CH 141

The horrendous, blood-soaked winter passed, and the sound of spring approaching could be heard everywhere. Whenever Gareth moved from one place to another, he sent a messenger to Elena to relieve her worries and told her how he was doing.

Once Elena had fully recovered, she began to move diligently to prepare the Garcia estate for spring despite not knowing when Gareth would return. Elena taught her little sister Rowena how to take care of an estate, and Rowena actively watched and learned many things from Elena. Marina was able to eventually overcome her traumatic experience and worked diligently to help out around the kitchen. She even did the laundry that she had once accused of being too dirty for her. Elena’s vigor was coloring the once desolate estate.

The ice began to melt, and spring was finally here.

* * *

It was another day, and Elena was busy sowing the first seeds of the year with the farmers. She could not stay still; she felt as if her blood was going to dry up with longing for Gareth if she didn’t occupy herself with something. It was spring now, but Gareth had not returned. Day after day, Elena deliberately went out and waited for Gareth, sowing seeds, but he was nowhere to be found.

‘When will he come…?’ she wondered every day. It was no different today; Elena would look up from time to time from working to gaze far away, but she didn’t see any signs of Gareth. ‘I guess he won’t come today, either…’

Elena stretched, straightening her back and inhaling deeply. She could feel the excitement of life in the air, which had broken through the harsh winter. Nature was signaling the beginning of a colorful season despite there having been gruesome bloodshed in the capital not long ago.

‘I wonder if Gareth knows that spring has come…’ Whenever she would think about Gareth, Elena sometimes felt her heart beat strangely. Even now, she could feel the strange sensation, and it felt as if he was going to come back soon. Thinking that her groundless intuition was because of her excitement due to the changes in the weather, Elena shook her head and lowered her body again to get back to work. She attended to her duties diligently, digging the ground and sowing the seeds. But for some reason, the strange quivering in her heart did not disappear like it usually did. She felt excited as if the spring weather had entered her heart. It was as if her heart was signaling her that Gareth was returning.

Elena decided that she couldn’t continue working after trying multiple times to suppress the peculiar feeling. Her heart pounded, her face burned hot, and most of all, she could not shake off the thought that Gareth was going to return today.

“Where are you going, Madam?” Giggs quickly asked. He had been sowing seeds with his big hands, not particularly paying attention to where they fell.

“I’m going up to the wall for a second. You don’t need to follow me.”

Wanting to check if her strange feeling that was evoked by her longing for Gareth meant something, Elena quickly headed to a nearby tree to which her horse was tied. Giggs watched her for a moment before grabbing another handful of seeds from the basket and scattering them on the ground.

“I told you to stop doing that! You don’t listen, do you? I’m starting to wonder if you’re a human or a bear, gosh!” a voice scolded.

Elena laughed at such words while she untied the horse’s reins from the tree. Spring had arrived in Giggs’ life as well; he had met a woman he wanted to chase for the first time in his life. He was cleaning his face, brushing his teeth, and even washing his hair to impress her.

Elena climbed onto her horse and looked back at Giggs, trying to gauge if he was listening to the woman’s words. She then ended up bursting into laughter when she saw Giggs planting seeds one by one while scooting his big figure closer and closer to the woman.

Despite her heart continuing to pound rapidly, Elena slowly made her way to the castle walls. She had a good feeling about what she was going to see from the wall. Once she finally reached the gates, she quickly climbed the stairs and squinted her eyes to look far away. She scrutinized the roads and the forest in the distance, but Gareth was still nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, Elena stood still and continued to gaze at the scenery until her eyes began to hurt.

‘It’s spring… He said he would be back by spring…’

Elena turned away after gazing vacantly at the forest for a while. ‘I should be patient. A messenger would have arrived earlier if Gareth were to return today. Since there was no messenger, I’ll just have to continue waiting. It’s just not time for him to come back yet.’ Still, Elena could not understand why her heart was beating strangely. She began to move to the stairs with heavy feet, then she paused when she heard something from far away.

Turning in a hurry, Elena leaned as close as she could to the parapet without falling to observe the path in the forest. She could clearly hear the sound of hooves, the ones of Gareth’s warhorse that always ran without hesitation. The sound was getting closer and closer. Elena waited nervously for the identity of the sound to be revealed, and at last, she could make out a familiar silhouette. ‘That’s…’ A bright smile hung over her face without her realizing it. Elena ran down the stairs and shouted at the gatekeepers to open the gates.

Gareth spurred his horse when he could see Elena running out from the open gates. She was running toward him with her arms wide open. Once he reached her, he grabbed her by the waist and burst into laughter. Safely in Gareth’s arms, Elena scattered kisses onto his face while hugging him by the neck. Gareth bowed his head from time to time to kiss her as he was still driving his horse, his one arm tightly wrapped around Elena’s waist.

Elena could not believe what was happening. She couldn’t believe that Gareth had returned. Her heart pounded with joy, and she could also feel Gareth’s heart beating violently like hers through his chest. Elena kissed him and touched his body as if to constantly confirm that he was holding her in his arms. The bell announcing Gareth’s return rang loudly behind them, spreading the good news throughout all the villages.

Gareth gave up on running to the castle and changed his direction, wanting to hold Elena right away. He wanted to make love with her for welcoming him back with so much excitement. At that moment, he spotted a newly built barn.

Once he got off his horse, Gareth picked Elena up and entered the barn. They were greeted by the fragrant smell of seeds as well as hay, the materials shared among all the villagers.

“I see that you still never rest, Elena,” Gareth noted.

“I had to keep myself occupied because I missed you terribly. I couldn’t stand the emptiness if I didn’t do anything.”