Hearts become Stone

Foreword

Good morning/afternoon/evening to you all reading my short story. I know that you'd like to get straight into the flesh of my mini book, but I'd just like to add a couple of things here:

As the author, I may interrupt the story to say a couple of things, such as some foreshadowing. If you don't like that it's fine just ignore the paragraphs where I add my words.

My second comment is that I'm very new to story-writing, this is my first story so I just hope you guys like it.

Lastly, I just hope that you enjoy reading. Goodbye!

Chapter 1

Diana opened her eyes to absolute darkness. Perfect.

She got up and out of bed trying not to awake anybody, or set of the creaking floorboards, which had betrayed her once before.

She shrugged on her robe and slippers in the dark before lighting an almost burned out candle, so that it'd be dim.

She walked past the bedrooms belonging to her parents, brother, sister, other brother and baby sister.

Now it isn't ever usually appropriate to sneak out of your room at

1 am, unless you're escaping somewhere, or seeing someone at a very specific time. We'll give our main character some leniency however.

She began to think about the comical amount of siblings that she had, and tread on the creakiest floorboard right outside the nursery.

Usually the nurses stayed there late to gossip, and this was the absolute worst time to be caught.

Thankfully, nobody came out, nor any voices wondering what the creaking was.

Diana continued on her journey silently, until she finally reached the stables outside.

Then she saw him.

Their eyes locked across the horses between them and they made their way to each other

"Diana," Noah whispered.

"Noah," Diana replied. "I'm glad to see you ag-"

Diana's sentence was interrupted with a soft kiss that stole the breath from her lungs. His hands snaked around her waist and she reached up to put her arms around his neck.

She resurfaced, flustered, looking at Noah. Her hand went up to his face and he leaned into her. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other, like they were the only ones in the world.

Chapter 2

Diana Elizabeth May Wattson was the first daughter of Sir Charles Wattson and Lady Margret Wattson. They lived in a large house on the beautiful side of London, where the grass was greener and people's wallets fatter.

She had one older brother, William, a younger set of twins, Miriam and Louis, and a baby sister, Marie.

Diana was travelling down the large flight of stairs to arrive at the dining room where breakfast was being served.

As she entered, a maid scurried past her and muttered a quick good morning whilst issuing a ruffled curtsy.

Diana didn't have time to answer her, as she was already gone by the time she had snapped out of her daydream.

All she could think about was last night with Noah. 

The way they had kissed and held each other, It was like she was in heaven.

"Diana!"

Her mother's sharp voice snapped her out of her daydreams. She found herself already seated with a plate of breakfast before her.

It seems that she had absent-mindedly sat her self down and accepted breakfast whilst thinking about yesterday.

"Sorry mother, I was thinking about something," Diana answered with a weak excuse.

"Well think later! I've been trying to get your attention for at least ten minutes now!"

"Now, now darling, its barely noon yet, don't dampen the day with such things." Diana's father spoke up as he always had to, for Diana's mother was always losing it over one minor thing or another.

"You're right Charles,"

Diana could breathe again.

"I have excellent news however!"

Diana's mother's excellent news was usually about another boring fixture or party, but Diana only liked them because she loved getting all fancily dressed up for things like those.

"We will be visiting New York! Isn't that wonderfully exciting Diana?"

"Yes it is mother," And for Diana it was. This was the only time her mother had truly excited her with her ideas. Trips abroad were mostly for the odd wedding or flaunting of money.

"In New York we have found a fabulous suitor for our lovely first daughter! Diana, we have found a husband for you!"

The Diana in question dropped the glass salt shaker she had in her hands, where it rolled onto the table and dropped on the cold marble floor.

Chapter 3

Diana continued breakfast as normal, trying to not show her hands shaking , and got up quickly to escape to her room. It only took one step into her room for her to burst into melancholy tears. They flowed down her face and into her dress and she drooped her head onto her chest to curl herself into a ball.

The tears of sadness that she shed were soon replaced with ones of fury, questioning why her parents would do this to her.

She came to the quick conclusion that she had to tell Noah.

In all of those novels that she read, not telling the love interest always led to tears and heartbreak. The only way out was to tell him.

Maybe they could run away together, maybe she could leave with Noah and escape the marriage. By the tone of her mother's voice, it sounded like her parents and the parents of the suitor in New York had practically already agreed on a date for the marriage.

Diana raised her head and wiped her tears. She had to be strong.

Crying her damn eyes out would not help anybody.

She lifted her self off the floor to change into her horse-riding kit so she could go and see Noah and slip him a note.

This was it. Her only chance to survive.

However, Diana is not in control of her story. I am. Diana could never possibly imagine the things she's have to say, do, think and worry about.

But I will leave her to enjoy her moments of triumph.

For sometimes those are the only moments that keep us going.

Chapter 4

Diana waited anxiously behind her sleeping horse, Rose, for Noah to come and find her.

She was so anxious to tell him that she arrived a whole hour before she had asked him to come.

After minutes that felt like hours of Diana anxiously biting her nails, waiting for Noah, he finally arrived.

He tried to kiss her but she leaned away. Right now wasn't the time to be coddled. Noah moved back to see her face and saw her forlorn expression.

"Diana-," Noah started, but was cut off by the sight of silent tears pouring down her face.

Despite how bewildered Noah felt, he kept quiet and held Diana for a while, as she wept.

The silence was broken by Diana's shaky voice muffled by Noah's shirt.

"My mother wants to marry me off to some prick in New York, and she said we have to leave by the end of the month! Noah, I'll have to leave you! I can't even fathom how I'd live without you!"

