Marienne's life was completely undone when her village went up in flames. Badly burned and her eyesight lost, she awakes in a strange place, with no knowledge of how she arrived there. Her savior was the enigmatic and alluring Victor, the Lord of Az...
Author's Note: I'm three chapters in now and really starting to enjoy this journey. If you've made it this far, thank you for giving this book a shot. Writing is my passion and it means a lot to have the opportunity to share my hobby with others. This chapter you may also notice Marienne has experienced a change in her condition. I wonder what it could mean for her future? Feel free to speculate by leaving a comment or two!
Author's Note (3/31/25): Wow, so much time has passed now. I wish back then I knew exactly where this story would have been headed. One of the best things has been looking back and seeing my old A/N. This is something I haven't really announced, but EoA did win a community award back in February. I'll make an awards page at some point, so we can watch it grow together.
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When I next opened my eyes, I was surrounded by a cloud of soft gray. I toyed with the linen underneath my hand, pulling gently at a loose fiber, and twirling it between my fingers. Early morning light filtered in the room, painting everything with a soft golden hue. I still couldn't see anything more than the color of the objects around me, but it was much more than I could have ever hoped for.
I had been certain that my eyes had been so badly scarred by the fire that I wouldn't regain any of my sight. However, it had partially returned. In fact, if my eyesight had never improved beyond seeing blobs of color, I would be content with that for the rest of my life.
There was movement from the corner of the room, and soon what had been a mostly white shape coalesced into the fuzzy approximation of a face. I reached out to it with total reverence. "I...I can almost see you." I sobbed, so grateful for this sudden gift.
"Truly Marienne? Are you saying your sight has...returned?" It was Amelia. Hearing her voice only confirmed what my fingers told me; she was soft and sweet and feminine. The details of her face were lost to me, yet she was happy to hold still in that moment and let me become sure of myself.
"Well...I can't make out your features, but I know this is your face." I said, tapping my finger gently against her cheek. I could feel her smiling underneath my fingertips. "That, and I can make out the white of your apron and the dark brown of your dress. So I can see you, at least in part."
