1705. Luck had never been on Eleanora Finley's side. After her father died in a tragic fire, she was left at the mercy of her domineering and abusive mother, being deprived of all love and affection.
Truly, who would have thought that the simple red...
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15 June 1711, Aethiel Palace
ELEANORA had never seen such an elaborate display of wealth and riches in her entire life. The ladies of the ceremony were dolled up and dressed like peacocks, each donning a gown that looked obnoxiously heavy from the number of jewels that had been sewn onto the fabric.
One lady, in particular, was especially grand, wearing a gown of burgundy brocade and black lace. She was wickedly beautiful, with dark twinkling eyes that shone like starlight in the dead of midnight, sparkling with both mischievousness and enthusiasm.
Her smile seemed genuine enough, unlike that of the golden-haired girl that stood beside her. However, she was a noble lady, so how sincere could that smile be?
That night, according to the plan that Princess Demitria had drawn up, the six ladies along with Eleanora were sent to the servant's sleeping quarters.
All their belongings had been confiscated, and to their great horror, they were only left with two maids to do their bidding. Those elegant peacocks now donned crumpled linen dresses, the typical garment for a servant.
Eleanora had no idea why Princess Demitria would order for that, but deep down, she revelled in the sight of those ladies weeping and whining about having to wear servant's garments.
One lady was particularly distressed. She had thrown herself onto the straw bed, curled up into a pitiful heap as if she were the heroine of a Shakespearean tragedy.
Eleanora wanted to laugh, revelling in schadenfreude, but that would be too cruel. Obviously, the lady was in massive pain and distress.
She wanted to pick the bed that was furthest from that girl, but all of them were occupied except for one in the middle of the room.
Eleanora quietly crept into bed, wanting to escape to the land of her dreams and leave all of this behind, but before she could doze off, she heard someone trying to get her attention.
"Psst!" the voice hissed. "Psst! Oi!"
Eleanora was surprised that anyone would bother to care about her, and her shock intensified when she came face to face with the lady from earlier, who in her opinion, was the grandest of all them all.
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you," Eleanora apologised.
The lady brushed off her apology, still smiling softly. "Hello, what's your name ?"
Eleanora's face flushed red. "My name is Eleanora Finley."
The lady's eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown, probably due to the fact that there was not a noble house named Finley.
"I'm not part of the twelve noble houses, if you were wondering," she quickly added. Now, cue the belittlement.
