A Pirate Melody

Chapter 2

I jolt awake and lift my hands close to my face to observe them. I half expect vines to still be surrounding them, but alas, it was just a nightmare. There is nothing there, other than my dry and flakey skin.

I take a few breaths to calm myself down before tucking myself back into bed. I close my eyes and breath in the scent of my lavender covers. Possibly for the last time. A tear makes its way down my cheek and onto the mattress. These are some of the last few hours of freedom I have before I am given away to a man I don't love: Sir Aiden Livingston.

I have seen him around at a couple social events and he is not the worst sort. He is polite and you never hear about him in any of the scandals. But he is as boring as dirt. I don't think I have ever heard an interesting thing come out of his mouth. Now, that is the man who is going to be my husband. To be fair, I guess he has never heard anything interesting come out of my mouth either.

I hear a gentle knock at the door before our handmaid, Tilly, peeps her head out

"Rise and shine Lucia. Today is the day."

She fully enters the room with a huge grin planted across her face. She is practically dancing across the room. I would take offense to her being so excited about me leaving today, but I do not blame her. I know how much she loves weddings, and anything romance. Even though. this situation is anything but romantic.

I rubbed my eyes and sit up from the bed. After I remove my hands from my face, I hear Tilly audibly gasp.

"This won't do at all. Look how puffy and red your face is. Don't worry, I have just the thing."

Tilly leaves the room and comes back a few minutes later with some wet tea bags.

"Just lie back down and let this rest on your face while I get the rest of your stuff ready." Tilly guides me back down in bed. Then she places the warm tea bags right below my eyes. I close my eyes and I hear Tilly scuffling around the room trying to get everything ready.

The teabags are removed from my eyes, and I am guided to sit back up. I open my eyes and see a massive dress set out of my closet. The buttoned bodice and flowing sleeves are a cream color. While the skirt is a light green with pink and purple flowers embroidered on it. Tilly grabs my arm and help me out of bed. I remove my nightgown and Tilly starts putting on my corset. I always hated these things; they are so constricting. They barely allow me to breath.

"Let's put on your moisturizer now, that way you do not get it on your lovely dress."

My skin is chronically dry, so I must use special moisturizer. My grandmother made a special trip to the city one day to have the doctor make it for me. She told me the night before she left that my skin has gotten so hideous that it was now an embarrassment to be seen with me.

It gets spread throughout my skin and hair and makes it look average. It is not the least bit pretty. It is still dry and flakey in some spots and my hair is not luscious in any sense of the word. But, at the very least it prevents me from looking brittle.

After the moisturizer is put on, Tilly looks at my face and she changes her expression to a look of concern.

"Now, don't look so down. You should be excited. Your new life is about to begin"

I give out a huff and roll my eyes.

"There are so many things to look forward too. Sure, even I must admit Sir Livingston can be a little bit of a bore, but you get to move to the city! There is so much to do there. It will be way more exciting than this little town."

While putting my dress and makeup on, Tilly details all of the activities that I can do in the city that I would not get to do in the country. She listed off an extraordinary list of social events. Frankly it sounds more exhausting than exciting to me, but I put on a smile when she mentions these things. There is nothing Tilly can do about this arranged marriage anyway, so there is no point in having her worry about me.