The Lifetimes I Remembered

Chapter Thirteen: Ivan

Ivan scanned the quiet village that Hannah lived in. The villagers milled around their business, occasionally glancing at him and waving, begging for his attention. He wanted to scoff and turn away. They were his people and he was their lord, he shouldn’t even be mingling with them.

But then he caught sight of that golden hair again and he knew that he couldn’t just keep himself away from her. The moment he saw Hannah in the woods with that lanky blonde boy, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He begged his father to ask about her until finally, they were led to his father.

Ivan asked to visit their village and as a chief of theirs, Jefferson was happy to welcome them as visitors. It wasn’t every day the son of the lord of your lands asks for your hospitality. Jefferson would be an i***t to turn that down.

The moment he saw Hannah, he wanted to get down on his knees and ask for her hand in marriage. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he’s had his fair shares of maidens growing up. But he had to compose himself, he had to get to know her to assure himself that she was worthy enough of marriage and be the lady of Stormhill.

And she was.

Ivan didn’t believe in love at first sight before but seeing Hannah for the first time in the woods, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Seeing her for the second time and visiting her village, he had ample time to get to know her and he did. He spent every waking moment he had with her. The only time that they weren’t together was when one was bathing or asleep.

“I’m not really sure I could hit the target,” Hannah said, shaking her head. They were in the woods and he was teaching her how to use a bow and arrow.

His mother would disapprove to find a girl learning how to use a weapon but Hannah wasn’t like the other girls. She knew how to swordfight and even bested him yesterday. It was one of the things he liked best about her, the fact that she knew how to be a proper lady and at the same time, knew how to fight like a man.

“Just relax,” Ivan said, creeping up next to her and letting his hands slide on her waist and arms, adjusting her posture and at the same time, loving the feel of her skin on his hands. He heard her suck in a breath but she didn’t shy away from his touch.

He wanted to kiss her, he truly did. They were far away from the prying eyes of everyone else, alone in the woods. He moved his lips close to her ear and said, “Relax your hands, Hannah. You’re too tense.”

“You’re making me tense,” she replied weakly, lowering her arms. She turned around and faced him, their faces inches from each other. Her eyes looked liquid gold, the color of the sky sometimes when the sun dipped.

Ivan’s hand made its way to her face, gently caressing her cheek. He never met a girl quite like her and he wondered if she could hear the erratic beating of his foolish heart. “You’re so beautiful, Hannah.”

Hannah looked down and a faint blush colored her face. She looked back up at him and smiled slightly. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Lord Ivan.”

It was another thing that he liked about her, she wasn’t shy to flirt with him. It was clear that she liked him but she didn’t fully throw herself at him like most girls. She talked to him the way she would with others, but still had the respect needed to address a lord. She was exactly the girl that he wanted to marry, the lady that Stormhill needed.

“I thought the bedroom was a better place for privacy.”

Ivan wasn’t familiar with the voice and he quickly whipped around, glaring at the one who intruded on their moment. But he felt Hannah’s grip on his arm, squeezing him. He turned back to her and she just gave him a slight nod. “It’s okay, Ivan. He’s my best friend. Remember him? You met him the day you arrived here. After our first night walk.”

He suddenly remembered the man he accused as her lover. He was the same man in front of them now. His ashen blonde hair was unruly, his clothes rumpled and he held a dagger in his hands. Ivan turned to Hannah and watched as she motioned at the weapons her ‘friend’ was holding.

“You were out hunting game?” She asked, and then nodded at the sack resting on the foot of the man that Ivan hadn’t noticed.

The blonde man nodded and smiled. “Alice would love this. I’ve been getting better at hunting.”

Hannah grinned. “That’s good to hear, Dominic. And you didn’t forget my berries right?”

On cue, he tossed her a bag and she caught it with ease, opening and popping the fruit in her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste and grinned at the blonde man. The sight churned Ivan’s stomach and he cleared his throat, letting them remember that he was there.

He raised an eyebrow at the man and jutted out his chin, making sure that the man remembered who he was. “I don’t think you’ve formally introduced yourself.”

“I’m Dominic Rollan. I’m the son of the blacksmith in the village,” Dominic said casually, not bowing or anything at Ivan.

Ivan tilted his head to the side. “And I am Ivan of Stormhill, son of your Lord Joseph.”

“Oh, don’t I know it,” Dominic stated, rolling his eyes. He turned his attention back to Hannah, disregarding Ivan beside her, “You’ve been busy.”

Hannah turned away, unable to respond. Ivan spoke before she could think of anything to say. “She’s been spending her time with me.”

Dominic’s eyebrows rose. “And I’m sure you’ve requested her presence?”

Ivan gritted his teeth. He didn’t like the way Dominic talked to him. But Hannah touched his arm and he bit back any snarky remark that he wanted to say. She gave her friend a warning look and slightly shook her head.

