The grey clouds greeted me as I opened my eyes. It was yet another day to live a miserable life. I wanted to end it.
The pain, the suffering. Everything. But I was too much of a coward to end it myself.
“Val? We need to get going come on” my friend, Natalie said from the other side of the room.
Natalie was The girl. Perfect figure, lustrous blonde hair and great life. She was everything anyone could ever want.
And then there was me. My own family didn’t even want me. They kept looking for ways to throw me out, and finally, they did. They sold me out to the most despicable man in the village.
He was cruel, thoughtless and didn’t have a face.
At least those were the rumours that spread round the village.
“Marie?” I called softly looking at her as she looked at me. “I don’t want to go.” I begged her with my eyes.
“You know I can’t help you out. As soon as sun sets they’d come looking for you. And if they find me...” there was fear written all over her face.
I nodded my head.
My dad would not let anything slide. The number of times he had used his position to terrorise the poor was beyond me.
And then he had announced that anyone who helped me escape was going to be burnt on a stake.
It’s not like anyone was going to help me in the first place. I was the outcast. Unloved.
I got up, wore my bodice and left, as stealthily as I came.
I went to the Earl’s Manor.
This was it. I was officially selling my youth to a man who would never care for me.
I doubt he was even going to see my face. His last bride stayed with him 3 months and he never even cared to see her face .
I took in a deep breath before I entered through the doors completely.
“where have you been! His grace is not patient we must get you ready.” The maid from last night said.
She seemed old, like she had been in this job for far too long and would not care.
She pulled me rather harshly and got to dressing me, Scrubbing my face rather harshly.
“his grace, what’s he like?” I asked. If I was going to get with him. I should at least know a thing or two about him
She said nothing.
“Okay his name?” I tried again hoping to know anything about the mam I was going to be married to
“You will refer to him as Lord, master or your highness. Any other thing would be out of it. He is easily irritable so try as much as possible to stay clear of his annoyance..
She didn’t say anymore and I didn’t ask. She looked annoyed that i even asked.
I couldn’t run away. That was out of the question for me.
I would be killed on the spot if my dad found out I embarrassed him in such a way.
I touched the scar that ran down my arm that proved the point.
*Flashback*
It was cold as it was raining. Again. My mum had locked me out of the house. My father was not home. Not like he would have done anything to help.
I banged on the door begging for her to open the door, but she did not listen. I heard her happy voice, along with my sisters as they laughed over something they found funny.
There was no use. I was going to sleep in the rain tonight.
**
The next day, I walked into her room new dresses were laid out for her to admire. I knew they were not mine. The last time I received something new was when the neighbours bought clothes in the wrong size and couldn’t be bothered to take it back to the seamstress.
As if on cue, my two sisters walked into the room and seeing the clothes, their face lit up.
“Why do you hate me” I said not able to keep quiet this probably was going to get me another night out of the house but at the moment, I could not care.
“Excuse me?” my mum said with confusion written all over her face
“You don’t treat me like miralda and Claire. I see how you WANT to be around them but me? You treat me like a plague. Don’t you at least care for me.” I held back the tears. I could not afford to break down. Not yet
At least my sisters had the decency to leave us.
“no” she said indifferently. “I do not care for you. I wish everyday that you would die and spare me the punishment. To make it worse, you get to look like that bastard each and every moment.”
To hear those words fall from my mother’s lips, even if I never fully understood it, were like daggers pierced Into my heart.
I was thirteen when this happened.
** **
I shook my head to get rid of the dark thoughts. There was no way i was going to let myself go down that part at least not this night.
“I hope you’re ready. And I hope you last” the maid looked at me with a blank look in her eyes. This was not the first time she was going to be leading someone down the Isle.
I was sure I wasn’t going to be her last. The Lord was for sure going to discard me as soon as he was bored.
I could only hope that my time here lasts, anywhere could be better than with my family.
**
The night was cold. I was given my own quarters to stay, I had not met the Earl yet. I almost laughed at the thought.
I was so insignificant that he did not bother to attend the nuptials. His own nuptials. The documents were already pre-signed when they were handed to me. I was even shocked when I had accidentally ruined the paper and they brought another out like it was not a big deal.
