Epander VIII

And so concludes the proposed first chapter of the novel. I hope that it's actually really entertaining and draws the reader in to read more, as the first chapter is realistically the most important one, as it makes the readers (and publisher) actually want to read more, which would result in money for me. If you have any comments to help make it better, or for any post that I've ever made, be sure to put them here, let me know. I can't make this better unless I get feedback

She looked almost horrified, and he could completely understand why. He was leaving a quarter ways across the world and the last thing that he could remember is her cutting him. He had to laugh, it was the only thing that he could do. After all, at this point he was out of tears. Instead he embraced her and brought her close to his body, kissing her atop her head. “Don’t worry one bit, my darling” he whispered. “At least I’ll be able to carry this and always think of you whene’er I look down. And worry not, I’ll always view it fondly.”

He hugged Korinna as tight as he could and held her that way for more than few breaths and then released her, cradling her face as he came in to deliver another long kiss with closed eyes, punctuated with another two short ones. Her jaw was quivering slightly, but she stubbornly refused to cry any longer. There was nothing more that he could do. She gazed up at him and said, “I’ll miss you.”

He smiled down at her and responded in gentle tones, “I’ll miss you too, darling of mine. And always know that I love you.”

“Just as I shall always love you.” That was it. If there were words from her mouth which he wanted to be the last that he ever heard, it was her profession of her own love for him. Now he had that, and now it was time for him to leave. He mustered the best, most loving smile that he could muster and turned around to mount his horse. Epander grasped its mane with both hands, behind the ear and at the base of the neck and leapt, swinging his right leg over the horse. Upon doing so, three slaves who had accompanied them here, who were leaving with him, all mounted themselves.

He took in a deep breath, and then another. This was the moment. This was it. He was leaving. He tapped his heels into flanks of his steed and it began to walk, to walk slowly away. He could not look back, for he could not bear to look back and see her, to see if she was upset, for it would only make it worse for the both of them. This is how it had to be, and as much as he wanted to turn around, as much as he wanted to turn his horse around, he never looked back.