Thunderstorm and lightning (2)

I glared at the men and felt tears run down my cheeks. They talked about formal matters and arranged identity documents and certificates and so forth, while I tried not to sniffle too loudly. Bigoted pricks. All of them. There was not one nice guy among them.

I supposed it was like what Sir Waltlee had said earlier. As an outworlder, I had no real rights and although there was meant to be consent, they just eradicated that problem by avoiding it with a loophole in the law.

There was no going home. No compensation. No way out of my predicament without becoming an indebted slave working hard to pay off what I owed.

Wait. Why couldn't they send me home? Storm went back and forth. Why couldn't I? They had only said that they couldn't send me home but didn't mention why.

I whispered my question to the doctor after tugging on his sleeve.

It seemed that all the men heard the question though because they all stopped talking to look at me with bemusement.

"Bringing you here nearly killed you and sent your body systems into shock for a year," said the prince with some amusement instead of the doctor. "We can't send you back because one, it is very, very expensive to use the world teleporter. Storm can only afford it because he can use the power of lightning from the storms to help reduce the amount of energy required. If you wanted to go, you wouldn't be able to afford it in even ten of your lifetimes. Two, it is very taxing and stressful to the body. If you go back to your world, your body would probably go into shock again and with the backward medical technology you have available over there and your weak body, you'd probably die. Three, you need my approval and I do not condone suicide. I refuse to permit you to go home just to die. Besides, time will have moved on over there. The lower realms move at a faster pace than us. Everyone you knew is likely already dead. So, no. Four, I said 'no'. Just 'no'. And I am the highest authority here in this castle. What I say will stand. Understand? Five, I have already been very gracious toward an outworlder like you by granting you citizenship, access to medical services and permission to marry and become one of us in Apiary. Not many lords would be so kind. And so, in short, Misty Glory, suck it up. Tomorrow morning, health permitting, you will follow his Grace back to his lands and marry out of my duchy into his. I will be rid of the little complication that you are so that I can focus on more important, pressing matters. Your presence has been a welcome little diversion though, and I thank you for the opportunity to have some fun, but play time is over and for you, young lady, it is time to grow up."

"Your Highness, isn't that a little harsh?" Sir Waltlee winced when I broke down into muffled sobs and pulled the pillow over my head to hide my face from the mean bastards. "Couldn't the news have been a little gentler?"

"Since when have we ever mollycoddled outworlders?" the prince snorted. "Give them a finger and they'll take your whole arm. Give them a foot and they'll bite you in half. As cute as the little darling is, she has to know that nobody is going to put up with her childish tantrums. As an outworlder, she either has to become one of us quickly or put up with being looked down on for the rest of her life. Her moving to Verbena is an excellent chance for her to leave her past behind and start anew. She had better understand how to take hold of this opportunity with both hands or she's going to live a miserable life."

The men left me crying. The doctor took some blood to run more tests. A nurse who wasn't wearing makeup or perfume did the other checks. When I refused to participate willingly, I was given a sedative and knocked out.

It was early in the morning, when I was woken up. Very groggy from the sedative, I was shuffled and moved about in a daze. The nurses cleaned me up and got me dressed in fresh clothes but I could barely keep my head up.

"...still a virgin... compatible with your blood... You should be able to get her pregnant without a problem. Bring her back every month for her checkup..."

I was picked up and laid down in a comfortable bed. A blanket was tucked around me and a girl leaned over me with some concern.

I felt the movement of the bed beneath me and felt like I was going to fall. Off the bed. Through the bed. I wasn't flying. I was falling upwards upside down. I yelped in fright.

I saw the closing of the vehicle's shield overhead. This light shield was black, unlike Storm's lightning yellow.

Flailing at the steep ascent during takeoff, the girl beside me caught my flailing arms and held them down. She soothed me with words I couldn't quite catch. And then, while the bed was rocketing up toward the sky feet first, she sang. Her singing surprised me and helped stabilise my emotions. Eventually the flight evened out and I managed to calm down.

Gritting my teeth, I did my best to calm my racing heart and catastrophising thoughts. I tried to concentrate on the girl and her song. And when I finally did, to my surprise, I fell asleep.

I had a horrific dream though. I was falling. Falling out of the sky from such a height that the patchwork land beneath me looked with a mouth drying speed. Jerking awake to find the girl beside me holding me down while I stared at her with wild eyes, I discovered that we had just taxied into a smooth landing at the entrance to a large mansion.

"It's alright. You're alright," the girl told me in a soothing voice. "We're home now. Come on. You can get up. I'll help you in. We'll help you in."

