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

Chapter 13 : Poor Jacques

Note :
I've decided to add the song Rosalie is singing in this chapter as a video so you have an idea of how it sounds like. It's called "Pauvre Jacques" and became very popular during the French Revolution, when the revolutionaries changed the original lyrics (written below) to turn it into a song that was mocking and pitying Louis XVI's fate. Enjoy !

---

When Rosalie woke up the next morning, the first thing that came into her mind was the conversation she had had with Arno last night. It had been the very first time the man decided to open up about his past and she was actually grateful, even though his story broke her heart. She never saw him this vulnerable. She still remembered the very first days when he was drinking at the tavern. He always had this serious expression on his face and a dark gaze, but it had never intimidated Rosalie. She felt instantly that he was not a bad person. With time, the young man started to soften and Rosalie saw the real Arno, the one he probably was before all those tragic events he went through.
The young woman then realized : his severe appearance was just a façade. Deep down, he was still living with this fear of being abandoned. Arno suffered so much from loss, that was the reason why he had always been so overprotective towards her. He was scared of losing someone again, and of the same guilt that came up with it. This guilt of letting everyone he cared for die because of him. And Rosalie only realized this last night, when he finally decided to let down his guard.
The young woman straightened up and sat at the edge of her bed to stretch a little before she got on her feet and led towards her bathtub. After she got rid of her nightgown and tied up her hair, she slowly dove into the warm water and grabbed the soap to clean up her arms as she hummed a song :

"Pauvre Jacques, quand j'étais près de toi,
Je ne sentais pas ma misère
Mais à présent que tu vis loin de moi,
Je manque de tout sur la Terre,
Je manque de tout sur la Terre."

She then rubbed her legs as she continued to sing :

"Quand tu venais partager mes travaux,
Je trouvais ma tâche légère,
T'en souvient-il ? tous les jours étaient beaux.
Qui me rendra ce temps prospère ?"

A few minutes later, Rosalie wrapped her towel around her body and carefully stepped outside of the bathtub. After she wore her underwear, she tried to lace her corset by herself. Despite her arms hurting her during the process, she succeeded and opened her wardrobe that Célestine filled last night with new dresses. Rosalie wondered for a second if those were also Élise's, but then decided not to think about it at all. She then grabbed a dark brown dress, and it took her quite a moment put it on properly.
The sleeves were a bit longer this time, but still with the same white lace cuffs. The neckline was low as usual and the bodice and fabric were not too decorated compared to the blue dress she wore yesterday, but she preferred it that way. It was not a part of Rosalie's nature to be an eye-catcher. That was also why she decided not to wear any jewelries. The young woman then opened her curtains and window, and stood in front of it for a moment to breathe some fresh air, before she went back towards her hairdresser and sat in front of it.

At the same moment, Arno was about to leave his room after getting prepared for breakfast. His head hurt slightly due to the amount of wine that he drank the night before, but he forced himself to get out of the bed so he could eat with Rosalie. But before he had the time to open the door, he frowned as he heard a voice coming from the gardens. Actually, it was a female voice, singing, which piqued his interest. The man started to walk outside and looked around. No one was there, and once he guessed that the voice actually came from Rosalie's room, a little smile grew on his face. He slowly approached her window that was wide open and silently leaned against its frame, with his arms crossed, to observe the young woman. Rosalie did not seem to notice him, as she kept brushing her hair and singing as she looked at her reflection :