𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next morning, Vienne woke up full of anxiety—tonight was the night. But waking up next to Sebastian certainly helped soothe her nerves. She shifted so she'd be lying against him, taking comfort in his warmth. She could only hope that this could last forever.

"Mm, good morning." Sebastian replied gruffly. He had been awake for quite a bit, just waiting for her to wake up, not wanting to wake her up from her sleep.

"Good morning." She replied, laying her head on his shoulder.

Sebastian turned over so he could pull her into his arms. "I can feel your heart pounding. Are you okay?" He asked her gently.

Vienne nodded. "Yeah, I'm just nervous about tonight. I hope everything goes well." She replied.

"We'll be okay, I promise." Sebastian spoke. The truth was, he was scared too. He could possibly end up in Azkaban for the rest of his life for a crime he didn't commit. It was extremely nerve-wracking, especially not having more reassuring feelings about how things were going to end.

Vienne sighed, cuddling up to him. "Once all of this is over, we're leaving right away." She mumbled, wanting nothing more than to get out of this town and leave everything in this place and never look back. "That's what I really want, not all of this mess."

"I'd love nothing more than to be away with you." Sebastian said gently. "But we have a plan—maybe not the best plan, but at least it's something."

Vienne nodded; he was right after all. Something was better than nothing, even if it wasn't the best. But one thing she knew for certain was that she was not about to let her brother die. Plan or no plan, she'd stop Edward. That much was for certain.

***

The day dragged on into early afternoon. The manor was close to complete silence as everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Claudine had yet to show up to retrieve Vienne yet, but Vienne was too anxious to go back "willingly" yet. After escaping, she had no desire to go back.

They all sat in the drawing room; Sebastian sat by Vienne, both in silence. Rolf tried to distract himself by reading one of the manor's many books while Ominis sat in silence as well. They were all waiting for something to happen as the silence and suspense of the day was not aiding their anxiety in the slightest.

However, Rolf looked up briefly from his book and out the window, and something caught his eye. "What is that?" He asked, standing up and walking over to get a closer look. Vienne and Sebastian were quick to follow behind while Ominis sat, curiously waiting for an answer.

From the window of the drawing room, they could see three people walking up to the house. Vienne instantly recognized her mother, obviously, but there were two other men she recognized as acquaintances of hers as well. Clearly Claudine brought them for intimidation tactics.

Although Vienne knew she was safe around Sebastian and her friends, she felt her anxiety rise as they neared the manor. She has pushed this off all day, but now that Claudine was actually here, it was unavoidable.

Sebastian quickly noticed her shift, taking note of how suddenly much more anxious she was. He grasped her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "It'll be alright." He whispered.

"I know." She breathed out, trying to give herself some confidence in this situation.

Put up a little fight, then relent so it wouldn't be too obvious. That was the plan.

Sebastian turned to Ominis. "It's Claudine and two others; we can only assume she's here for Vienne." He informed him.

After hearing that, Ominis was the first one there to open the door. Hospitality, right? Claudine and the other two men neared the doorway where he stood, merely just a few feet away.
"Ah, Mrs. Austen, what brings you here?" He asked from the doorway.