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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
We left the garden, and Victor grabbed the arm of a maid passing by, asking after Amelia. She nodded, then scurried off, linens in hand. Victor led me through the hallway, then to the back courtyard, where the carriage would leave from once it was ready. He found me a bench to sit on, then left to fetch the stable hands.
I closed my eyes as a cool, summer breeze rolled over me, tugging at the tendrils of my hair. I opened my eyes, taking in the scenery around me. The stone walls of the castle stretched far above me, imposing and indomitable, but warm to the touch as the morning sun was beaming down upon them. I leaned against them from my seat on the bench, happy to know my new home was so sturdy, and mainly more fire resistant than the last had been. It was not a happy thought to dwell on, so I moved my gaze outward, across the courtyard.
Grass was desperately trying to grow up between the cobblestones, but it failed to thrive and win out, so it was yellowed and dry in most places. A few stubborn daisies were peeking out around the water spigot, their small white flowers only a few inches above the ground. A great green expanse awaited me just outside the arch that opened up the stately walls. The wrought iron gate stood between us and the rest of the world, and I was excitedly anticipating it swinging open.
The wind lifted up again, and I caught a whiff of the sour smell of horse sweat and manure. I wrinkled my nose. I was never too terribly fond of horses, and the team of four that was trotted out in harness in front of me now was truly monstrous. They were sleek, black and heavily muscled giants, the top of their withers a good four inches taller than the height of any of the men trying to keep them in hand. One could not deny their regal majesty, their raw display of strength. Their large, powerful feet clacked against the stones, ringing out and echoing. The men had to shout to communicate with each other over the cacophony.
One rather proud animal danced and twisted in place. It would seem they had been in their stalls without work for some time. The horse struck out with a foreleg thicker than a man's thigh, its shod hoof glinting in the sunlight. "They're quite the sight, aren't they?" I jumped at the sudden sound of Amelia's voice so close to my ear. I hadn't realized she had sat down beside me, the horses consuming all of my attention. "It will still take a few moments to get them hitched to the carriage, we'll just have to be patient." She sighed.
"Oh, well I'm fine with waiting." I asked, trying to divide my attention between the goings on and Amelia. "We're quite safe here, yes? Not to say that I am afraid, just... Well, I don't want to be trampled." I laughed nervously.
"I wouldn't worry too much Marienne, Victor is not far from us. He would surely get us away before things got too far out of hand." She held some embroidery in her hands, and was patiently working away at a lovely depiction of pink flowers. I heaved a sigh, trying to relax.
It was less than an hour, all said and done, and the team had calmed down considerably once they were set to their work. Ears were still twitching and heads were bobbing, but the driver was in place and was awaiting his occupants. This was when Victor emerged from the shadow of the stables, running his hand down one of the animal's jet black flanks. He motioned to us, and we stood and approached, a touch more cautiously than necessary on my part.
