FRANCE, the year 1700s"Miss Marivella Chen, Doctor Williams looking for you."
The Head Nurse informed her.
"I"ll go then, thank you, Miss Sarah," Marivella left the Nurse station and take the stairs to visit the Head Doctor office, Doctor Howard Williams.
Marivella knocks on the door then entered the office.
"Miss Chen, come in. Finally, you"re here, please sit." Doctor Howard offers the empty seat in front of a man in uniform.
The guy looked up and she was surprised.
"Hi. . . The way you look at me is like you saw someone else, am I correct?"
"Ah, am sorry. h.e.l.lo officer," Marivella greeted the man.
He stood up and stretched his hand, "Klein Williams. You already meet my twin brother Carlisle, right?"
"Ah, yes." She answered.
"Please sit," Klein gestured the seat in front of him.
"Thank you."
"Ahem. Miss Chen, I called you here to inform you that I choose you to accompany us. I received a letter from the Western continent. There is an epidemic spreading in that land and now began affecting our soldiers. I a.s.signed you to escort the Prince to his expedition; together with me, Doctor Charles Montfort, and Major Klein."
Marivella is a bit surprised this news but she can"t refuse. "Okay, I understood, Doctor Williams."
"Howard!" A beautiful woman entered his office. "Is it true?"
"Isabella, what are you doing here?"
"Prince Edward is preparing to sail out the Atlantic Ocean, take me with you, Howard! I wanna see Carlisle!"
"Calm down, Isabella. You know that Carlisle still mad at you. And seeing us together?"
"That"s why I want to see him and talk to him! Maybe this is the best opportunity we could fix our marriage." Isabella begs to come along.
Klein and Howard look at each other. Before Carlisle sail out to Western Continent, he found out that Isabella cheated on their marriage.
Carlisle and Isabella are childhood friends and their family expected for them to become a couple so the two families arranged their marriage. Isabella felt that Carlisle doesn"t really agree to this marriage and he even barely touch her as his wife.
Looks like, the only night he had s.e.x with her is during their wedding night and times he is drunk.
Because of Carlisle is cold to her most of the time and just show to the public as they are a happy couple, she made one mistake that she regretted forever.
She cheated on him and sleep with Howard. Carlisle wanted to end their marriage after he found out, then he was a.s.signed to go to war in America and delayed their annulment.
"Klein, help me! Please, convinced Prince Edward to take me with him!"
"I don"t know what Carlisle would think if he saw you and Howard together on this voyage. . ."
"It"s because I want us to talk, we have witnessed here why I want to come," Isabella glanced at the woman in that room.
"You? Aren"t you are Charles girlfriend?"
"No, Lady Williams. Doctor Montfort and I are just friends and colleagues."
"Okay. I want Carlisle and I to fix our marriage, so let me go with you."
•••••
The Day of the Voyage
"Marivella, is this your first time sailing into the ocean?"
"I did go sailing with my family before, Doctor Charles, but not that farther from France."
"I see… don"t worry, tell me if you"ll feel sick along this long voyage."
Marivella laughs. "Okay, thank you, doctor Charles"
"Please, just call me Charles. We"re not in the hospital anymore, don"t be like a stranger."
Marivella smiled shyly. "Okay, doctor, erm, Charles."
Charles smiles widely. He helps her carry her luggage and they now take the wooden stairs of the Naval s.h.i.+p.
"Welcome to Royal Louise, mademoiselle." Klein greeted them and bowed.
"Thank you, Major Klein."
"Ah, Klein will be our Captain on this voyage, so I"ll prepare your medicine ahead," Charles whispered his zest on Marivella.
"What are you talking about Charles?" Klein glaring at him.
"What? Did I say anything Marivella? Nothing right?"
Marivella laughs. She just listens to the men teasing each other.
"Move. These stairs are not in the park for you all to standing and joking around." Howard pa.s.sed them and intentionally b.u.mped into Klein.
"Howard! Am still the Captain of this s.h.i.+p! I could throw you out anytime I want!"
Howard just ignored him. Charles laughs and turned his head to Marivella who just watching them silently.
"Who do you think is nicer between Carlisle and Klein?"
Marivella is dumbfounded from his out of the blue question. She laughs nervously.
"I"ll tell you, I more close to Carlisle because he is more an easy going guy. Which Klein is the serious guy among us all and the killjoy one." Charles whispered.
"I heard you, Charles," Klein give him warning stares who just standing three meters away from them.
Marivella giggles, she watches the men amusingly. On her mind, could she meet a friend like them in the future? She looks away to the vast salt.w.a.ter ahead. . . she"s wis.h.i.+ng, that hopefully, on her next life, she"ll meet them again.
Since everyone is busy preparing to began this voyage, she decided to walk around the s.h.i.+p. She felt that there are a pair of eyes following her around. She looks up and meets Klein"s gazes. She smiled and nodded.
•••
New France
The Naval s.h.i.+p Royal Louis has now arrived in New France port.
Carlisle standing straight and welcome Prince Louis XVI upon arriving in the New World. Then he was very surprised to see the woman following the prince.
"Marivella? What are you doing here?"
Before the woman could answer him, someone calling out of him.
"Carlisle!"
"Isabella?" Blacklines showing on his forehead seeing his wife and his cousin who betrayed him are together.
"What are you doing here, Isabella? And you really came with him?"
"It"s not what you think, Carlisle," Isabella tried to explain the reason why she"s here.
"Well, I don"t care if you both are now together," Carlisle said then walked away from them. He glances at Marivella who just observing silently to their drama.
In the presence of the prince, they hid the tension between them all. Howard began his research and studying the epidemic found on this land.
Charles and Marivella tended the sick and began educating them. Teach them how to write, read, plant, and anything available that they needed to know about the Middle World Culture.
"Miss Chen, it"s cold out here."
Marivella turned around to see who was it. She stared at the man and studying his facial.
"Major Carlisle Williams. . ."
He smiled. "Am glad you can recognize the difference between me and Klein."
"Ah. . ." she smiled. Carlisle and Klein have almost no difference, even their voices are the same.
"How could you do that?" Carlisle asked curiously, astounded how she cannot mistake them both. "Now I think, I can"t pretend to be, Klein."
She laughs. "And why do you want to do that?"
"Just to prank you." He said in serious tone acted like Klein.
Marivella laughing hard now. She then looks up in the night sky.
"Ah, it"s beautiful right?"
"Yes. They don"t show up in the city, but all are fake lights."
"Beautiful, indeed," Carlisle said.
"Yeah," she agreed. But she could feel the hot gazes on her face and caught Major Carlisle staring at her. She felt her cheeks flushed.
"Ah, the stars." He pointed to the sky. "They"re very beautiful." He said.
"Wait. . ." Carlisle took off his coat and put it around her shoulders.
"It"s cold, stay warm. Everyone would be sad if you get sick."
"Hmm?"
"They were very happy since you arrived. They were very grateful in everything you"ve done for them." Carlisle praises her. He is talking about the native people of this land.
"Ah. . . it"s my job after all, and I am very glad I can help them many ways."
She grabs the sleeve of Carlisle"s coat, she could smell his scent left in the fabric and it was like, it"s warming not only her body but also her heart.
Their eyes meet and her heart beating crazily. She looks away and turned around. What she"s doing? He is a married man.
* * *
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