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...
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The week leading up to Victor's trial proved to be nothing but stress-inducing for me. Many times I found myself sinking deeply into a chair in the hallway, gasping for breath, my knees suddenly gone weak. Amelia followed me through the castle dutifully. I had no idea how to begin acting like the woman of the manor, but Amelia was more than happy to gently guide me along, and scrape me back together any time I fell apart miserably.
Victor on the other hand, seemed to recede entirely into his study during the day, working on things only he knew. I would see him for a meal or two, or perhaps tea, but rarely more than that. When I retired to my bedchamber, however, he was always there, his arms of strong iron a bulwark against the harrowing nights.
Laying in his arms, more often than not, I cried. I couldn't help myself. Before I fell asleep, it would always well up in me, and that daunting feeling of not knowing what my life would be without him would consume me, and the tears would flow. I was sure he felt the pain of it just as dearly as I did, but through it all, he held onto an air of peace. One could almost describe him as happy, but that seemed so far-fetched I couldn't allow myself to imagine it.
It was the morning that Valentina returned to the castle that I felt I could take no more. She stood triumphantly in the entryway, staring maliciously up at me from my position at the top of the stairs. Boldly, she strode up them, caressing the banner on her way towards me. I straightened my spine, and met her gaze with all the strength I could muster. She still did her best to look down on me, but found out quickly it wasn't as easy as she dreamed it would be. Her violet eyes were filled with petulant disgust.
"I trust my rooms are as I left them, yes? Shame I had to leave in such a hurry. I do think I will be keeping the key to my door until I leave here though." A slow smile spread her soft, ruby colored lips. "You know you can never be too careful who you trust." She waited impatiently for me to move out of her way, yet I held my ground.
"Considering you stole the key, yes, I'm sure that you'll find nothing in your room has been touched." My tone was icier than I thought I could manage with the rage boiling inside me. I turned my nose up ever so slightly, and found it was quite easy to gaze down upon Valentina after all. Sparks of red rage jumped up around her, and I felt a smile begin to twinge my mouth. For all the cool confidence she tried to exude, it was all too easy for me to creep underneath her skin.
My smile was sickly sweet when I asked her, "Shall I show you to your room, or do you remember the way there?" Two could play the game she thought herself in control of. She was already desperate to rip everything away from me, and was well succeeding in her efforts. I didn't have much left to lose.
Her face twisted into quite the ugly frown. She knew she didn't have the same level of surprise or control she had before. Valentina had played all her cards the moment she convinced me to go looking for Azyron. "I'm quite sure I can find my way there on my own. Now, if you'll excuse me." I waited for a brief moment in her path, then stepped aside as she huffed past. The woman could do with a little humbling, and I was more than happy to mete it out.