“I wanted to spend time with him, Dominic. He needed not to ask for me.”

Something flash in Dominic’s eyes and Ivan was quick to see it before he masked it away. Dominic shrugged and heaved the bag that contained his game and nodded at the two of them. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you two around the village. Or here, if you like the privacy the woods bring. Be careful of the wild animals though, they could be nasty.”

“Oh, you’ll be seeing us tonight,” Ivan called out, his decision suddenly final and made. Dominic turned to him with questioning eyes. He simply smirked. “I have an announcement to make.”

. . .

It wasn’t hard for his father to accept his decision; after all, Lord Joseph had always admired his son’s judgement. The fact that he also thought Hannah would make a good lady for Stormhill helped as well. As per tradition, he asked Jefferson for his daughter’s hand and what kind of man would Jefferson be if he declined the son of his lord?

He had Jefferson ask the entire village to come meet them at the square for he had an announcement to make. He subtly also asked Alice to make sure that Hannah wore that he had his servants deliver to the village. He wanted to make sure that everyone saw the beauty that she held, and understood why he had fallen for her.

He knew that his mother would disapprove. Hannah wasn’t a daughter of another lord, only a daughter of a village’s chieftain. He’s known her for more than a month but it felt like he’s known much longer. Marrying her would mean he had his entire lifetime to know her even more.

“What’s going on?” Hannah asked her. Everyone was already gathered and she stood by his side, as his request. Ivan smiled and held her hand.

He didn’t answer her question; instead, he faced the crowd of curious villagers. “Thank you, everyone, for being here for my announcement. I’m sure you’re all curious to what it is but as of the moment, I don’t have one. For she hasn’t agreed yet.”

He let his words hang, letting the crowd digest what he meant. It took them a moment to realize his intentions. Beside him, Hannah gasped. He chuckled and turned to face him, taking in the surprise in her gold eyes.

Ivan tilted his head to the side and smiled at her. He squeezed her hand and turned his body to face her. “I, Ivan Daniels, son of Stormhill, ask you, Hannah Pearce, daughter of the chieftain of this humble village, for your hand in marriage. I swear on the lands of Stormhill, that I will be a faithful husband to you. I pledge my life to you, and you shall come first, above all.”

Hannah stared at him in awe. She didn’t know how she was supposed to reply, she didn’t know how a proper lady should reply. She wasn’t trained on this. She had dreamed of this day her entire life, her very own fairytale, her very own prince charming. But it had always remained as just that. She didn’t prepare for this.

But it was happening. Ivan was asking for her hand in marriage. Ivan nudged her lightly, his eyes waiting for her response. “Hannah?”

Before she gave her answer, she couldn’t help but look for a certain ashen haired boy. She always dreamt of marrying a lord, but she knew it was too farfetched. There were moments she caught herself thinking of a future with Dominic.

Dominic’s eyes were hard as steel, Hannah saw. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t look happy for her. She felt Ivan squeeze her hand again and realized that she had to give him her answer. She smiled at the young lord and held his hand tightly.

“I accept, Lord Ivan,” she whispered, meant for only him to hear. His smile widened and he pulled her in for a hug as the crowd cheered. Hannah snuggled closer to him, happy that her dream had come true. But there was a part of her that tried to catch sight of her best friend but he was nowhere to be found.

The festive mood was claimed by everyone, celebrating the engagement of the girl coming from their own village with someone as powerful as Ivan. Hannah was off chatting with her friends, presumably gushing about her betrothed. She had every right to brag about him, it wasn’t everyday a village girl becomes betroth to a lord.

Ivan excused himself from his father and Jefferson and the other men of the village. He wanted to sight out Dominic. There was something about the way he looked at Hannah earlier, and the other time they’ve met, that irked him. He found Dominic all by his lonesome, nursing his own bottle of liquor.

“Dominic, my friend!” Ivan greeted, smiling brightly at the sullen lad.

Dominic rolled his eyes at him. “You can’t charm me with that talk, Lord Ivan.”

He stressed on his name , meaning to annoy Ivan and it did what it meant to. Ivan narrowed his eyes at him and crouched so that their faces were on the same level. “I’m marrying her. She’s mine now.”

Dominic scoffed. “She’s not some property you could just stake your claim on, Ivan.”

Ivan chuckled darkly. “You were too slow to claim her, Dominic. She is mine and never shall she be yours.”

Dominic shuffled to stand but Ivan held him off with an arm, levelling their gazes. “I’ll fight for her hand and only in death shall I admit that I’ve lost her.”

The smirk that filled Ivan’s face chilled Dominic for a moment. There was something dark that left him frightened for Hannah. Ivan inched his face closer to the blonde lad. “Try and fight, Dominic, and I assure you, you’ll beg for death.”