“you are not to come out at night” she shut the door before I could even get a word in
I needed to get some fresh air. Though I was alone and given my own space, I felt suffocated.
I changed into fitting clothes to match the nights atmosphere and then left.
It was silent.
It was dark.
But that didn’t stop me.
I had been locked out of my house a few times to get accustomed to the dark night.
I hadn’t even gone too deep into the forest beyond the fence when I heard growling.
I stopped, frozen in my spot.
The sounds got closer and panic filled my body.
I definitely did not want to die in the bushes knowing that I would most likely not be found and be termed another runaway bride.
Panic filled my veins as I turned to leave immediately, freezing when I saw the beast
“Please” I begged, looking at the wild dog that stood in front of me, breathing heavily. It was huge, easily reaching up to my waist. Or maybe more.
It took one step forward and instinctively, I took one back.
“please let me go back. I promise, I would not hurt you” I whispered
It whined then dropped its head as if to tell me it wasn’t a threat.
That’s when I saw it. It was injured, looking for a way to ask for help.
“Oh” I said moving to it carefully. It was a wounded animal. The wrong move was going to put it in a defensive mode.
“Hi” I said rubbing it’s fur. “I don’t know what to do” I looked down to its coated fur. There was a lot of blood.
"I see you’ve found my pet” I clipped voice came from behind me.
I turned to find a man who was taller than I could imagine. The moon shone on him, revealing his white hair and chiselled jaw his clothes although properly tailored showed his muscled figure.
“Umm.. he is.. injured” I said sheepishly. He looked... there were no words to describe him.
He looked so beautiful. Human words could not describe it.
“You may leave us.” He said coming to take my place where I was next to the beast. I moved to the side.
“It would be over now” he said in a low voice and then hummed, snapping its neck without hesitation
The animal gave a low and painful whine before it stopped. It was dead.
I looked from the lifeless beast to him.
It looked like he ... killed it.
But i couldn’t explain it, I was too shaken up to understand it
He turned to me, his face looked blank
“who are you?” his voice shifting from that gentle voice to a cold one
“I’m Valerie, I am to be the new bride for the earl.” His gaze was unforgiving as he looked down on me.
“I am sure you were told not to leave your room, were you not?” he seemed angry although I was not looking at his face, his voice said it all.
“I am sorry, I needed a bit of fresh air and i decided to”
“you were told to stay in your quarters, were you not!” he growled, the hum from earlier coming back.
I dared not move my eyes from his shoes as I was deathly afraid to look up. there was this air around him that told me that I could not mess up.
An air around him that screamed authority.
“I just.. it was a … I am sorry”
He walked towards me, sniffing me?
I was taken aback but I did not let it show. My heart was racing a mile per hour to even think about that.
“this would be your last warning, dear bride” he snatched my face, forcing me to look at him.
I had heard the stories about the Earl. Whispers of his presence swirled through the village like a persistent, unnerving mist. They said he roamed his lands at night, his face always hidden in shadow, his intentions as dark and unknowable as the deepest parts of the forest.
My breath caught in my throat. It was him.
The Earl.
I gasped.
His features were pale and sharp, almost otherworldly. High cheekbones cast delicate shadows, and his eyes—oh, his eyes. They glinted like two cold stars, piercing through the darkness, and for a moment, they seemed to see right through me. His lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile, though it carried no warmth. It was a smile that promised danger, a smile that knew too much.
I wanted to look away, but I was entranced. Every instinct screamed at me to run, yet my feet remained rooted to the spot. The air grew colder, the shadows around us deepening, pressing in like a suffocating shroud.
"Valerie," he said, his voice as smooth and dark as midnight velvet the sound of it on his lips sent a shiver through me, and I felt as though I had been drawn into some ancient, binding pact.
"You shouldn't be here," he continued, his gaze never leaving mine.
My mouth was dry, my words trapped in my mouth. I wanted to apologise, to beg and plead that he let me go but I was too scared to get the words out.
The Earl took a step closer, his movements fluid and graceful, like a predator closing in on its prey. My heartbeat echoed in my ears, drowning out the rustling of the leaves, the whisper of the wind.
"You must leave," he said softly, almost kindly. "Before it's too late. You might not be so lucky if I see you out at night again"