Court of Flowers (Sutherland Book 1)

I | The Fainting Belle

DECEMBER 23, 1809

One could most often will the body to do anything with their mind.

But such was not the case for Sasha.

She knew it was coming. The darkness started to creep in from all edges of her vision, dimming the brightly lit room of the parlor. The ringing in her ears began, fading the voice of the woman speaking before her, and she could only stare at the woman's thin lips as they moved.

Her mind willed her body that it was not the perfect moment for her knees to buckle, that the carpeted floor, albeit softer than the hardwood flooring outside in the corridor, was not at all comfortable. But her body never listened as it often did.

It stole her breath from her as she tried to catch it.

And then her eyes closed.

And she was falling down the floor.

The Fainting Fairy did it again.

The reason for the fainting was rather just. It was unexpected and it was most definitely not a welcome one.

"You are being re-courted into the Court of Flowers," was the opening statement that had greeted Sasha after a very short introduction to a lady she only knew by name.

She barely had time to grasp the weight of the lady's words or the fact that she had been in the Court of Libraries for five years to this day. Five years! To this day! Today was her twenty-third birthday and this was not the kind of present she expected.

"Why?" she had managed to ask, blinking weakly in confusion.

"You do not belong in the Court of Libraries, Sasha," the lady had said, her perfectly made blond curls unmoving as she spoke. Blue eyes regarded Sasha with calmness and complete control. And authority. Lady Mariam, Mistress of the Court of Flowers, was preceded by her reputation to be beautiful, graceful, and imperious.

Sasha's mouth had opened in disbelief. How could this woman be the judge of any lady from the Court of Libraries? Or any of the other courts? She was the one who did not belong here. The Library was not her place.

But to Sasha's greatest chagrin, Lady Aisling, Mistress of the Court of Libraries, spoke the words that caused the light to slowly creep away from Sasha's vision. "You have failed many of your research, Sasha. Too many than any of the ladies who had been here longer than you."

"But of course. That's how research works," she tried to reason, her voice growing faint with each word. Disbelief. Despair. Dishonor.

"Your research focus on the human mind and trust me, dear, that in my seventy years of life, I had not seen one lady succeed in uncovering its secrets," Lady Aisling had explained in a gentle manner.

This was not happening.

This could not be real.

"I... I can start another research. One that does not—" a slight, desperate pause, "One that doesn't focus on the human mind... I do not understand. Five years. I have... I have been here five years..."

The lack of sympathy was expected from Lady Aisling. At the Library, no one was controlled by emotion. Everything had to be conducted by sound reasoning.

"Sasha, the decision is final. You have been re-evaluated."

"But... that's never..." Her eyes wandered from one woman to the other. "That's never been done before."

"In this case, it was necessary."

No.

Why?

Her confusion turned to desperation.

Not the Court of Flowers.

Please.

"You are stripped of your Librarian status. From this day, you are officially a Belle, Sasha."

It was then that the warning came to her. The dimming of the room. The ringing in her ears. The weakened knees.

Some of Lady Mariam's words came through the ringing. "This... Belcourt's decision... cannot contest..."

Her breathing was being snatched out of her and she struggled to catch it. Her chest began to heave.

She blinked, fighting the darkness. It was an utter failure.

"A Belle... a title you... honor for it is more than what you think it is."

Sasha was not certain how she could believe that. She knew what they did or who they served. She knew of their reputation outside Belcourt.

A Belle. A bloody Belle.

She could never be one.

"Your villa is ready in Coulway... pack... on the morrow... leaving..."

Live outside Belcourt?

No, she could never.

Belcourt was home. The Library was home.

She could never return outside.

Her dreams came crashing down on her and the ground finally opened up underneath her feet, swallowing her whole. If only she could stay there. It would be heaven compared to the world that Belcourt decided to throw her into.

As Sasha fell on the floor, her last thought was that Belcourt was harsh. And she had never thought of the place as anything but extraordinary until today.

Her dramatic fainting soon reached the ears of the other ladies in Belcourt until she gained a new moniker—the Fainting Belle.