CHAPTER 139: DREAMS...

’I pronounce that they be man and wife together...’

Jenna stood at the aisle with a bright smile on her face. She was finally going to get married. Rhane had won the tournament and now she was getting married to....

Jenna’s smile seeped away like ink bleeding into water.

It wasn’t her at the altar. Rhane was with someone else, a tall slim woman. Jenna couldn’t make out her face, but when she turned, she whispered something.

’You promised, Jenna.’

"No!" Jenna cried out. Before she could run forward, someone grabbed her arm. It was Gerald.

’Let us go back home, my sweet little Jenna.’

Jenna shot up from the bed, her chest heaving as if she’d run for miles. Cold sweat glistened on her ivory skin, dampening the sheets beneath her, while her eyes darted wildly around the dark room. Her pulse thrashed in her throat, each beat louder than the silence.

For a breathless moment, she couldn’t tell if she was awake or still caught in the dream’s grip— in Gerald’s grasp. The walls seemed to close in too fast, her hands trembling.

Who is she? What happened? What did the dream mean? Jenna’s heart drummed in her ears, she tightened her grip on the sheets.

The dream had been too vivid, everything and everyone seemed real. Rhane had been there, he wasn’t looking at her but the woman before him. And Gerald...

Jenna glanced at her arm, she stepped down from the bed, walking straight inside the bathroom. Jenna grabbed soap and water, and began washing and rinsing her hand repeatedly.

"I’d rather die than return to Gerald..." Jenna muttered under her breath as she washed her arm. She had never considered Gerald to have the chance to win against Rhane, not if the tournament was made physical.

Anyone with clear eyes could tell who had the higher advantage among the three men, but with this dream... the dream had Jenna confused.

All her worries about being chosen by Rhane had faded after she met him. Rhane wasn’t ashamed of her, he didn’t mind if she had been taken by another man or if her body was no longer chaste. Rhane adored her, cherished her. Treated her body like a secret prayer and even worshipped every bit of her like it was her first.

It was enough to let Jenna know that he’d never let go of her hand. So Jenna had slept that night excited, ready to leave with Rhane, knowing he’d win certainly. Now...

The nightmare had shattered the bits of her happiness.

Jenna scrubbed her arm until she felt a prick, she stopped. Her hand had turned red. With a tired sigh, Jenna stepped away from the basin of water, resting her back on the wall. She slowly slid down and sat on the floor, breathing hard.

If Rhane lost, she’d not be able to recover, Jenna thought to herself. She had never bet on losing hands. And if fate was making a theatrical comedy with her life, then she wasn’t going to sit back and enjoy the pain again.

"Jenna! We are getting ready to leave."

Jenna turned over to her fours, her hair covering her face. She dug her nails into the marble floor, gritting her teeth.

"Come dress up, quick!" The excited voice of the maidens rang from outside the room.

Jenna slowly pushed herself up, she walked back inside the room. Straight for the table, she found what she was looking for. A small bread knife, it wasn’t very sharp but enough to kill a man with the right stab.

"The lady shouldn’t be late!"

Jenna twirled the knife around, she walked to her ankle-high shoe that had always been comfortable, and she slipped the knife in. If Rhane didn’t win, then she’d have to take matters into her hand... in this case... her knife.

Gerald wasn’t going to live to see the day he’d have her back as his wife. Jenna thought to herself as she shuffled with the knife. If she was being honest with herself, the death of Gerald was long overdue. He’d done everything that deserved hell, yet he still lived. For reasons Jenna didn’t understand.

"Jenna."

Jenna ignored the maidens outside. She walked back inside the bathroom to bathe. Rhane had warned her to do nothing, but Jenna didn’t want to sit back and let herself be handed over to Gerald.

Once she was done bathing, Jenna wore a simpler dress. Maybe she knew the other women would force her to change into something better.

"There you are!" Olivia exclaimed when she noticed Jenna enter the room quietly. The young girl stood up from her chair, walked over to Jenna, and dragged her to sit.

"Everyone already guessed you’d wear something like this. Humph... what are we going to do with you," Olivia muttered, her voice sounding like an older woman scolding a child.

Jenna smiled, humoring the girl. "What did you have prepared for me?" She asked, taking a quick sweep with her eyes. Lois wasn’t in the room as others. Jenna twitched her lips. She wasn’t the girl’s keeper.

Olivia clapped her hands dramatically, "Bring it in!"

Two other women entered the room, holding up a pale blue dress as though it was a relic.

Even Jenna stood up when she saw the dress, her jaw literally dropped.

"I know!" Olivia squealed with her hand over her mouth. "Lady Rachel hoarded these dresses for heaven knows how long! She said it was during her travels overseas... and the color will really look good when your champion claims you,"

The young girl spoke so fast without stopping to catch her breath. She was even more excited for Jenna’s smile than the dress.

"Bring it here!"

Jenna dropped the sleeves of the dress she had on, she couldn’t wait to put on the new dress and have Rhane see her in it. Jenna slipped into the dress and it claimed her body, the material smooth and fluid on her skin.

With a halter-neck and band that wrapped elegantly around her neck like a choker. The bodice pleated vertically, drawing the eye upward, with a keyhole-style opening down the center, adding a sensual yet refined detail.

Jenna turned around in the comfortable dress, even with her back left bare. She couldn’t get enough of the simple beauty of the dress. The waist stood cinched with a striking metallic gold belt-like design.

"Arghhh!!" Olivia grabbed her eyes and screamed, "I’m in the presence of a goddess," she cried dramatically.

Other women in the room had the same reaction but in silence.

Jenna gave them a show by walking around with it. With each step, the soft blue rivers of fabric trailed behind her. She couldn’t wait to see the storm in Rhane’s eyes when he’d see her in the dress.

"And shoes too... Bring the shoes—"

Jenna waved her hands, "No... I’ll have what I’m wearing now." She didn’t need to change her shoes.

Olivia frowned, but let it be with a shrug. "Here’s a coat for the cold," she donned it around Jenna.

"I’m sure the carriage is waiting for us... let’s leave."

Jenna turned to look at herself one more time in front of the mirror. For a moment she forgot about her dream and all the anger she felt thinking about Rhane losing.

Trotting out of the room to where the carriage waited, Jenna basked in the compliments and praises of other women until she stopped in front of someone.

Just like in her dream, Jenna’s smile died a quick death, replaced by a bile growing from the depth of her stomach.

"Jenna," Lois greeted with an even bigger smile.

Olivia stood in between the two women, her eyes shifting from Jenna to Lois before she said, "You two... you are... you have the same dress."

"Quick, get in, we are leaving." Lady Rachel’s sharp voice was heard with her cane thrashing the carriage door.