Chapter 86 - The end - A gift

Isabela

Two days before the king's death.

In the freezing dawn that dragged on relentlessly, we found ourselves exhausted and completely naked in our cozy bedroom. Fernando, with his unique skill, had given me twice as much pleasure in less than two hours that relentless winter night. As we warmed ourselves under the shelter of the sheet, the nobleman smiled with satisfaction and gently stroked my chin.

"Are you worried about them?" The duke asked serenely, looking at me meticulously.

His large eyes were fascinating in the candlelight.

"The last details of the plan to flee Barcelona and find refuge in an almost uninhabited village on the border with France have made them give up, they will die if they stay here. Maybe some will escape, but until the big siege takes place, there will be a lot of blood."

"Although many citizens haven't accepted or believed in you, the rest are determined to go ahead, just like you and me. We can't change some people's mentality, Isabela."

"Really! And that lady who scoffed, saying that while we're in the bush, she'll have a steaming cup of black tea."

"She's the shoemaker's wife, neither she nor her husband have any passion for any place other than here. Even if the invaders set fire to their house, the couple will stay here, they love Barcelona, as do I, but between my house and my life, I prefer to keep my life."

I smiled at him.

"Our mission to take them all was a failure, less than a hundred people believed that there would soon be war."

"Those will be loyal to the end." He sighed. "Are you happy?"

"Of course I am." I replied, following the pulse in those tired eyes. "I can finally live in peace with you, Your Grace. Of all the lives I've ever lived, this will surely be the best."

"Do you think it will be perfect to be my soulmate? Even though we live in such a technologically advanced age, we don't have those things to take pictures that you mentioned."

"A cell phone." I smiled and stroked the tip of his nose. "In this life, I'm sure there won't be a Lucia to bring us trouble."

"But what if another version of her turns up? What if another version of her comes along? Let's say in a few years or centuries."

"Don't worry about that. You killed her, I mean, you killed exactly the villain version of her, even if there are others out there, I don't remember them."

"All right. I just don't want to have the unpleasant surprise of hearing another woman calling me father."

"Speaking of which, doesn't Your Grace feel bad about not being able to be a father?"

"Every man dreams of having heirs, doesn't he? What's it like where you come from? Is there any technology that can do something for me?"

"What's gotten into you to be so curious about the future?" I pulled the thick blanket back a little, leaving it just above my breasts; the temperature was rising. "We have to concentrate on the plan, don't you think?"

"The plan has already been decided, the ox carts and carriages have been sorted for our departure tonight. I've even asked a trusted young man to send a letter with the coordinates to each friend who will be going with us."

"Very well. But what will happen to these people if the king doesn't die?"

"Don't worry about that, nothing will be different from what you've seen, except my death. Thanks to you, I'll be able to die in peace and at an advanced age."

"But wait a minute." I suddenly remembered something and sat up. "What if everything is already programmed?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I watched a series of movies in which the protagonist foresaw the deaths of his group of friends and saved them."

"Very good." He said, also sitting down on the mattress.

"No way! In the end, they all died... what if that happened to all of you?"

"For God's sake, Isabela! Go to sleep, it's better, sleep is affecting your sanity." He forced a small smile and started to move to get out of bed.

"I'm serious. Death pursued each one of them until it killed them and corrected the natural flow, look at that, I'm creeped out." I showed him my arms, and he didn't even look.

"Go to sleep, girl. This isn't one of those movies or a fiction book."

"You bore!" I muttered to Fernando, and he got up and headed for the bathroom. "Maybe we're living in a fictional world written by someone else, and we don't know it, we could just be puppets, the vast universe is inexplicable, an example of this is me dying and being reborn in ancient Spain."

"You may be right, we could be characters in a book too, but there's no way of knowing..." I heard the Duke's voice coming from the bathroom.

While Fernando was in the bathroom, I snuggled under the covers, thinking not only about the plan, but also about how I could bring even more happiness into that man's life. I want to complete him in every way. I know that his dream of holding a child in his arms and calling it his own must be immense, but how can I create something that will cheer him up? He's sterile, and even artificial insemination isn't a viable option at the moment.

If it were possible, I would even consider being inseminated so that we could have a child together. It would be an incredible adventure. However, unfortunately, we still don't have such advanced technology. Besides, I can't just give up my principles and get involved with another man to get pregnant, it would be like betraying my loyalty to my beloved.

"I'll do it!" My thoughts escaped my mouth.

"Do what?"

"Nothing, Your Grace, I'm just thinking out loud." I gave a satisfied smile and wrapped myself in the blanket.

~

Two years later.

Far from the interests of the Spanish monarchy, in fact, King Carlos had died. Following what had already been written in the future, on the French side of the border, we lived in peace. We started from scratch, as in every village. For the first few months, we had the help of a French friend of the duke, who helped us once a month, bringing us supplies, tools, and medicines.

