The Duchess of the Two Worlds E-Book

Adriana Rodriguez Perdomo

• Herausgeber: Youcanprint
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Duchess Ferdinanda loved to organize mask parties in the halls of her palace. There was a prince by the name of Wrob who was the future king of the throne of Arboleda; and very soon he would be married to Princess Laura, his fiancée. Ferdinanda makes preparations for a big mask party and they meet there for the first time. That night she went for a walk in her garden, suddenly the earth opened up and she disappeared without a trace.

Leseprobe

To my wonderful princess Alessandra, to my family

and to all the people who contributed to make this book.

Thank you, Jesus, for so many blessings.

INDEX

1. Ferdinanda and her mask painted with colorful butterflies

2. The unreachable kingdom

3. The power of the emerald green stone

4. Acave in the middle of a huge lost forest

5. Secrets never revealed and the return to Arboleda

1

Ferdinanda and her mask painted with colorful butterflies

The year 1777 was going by. The Duchess Ferdinanda was sitting on her bed with a canopy thinking about her beloved Prince Wrob. Her thoughts were a little haunted, because her beloved was the next King destined for the throne of Arboleda, a distant kingdom. He had Princess Laura as his fiancée and future Queen of the Arboleda Kingdom, but he had fallen madly in love with the Duchess Ferdinanda, in fact, he broke all the rules to see her from afar and imagined someday being able to meet her in person and be close to her lips; give her a fleeting and passionate kiss in the forests of the kingdom. Of course, the duchess did not know this for sure. Wrob, the prince in love, tried at all costs to see his beloved duchess every day, in the middle distance, while she took long walks through the gardens of her castle, and also observed him in the distance.

In the garden there were many species of flowers and plants of beautiful colors that gave off seductive aromas to lose your breath; in addition to a beautiful stream crossing the flowerbed and several species of birds had their habitat in the magnificent castle. On the other hand, Ferdinanda liked to organize masquerade parties in the halls of his royal palace. At her court, banquets of all kinds were prepared to feed her guests during the festivities. The palace cook always involved the royal lineage in preparations for the banquet; the duchess carefully chose all the most valuable ingredients and meats for the festive event. For the feast this time, the palace messenger went to the kingdom of Arboleda to take the official invitation to Prince Wrob.

—Open the doors! — The ushers shouted from the turret

—, a messenger has arrived!

The messenger appeared before the Prince's adviser to take his invitation to the great party organized by the Duchess.

When the day came, trumpets sounded in the Duchess's royal castle. Ferdinanda was more beautiful than ever: her long brown hair undulated with every step and she wore a blue dress with gold stitching. The seductive girl covered her face with a mask painted with colorful butterflies that seemed to give life to each movement. Upon the announcement of the arrival of His Highness, Prince Wrob and Princess Laura, everyone there bowed, the violinists began to play, and the dance began. Ferdinanda was surprised to see the Prince with his future wife, she felt a chill that made her tremble from head to toe. However, she held the emotions behind her mask painted with colorful butterflies.

They all danced in circles and exchanged positions, bowing at each dance. The prince leaned down and asked to dance with the duchess, took her hand, and they began to dance. She couldn't hide her charm, he looked into her big eyes and was struck by her beauty. She fell in love from the first moment she saw him, but this mutual love would never have been admitted by royalty.

—May I know your name? — Said the Prince.

—Ferdinanda.

—Is a pleasure, Duchess, I am captivated by so much beauty!

She smiled behind the mask and very elegantly, after the dance, escaped to her garden. The prince was surprised to see the Duchess running away, so he found an excuse to follow her through the long corridors of the palace, although it took him quite a while to find her.

—Prince, are you lost? — Asked a maid.

—I am looking for the Duchess.

—She surely is in her garden. Let me tell you.

The prince ran through the halls following her instructions. He opened a large glass door leading to the immense garden, went down the stairs, and was lost among the trees and flower plantations.

—Where are you? — He yelled. — Ferdinanda, where are you?

Suddenly he heard noises coming from the flowerbed, there were squirrels eating fallen acorns on the grass in the middle of the leaves. He continued walking and saw the duchess sitting on a bench, holding a rose that gave off a heady smell. He approached slowly and asked:

—May I sit next to you?

—Of course, Prince. — She nodded. — Take a sit.

—Duchess, why did you flee so hastily? Does my presence bother you?

—From the moment I saw you coming I was paralyzed from head to toes.

—I was impressed by your beauty when I was holding you in my arms while we were dancing. You are seductive, sensual, and mysterious. May I invite you one day to have tea in my palace garden?

—Excuse me prince, but now we must go, the guests are waiting for me for the great banquet.

—So, the Duchess accepts my official invitation?

—I will let you know, Prince. — She said as she stood up.

—Ferdinanda! — Her mother called out to her loudly —Where are you? Ferdinanda!

—Here I am, mother. I am going.

—Daughter, where were you? Agamenón told me that you were in the garden, your father was worried. You have left after dancing with the prince; you left all the servants in a panic, you know there is a banquet to serve and now everyone is looking for you all over the palace. You cannot disappear like this, these are our guests and it is also your party. Your father is very irritated!

—Mother was going to take care of my roses, you know that without my plants and my flowers I can't live, the garden is my life.

—Ferdinanda... Finally! — Exclaimed Duke Maximiliano while he was approaching.

—Forgive me father, I went out to take a breath, then time passed so quickly that I forgot about the party and the guests. I apologize again, father.