The poker faced man picked me up in his arms and dismissed his vehicle after we had all disembarked, kicking it up to be caught in its snowboard-like form into the arms of a waiting liveried man wearing a pale purple on black livery.

"Let it be known that I have brought my fiancée from the Duchy of Hoarfrost and Goldenseal to recuperate and study in preparation for our marriage. She will be treated with all due respect as rightfully belongs to the future lady of the house. Due to her poor health and only recent improvement, she is far behind in all areas of her studies. I expect everyone to be patient and gracious in serving and teaching her the ways of a noble lady. Housekeeper, have her staff been arranged? Good. My lady is as yet unable to walk, and so I hope you will all accommodate her in her care. Where is her wheelchair?"

A wheelchair was pushed out from behind the many bushes of small purple flowers by a maid in dressed in the same light purple edges on black uniform as all the other servants, but had white lace trimmings on the shoulders with a purple flower in the same likeness as the purple flowered bushes embroidered in the centre of the lace. There was a faint pleasant scent in the area and various butterflies fluttered around the bushes.

Behind the maid pushing the wheelchair came a large group of people with the same lace trimmings. The girl who had ridden with me in the vehicle hurried to take her place among the staff near the back.

"My lady," they all bowed. "Welcome to Vervain House of the Duchy of Verbena."

"These are all your personal household staff," the poker faced duke sat me down into the wheelchair and turned me around to face all the rest of the staff who were lining up in ranks outside the house. "This is your head maid, Aster. You may ask her any questions. She is in charge of monitoring your health, schedule and managing your household staff."

I noticed this head maid, unlike the other maids, also had lace edging on the edges of her apron. Of the other two groups of staff standing to the side, only one maid in each group had an apron with lace edging. I supposed it made it obvious who was in charge.

My wheelchair was turned to face the second group of people, headed by three people. One was obviously a military type. One had purple ribbon edging the breast pocket of his suit unlike most of the other male servants, and had light purple ribbon on the shoulders. The woman beside him also had light purple ribbon on her shoulders and lining the edges of her white laced apron.

"Butler Basil Mint, Housekeeper Rosemary Thyme, and Captain Kaffir Kokum of the Verbena Knights. They are in charge of the entire household and answer to me. All maids, including yours, report to Housekeeper Thyme. All menservants likewise report to Butler Mint. Captain Kokum has charge of all the knights and their related staff in not only the residence but also the entire Duchy," the poker faced duke told me. "Those behind them with the white ribbon and leaf are my personal staff."

The three heads and all those behind them bowed, speaking in unison.

"My lady, welcome to House Vervain of Verbena Duchy."

"Steward Cress is doing the rounds inspecting the manors. It is unlikely you will meet him often. My personal valet and other usual staff that escort me outside the house are also not present. I will introduce you to them another time. For now, as you will be remaining within the house, you only need to know these."

I tilted my head, feeling slightly confused. He had different staff for when he was home and not at home? How many people did he need to look after him?

"The last group are the general staff and rank lower than our personal household staff," the duke said in a detached tone. "They include the medical staff, kitchen staff, garden staff, and so on."

Each section bowed when they were mentioned.

"And that is everyone," the duke said. "Usually, I will be living in the castle and only return to the house once or twice a month as needed or to take a break. If you so wish, I will make an effort to return more often to cultivate our relationship and check on your progress. I feel that you may feel more free to relax and take your time to recover and rehabilitate your health without my presence. I have a separate staff here in my personal residence and in the castle. The heads of my working staff in the castle are not here but you will meet them in time. In my absence, direct any queries to Housekeeper Thyme and Butler Mint. Allow me to show you to your rooms."

The poker faced duke whose name I still didn't know wheeled me up a ramp hidden behind what I assumed were verbena bushes and in through the front door of the house. The staff filed in behind us. Only the heads of staff and my staff continued to follow us toward my rooms.

It was a long journey through long corridors, up hidden lifts that were activated in a similar way to the snowboard-like vehicles, and yet more corridors. I caught glimpses of stair wells and other, smaller, labyrinthine corridors behind narrower doors. I guessed the servants' section were behind those narrower doors and hidden in the narrow corridors.

By the time we finally arrived at what appeared to be a wide hall that served as the entranceway to a few wings. Each winged corridor was marked by different coloured vases.

The duke pointed me at the corridor on the far left where a pair of black vases stood behind the pair of guards standing at the entrance to the black wing.

