Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 344 - Three Hundred And Forty Three

The morning sun was shining brightly over the capital city, melting the top layer of the white snow. The large iron gates of the Thompson estate swung open wide. A heavy wooden carriage, pulled by two strong brown horses, rolled slowly into the wide stone courtyard.

Before the carriage even came to a complete stop, the wooden door was pushed open from the inside.

Ryan got down from the carriage. He did not wait for the steps to be lowered. He jumped down, his small boots landing with a soft crunch in the wet snow. He was a young, energetic boy with bright eyes and messy hair from the long journey. He wore a thick winter coat, but he did not feel the cold. He was simply too excited to be home.

"Mother!!! Father!!!" Ryan shouted at the top of his lungs. His cheerful, high-pitched voice echoed across the quiet courtyard.

Miss Nancy, Ryan’s older nanny, climbed out of the carriage carefully. She held onto her long skirts, looking worried as she stepped down.

"Young master, please be careful," Miss Nancy spoke, reaching a hand out to grab his shoulder. "The snow is very slippery. You might fall and hurt your knees."

But Ryan didn’t listen to her at all. He easily dodged her hand and started running toward the grand stone steps of the main house.

He hadn’t seen Marissa in a long while. Recently, her letters had completely stopped coming in. She stopped coming with her home baked honey cakes. He missed her warm hugs, her sweet smell, and her gentle voice. He missed his father’s laugh. He missed them so much his chest hurt.

"Mother!!!" Ryan’s voice echoed loudly through the long, quiet halls of the mansion as he pushed the heavy front doors open and ran inside.

Outside in the courtyard, Sir Alex, his personal guard, stepped down from the back of the carriage. He started unloading the heavy leather trunks from the carriage roof. He looked up at the open doors of the house. He saw the black ribbons tied to the pillars. He knew the terrible news that the young boy did not know yet. Sir Alex lowered his head, a deeply sad expression on his face.

Inside the house, Ryan ran down the long, polished wooden corridor. His boots made a loud, rapid thumping sound. He looked into the drawing room, but it was empty. He looked into the dining room, but the table was clear.

He ran around a sharp corner and bumped right into Mrs. Alma.

Mrs. Alma was carrying a stack of clean white towels. When Ryan bumped into her, she almost dropped them.

"Young master," Mrs. Alma said, quickly steadying the boy by his shoulders. She looked down at him. "You are back safely."

Ryan smiled a huge, bright smile. He nodded his head quickly, his messy hair bouncing.

"Is mother inside?" Ryan asked eagerly, looking past her down the hallway. "Where is she?"

Mrs. Alma paused completely. Her heart felt like it was breaking into a million tiny pieces. She stared at the happy, innocent face of the young boy.

She knew the entire house was in mourning. She knew the Grand Duchess had been placed in an ice coffin just yesterday. She also knew that the master of the house had carried his wife’s body into the master bedroom that same day and locked the door. The servants were whispering about strange magic and miracles, but Mrs. Alma only knew that tragedy had struck their home. She did not know how to break such terrible news to a small, happy boy. It was not her place to tell him.

She slowly crouched down to his eye level. She placed her trembling hands on the soft fabric of his winter coat. She tried to force a normal smile onto her face, but her eyes were deeply sad.

"Have your bath first," Mrs. Alma suggested. She kept her voice as soft and calm as possible. "You have traveled a very long way. You must be very tired and dusty from the road."

Ryan frowned and shook his head stubbornly.

"No, I’m not," Ryan replied, crossing his small arms over his chest. "I slept in the carriage. I am not tired at all. And I want mother to bathe me."

He looked up at her with demanding, innocent eyes. Whenever Marissa visited him, she always prepared a warm bath for him. She used sweet-smelling soap and let him play with his wooden boat in the tub. He wanted his mother’s gentle hands, not the nanny’s.

Mrs. Alma pressed her lips tightly together. She tried to hide the tears that were suddenly forming in her own eyes. She quickly looked down at the floor, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. She could not speak without crying.

Ryan did not wait for her to answer. He saw that she was not going to tell him where Marissa was, so he decided to find her himself. "I will find mother myself." He said as he slipped past the housekeeper.

Rowan ran straight for the master bedroom at the end of the long hallway.

"Mother! Father!" Ryan called out loudly as he ran.

He reached the heavy, carved oak door of their private room. He grabbed the cold brass handle, turned it with both of his small hands, and pushed the door wide open.

He entered the room.

The master bedroom was very warm. A large fire cracked and popped in the stone fireplace. The room smelled strongly of sweet lavender oil and wood smoke. The heavy velvet curtains were pulled back, letting the bright morning sunlight pour across the thick carpets.

Ryan stopped near the doorway. He looked toward the large, four-poster bed in the center of the room.

He saw Marissa lying on the bed. She was covered with a thick, heavy quilt pulled all the way up to her chin. Her dark, curly hair was spread out perfectly over the white pillows.