Danbury's Angels

Chapter 1

Dearest reader,
Beauty is such an overrated virtue,isn't it?
It is sad that a woman has to rely on her beauty in order for society to believe that she has succeeded.
But,I am sure,if women were given the same opportunity as men,a different world would be created.
A world I would love to live in.         
   

                                                   Yours truly
                                       Lady Whistledown

Sophie Beckett always had to manage in her life.
Fate decided to make it harder for her even before she was born.
But she always dreamed of real happiness.
Her dreams kept her hope.The day her stepmother kicked her out was the day of her salvation.
It was the day she felt free.
It didn't matter to her that she was left on the street.
It was as if she came out of a long and dark tunnel and finally saw the light.

She worked in different houses for a year.
So in time she found herself in the role of a maid in the royal palace.
She could never have dreamed that something like this would happen to her.
She worked and found peace.
She found the serenity she had longed for all her life.

But this is not the end of the fairy tale she dreamed of.
She didn't want to admit it to herself.
It seemed insane for her to think something like that given her situation.
But she was satisfied with the fact that she was safe and had a roof over her head.
One ordinary afternoon she brought tea to the Queen and Lady Danbury.
She was an older,wrinkled woman forever with a walking stick in her hand.
She would often go to the queen.

Many had a great awe for her,but Sophie liked her.
She admired the woman who managed to build such an attitude that everyone respects her.
She would often listen to their conversations.
She could hear anything,considering that they didn't care if someone from the service heard what they were talking about.

"When are you planning to inherit you?
I heard your cousin came here",the countess asked,taking her cup.

"You are mistaken if you think he will be the heir.He is my cousin,but he is not someone to whom I would hand over the crown."
Sophie already knew what Lady Whistledown would be writing about in the next few weeks.
Reading Lady Whistledown was currently the most interesting thing in her life.
After serving them and after bowing,she went her own way, hearing along the way who would definitely be the heir to the crown.
This was the topic that was most discussed at the moment,not only in the palace but in the whole country.

As Sophie walked quietly down the hall, she heard a couple of male voices.
She didn't pay much attention to them until she heard someone say, "Then kill him."
As soon as those words reached her ears, her eyes opened wide and her heart turned to drum.
She immediately hid silently behind a wall.
This was a corridor where there were service rooms that would otherwise be empty at this time.
The mere fact that there were two people from high society here was strange enough.
"It's simple,if he stands in your way of becoming king,then kill him."
Sophie's heart was pounding so loud,she thought for a moment that it would reveal her.
"It seems that this will be my only solution",she heard a deep voice piercing her soul.
After the silence that seemed eternal, only male footsteps echoed down the hall until they were completely away.

Sophie walked slowly out of the shelter. She hurried to her room with eyes full of fear.
As soon as she closed the door of her room,she began to breathe wildly.
She sat on the bed and looked at her knees.
What should she do? Who should she tell? Would anyone believe her?
Her brain has turned into one big, intricate maze from which it is difficult to find a way out.

Some time passed when she saw a piece of folded paper pass under the closed door of her room.
She went towards that and took it, opening the door the same second, wanting to know who the secret sender was.
But the hallway was empty,completely.
She was afraid to open the envelope,
but curiosity was greater than fear.

Let's meet in the Queen's Garden tonight when everyone falls asleep.
If you don't come,I'll know what happened to you

                                               Lady Danbury

Why would she write to her?
She was pretty sure that that woman didn't even know she existed.
If you don't come,I'll know what happened to you,those were words she couldn't understand and that scared her.
She didn't know why,but she had a feeling that Lady Danbury was the solution to this situation.
Some surprising peace reigned over Sophie.
So she waited impatiently for midnight.

Only Sophie's quiet footsteps could be heard in the dark corridor that lit up the moon.
"You complained that your life was boring," she thought to herself.
She didn't need something like this.
If you don't come,I'll know what happened to you,those words were a great burden on her soul.
Something would cut in her every time she think about them.

But suddenly she felt a fist over her mouth.
Someone was holding her tightly.
She fidgeted,trying to use every atom of strength she had.

But nothing,her body gave in against her will.

Suddenly darkness appeared before her eyes..

                                ***

During that time,the moon shone with light in the starry sky in the queen's garden.
The night light lit up the old countess's serious face.
This scene exuded great mystery.
She stood there for a long time,waiting.
But a smirk changed her expression so far.

"Looks like it's time",she muttered to herself.