"My rooms are within the black wing. You are free to come to find me there when I am home, but do please knock prior to entering. My previous fiancée showed me no such courtesy and so I dissolved the engagement when I found there was no mutual respect. I am a very private person. I would prefer it if you did not come without invitation, but I understand that women sometimes wish to seek their man out personally when they are seeking attention."

"I will do my best to follow your wishes and treat you with as much respect as you provide me, your Grace," I stammered, unable to think of when, if ever, I would ever personally go hunting for my man in his own rooms when he was seeking a moment of privacy. "I won't pry. I'll knock on the doors. I understand everyone needs their own space to unwind. I won't let power grow me a big head. I think. I hope. I'll try not too. I'll - I'll do my best."

A gentle hand rested on my head and there was a moment of silnce.

"Then I'll thank you in advance, my lady," the duke said removing his hand and turning my wheelchair to the next corridor where there were white vases. "The white wing is reserved for our heir when he or she comes of age. The blue wing is reserved for our male children, the pink wing for our little girls, and the yellow wing is the nursery for the infants and babies below the age of three. The last wing is yours, my lady. The purple wing belongs to you and are your private rooms. No one is permitted there without orders from either of us or invitation from me or yourself. When we marry, you may choose where our marriage bed and shared room shall be. Whenever you shall feel most comfortable. Should you wish to sleep in the shared room at any stage, it will be understood as an invitation for me to come to you and vice versa. To be clear," the duke cleared his throat, "such an invitation would indicate a wish for shared intimacy."

I coughed and cleared my throat as well.

"I understand," I said, suddenly feeling like my throat had been dried by the awkward atmosphere. I pointed at each corridor to confirm the information in my memory. "Yours, heir, boys, girls, babies, mine."

"Yes," I heard a soft chuckle from behind me and that hand rested gently on my head once more, his hand pointing in reverse and breath tickling the edge of my ear. You, our babies, girls, boys and heir are all mine."

I shivered and a hand cupped one cheek. The thumb stroked up and down. Looking up, I wanted to see what the man was thinking. I saw him looking at all the wings with a frighteningly cold smile of triumph. Then, before I was ready, he looked down and his heated gaze caught mine, making me jump a little in my chair. I quickly looked down, making him chuckle again.

"I will leave you with your staff here, my lady," he took my hand and left a ticklish kiss on the back of it with his dry lips. "Go and take a rest. If you feel well enough, have a tour through your rooms and familiarise yourself with the place. You may tour different sections of the house on different days. I will meet you at dinner and explain your daily schedule to you moving forwards. Tomorrow, you will meet all your tutors. You will be busy every day. Please be sure to inform Head Maid Aster if and when you are not feeling well. It would not do for you to push yourself too hard and set your health back. I hope you recover speedily. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes," I hesitated, feeling awkward. It was hard to ask for a person's name after you had met for a while.

"Yes?" the poker faced man tilted his head and then knelt down in front of me, looking into my eyes, waiting patiently for me to find my words. "Speak. I won't be angry."

Ah, his eyes were so intense that they were boring into me. I felt like any moment now, he would decide he didn't like or want me and that he would sell me off to the highest bidder to make babies for my new master. I swallowed but my mouth was dry.

"Is something wrong?" his eyes softened with concern. "Are you feeling unwell, perhaps?"

"No," I shook my head, trying to calm my heart that wanted to race away and hide. Bury itself in the ground away from so many eyes. My eyes darted at all the watching people, feeling myself starting to break into a sweat.

"Go about your business," the poker faced man ordered and the staff all bowed, taking their leave. He then took both my cold hands in his. His hands were barely warmer than mine. "My lady," he said and tucked my fringe back behind an ear. "You may feel free to speak now. It is only the two of us now."

"What-what's your name?" I managed to stammer out in a voice too soft for him to hear.

"My apologies," he leaned in. "I couldn't hear you. Please repeat your question."

I reworded my blurted sentence to sound more formal and less rude.

"Your Grace, may I - may I know your name?"

There was a moment of silence and the man examined my face critically as if he was trying to figure out whether I was trying to make fun of him or was being serious. His scrutiny was agonisingly painful. I just wanted to get up and run away, however my legs could barely carry my weight at the moment so I had no escape. I shrank into the chair and closed my eyes, ready to receive a fiery tirade like I might have received from Storm.

Two hands cupped my cheeks, surprising me into opening my eyes. Seeing his intense eyes boring holes into me again, I jerked back in fear.

He released me with a slightly more gentle gaze upon seeing how frightened I was of him and his hand rested on my head for a brief moment again despite me flinching back. He stopped leaning so close to me and nodded when he saw how I stopped trembling so hard without such proximity.

