Mon amour, ma vie

7

You looked down as he led you down the hallway to his bedroom. You were too shy, or more accurately scared to look him in the eyes. He seemed kind, but you had learned to not trust anyone ever since you left Normandy.

He opened the door for you and you shuffled in, Étiennette still held tightly in your arms. She seemed to like Napoléon, though you still were uncertain, you were with all people nowadays. Men, at least to you, couldn't be trusted, you'd had one too many bad experiences to ever trust them again. And, especially the French Emperor, he could have you killed for any reason if he liked.

Looking up, the room was as beautiful as you expected. It was much larger than where you had been sleeping. The walls were covered in a red-orange wallpaper with gold trim. It was at least two times as big as the home in Normandy you'd grown up in. There was a bed, it was draped with what seemed to be blue velvet. There was an eagle carved at the end, the sign of true imperialism, to you at least. There were two chairs, both in blue velvet, with a gold 'N' in the middle of them. It was obvious this was a room meant for a king, not some lowly peasant.

You stood stagnant, studying every little detail of the luxurious room. It seemed almost excessive to you, like it wasn't meant to sleep in, just to show off. But this was the life of a royal you supposed, excessive and ridiculous. No wonder neither of your parents had liked the monarchy. You bet they had lived even more expensive lives compared to the Emperor.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked, interrupting your thoughts. You turned around, looking at him for a second and silently nodding. You didn't want to talk. It didn't feel natural. He looked away and walked over to the large window to the right.

Despite all this, you couldn't help but look at him, stare at him even. He was so interesting to you, yet dangerous. One wrong word or action could get you killed, yet if you played your cards right, maybe you'd be able to stay in the safety of his palace for a while. You really didn't have much desire to stay here, the more you thought about it, mainly because it felt dangerous to be around such a powerful man. But it wasn't like you had anywhere better to go. In inner Paris you faced a rap*st, and in Normandy an abuser. At least here you were safe, that is, if you kept your mouth shut.

"I'm going to go deal with some work with my brother. I'll have a maid bring in Étiennette's crib. Feel free to do what you wish." He said, turning around to you. He caught you staring at him and he nearly seemed to smile. You nodded, hoping he'd take it as a thank you.

You looked away, and he left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Sighing, you flopped down on the bed. It was large, the bed was the same size as your bedroom in Normandy. It was bigger than the bed you'd shared with Clement, and more elaborate. It almost felt wrong to sit on something so nice and fancy, you felt unworthy of being here, even in the slightest presence of someone higher up made you paranoid. You had no idea how you were going to spend the entire night here, in the bed where the French Emperor slept.

Luckily, a knock on the door interrupted your thoughts. You shot up and opened it, revealing the maid who you'd seen a few days ago. She had the crib and gently gave it to you. You nodded as a thank you and closed the door.

Étiennette was sitting quietly on the bed, her hands gripping at the sheets. You could tell she was getting stronger and was growing well. Soon she might start crawling and talking. It made you tear up a bit at the thought. It was obvious to you that she knew that you were her mother, but it also made you sad, she'd never had a father. Even if she did find out about her father when she grew older, she'd have no relationship to him. It'd always be you and her, even if you stayed here, for however long that was.

~~~~~~~~~

You spent the rest of the day inside the bedroom, pacing around and trying to keep your head preoccupied with other thoughts than what tonight would be like. You had a vague idea of what he wanted to do with you and why he had invented you to his bed, and to say the least, you weren't a fan of the idea.