Diana started crying again, as Noah was stunned even deeper into his silence.

He could never see Diana again.

When did this month end? It was the 27th.

Noah had 4 days to save Diana, unless their love would fall and shatter.

Chapter 4

Diana didn't sleep at all the rest of the night.

By the time she'd gone back to her room, some of the maids were awake.

They saw her, but acted as if they didn't notice.

She tossed and turned so badly her bed sheets came off at the corners.

However, Diana knew that she couldn't let her mother know that she was weak.

She told her maid to powder her face to look brighter, and a wonderful job was done. Her manners at breakfast stayed impeccable, not a single crack to be seen in her convincing facade

Her brother, William wasn't being fooled however.

He took her aside after breakfast and spoke to her.

"Diana, I don't intend to offend you when I say this, but I haven't seen you this way ever." He had taken her to the room beside the dining room, which nobody really knew what it was for.

It looked a bit like a grand mini library, without books though.

"Are you saying you've never seen me do the basics of what I'm meant to do as the first daughter? So much for not meaning to offend." She rolled her eyes in contempt to hide her worried feeling growing larger as she continued to talk to her. She flopped down onto one of the cushioned chairs.

"That isn't what I meant, and you know it. It mayn't be any of my business, but whatever you're up to, be careful."

William exited the room just as a maid came to tell him that his mother was calling.

"Tell her I'm coming." He turned back to Diana. "Do not do anything hasty, things like that ruin lives."

He left Diana in the room with her messy jumble of thoughts and feelings.

Chapter 5

Diana visited Noah for the two nights after that, as if she wanted to memorize him entirely before the month was over.

Her hand-maids had already started packing things for her in about 5 different cases.

On the night of the 29th, Diana was with Noah in the stable, whispering words of love to each other between kisses.

Diana and Noah both knew and accepted the fact they may never see each other again, and were going to spend the last few hours that they had together.

This is a moment in the story where I would like to ask you readers something.

This is a question that has plagued me for the years that I've been competent enough to think for myself.

Some may say yes, some a definite no.

However, for our two lovers their answers are the same as each other's.

Their bond is so strong, that they'd fight Hades himself to save the other.

But Hades is not here to ruin their lives.

And my question has still not been revealed.

I have been asked this before, and my answer has changed often.

But now I am sure of my answer to the question:

Would you die to be with the one you love?

Chapter 6

A rustle in the grass.

Both lovers look at each other in horror to see a yellow light coming from the front of the stables. A shadow of a man loomed on the floor. He had what looked like a loaded shotgun in his hands.

Noah ushered Diana behind the doors of an empty horse box as the man entered. He picked up his own gun from the corner of the stable and advanced toward the man.

"Hey!" The heavy footsteps of the man stopped. "What the hell are you doing!"

"I don't have time for little boys getting in my way, move it or else!"

Diana hears the rattling of the loaded gun as he most likely raised it to point it at Noah's face.

Diana's blood started rushing through her ears so loudly, she couldn't hear anything else apart from loud shouts of crude words and threats.

The shouting started getting louder and louder until the crescendo of it came in a horrifically loud bang, that snapped Diana back into the world.

Chapter 7

Diana stayed frozen for a while until the heavy footsteps of the man fell away.

She couldn't even feel herself moving, all she thought of was Noah.

Her eyes searched around the stable until she saw him lying on the ground at the exit.

Her world began to wobble as she shakily stumbled over to Noah.

There was blood everywhere.

On his shirt, the wall, the ceiling, the box doors, her hands, his face, his hands, her face...

Diana couldn't do anything but cradle his body in her cold arms.

"Di...an..a.."

The broken name came out of Noah's mouth, along with a handful of blood.

Diana leaned backwards to look at Noah's face. The face she had kissed just minutes ago. The face that wasn't blood-stained just minutes ago...

"Noah...please no, Noah..."

Diana's pained tears blurred her vision of him, she wiped them away to see his face. but she felt his hand hold her face and wipe her constant flow of tears.

"I knew that this could happen, I knew, and yet I didn't say. Society would always find a way to break us apart. We're just too...too different for each other,"

"Even if...I did know...I'm glad...we had...our....time together..."

She felt his hand hold her face and wipe her constant flow of tears.

They stayed like that for a while, Diana holding him, Noah holding her, until his hand went cold and dropped into her lap.

Chapter 8

Diana's father arrived seconds later with oil lanterns and almost every servant in the house to see her at the back of the stable holding Noah and crying. Her father could barely have the strength to wrestle her away from Noah's body, so she could be sent back to her room.

She was locked in there for the remaining days until New York.

His body was given to his mother, the only living family he had.

Diana went to New York two days after.

She felt nothing anymore. No emotion crossed her face for the next 2 years of her life, as her heart had been turned to dust in her chest.

Anything that she did was- as she felt- a disgusting imitation of feeling that mocked the real thing.

Any smile that crossed her cold face, any sadness or emotion was a flimsy act to please the people.

She had nothing to live for anymore.

Noah's heart and hers were entangled more and more, as their love grew deeper and deeper. His death broke one heart and stopped the other.

I'm sure that Noah and Diana would have ended up together if Charles Wattson, Diana's father, hadn't cheated his way to the top of society.

The man that came to the stable that night was Charles' brother, Daniel.

He intended to find his brother there, as he knew from his childhood how much he loved horses, but he settled for a boy who he assumed was his son.

He settled for a boy whose death broke Diana's world in two.