Ruthless love

Darkness Brings The Dawn

Eleanor had returned to help me get ready for bed when the water had almost gone cold.

I had been so caught up in my thoughts of the previous events, that I had not even noticed.

She scolded me quietly for not taking better care of myself, telling me how little it would take to make me sick in my current state.

Despite feeling better lately, I was still more frail than usual and she made sure to remind me.

She insisted on helping me with getting dried up and proceeded to put even more fragrant oils in my hair.

I could not help but think to myself that I must have smelled like a flower shop by then.

Not that I minded.

It took a little while for her to finish up, which was slightly unusual for her, but I paid it no mind.

I loved having her take care of me like this, despite occasionally feeling guilty for not being able to do anything for her in return.

"There you go," she said, a bright smile on her face as she turned me around to face the mirror on the bathroom wall.

I stood there admiring her work for a bit, once again surprised by her skill.

Despite my hair being more brittle and losing color, my hair had never looked so alive.

The oils she had put in, made it look golden in the light of the candles around the room and my skin seemed to light up slightly too.

She helped me into a light gown in a color similar to champagne, with a slight sparkle to it.

All of these things combined made me look like - and feel like, a goddess.

When we got back to my room, I noticed that not only had she changed all of the sheets to something that looked like a satin blend in a neutral rosy color, but she had also taken the time to set up yet another tray with tea and biscuits on the nightstand, along with a beautiful bouquet of English roses.

"Oh, Ellie!.." I exclaimed as I gently graced the flower petals with my fingertips, being careful not to ruin them.

I could not believe that she had gone all the way back to pick and arrange them for me.

How had she even found the time to do so?

I was sure that I had not been in the bath for that long.

Then again most of the other maids would have been more than eager to help her with setting up the rest while she had gone.

I carefully picked up one of the roses in full bloom and inhaled its fragrance, closing my eyes as I allowed the memories connected to it, to carry me away once more.

Back to the garden of my childhood where my mother, whose face I could no longer remember, was sitting on a blanket in the grass, humming a familiar tune to the infant in her arms.

Ara...

My thoughts were interrupted by a subtle knock on the door, which Eleanor took as her cue to leave.

She had only just exited the room when a nervous-looking Zack entered.

His hair looked disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it repeatedly and I could not help a chuckle from escaping me at the sight.

It was so unlike the man to ever make an appearance like that as he was extremely detail oriented and always liked for things to be just right.

He opened his mouth briefly as if to say something but quickly decided otherwise.