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: If you've been with me on this journey up to this point, I'm glad you're still here. I've been noticing plenty of speculation about what's happening in this story up to this point, and I'm hoping this chapter answers a few questions, and creates a few more! I can't wait to see what you all think of it. I'd also like to prompt you to answer this question at the end; what do you think Marienne will end up choosing, and why? I'd love to hear from you!
Author's Note (7/11/25): Well, it took longer than expected, but I'm finally releasing more edits to this work. I'm super happy with the changes I've made so far to this chapter, however, it did get substantially longer, which seems to be a recurring problem XD.
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When I woke up, the pounding and hammering in my skull could have killed me. I held my head together with both hands, groaning for mercy. I collected my stray thoughts, and the events of last night began to coalesce.
Victor had walked me back to the room, or rather, half carried me while I stumbled along beside him. I hadn't drank so heavily since Mid-Winter's celebration, and this morning reminded me why.
My shift clung awkwardly to my sweaty body, and stumbling to my feet, I did my best to not trip over my discarded dress. However, Amelia must have already picked up, as the floors were clear from any such obstructions. I cautiously made my way to the bedside table and found a washbasin and a pitcher of water. I'm still astounded that I managed not to spill it everywhere.
Splashing the cool water on my face and washing up helped tremendously for my mood, but my temples refused to stop throbbing. A knock on the door almost sent me spiraling. Grumbling, I made my way to it and jerked it open.
"Amelia." It was both a statement and a question. I slumped against the door frame, exhaustion wafting over me.
"Good to see you're awake. You were snoring most profoundly when I came to check on you earlier." Her voice lilted pleasantly, almost teasing me for my indulgences.
I doubted her claims were more than just jesting, as I have no memory of ever snoring in my life. Regardless, I needed her help if I was going to survive the day.
Once inside, she guided me over to the chair and began untangling my snarled hair. Even though she was as kind and gentle as she'd ever been, any small tug reminded me of the discomfort in my head.
"M'lord would like to see you for tea in the garden, if you're feeling up to it." She murmured.
I really didn't feel like doing much else besides sleeping off my headache, but I didn't see how I could politely refuse either. "Well, I may not be in the best of spirits for it, but I'll do my best if that would please him."
"Marienne, I think you and I both know anything you do will please him." Her tone was stern, and she pulled the brush firmly through my hair.
I turned in the chair to face her, wincing when my hair snagged. "I don't know why you would say that. I'm a village midwife, or at least I was. It's not like I transformed into someone else when I came here."