"My lady," he said in a soft voice, "I will never use violence upon you like Storm Keeper does. You will be respected. You will be cherished. You will be protected. You may rest assured that I will not flare up for no reason nor act on a whim just because of my selfish wishes. If and when something intimate happens between us, it will be with your initiative and consent. Do you understand?"

I nodded jerkily.

"I will do my best to be patient with you and wait for you, however, I must warn you, my patience is also limited. I am but a man. As a man, I have flaws and may sometimes break my promises or do something that upsets you. When that happens, give me time to cool down and then come and talk to me," the duke paused for a moment and gave a short nod, as if confirming something to himself. What it might be, I wasn't sure.

His warning was fair enough. Nobody had infinite patience. This man probably had clear lines and boundaries that I had to learn. I only hoped that I never stepped on his bottom line or I could expect to either be killed or tossed out on my backside.

"As for my name," he continued, "I am Duke Lissotrichous Mullein of the main branch of House Vervain. Outside, I am known as Duke Verbena. To my friends, I am known as Lisso or Lissos."

"Lissotrichous? Lissos?" I mulled over the words, searching the dictionary in my mind. "From the Greek? Smooth - smooth hair?"

I gestured at his straight hair and he smiled that cold smile that seemed to say that he thought I was making fun of him. And yet, he took my hand to place it on my head as if inviting me to touch.

Wow. It really was silky smooth. He had great hair.

Gently, he took my hand back down from his head and kissed my fingers. However that smile was still the cold and scary one that promised payback for potentially mocking him.

"From Hellene," he corrected me and stood up. "You, my lady fiancée, may call me Lisso. Not many people know the origin of my name. I find myself pleasantly surprised. Have a good rest, my lady. If you have no other questions, I will take my leave."

He left with a bow after I shook my head. I watched him calmly walk into his black wing and rubbed my face and head with both hands. What had just happened? Seriously, what had just happened? For a moment there, I had felt that sense of closeness but then it had been ruined by his cold smile. It had turned what I thought I had felt on its head.

He thought I had mocked his name, didn't he? He had reassured me with a threat about losing patience and I had accepted it. He had made promises that he said he might break. Yes, no one is infallible but then why even make those promises in the first place?

Was he pleased I had asked for his name? Or was he angry? Why did he have me touch his hair? His hair had been really nice to touch, but no, why would he want me to touch his hair? To prove his name was true? That he really had smooth and straight hair? Was he happy or angry that I had tried to parse the meaning of his name?

He had told me to call him by his nickname, Lisso. Would I ever be able to called him that when it was so close to similar words like lissome, lasso and gliss from glissando? Would I burst out laughing, picturing him as a lissome dancer or as a cowboy's lasso? It was very possible that he was a good dancer with his body shape. Most nobles were good dancers too, right? As for a glissando, I'd end up imagining jazz music or a band piece or something. What to do? What do I do? I couldn't call him Lisso. Lissos was slightly better but even so I didn't dare take advantage of that right.

I would have to stick to the more formal 'your Grace' or 'my lord' that everyone else used. Man, was I glad that I had read so many novels back in my teenage days. At least I had a hint of what kind of society I was about to be embedded into.

Earlier, the doctor, Sir Waltlee had warned me not to show too much emotion. Well bred ladies did not show much emotion. The poker faced duke over there proved that well bred gentlemen were not to show much emotion either. How tiresome was this kind of restricted life going to be?

I could guess just by thinking that I was going to have to go through etiquette and deportment classes. I was going to have to learn to walk before I even got to deportment and dance though. I'd have to learn all the social rules for formalities and different ranks, learn how to make small talk and diplomatic speeches. I'd have to learn how to read and do basic things like pour tea...

Read. Yes. The alphabet here was completely different from the English alphabet and Roman numerals. I was going to have to relearn reading, writing and maths. People were going to look at me like I was an idiot.

I covered my face. Argh! How was I going to survive?

I was literate in my world but not this one. I didn't know any of the common knowledge and so was going to have to learn names of common birds and plants and things. I'd have to learn basic geography and history.

I may as well be starting at pre-school level. I knew next to nothing about this culture.

I'd spent the last few months pretty much unconscious and sick. I was already nearing my physical limit of sitting upright since I had been lying down flat the the better part of a year. And with how my health was at the moment, was I even going to be able to get up and function in any way tomorrow?

