Embracing The Light (Arno Dorian x OC), an Assassin's Creed Fanfiction

Chapter 10 : Change

Thursday, 7th of November, 1794
Four Days Later

Rosalie slowly opened her eyes as she faced the window. The sunlight outside was blinding her, so she decided to turn her back to protect her eyes from the light. The young woman did not quit her room since the very first day she had come in the estate. She was spending her entire days inside her bed with her nightgown on and the curtains closed, sleeping or crying. She only reopened her curtains at night to blankly look at the sky until she fell asleep. Arno was visiting her at least once a day, asking her how she felt and if she had eaten anything. Rosalie usually answered briefly, she did not feel like talking at all. But she still enjoyed Arno's presence, it was enough to make her feel a little better, even if it was temporary.
Today, she decided she was going to end this morose routine and step outside of her room, maybe even spend some time with Arno, even thought she knew it was going to take a lot of effort to do so. So she got out of her bed against her own will and put on her casual dress that she stored inside her closet the day she arrived here. There was also a dressing table disposed opposite the closet on which she noticed a hairbrush.
She sat in front of the mirror and stared at herself for a moment. She looked tired despite all those hours she spent sleeping, dark shadows were starting to appear under her eyes. The young woman then grabbed the brush and started to use it. Back then, it was Louis who was taking care of her hair, as it was very long. But now, she had to do it herself, and this reflection was enough to bring back the tears to Rosalie's eyes. She swallowed and held them back as she tried to erase this thought from her mind. She had cried and mourned too much since she came here, she had to learn how to move on and get her life back together.
Once she was finished getting prepared, Rosalie looked at herself one last time before she got on her feet and led towards the door of her room. She hesitantly turned the doorknob and glanced outside. She had no idea what time it was, since she had lost the track of time. But it was probably noon according to the sun shining bright outside. And now, she had to find her way. She did not even know where she wanted to go. The young woman heard someone whetting his sword next door. She thought that it might be Arno, but as she glanced inside the huge room, it was unfortunately not him.
So Rosalie decided to walk to the opposite direction, wondering how many people were here, and she directly recognized the big stairway she climbed back then with Célestine. As she carefully walked down the stairs and reached the entrance hall, she looked around and noticed the maid doing her job inside the hallway on her left. Rosalie slowly approached the young maid and waited for her to notice her. Once she did, Célestine was surprised to see Rosalie walking around.
"Bonjour Mademoiselle." the maid smiled politely.
"Bonjour." she replied. "Is Arno here ?"
"He's in the dining room eating lunch. Would you like to see him ?"
Rosalie slightly nodded, still intimidated by the atmosphere of the house she was unfamiliar with.
Célestine then let the little table she was cleaning behind and walked across the entrance hall, followed by the young woman. They both entered the hallway at the opposite side and Célestine stopped in front of an entrance on her right to let Rosalie walk inside. She carefully stepped in the room and observed Arno, sitting alone at the table for ten, silently focused on his meal. Maybe was he too focused to notice the young woman, who nervously stood still and stared at him, not knowing how to get his attention. But she did not need to do anything anyway, the man ended up glancing up by himself and then stared at Rosalie. When their eyes met, she could read an expression of surprise on his face as he slowly raised his head.
"Bonjour." she said in a whisper.
The man slightly smiled. "Bonjour, Rose. Come, take a seat."
She obeyed and gently pulled the heavy chair next to Arno and sat down. She started to look down while the young man was staring as if he was trying to decode her.
"How are you feeling today ?" he finally asked, completely forgetting about his food.
"As usual." she answered with a sad look on her face.
Arno slowly nodded. "Well, there's something I would like to show you later which might cheer you up."
Rosalie raised her gaze back at him and frowned. "What is it ?"
"It's a surprise." he replied as he continued to eat. But then, he asked. "By the way, would you like to eat something ?"
The young woman realized that she was not feeding herself properly at all lately. Actually, she might enjoy a good meal right now. "Uhm... oui, s'il te plait (yes please)." she shyly murmured.
Arno then called Célestine and demanded her to bring the same lunch as his for Rosalie. It did not take too long for the maid to come back with a plate. Once she put it in front of the young woman, Rosalie observed what was in it.
"Is there something wrong ?" Arno asked when he saw how hesitant she was.
The woman glanced at him and whispered. "Non." Of course, he could not have known that she never got the chance to eat that much and well. For him, it was a completely basic meal, but for Rosalie, this was luxury. She gently grabbed her fork and knife under Arno's gaze and took a bite out of the roast beef and raised her eyebrows in surprise as she chewed. The meat had been attentively cooked and seasoned with several spices, some of which were completely unfamiliar to her, but it was so tasty that a smile appeared on Rosalie's face as the food melted inside her mouth.
"Do you like it ?" he asked.
The young woman only nodded since her mouth was still full, and the smile on Arno's face grew. They both kept eating their food in silence, sometimes glancing at each other. But then something on her dress caught Rosalie's attention. She frowned as she looked at the little tear on it that she did not noticed before.
"What is it ?" Arno said as he straightened to observe what she was looking at.
"It's nothing." she answered. "I apparently have torn my dress somehow. I have to sew it up."
The young man looked at her clothing and thought for a few seconds before he finally spoke. "Why don't we get you some new clothes instead ? There are a few unused dresses in the attic with better quality, I'm sure you'll like them."
Rosalie did not say a word for a moment, only stared at Arno. She then opened her mouth and replied reluctantly. "Sure, I guess."
He noticed that she was not quite enthusiastic, so he decided to add. "At least try one of them. And if you still want to keep wearing your own dresses, it's fine."
