“Midnight? I don’t believe you could be referring to when you snuck away in the middle of the night,” Bjorn said sarcastically.
“That’s…” Erna struggled to get her words out.
“Well, you did leave that one letter. Did you really think that would be enough?”
Moonlight twinkled in the corners of Erna’s eyes. She stared at Bjorn without uttering a single word, her face tense, yet there was little indication of the fear and intimidation she had felt earlier.
“You confessed it in your letter, Erna, I can comprehend that now. It’s alright, but did you really think that running away like a coward was the solution? Rather than talking to me about it first.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Erna said, after taking a deep breath and conjuring her confidence. “At the time, I didn’t have the confidence to talk to anyone.”
“Why?”
“I was so breathless, all I could think about was getting out of the palace,”
Erna’s voice started to quiver. The memory of that day made her choke up and she struggled to catch her breath.
As Bjorn thought about the Founding Festival Ball, the first time he had spoken to Erna, flashed through his mind. The woman that had once relied on him to breathe, now couldn’t be around him because she couldn’t breathe. The irony was not lost on him.
“So, you wanted to find a place where you could breathe and at the same time, you send me divorce papers?” Bjorn asked, his tone growing sharper. “Take the time to calm down, Erna, and then come back. If you’re thinking about divorce because you’re worried about the rumors that you ran away there’s no need to worry, everyone believes you’re out here to recuperate.”
“No,” Erna said. “This is the conclusion I came to after much thought. That’s why I filed for divorce and I will not change my mind.”
“What?” Bjorn snorted, “Erna are you crazy?”
“No, I am more rational than ever,” Erna said, with her back straight and her chin high. “I know you only married me because of the debt I owe you, it was unacceptable to divorce before now, without properly paying back my debt, and after thinking about it for a long time, I don’t think I owe you anything anymore.”
“Really, is that so?”
“Yes, because I so badly wanted to be a good wife to you, but all you wanted from me was just my body and I gave it to you.”
“What the hell did I want?” Bjorn’s eyes darkened and the chill winter night seemed almost to deepen slightly.
“You wanted a shield to safeguard the position of the Grand Duchess, without ever truly understanding what you were doing to the person you put there. Sure, you may have made sacrifices to secure Lechen’s future, the safety of the Royal Family and your own peaceful life. I let myself be deceived and I played that roll for you. I believe I played my part satisfactorily, just like the beautiful little flower you wanted.” Erna smiled. She sure did look like a beautiful flower. “So, Your Highness, if you follow things to their natural conclusion, I don’t think we need to play this charade any more.”
“Your Highness?”
“Yes, with everything cleaned up, would it not be proper for one of your subjects to address you so?”
“Cleaned up?” Bjorn found himself at a loss for words for once. His rough hands ran through his disheveled hair, brimming with nervous energy and a hint of tremor. “You do love me, don’t you?” he asked, his gaze briefly drifting towards the open barn window. He took a deep breath, then turned back to face Erna, his throat dry as he swallowed hard, struggling to fight the urge to scream in frustration.
“Yes it was,” Erna said calmly. When she met Bjorn’s cold, blue eyes, which showed no sign of anguish or hesitation, she felt as if she was slowly sinking into cold water.
“Is that love really able to end abruptly and be cleaned up like this?”
Bjorn found it difficult to believe, even with Erna’s icy demeanour, he found it hard to believe. He felt like he wanted to laugh uncontrollably.
“How, how could this be, how?”
“I know,” Erna let out a sigh, “it was a love that appeared to be everlasting, but it has come to an unexpected end. Looking back, I realise that our love was an illusion, built upon lies and deception. It was nothing more than a naive fantasy of an innocent country girl,” Erna said calmly.
A fierce wind blew in from the marshes, sweeping across the fields. Bjorn barely felt it, but as he watched Erna closely, he could see her shrinking away from the cold wind. She was both familiar and unfamiliar and he struggled to grasp the reality of the situation. Erna remained composed, meeting his gaze with calm determination.
“That fake love is no more, Your Highness, I paid the price in becoming your wife, but now I am of no use to you. The Prince, who has regained his position, no longer needs a fake wife made of artificial flowers. So it’s fine, you don’t owe me anything and you can divorce me and find the quiet, submissive wife that you actually want.” Erna spoke in a matter of fact tone and smiled a bright smile that resembled the fireworks that illuminated the summer festival.
“Are you really going to judge everything on your own terms?” Bjorn said. “As you say, my name has been cleared and my reputation restored. So, to divorce after just a year of this, what would the people think of me then?”
“People will understand, they might even be happy for you and welcome a proper Grand Duchess. It will benefit everyone.”
“Benefit?”
“A wife who can serve the country and not just as your shield, or a useless flower.”
“Love, love, love,” Bjorn shouted. ““Hold a mild grudge, Erna! From the start you knew what kind of man I am. And you loved me, Erna, you loved the man who was a son of a bitch, who cheated on his wife and abandoned his own child.”
“Yes I loved you, I had some childish fantasy that you might have been my saviour and I fell in love with the illusion. Now that I think about it, I was a very pitiful woman.” Erna remained composed and calm, without a hint of excitement in her words. “We have deceived each other and ourselves.”
“So?”
“Our fake marriage has come to an end. I believe it’s the best for both of us,” Erna looked at Bjorn with tired eyes, her youthful face looking worn out. “So please, go back and forget about me.”
“Erna.”
“This is all I have left to say to you, Your Highness.”
Erna spoke in a tone that was devoid of emotion and despite her manners, Bjorn got a sense of contempt from her. He felt like his lungs were filling with water, leaving him breathless and cold. The excruciating agony consumed his senses and left him feeling irrational. All the while, Erna continued to distance herself, like she had nothing left to regret.
Bjorn wiped his face with frozen hands and was at a loss for words. Erna was about to close the door, bidding Bjorn a good night, but Bjorn surged forward and Erna shrank away from him with a scream. When she opened her eyes again, she was fully in Bjorn’s shadow.
“The end, for us? Don’t be silly.” Erna shrank away instinctively as fear surged up in her chest. “What does it matter where we started, or what our initial intentions were? What more could I have done for you? I saved you from being sent into a marriage you’d have no escape from, suffered great losses and cared for, and adored, you.”
Bjorn had gone mad and was pouring out his emotions. The stopper on his frustration was released and it all came flooding out. It came out in such a rush, Bjorn wasn’t even sure what he was saying.
“Without that love, is everything I did for you now just meaningless? Are you not satisfied?”
“Let go of me,” Erna wailed, fighting against Bjorn’s firm grip, he didn’t even realise he had grabbed her arm.
“Ah, fine, then I’ll give you what you want. You can have it!” Bjorn gripped Erna’s shoulder tighter. “You can have children again.”
“Stop it.”
“Love? Okay, if that love is so important to you, then I will give it to you. Will that work?”
“Excuse me, what?” Erna stopped struggling.
“I promise to love you, Erna, I will love you in every way that I can, so…”
A sharp and sudden slap echoed out into the night, cutting Bjorn’s words off.