miracles

{one}

1774

"What the hell did you just say to me, girl?" Mother shouts at the top of her lungs. Her peach-colored dress flits around in the breeze as she runs after me carrying a whip. "Get back here, you useless child!" But still, I run without turning around once.

Run faster, my instincts tell me. Run, Francoise. This is the only way you'll ever escape her.

So I run faster and faster through the vast, mucky field just beyond the manor's property line. And out of the blue, I trip over a stone and into a small stream nearby. It tears a hole in my stocking and causes me to bleed a bit. But that's not the worst of it. Mother has caught up to me, and it'll give her enough time to-

A crack of a whip to my back. I scream in horror and grip a cold rock nearby. A second whip, a third, a fourth, and a fifth. It seems endless. I can already feel the fabrics of my dress sticking to the bloody wounds. "I told you not to run from me, Francoise," she says, grabbing me by the hair and tugging me along. "Next time you do it, I'll make sure that the punishment is ten times worse."

"Mother please.." I plead. "Let me run away and I will never bother you again-"

When we arrive back at the manor, I'm locked away in my dark room. I crumple up in a ball on my bed and weep. It seems like that's all I ever do these days. Cry. Sleep. Repeat. 

Tonight is my family's annual Spring Ball, though. Nothing could be more important than this moment. It's when the country's elite will gather here at our manor to join in on the festivities of celebrating our family's origins and power. Supposedly, the King, Queen, and their son Tobias are to be here.

But none of that interests me. Sex? No thank you. Marriage? Goodbye. However, as a lady, it's hard to imagine a life without those things, for they are what make up every piece of our being in this day and age. Sadly enough.

Eventually, though, I'm able to get some rest after a bit of the pain subsides. I find myself drifting into a deep sleep. Deeper than usual, putting all my cares to a pause.

________________________________________________________________________________

There's a knock at the door just as the clock on the wall chimes at 9:00. "Miss Daigneault," a small voice calls from the outside. It's my maid Hydeia coming to the rescue at last. "May I come in, Miss?"

"Yes," I say as I sit up reluctantly on my bed. She shuts the door behind her and gestures over to my vanity. I take a seat and release a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're here. I have someone to talk to now."

"Yes, of course. Now stand up, we need to get you ready for the ball."

As she helps me out of my current attire, she lets out a gasp.

"Not again..."

I nod my head. "But alas. It never ceases in this household, at least not where Mother is concerned. If only Father were back home from his duties in Serafina, I might not have to go through with this mess." A tear runs down my cheek, but I quickly wipe it away. "Do you have any ointment on you?"

"Always, Ma'am." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small glass jar of cream-colored salve and gently applies it to my back. As usual, it numbs the pain a bit. "I'm sorry that it had to happen today, especially with the dress you'll be wearing. It isn't the most forgiving thing."

I roll my eyes. Of course, it isn't. But soon enough, I'm over and done with the entire process and ready for tonight's ball. 

I make my way down the staircase unaccompanied, and turn left to stand just outside of the doors to the ballroom, where hundreds of people must be dancing. I give a nod to one of the guards, who pounds his staff on the ground, alerting the announcer. "May I present the young lady of the house, Her Grace, Lady Francoise Antoinette Marietta Daigneault," he says in a bellowing voice.