The young woman seemed now more convinced and slightly nodded. She actually accepted it to please Arno, her old clothes were just fine for her. She was not a fan of fashion anyway, just like all the other common women. They were too poor to actually take care of their appearance. But it sounded amusing to look and act like a bourgeoise, even for fun.
Once they both finished eating, Arno stood on his feet and Rosalie imitated him.
"Célestine will bring you the dress to your room." he announced.
"D'accord (Alright)." she murmured.
The man gave her a smile before he walked out of the room. Rosalie was going to follow him, but then she saw something on the floor, near the chair where Arno sat earlier. As she bent down and picked up the object, she realized that it was a pocket watch, probably Arno's. On its cover, there were a few beautiful curves drawn and a strange inverted V-shaped symbol was represented on its middle. When she opened it, she was surprised to see that the watch was broken. Rosalie then closed the cover back and gently touched it as she analyzed it, then looked inside the hallway searching for Arno but the man was long gone. She presumed that he probably had been to the attic with the maid, so she decided to give the watch to him later.
Once she arrived to her room, she put the watch on her bedside table and decided to take a bath. After she got completely undressed, she got inside the bathtub full of water and her entire body instantly shivered. Rosalie had to admit it, this felt much better than having to bathe inside a little bassin. So she decided to take her time while she was washing her hair and carefully scrubbing the soap on her arms and legs. But then, she flinched when she heard the door open.
"Mademoiselle ?" Rosalie saw Célestine's silhouette through the folding screen and flinched.
"Don't come !" She panicked. "I'm... I'm naked."
The silhouette stopped moving. "Oh. I just brought you your new dress." she replied. The maid did not sound embarrassed at all.
"Let it on the hairdresser, I'll wear it later." Rosalie said more calmly.
Célestine obeyed, but added before she left. "You're going to need my help to dress up, Mademoiselle. Call me once you're... available."
Rosalie breathed deeply once she heard the door close for good. She then grabbed a towel next to her and got out of the now dirty water. Her teeth were chattering, so she hurried to put something on. But she then noticed that Célestine brought her a corset to wear under her dress and sighed. Rosalie was not really a huge fan of corsets. But she still put it on against her own will. There was still an issue : she could not tie it by herself. She needed Célestine's help. But how was she going to call the maid now, with only underwears and a corset on her ?
The young woman carefully opened the door, hiding the rest of her body behind it so no one could see her like this, and the first thing she saw was the person she really needed right now, holding a little jewelry box.
"Célestine ?" she said with surprise. "Were you waiting in front of my door all this time ?"
"Of course, Mademoiselle." the maid replied with a smile and Rosalie let her come inside.
Rosalie was quite intimidated by Célestine's presence, but the maid did not seem to mind her being half-naked at all. As soon as the young woman stood in front of the full-length mirror, Célestine started to heavily pull the strings of her corset and breathing became harder and harder for Rosalie. After the maid was done with the underwear, she grabbed the dress and helped Rosalie to put it on properly. It was a sky blue lacy long dress with a very wide collar and wavy short sleeves. The young woman was speechless, she found the dress absolutely stunning. A huge smile appeared on her face as she looked at her reflection.
"I also brought a few jewels which will perfectly fit with your clothes." Célestine added as she saw the expression of joy on Rosalie's face. "But first, let's brush your hair."
She then made the woman sit in front of the hairdresser and gently brushed her hair. Once she was done, she decided to let Rosalie's hair untied to make it dry quicker. Célestine then grabbed her box and took out a pearl necklace and two pearl earrings. Rosalie let the maid put the jewel around her neck while she put on the earrings and, once she finished, Célestine let Rosalie observe the result. The young woman could not take her gaze away from the mirror. She was mesmerized by her transformation.
"Oh !" Célestine exclaimed. "I've forgotten your shoes ! Let me get them."
Before Rosalie could reply, Célestine ran outside, letting the door wide open. Soon, she heard a male voice coming from the hallway.
"Célestine ? Have you seen my watch ?" Arno asked.
"Non, Monsieur."
Rosalie grabbed the pocket watch and left her room to look towards wherever the man was. Once she arrived near the stairway, she saw him nervously looking around.
"Diable, where have I dropped it this time ?" he whispered.
The young woman decided to clear her throat loud enough for Arno to finally notice her. Once he did, his face relaxed and he silently stood for a long period as he observed Rosalie who felt quite uncomfortable. She slowly started to approach him, playing with the watch she was holding to calm herself down.
"Well, what do you think ?" she asked in a low voice.
A tender smile then appeared on his face. "Tu es sublime (You look gorgeous)." he replied.
The young woman lowered her gaze as she started to blush. "Merci." she shyly answered back.
After realizing that he was holding his breath for too long without even noticing, Arno sighed deeply. "I have something to do right now. I'll be back very soon."
"Where are you going ?" she asked.
"It's about your surprise." he playfully whispered.
"Of course..." she murmured with a little smile.
After he smiled back, Arno led towards the stairway. Then, Rosalie remembered the pocket watch she was holding and quickly called him back. "Arno !"
The man instantly turned his head and frowned. Rosalie approached and handed him the watch. He observed it with surprise and let out a sigh of relief, wondering how it ended in her hands.
"You dropped it at the dining room." She said before he grabbed it, gently caressing her hand in the process. "It was enough to break it I'm afraid."
"Oh, it was already broken, don't worry. Merci." He answered with a polite smile.
The young woman then watched him go down the stairs. It was only when he disappeared completely from her field of vision that she realized she was stroking with her thumb the part of her skin that Arno touched, with a silly smile on her face.