Erica

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Walter could not believe his eyes. He reached out to confirm she was real.

This night could not get any worse for Erica. She was trembling as she flinched away from him completely avoiding his touch.

She was not only afraid but now cursing herself for letting her guard down. She needed to get away. She knew she could not handle another punishment; she was barely coping as it is.

Turning sharply on her heels, she used up the last of her energy that she was unaware that she even had and ran.

"Wait." Walter tried calling out to her, but his vision began to blur, and his head began to pound. He had to clutch on the wall for support.

When Erica made it back to her room, her heart was beating loudly, and her breaths were short and fast.

She had to bite her tongue to try hold in the pain as her injured fingers fumbled over the door handles. When she finally succeeded and got to her room, she fell to the floor in a thump.

She pulled her knees to her chest and leant back against her closed door. She buried her head and silently let her tears fall. She felt vulnerable and scared as she tried to seek comfort within herself.

That night she cried herself to sleep not moving from that position. Her mind welcomed the darkness as it temporarily took away her pain and suffering.

When she awoke the next morning, the first thing she noted was that it was a lot later than usual. She felt stiff, sore and completely drained.

Her breakfast lay cold at the door, and she barely had the appetite to even take a bite out of it let alone she found great difficulty in holding the cutlery.

Her fingertips ached, the pain was awful she could see parts of bruising and swelling under the dry blood which became clear once she washed it off. The cold water had stung but was equally soothing.

When she positioned herself in front of her dressing table, she noted her tear-stained cheeks and her tangled hair. Her eyes were swollen and puffy and her dark rings were prominent.

It took her a very long time to ready herself for the day. She could hardly use her hands without wincing in pain every few seconds.

She did not know if Georgie was going to visit her later on, but she did not want to worry her if she did. Georgie needed to think that everything was just fine. Erica was afraid that if she found out, she would do something stupid and get hurt too, something she truly did not want to happen to her dear friend.

Erica chose not to leave her room for the remainder of the day. She was afraid of bumping into anyone especially the Countess whose warning had been made clear the night before.

She was also terrified at the thought that her bother might have reported her again to the Countess after their run in not even minutes after her punishment. The fear was a constant reminder of her failures and how she was seen as a disappointment by her family. It was soul crushing.

She was weak and only ever wanted to be loved and accepted into the family. She always did as she was told but the one time that she chose to put her happiness first, she paid the consequences. Erica believed herself a selfish person and deserving of all the discipline she received from the Countess.

When Walter on the other hand awoke in the early morning, he was greeted with a wonderful headache and nausea. He regretted drinking so much. He could hardly even recall his memories after his fifth glass let alone how he even returned to his room.

He decided not to fret too much and made his leave from the Alvore estate after leaving a message for his mother and Sibyl with one of the servants. He did after all have duties to catch up on that he had missed out on the day before.

His thoughts still lingered on his half-sister, but his responsibilities came first, and he was forced to temporarily push them to the side.

"Hey Walty, you are actually awake this time." A bubbling Louis greeted.

Seeing Louis first thing in the morning with his loud and energetic voice did no good to a nauseated sound sensitive Walter. He dropped his features into an unhappy scowl and walked past him ignoring his presence.

"Don't be like that." Louis chucked and caught up to his grumpy friend, "Did you like my little gift I gave you yesterday?"

Walter stopped and sharply turned to face Louis; a scary look dawned his features. Louis took no notice of this and smiled innocently.

"You are lucky I'm not feeling strong enough to murder you right here and now." He flicked Louis on the forehead.

Louis gasped and rubbed the spot, "Hey it's not my fault that you were sleeping like a dead cow."

"I was trying to refill my energy because you exhaust me and don't you have anything else to do besides bothering me? You know like noble duties or something?" Walter started walking again trying to get rid of the pest Louis.

"Yeah yeah, but those can wait. I'm still young and have my whole life to live! I have recently found my one and only true love, my mind is only occupied with thoughts of her beauty! She is my most important priority! Nothing will stand in our way-" Louis was interrupted when Walter placed his palm against his mouth.

"If she is so important go bother her." Walter pulled his hand away grateful that he had stopped talking.

"You are no fun. This is why you have no one in your life that you are romantically involved with. You will be alone forever." Louis playfully grumbled, "But I do need to go now. Don't miss me to much!"

Walter was relieved that there was now silence. It was so much more peaceful and relaxing on his headache but unfortunately it was short lived as the head of the barracks approached him with a new assignment.

He and his squadron were ordered to depart within the next hour to one of the border farming villages where reports of bandits had been sighted robbing travellers on the important trade route that passed through. It would be a six-day journey.