A ray of sunshine

A ray of sunshine strayed through the heavy drapes of Marguerite's bed chamber, it tickled her nose until she opened her sleepy eyes. As she stretched, a twinge in her neck recalled the dire happenings of the past day clearly to her mind, and joy flooded her whole being and made her heart sing.

Freedom, what a heady word. To be no longer at the beck and call of the man she hated, and no longer having to live with the fear that he would punish her mother, for her own real or imagined misdeeds. She rose to sit on the edge of her bed, dangling her feet.

As her thoughts strayed to Felippe, the friend so near, asleep in a chamber only the width of a hallway from her own, a rosy blush brightened features that had been cynical for far too long. It defied her understanding why his nearness should have such an effect on her. Had she not been widowed for a long time and then been forced to play the whore to their oppressor? Why would she be blushing like a maiden just awakening to womanhood?

Confused she threw open the window to let the morning air cool a face too warm from sudden emotions, only to stop and listen to a tiny bird singing its heart out on a branch outside. Its song was filled with a joy of life that resonated in the heart of a woman whose life had seemed at a cruel end such a short while ago. Marguerite's soft crooning joined the song of the bird in an paean of gratitude for this new day.

A sudden loud boom stopped the singing of bird and human. The little feathered one flew up and away in alarm, and the woman recalled that war still held her world in its grip. Shaking herself back to reality, Marguerite hastily donned her robe and departed for the kitchen to see what she could offer her mother and guests for their morning meal.