After two years, we went through a sad time with our first loss: our old man died of old age, and our first wake opened the cemetery. Following what we had decided in homage to Raul Torres, no weapons of any kind would be allowed in our village, let alone violence.

In addition to the difficulties with the lack of people and money, we also had pleasant and enjoyable moments; after all, a rose is not only made of thorns, and it was only a matter of time before we resolved the difficulties. Our house was in the center of town, next to the grocery store, which was also a market, and the streets with the small houses around formed almost a flower design.

Fernando had changed a lot since we left, but his love for me had only grown. He asked not to be called Your Grace or Duke; he wanted to be addressed only as Sir, he wanted to be recognized as a normal guy. At that moment, on a cloudy day, my husband was preparing a pot of tea, and I was feeling a bit despondent, sitting on a wooden bench under the roof of the veranda, the view from there was beautiful, but it didn't cheer me up.

On one side, you could see a giant waterfall at the top of the mountain, and on the other, a road full of colorful leaves. Spring arrived all decked out, quite unlike me, who was faced with a sea of gray. Now you're going to ask me if my relationship with Fernando worked out or if I regret being in the middle of nature, away from technology, or anything like that, and my answer is no. I've never felt better, deep down in my chest I feel that, next to the Duke, I can die happy in this life.

But then you must be wondering what the hell is going on for a gray cloud to stay with me for so long, right? Let me start by saying: You know those days when you feel like something is missing from your life? For two years, I've been trying to solve this problem with the duke. I want to be the mother of a child for him, oh, how I want to give him that joy, but so far I haven't managed it, ever since we left Barcelona.

I sighed thoughtfully when, not far from me, I heard the sound of something unusual for our community at the moment. Likewise, I tidied up my long skirt and hurried my steps towards where the sound was coming from. How could Rosa be outside when, less than twenty minutes ago, I had seen her in the market?

I came across an unusual scene in front of my house: a beautiful, large basket decorated with colorful flowers. As I approached, my heart raced at the sight of a white-skinned newborn baby wrapped in soft blankets. The baby's eyes were wide open, as if he were asking me to take him into the house and give him some love and a warm place.

"What's such a cute little thing doing here, huh?" I looked around, that beautiful baby must belong to someone.

When I saw a note meticulously placed next to it, a wave of suspicion passed through my mind. The paper revealed that this French mother, who had been bravely fighting a terminal illness, had unfortunately lost the battle and was giving her treasure into our hands.

His words written on the note sparked an explosion of creativity in me, burning like fire in my mind. I felt the responsibility and the unique opportunity to create a narrative full of love and adventure for this little being, I knew I was about to embark on an extraordinary journey.

Without thinking for a second, I wrapped him in my arms and kissed him on the forehead. He made his baby sound, and I started that little being's day with lots of love. His fragile little body was still warm, but I knew how to take care of that little bundle of fragility. After all, the memories of looking after Lucia as a baby were still as lucid as the sunlight in the middle of summer.

I took the basket and went home, but before I could find Fernando, he was already on his way, and as soon as he saw me, he said that the tea was ready.

"My dear, look here in my arms! Can't you see this baby?" I asked him, a little worried. Could it be that I'm going mad, and it's just me who sees him?

Fernando took a while to answer me, which made me feel sick inside. However, when he saw the baby in my arms, he showed a mixture of happiness and surprise in his feelings.

"What do you mean, it's a baby? Whose baby is it?" he asked me, curious, as his footsteps carried him towards me.

His elation showed when the baby began to cheer us up with its laughter. Curious, he asked me again about the child's parents, and with great joy, I replied:

"Yes, it's a beautiful baby! I'm holding this newborn that could be ours, isn't it?"

On that cloudy day, we felt the cold wind envelop us. In that atmosphere, Fernando looked at me without understanding anything. I left the basket on the first step of the stairs and held out my free hand, handing him the note.

"I'm very sad to read this, but I'm surprised and happy at the same time."

"We can adopt him and take care of this little one; I haven't even met him, but I already feel he's mine."

Fernando seemed to accept the idea of adopting him, I could see it in his expectant gaze.

"Father and mother are the ones who take care, right?" He smiled and handed the note back to me. "But how can we look after him? He needs to be breastfed."

"Maria do Rosario can share some of her milk, those big breasts of hers are enough to feed about five babies."

He smiled and moved closer to me as he hugged us.

"Okay! I promise to be a good father and raise him as a respectful man. This little one will be proud to be our son, his name will be Raul."

"What? He's a boy?" Until then, I hadn't thought about the sex of the child, happiness had made me forget the basics, but whether it was a girl or a boy didn't change my happiness at all.

"Of course it is, look at his little face, it's his father's face here."

"Stop being silly." I smiled, feeling loved by him.

"Come in, let's have some tea before it gets cold, we've got a lot to plan now. Wow, I've had a baby! That's something to celebrate."

I nodded and followed in the duke's footsteps. Before we entered the house, I stopped my steps and looked back, whispering in thought to whoever had left that gift on my doorstep.

"Thank you for writing a new life for me."