e lucevan le stelle
anna gray was dead on paper, thanks to people's laziness.
in 1924, anna bernard was suppose to go to Birmingham with her guardian, attend grace burgess' wedding and leave the city. easy and uncomplicated ― the reality however was...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
══════ • ❀ • ══════
The light was so bright when Anna tried to open her eyes. It was like someone was trying to blind her. She heard disorientated voices coming from all around her but she couldn't figure out who was talking or if anyone ever was. All the voices sounded the same to her, like some loud humming. She had to blink several times until she was able to open her eyes completely.
Once her eyes were fully capable to register her surroundings, Anna pushed herself to sit. She looked around and saw Ada Shelby asleep on an armchair next to the bed she was sitting on. Anna wasn't sure how she had ended up in this room or where she even was, or why Ada Shelby was there with her.
Anna thought about waking Ada but the woman looked so tired and drained that she didn't have the heart to do so. Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, Anna tiptoed out of the room. She was greeted by a long corridor of dark wooden floors and dim lights which made her realize that she was not in a hospital or at Imogen's.
Her heart skipped a beat and suddenly Anna remembered what had happened seconds before she had fainted. She could remember a man pushing his way to a crowd, a gun firing and Thomas Shelby screaming for help.
Grace was shot.
Anna felt lightheaded again and thought about finding a place to sit but she chose to ignore this ― she was more attracted to find out where she was.
She walked down the dark corridor and found a huge staircase. She went downstairs and when she got there, she realized where she was.
"Hello?" She called.
Just some days ago, Anna had been in this very manor for Thomas and Grace's wedding reception.
"Anybody here?!"
Her voice echoed through the many corridors and halls of the manor, making Anna wonder if the only person there with her was Ada Shelby who was sleeping upstairs. Some seconds went by until Anna heard footsteps approaching her.
For some reason she began to feel anxious of the unknown who was approaching. Because of her past life, Anna has learned to be careful around people who she knew or did not know. Looking around the hall, Anna tried to find herself something ― a weapon of a sort ― in case she needed to defend herself.
She noticed a candlestick sitting on a drawer and was about to reach for it when Polly Gray entered the hall.
Polly frowned at Anna, wondering why the girl was reaching for a candlestick.
