to let Elena suffer the same fate.” Joaquín sighed and looked to Elena. “I made it my life’s mission to protect her. I have failed many times. But all I wanted to do was to keep Elena safe. She deserves true happiness.”
“The times you have saved me far outnumber the times that I was hurt, Joaquín,” Elena said quietly. She would always be grateful to her brother. She had been far too reckless in her childhood and for too dependent on Joaquín to save her from the consequences. She never blamed Joaquín when she was hurt. It was always as a result of something that she had done.
Joaquín smiled. “I need to know that you will take over the role I tried to do. I need to know that you will always keep Elena safe, that you will always put her needs before your own.”
“I love your sister,” said David sincerely before looking at Elena, “and she will always be safe with me.” Elena knew that she would always be safe in David’s embrace.
Joaquín took a sip of his champagne and leant back in his chair. “Good,” he said. “Because your murder would be quite simple to arrange. I have an entire Spanish Armada at my disposal.” The mood instantly relaxed.
David chuckled. “I shall keep that in the back of my mind.”
Elena was sure that her brother and David were well on the way to being friends. She took that as the moment to serve the first course, zarangollo. It was one of Elena’s favourite entrées, made with scrambled eggs, zucchini, onion and potatoes. “This is zarangollo,” explained Elena, “it is a tapas dish.”
David looked at his plate, intrigued. “What is tapas?”
“Tapas are a wide variety of small dishes,” answered Joaquín as he began to eat.
They enjoyed several different Spanish dishes, including tumbet, esgarraet, paella, and cocido madrileño. For dessert, they enjoyed churros with chocolate.
Elena truly enjoyed the evening. Once the initial tenseness had passed, Joaquín and David laughed and joked as if they were old friends. Joaquín did not have many male friends as he was too often preoccupied with Elena. Elena was glad that he could have someone that he could laugh with.
At the conclusion of the evening, David bravely asked, “May I make Elena Mrs Salvaje?” His pronunciation was actually quite good.
Joaquín laughed as he nodded. “Si, Salvaje, you may give Elena your name.”
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Hope you like it!
The funniest thing happened today. So my entire family are on Christmas holidays now (mum too as she works at a school), and we're sitting around at midday on a Monday going "What's on TV?" Mum says "Probably a Christmas movie." So I'm thinking, yeah let's watch a Christmas movie. And my teenage brother goes "I'm not watching some lame-ass, cookie-cutter, cheeseball Christmas movie. The only decent Christmas movie is Die Hard." And we all cacked ourselves. Then we watched Die Hard. Gotta say, it's a pretty good Christmas movie ;)
This will probably be my last chapter before Christmas as there's a lot to do. So I hope you all have a very happy Christmas! I hope Santa is very good to all of you, you all deserve it seeing as how wonderful you are! Eat until you hate yourself (as I do every year!) and then eat some more. Drive safe and drink responsibly (as I don't every year! hehe). I love you all xxxxxx