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.
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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.
The double doors swing open and I am revealed to mass crowds, most migrating from the outskirts of the capital city Presley. I attempt to acknowledge everyone before swiftly making my way to the back of the room by one of the fruit tables.
The pain in my back has become almost too much to bear due to the corset and I feel a bit faint. Nonetheless, though, I manage to make my way out into the crowd and dance with a number of young Dukes and Earls, attempting to make my status in this country a bit higher than it already is. I wish for nothing but to escape the prison I live in.
And that's when it happened. I caught his eye. By accident, of course. But Prince Tobias looked across the room at me, seemingly interested, then began to whisper to his mother, Queen Clementina. I anxiously turn away and start to flee towards the exit, finding myself swept up into a conversation with the Duke and Duchess of Serafina. "Lady Francoise," the Duchess calls. I turn my head, watching as she motions me over. I hurriedly rush towards the pair, trying to bury myself in the conversation before the prince can catch wind of me. "I've heard much about you lately. Your mother speaks very highly of you."
She does? "Thank you," I reply softly. "Might I say that your choice of dress tonight is absolutely exquisite? I'm sure you have one of the most prominent seamstresses in all of Eclaran."
"I do indeed. However, as His Royal Highness searches for a wife, I will happily hand her over to the new future queen of our great nation." As a butler walks over, she and her husband pluck a large glass of champagne from the tray he carries. "Rupert and I are so happy to see our dear niece thriving in such a wonderful household." They give me a smile before turning to another couple from the neighboring country of Jenoda.
A tense feeling forms in my body. There is no one in sight that wishes to have a conversation with me, and so I am left to myself in a crowded room. After a while, I watch as my mother approaches the podium and clinks her glass repeatedly. "Ladies and gentlemen, Your Excellencies, Your Royal Highnesses, and Your Majesties," she announces. Pretty soon, everyone's heads are turned towards her. "Tonight is a celebration of great history here in Eclaran, the birth of the province of Valliet. In fact, it's an amazing thing, really, how we've prospered so much throughout the three hundred years of our country's existence."
I grasp a glass of champagne nervously. Why must she make such a grand show out of everything that she does? I find it quite absurd.
"My family and I would like to present to the public my daughter, Lady Francoise Antoinette Marietta Daigneault!" An uproar of applause. Mother flashes me a look, telling me to come and stand next to her, which I do. As I stand there in silence, she places a firm hand on my back causing me to wince a bit. The wounds are still fresh, the damage still far more than I ever expected from such a small woman. "Talented in music and painting, Francoise might just be the perfect wife for your son." Another uproar of applause. And there it is again, Prince Tobias watching me from afar.
After most of the festivities have calmed down, I sneak out into the empty foyer and take a seat on the stairwell. I hear footsteps approaching and quickly hide behind one of the large maroon drapes covering the windows. "Lady Francoise?" a man's voice asks. I peek out from behind the drapes to see Prince Tobias standing there, looking more lost than a deer found outside of the wood. "Lady Francoise, I know you're here, I would just like to have a word with you."
Silently I step out from behind my hiding place and onto the shiny floor. "Yes, Your Highness?" I ask with a curtsy. "Is there something wrong?"
"No no, nothing is wrong." He turns towards me, approaching elegantly. He takes my hand into his and plants a kiss on top of it. "I just wanted to remark that you are the picture of elegance at this party. Perhaps one of the only pictures of such."
"Thank you, Sir. Now, is there something specific you would like to discuss with me other than my choice in behavior tonight?" I can't help but smirk a bit. He doesn't seem the least bit interested in who I may actually be, which is awfully typical of any man nowadays.
"Actually, I would like to ask you about your mother." Oh dear, is he into older women? Not that I care in the slightest. "She's...strange. Not typical of today's mother. She's very outspoken and seems to control everything that happens in this estate. Is that true?"
I nod my head. "Yes. She's quite the tough one." The pain in my back starts up again. "Listen, Your Highness, I should be getting to bed now, I'm not feeling quite well."
"May I escort you? You do seem a bit pale, and I would hate for anything to happen to you."
I nod reluctantly, and he helps me up the stairwell.
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Upon arriving at my room, I begin to untie the back of my dress just as he's about to leave. "Damn it," I mutter when my finger nail digs into one of today's wounds.
"Is something wrong?" he asks, back turned away. He's quite respectful. But then again, he is a prince. It is to be expected.
"Fine, I just- OUCH!"
And just like that, he whips around just as my wounds are revealed. "Dear Heavens...what happened?" he approaches slowly, observing the wounds as I pull my skirts up to hide from his eyes. I quickly shy away as he appears to want to touch the wounds. "Good Lord, Francoise, I'm not going to hurt you."
I relax a bit. "My mother..." I say under my breath, my voice vibrating. "She's cruel and abusive. It's hard to live in this household without being beaten for every little thing that you do wrong-" Tears begin to flow from my eyes, pouring down my cheeks. "I'm sorry." I grab my handkerchief and sit down on a bench at the end of my bed. "You should go..."
"No please." He sits down next to me. "I happen to have some ointment on me."
"And why is that?"
He bites his lower lip. "I've been through similar circumstances with my uncle. But this isn't about me." He pulls out a glass jar and begins to rub ointment on the wounds to numb the pain. "Does it sting?"
"No." And so he continues.
When he's finished, I look over my shoulder to him. "Better?"
"Much. Thank you. Your help is deeply appreciated."
We look into each other's eyes for a moment, admiring the beauty of them. His are a brilliant amber color, the color of honey and the sun. Everything bright and beautiful in life. For a little while, I'm a bit ashamed to have brown eyes. Compared to his, mine are nothing. Only slightly green every once in a while. He leans in, placing his lips on mine, and I respond the same way, suddenly not caring if my dress slips down a bit.
He picks me up and spins me around. "Francoise, you're gorgeous. I've never met a woman like you before, and I've only known you for a few moments."
"Supposedly it's been longer than that," I say with a laugh. "After all, we both grew up in the nobility. It's possible we've known each other for longer than you may think. God works in strange ways."
"That He does." He bites his lower lip, anxious to say something else. "Francoise, you are as radiant as a brilliant sun on a perfect summer's day."
He sets me down gently on my bed, and we both begin to kiss passionately into the night.