When Prince Wrob returned to the party, Princess Laura said to him:

—My beloved Prince, I was wondering where you were.

—I was in the palace garden walking and seeing the magnificent plants and trees that surround it. Excuse me dear Princess. It was not my intention to leave you alone.

The bells rang and the domestics accompanied the guests to sit at the long imperial table. The duke thanked his guests and started the great dinner. Ferdinanda was nervous, but she hid her emotions very well; always smiled.

Right in front of her, Wrob was sitting with his fiancée. Duke Maximiliano raised the chalice and made a toast.

—In honor of the upcoming royal wedding between the Prince of Arboleda and Princess Laura of the Kingdom of Can! —He said.

The kingdom of Can was ruled by Augustus, father of Princess Laura. The Duke and Augustus had fought great battles together in the past. On the death of Queen Alisea, the King ceased battles and retired to his castle, proclaiming peace on the borders of the kingdom.

Agamenón arrived next to the servants with the golden trays and began to distribute the delicacies to the guests. There were all kinds of dishes: wild swallow broth, beef broth restricted to red onions, among many others. The main dish was pheasant stuffed with chocolate and Indian spices. There were also wild deer in red wine and figs, stewed vegetables and marinated in melted goat cheese, fried potatoes and roasted pork with an aroma of coffee and apples, pistachio cream, chocolate sorbet, garnished with vanilla and drops of distilled jasmine, jelly of red grape and apricots, and brown sugar cakes with almond paste and cinnamon. After the great banquet, they served fresh fruit from the duke's garden. There were more than 200 varieties: peaches, figs, pears, apricots, grapes and jams and as a finishing touch, caramelized fruit and dark chocolate. All the royal lineage was satisfied with the succulent menu prepared by the chef Antuán:

—Congratulations! The royal guests were saying in a loud voice. Antuán leaned down and ran to the kitchens of the palace.

—Thank you all for your presence. — Exclaimed Duke Maximiliano —, we hope to see you again on the next hunt, in two weeks, in the forest of Arboleda. Prince Wrob, you too.

—Thank you, Duke, for your invitation today and that of hunting in the forests of the kingdom. — He replied.

With the violinists' notes, the guests gradually withdrew from the Duke's mansion.

—Duchess, do you accept my invitation to tea in my palace? — The prince whispered to the Duchess Ferdinanda, as he leaned down and kissed her hand at the moment of farewell.

—I'll let you know prince, do not be impatient.

The carriages arrived with the coachmen. The royalty and all the other aristocrats went to their mansions. The duke retired to his room and his wife, the Duchess Amelia, Ferdinanda's mother, was accompanied by the maid through the long corridors to her room. The Duchess Ferdinanda stayed around the palace, going to the large underground kitchen. She opened the door handle, making no noise, and ended up in her favorite spot from when she was a child. Years ago she used to come to the palace kitchen to eat without being seen and she hid behind the shelf where there were all the utensils for making and mixing dishes. At that time, Antuán was preparing the soups for the following day. Ferdinanda looked at him curiously behind the shelf and smiled, he didn't want to let him know that she was there, in her secret hiding place.

She remembered that Antuán, once exhausted, had lain down at the table with his eyes closed and then, having woken up with a start, had carelessly thrown salt instead of sugar into the vanilla sorbet of the duchesses invited by Duchess Amelia for a snack. She forgave him, because there was no better cook, as loyal to her royal family as Antuán. Ferdinanda smiled at the memory, then opened a small door behind her and went out into the garden. No one could know that she was out of the castle at that hour. Her father had strictly forbidden her to leave the castle at night and without his permission. However, she had an adventurous soul; she was not afraid of anything.

At the site, there were movements in the stream current, frogs and ducks churning the water. Jasmine gave a heady scent and fireflies lit up the vast garden along with the full moon, which was shining in the sky. It was a wonderful night to stroll amid the centuries-old plants and the immense varieties of flowers. Suddenly, Ferdinanda heard an unusual noise behind her, the earth opened under her feet, and she sank without being able to ask for help.

The next morning the maid knocked on the door of the Duchess Ferdinanda's room. Nobody answered. She knocked again, and nothing. She opened the large door and was puzzled, because the bed had remained the same as it had been arranged the day before. She ran to Agamenón, through the corridors that divided the duke and duchess's rooms.

—The duchess has disappeared, she is not in her room! — She yelled —. She really didn't sleep in her bed. Something happened to the Duchess Ferdinanda.

—It's not possible. She must be somewhere in the palace. — Agamenón said.

The duke and duchess heard the screams and left their rooms to understand what had happened. Maximiliano asked what those servants' cries were.

—Duke — said Agamenón —, the Duchess Ferdinanda is not in her quarters. She didn't sleep there!

—Are you really sure? — Said the duke —. Have you tried to look for her around the dwelling? Try it even in the garden, maybe she went out and slept there. Although she knows that it is strictly forbidden to leave the palace at night. Gather the servants and we will all find her together.

They all gathered in the great hall of the palace. Antuán also rushed as soon as he was alerted. The coachmen and gardeners released the hunting dogs into the castle garden and around the forest. For her part, the Duchess Amelia was desperate and cried unconsolably.

—Daughter, where did you end up? — She exclaimed in a low voice.

In response to that question, a butterfly landed on her right shoulder and whispered a message to her along with the flapping of its wings.