Night came upon them and Beatrice found herself in the Baroness's room, tending to the fireplace and helping the Lady of the House get ready for bed, her own feet tired from a long day's work.
"We must press for a quick engagement. Perhaps see Paris at Christmas? Can you imagine?" The Baroness said excitedly as she reveled in the joy from the Grand Duchess having spent so much time with her daughter at the market.
"No, I don't suppose you can." Irina added as she watched the farm girl work. Beatrice gave her a sad smile, confirming the statement that she in fact had no way to imagine what Paris at Christmas might be like.
Irina made her way out of bed, settling down in the chair in the middle of the room, letting her hair fall down her back so the younger woman could groom it. Beatrice cleaned her hands quickly and grabbed a comb to start brushing her stepmother's silky, raven hair.
"My mother was hard on me too, you know. She taught me that cleanliness was next to godliness. She therefore forced me to wash my face at least twenty times a day, always convinced it was never clean enough. But I was very grateful to her. She wanted me to be all that I could be and here I am... a Baroness, and Violet could very soon be Empress of Russia." Irina spoke.
Trixie brushed her hair a bit harsher at the possibility of a marriage between the Grand Duchess and her stepsister, the idea of Yekaterina marrying anyone else bothering her more than she would ever admit, even to herself. The Baroness took the girl's hand, pulling her to come sit on her kness before the older woman.
"It's a pity you never got to know your mother. I am sure there must be a little bit of her somewhere in you. Surely some feature of yours must be hers." Her stepmother said as she regarded Beatrice's features.
"I wish I at least knew what she looked like." Trixie replied innocently, a sad smile coating her lips.
"Yes, but we must never feel sorry for ourselves, must we? No matter how bad things get, they can always get worse." Irina said in a sudden harsher tone, as would so often be the case when the two of them shared real moments of unmasked emotion.
"Yes stepmother." The girl replied, feeling sad that their moment had been cut short, however the older woman surprised her when she spoke her next sentence.
"You have so much of your father in you. Sometimes, I can almost see him looking out through your eyes, and it feels like he is here with us still." The Baroness told her honestly, a soft and uncommonly warm smile on her lips.
"Really?" Beatrice said, tears of joy threatening to escape as a bright smile found her lips. Irina herself seemed to have damp eyes, and so she quickly found a less sweet reason for this fact.
"Yes, well, you know you have such masculine features. And well, to be raised by a man.. no wonder you were built for hard labour." The woman said.
It was not the kindest of responses, however Trixie did not care for the knowledge that some part of her carried her father's legacy on was enough comfort for her. As the young girl looked into her stepmother's eyes, she saw care and heartache that she had never seen the woman hold for anyone before, and so she dared asked a question that she knew could get her in trouble.
"Did you love my father?"
"Well... I barely knew him." Irina replied sadly, her eyes showing the hurt that haunted her from not having had more time with the man. "Now, go away. I'm tired." She added, waving the young girl off.
Beatrice did as instructed, holding onto the moment like a dear memory as she left the room. The young girl had lived so deprived of love and care that even just the thought that the Baroness might love some small part of her because the woman had held her father dear, was enough to fill her soul with light.
YOU ARE READING
Ever After ✔~ trixya
Fanfiction"Her name was Beatrice Mattel. And this, was her glass slipper. Perhaps you will allow me to set the record straight?" The Grand Duchess says as she picks a beautiful shoe out of the silver box. "Then it's true? The story?" The writer enquires. "Yes...
