Sing Sweet Nightingale

Part 7

Y/N got back with no time to spare. She had just enough time to change into a work dress and hide both her mother's newly cleaned wedding dress and the dress Dinah had loaned her before she heard the family carriage pull up.

She met the door and did her best to appear subdued. Stepmother, Artemis, and Jade were all laughing and chatting when she opened the door.

"Did you have a good night?" Stepmother asked snidely when she saw Y/N. "My darling Jade caught the eye of the Captain of the Guard last night." She said as she gently cupped her daughter's cheek.

"Congratulations." Y/N murmured. Stepmother flounced to the bottom of the stairs.

"I see you cleaned up your mess." She laughed as she walked up the steps that had previously been covered in the mud she had slopped on Y/N's dress.

Y/N bit her tongue and nodded. "Goodnight, my beautiful girls, and, Y/N, you can serve breakfast late." Stepmother said as she reached the top of the stairs and vanished down the hall.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Artemis came forward and grabbed her hand. "Are you alright?" She asked with genuine concern.

"I'm fine." Y/N said. "I got the stains out of mother's dress so it looks good as new."

Artemis sighed, relieved that her stepsister harbored no ill will towards her. "I'm sorry for what she did. I had honestly hoped you would get to go."

"Me too." Y/N said as she pulled away. "I am going to bed now, but I want to thank you for trying."

Y/N walked all the way up the stairs to her room in the attic. The room was cluttered with trunks filled with discarded gowns and trinkets and boxes filled with books that Stepmother couldn't sell. She walked passed these towers of boxes and books to a corner on the far side of the room. It was not cluttered like the rest of the spacious attic. It a bed, a small very beaten old table, and a single trunk. The trunk had previously been filled with only an extra dress and some underthings, but tonight they housed the two most beautiful things Y/N had ever seen. Y/N opened the lid and pulled them out.

Two dresses, one from the past and one from the present, so different and yet they were both so beautiful. Y/N ran a hand down the skirts of both, feeling the difference in fabrics. Her mother's wedding down had a lace overskirt, so it was soft but textured. The dress Dinah had gifted her was what she imagined a rainbow must feel like, smooth and incredibly soft.

Y/N sighed as she gently folded them back up. She started to put them back up when she paused. Stepmother didn't usually come up here for anything, but on the off chance she did and decided to rummage through Y/N's things, she certainly didn't want her to these. Y/N looked around the room, her eyes settling on an old box. She looked inside to find it empty. Y/N took a sheet from a nearby trunk and lined the inside of the box before placing her treasures inside. She carefully placed the shoe on top and closed the lid. Then she went and laid on her bed, dreaming of Dick smiling at her.

She woke before dawn and got to work. Her family rose later than usual and she hurried to get them what they wanted. After they had breakfast, she headed up the stairs to make their beds. She was so busy that she didn't hear the knock on the door or someone coming up the stairs.

"You would not believe the conversation I just heard." Y/N jumped at her stepmother's voice suddenly beside her.

Y/N turned her attention towards her stepmother, but stayed silent. She sensed the woman had more to say.

"Apparently, Lord Grayson met a girl last night." Stepmother said as she sat on the newly made bed. "She was the hidden gem of the ball last night and he seems to be very taken with her."

Y/N stilled her features and hoped her heart wasn't beating as loudly as it seemed.

"So taken, in fact, that he is searching the countryside for her." Stepmother said as she stood up and got very close to Y/N's face. "Imagine my surprise when the servant of a dear friend of mine comes knocking on my door telling me that Lord Grayson's men are going door to door looking for a Lady Y/N."

Y/N gasped as Stepmother's fingers dug into her skin. "Listen to me, you worthless little girl. I have clothed you and fed you all these years and this is how you repay me? You sneak off to the ball and steal the young lord right out from underneath Jade's nose."

"I didn't mean-" Y/N squeaked. She was silenced when Stepmother's hand connected with the side of her face.

"I don't care what you meant." The older woman snarled. She started moving, dragging Y/N down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Mother? What are you doing?" Artemis cried out as she and Jade followed them.

"I am getting you a place in Lord Wayne's family." Stepmother said as she pulled open the trapdoor leading to the basement. She pointed at the opening. "Get in there." She said to Y/N.

"Why are you forcing her down there?" Artemis said, moving forward as Jade tried to pull her back.

"She is the one Lord Grayson's men are looking for. If they cannot find the mystery woman, Lord Grayson will have to settle for someone else." Stepmother explained as Y/N climbed down the stairs.

Artemis shrugged off Jade's hand and walked down the steps.

"Artemis, what are you doing? Sweetheart, you need to go get ready." Stepmother said as she held her hand out to her younger daughter.

"If Y/N is going to stay down here then so am I." The blonde girl said, linking her arm with her stepsister's and raising her chin in defiance.

"Fine," Stepmother sighed. "I hate to tell you this, but I always knew Jade was the one who was going to make something of herself one day."

The smirk on Stepmother's face faltered as Jade approached the opening. Her mouth hung open when her older daughter joined the others in the basement.

"I'm sorry, Mother, but Artemis is right." Jade said quietly. "I cannot agree with what you are planning."

Stepmother clenched her jaw as she looked at the younger women in the basement. "Well, I certainly won't be lying when I tell the guards I have no daughters. When I open this door later, I expect the three of you to leave. If you try to take anything with you, I will see you all thrown in prison for stealing." With that, she closed the door will a loud thud. Silence reigned as the girls heard a lock click and then rapid footsteps fading out of the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry." Y/N said after a long silence.

"Don't be." Artemis said, wrapping her arm around her. "This isn't your fault."

"Artemis is right." Jade said, "Mother is losing out of her mind. I honestly thought when I joined you two down here she would cave."

"Well, it looks like we are stuck together." Y/N sighed.

They heard a thud from upstairs. "If you three don't be quiet, you won't live to regret it." Stepmother hissed.

They settled into silence as they waited. Waiting and listening for what was to come.