Chapter One
Elizabeth groaned when she slowly drifted into conscious, she felt so tired and her head was threatening to explode any moment for she was suffering from a really bad headache. She turned her head to the right and winced when she felt a sudden pain jolt from her shoulder.
"Ellie." She heard a distant whisper above her, it sounded so familiar but she wasn't able to pinpoint who it belonged to. "Ellie." She heard her name again but this time the voice was becoming louder and it was clearer. "Ellie, darling please open your eyes."
Ellie tried doing just that, but it was a really hard task for her eyes felt so heavy. But Elizabeth was known for her stubbornness, and she wasn't going to lay there without trying again and this time she did open her eyes.
A bright light was what she saw first and there was a looming figure above her, she took a couple of moments for her eyes to adjust to the light until she saw her father, Edmund the Earl of Nottingham, above her looking at her with a look of relief.
"Oh darling!" She heard her mother's quivering voice not far behind her father, she averted her eyes to see her mother staring at her wide brown eyes with the same look of relief on her face.
"W-" Ellie tried talking but her voice was so raspy and her throat hurt quiet a lot. Quickly a glass of water was put against her lips and cool water traveled down her burning throat. Ellie didn't say a word because she was quickly interrupted when she heard the door of her bedchamber's open and in came rushing her siblings.
Anna, Michael, and Colin were wearing the same look her parents were still wearing.
Anna and Colin had blonde hair just like their mother while Elizabeth and Michael had chestnut hair like their fathers. Anna was the youngest between them at the age of one and nine, Michael was two and three and Colin was the oldest between the three at the age of two and five, and of course there was their sister Alice that was the oldest among the four.
Colin being the oldest between the two brothers was going to inherit the Mansion and her father's title, and it hurt Ellie to know that someday her beloved father was going to die.
"W-Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked furrowing her eyebrows.
"Ellie darling, you've been unconscious for four weeks." Colin said slowly.
"F-Four weeks?" Ellie exclaimed. And it took her just that to remember that night, the horrible night she experienced.
All the events came rushing back to her. She walking in the park after visiting her sister Alice that was married to a Viscount named Emmet. She being attacked and finally being shot. She felt her throat constricting as she remembered the awful night, and suddenly her body was on fire, every single place throbbed from pain she didn't realize was already there.
"I-I was shot?" She asked gulping loudly, she felt the throbbing pain on her right shoulder but she didn't have the guts to see the damage there. All five heads nodded to her and she felt the urge to cry from all the emotions that suddenly engulfed her, that suddenly emerged to the surface.
"Honey." Her mother muttered slowly approaching her. "Don't worry your wound was tended to by Doctor James, it wasn't infected." She said assuring her. "No need to cry, you'll be great. We're going to throw a ball for you when you are allowed to get out of bed." Her mother added with an assuring smile on her pretty aging face.
Ellie ignored her mother and looked over her shoulder to see a huge white bandage covering her right shoulder. She merely nodded and closed her eyes to hold her tears at bay. "Did-did you catch the-the man that-" she couldn't stop her tears though she tried her best not look so weak and vulnerable.
"Don't think about him." Her father said a scowl on his face. "He's rotting in jail." Her father added pursing his lips.
"You needn't think about all this stuff Ellie." Anna said. "Just make sure to heal fast." She added with a small smile on her face.
"I-I'll try my best." Ellie muttered slowly. "I-I want to sleep." She muttered closing her eyes and soon she heard the door close behind her family that left her alone. But she wasn't going to sleep, she wanted to cry!
And that's just what she did, she cried her heart out, fear slowly engulfing her as the events of that horrid night came flashing before her eyes, she felt so scared she didn't want to leave her bedchambers, she didn't want to go out and she didn't want to attend any balls or gatherings anymore.
Her cries soon became sobs that were uncontrollably leaving her lips and just as soon as she remembered the man touching her and trying to force himself upon her she started shouting just like that horrid night.
She was living that night again. And that's how Ellie suffered every night, she always woke up shouting at the top of her lungs.
