Hall of Mirrors

2

Sorry that this update took so long! I was so annoyed, I wrote a really detailed description of something and then it didn't save properly so it got lost. I also got distracted with my other stories, but here is an update since I had several messages asking for it!

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7th of May, 1770

Strasbourg, France

Dearest Diary,

Last night I was thrown awake by violent nightmares, terrible scenes of blood and despair. My screams awoke Charlotte and Marie in the next room, who came crashing into my bedchamber in Kehl, Germany, bearing candlesticks as weapons and with distress on their bare faces.

"Madame, are you alright?" Charlotte panted whilst Marie lit a candle. "Yes, I'm quite well. Nightmares, probably causing by the nerves, that's all."

Charlotte watched me closely, probably wondering if these nightmares will be common occurrences. We've been travelling together for two weeks now, across Austria and Germany until we finally reached Kehl, the place we were resting in when I awoke. In all of that time, never once have I woken up screaming - I don't usually get nightmares.

But I can't seem to shake the growing feeling of nervosity and anticipation, even after they assure me that all will be well. It's like something bad will happen to me, something I know nothing about, but can feel the shadow it casts over me. Something dark lies in my future.

After Charlotte and Marie fussed over me for an hour, I finally drifted back into an uneasy sleep. The next thing I knew they were waking me up again and chattering in excited voices that today was the day when I would leave my old life behind and enter France. The minute I stepped onto French soil, I wouldn't be an Austrian Archduchess anymore. Instead, I'd be a French Dauphine.

Nerves began to boil up inside of me as they arranged my hair in the Austrian style that I've always worn for the last time, powdering my blonde curls lightly and dressing me in a pale green Austrian gown. I ate a breakfast with the German man who owns the great manor that my company and I had stayed the night in, conversing in my native German for the last time before I will be forced to speak in a language that has never come easily to me, before we clambered into the carriage and continued on our way.

The island in the middle of the River Rhine where I was to make the exchange wasn't too far from the manor, taking only an hour to reach our destination. Charlotte and Maria chattered the whole way, wearing the nicest gowns that I'd seen them in, because later today I would pass to the French court and become their dauphine. In a week, I'd meet the King and perhaps more importantly, my husband.

Charlotte's gown was a pastel blue with silver trimmings and white lace around the bodice, on the hem and layers of it hanging from the sleeves. Marie's own dress was very similar, pale yellow with identical silver and lace finishing. Both of them had been ordered not to upstage the Dauphine.

We crossed an old bridge across the river and touched down on the other side after a minute of careful nervousness as to whether the bridge would hold. Thankfully it did, and we made it to the other side perfectly safe. To pass a bit of time, I continued with the card game that the girls and I had been playing. I won of course, but whether that was me or them allowing me to win, I'm still not sure.

The carriage drew to a halt and I pushed aside the silk curtain to peek out through the glass. We appeared to be in a woodland, where a large pavillion had been erected. Decorated with red cloth with golden brocade and held up by a wooden frame, it was the size of a small house and I could see multiple rooms through the entrance. A red carpet ran from a few yards short of where my carriage had stopped and several beautiful people in extravagant clothing were awaiting my arrival with stiff expressions. I felt instantly guilty for making them wait, it being so cold outside.