She was trapped in this maze, she wasn't going to find her way out any time soon.
She needed help.
•••
The ball was thrown a month after Ellie was good to walk and ready to meet people again. But Ellie wasn't that good, she'd pretend to be great in front of her family but deep down she knew she wouldn't be great for the events of that horrid night were still hunting her through her dreams.
Ellie was now used to all the dreams, she was now able to control her sobs and cries for help as soon as she woke up, but the nightmares were soon leaving a deeper gash through her, enabling her from functioning properly without the thought of someone trying to touch her in an ill manner crossing her mind.
It was all she saw now.
Ellie snapped out if her reverie when she heard her mother calling her name. She averted her eyes to stare at her mother with questioning eyes.
"Are you not willing to dance?" Her mother asked concerned. "Where is your dance card sweetie?" Her mother added.
The thought of dancing with a man-made goose bumps rise over her body, the thought of a man touching her made her ill. "No mama, I don't want to dance, I'm perfectly fine sitting here." Ellie said with a forced smile on her face.
That horrid night changed a lot of things including Elizabeth for she was known not to skip a dance even if she was to dance it alone.
"But Ellie, this ball was thrown for your sake." Her mother, Charlotte, said. "It was thrown for you becoming better."
"But I'm not better mama!" Ellie shouted attracting a lot of attention. "Im not better at all." She whispered tears in her eyes. "Excuse me." She mumbled walking away from her mother with her lower lip trembling.
Hold it in Ellie you're almost there, she thought.
She was just at the verge of breaking into uncontrollable sobs but she made sure to hold them in.
She walked out of the ballroom and into the garden, the cool wind quickly blowing her hair that was made in a bun above her head. She hugged herself around the waist and stared at the sky as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
Loud sobs were soon erupting from her lips, she tried biting down on her lip to stop them but she failed because it only made it worse her knees were buckling and she was about to fall down when she heard a throat being cleared.
Elizabeth quickly turned around to see a handsome man standing there staring at her. She felt her heart fall between her legs and her throat slowly started constricting, she felt the urge to run away but her legs weren't responding to her mind.
"Calm down, im not going to do anything." He said, his voice so calm and soothing. But Ellie just stared at him with wide eyes, his words did nothing to calm her.
He took a step forward and that made Ellie snap out of her thoughts, she held her hand out in front of her unconsciously taking a step back. "Stay away from me!" She exclaimed fear lacing her voice. "Don't you dare come any closer to me!" She added tears welling in her eyes. She didn't want to cry but she wasn't able to hold the fear inside but she didn't want to show it too.
"Hush." He said calmly. "I'm not coming near you and I'm not going to hurt you." He added.
That triggered something within Elizabeth and soon the distant memory of the crude man that tried forcing himself upon her flashed in front of her.
Hush you little twit.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She shouted tears streaming down her face. "MAMA! PAPA!" She shouted again. "P-Please d-don't hurt me." She stammered quietly. Her lower lip was already trembling and her body was shaking uncontrollably from fear.
"Lady Elizabeth, I mean no harm at all." He said quietly not able to approach her for fear of giving her and heart attack.
Her parents soon popped behind the man their faces pale. "Oh thank god." Her mother muttered placing a hand above her chest. "I thought someone was attacking you." She muttered sighing.
Ellie gulped loudly as she stared at the man that had a worried look etched on his face. Her parents looked relieved, that only meant one thing, and she just accused a gentleman that meant no harm towards her.
"I-I'm terribly sorry, my lord." She mumbled though the fear on her face never left in the first place. "I-I-" she was interrupted when the man suddenly shook his head a small sympathetic smile on his lips.
"No, no need to apologize Lady Elizabeth." He said calmly. "I'm William Seddon, the Duke of Devonshire." He extended his hand for her to take and for him to kiss lightly, but Ellie just started at it skeptically as if it were to grow another finger.
"E-Excuse me, my lord." She muttered walking away without another glance knowing that she would be scolded by her parents for acting so rudely, especially in front of a Duke.
***
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-Rose