Today was the first time I had woken up and stayed up for so many hours in a while. That was if I counted from the moment I had woken up in the doctor's clinic before even going to the castle. The journey here must have taken a while too. But even if I counted from the moment of my arrival in this house to now, it felt like it had been a few hours. In reality, it was likely no more than half an hour. But then, who knew? I wasn't a great keeper of time without a watch.

Just thinking about it, I suddenly felt struck with fatigue, nausea and dizziness. Suddenly, I wanted a bed. A flat surface. Somewhere, anywhere that was flat and comfortable that I could lie down on. Even the floor was starting to look good.

"My lady?" the girl who had accompanied me earlier on the flying vehicle approached me with my head maid. They approached me cautiously like people not wanting to startle a wild creature away.

The head maid, what was her name again? The memory was getting kinda blurry with this growing sensation of fatigue and dizziness.

"My lady," someone propped me up and held me into the chair before I could fall out.

Tiredly, I rubbed my face and head and neck again, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Bed," I grunted. "Lie down. Please."

Someone took control of the wheelchair and ran with me in it while someone did their best to support me in the chair. Orders were shouted along the way and feet came running.

Somehow, at some stage, I was helped - almost lifted, really from the wheelchair to a blessed, comfortable bed. I released a sigh of relief and allowed myself to relax while people bustled about me getting me changed and repositioned.

I smelled medicine and the whiff of cleaning alcohol that all medical staff carry with them. I figured I was in good hands and drifted off into an initially fragmented slumber and then a deep sleep.

I almost slept the sleep of the dead, so I heard during a brief waking moment where I managed to open my eyes for a blink before I was dragged back under by the mysterious currents of the dreamwolrd's undertow.

A hand was holding mine and massaging it gently when I woke up. I was almost startled to find that cold, poker faced man beside me. It took me a long, slow moment to remember his name. Old. He was so much older than me.

"At last," he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing my eyes blink open at him. It was like a weight had fallen off his shoulders. "You're awake."

"How long?" I croaked at him and grimaced at my bad breath. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost two weeks," the man - argh - whatsisname - his Grace, the duke said. "The doctors said you over exerted yourself with all the excitement and it almost proved too much for your body. They have assured me that your health has finally stabilised again and that you should be making slow recovery from now on. You will likely still have long sleeps, but these should grow shorter and shorter until it falls into a normal sleeping cycle if we are strict with your schedule. You truly frightened all the staff and myself. We may have aged a few years in just these past two weeks."

"Sorry," I rasped.

"Don't be," the duke said, his name still eluding me. "It's not your fault. It's ours. Now that you're awake, we'll prop you up in bed. Don't stress or worry about anything today. All you have to do today is have a bath, get changed and eat. That's all I ask of you. Do you think you can do that?"

I nodded.

"Good."

A rope hanging by the bed curtains was pulled and a bell jingled. Four maids rushed into the room and I frowned at them, being unable to recognise any beside the girl who had sung me to sleep in the flying vehicle and the head maid. Ah. What was her name again?

They introduced themselves again but the names went in one ear and out the other.

"Don't overload her with too much information or chatter," the duke said, standing up. "The doctor said she will not be able to handle too much stimuli."

"Yes, my lord," the maids bowed and the Duke of Verbena left the room. Verbena. House Vervain. That was right. And his name? Nope. Nope. Blank. It wasn't coming to me. Not yet anyway.

My head whirled and the room spun the moment they sat me up. It was so bad that I retched and cried. They had to lay me back down on the bed. It took four attempts before I felt well enough to stay upright. Two of them then pointed at me with orange and indigo lights on the tips of their fingers and lifted me into a wheelchair. I was wheeled tot he bathroom where I was once more, magically lifted from the wheelchair to a reclining shower chair in the big bathroom that was slowly lowered down into a large and warm bath of water. One of the maids started washing my hair and I crinkled my eyes shut in enjoyment. It was so comfortable that I started drifting off again.

Warm towels patted me dry and while I was getting dressed, a warm wind combed my hair with gentle fingers. By the time I had finished rotating and being lifted in the air to be dressed, my hair was dry.

In the wheelchair, I was pushed out onto a sun warmed balcony where a meal of soft and easily digestible foods was waiting for me. I did my best to feed myself with my weak and so clumsy hands, but when I grew tired, the maids took over, fussing over me. With my nod of consent, I was lifted by magic into a well cushioned recliner to enjoy the sun and fresh air. A blanket was tucked back around me and I smiled my thanks to all my maids. Then I closed my eyes and drifted off once more.

My next awakening was a little rougher. After being sat up from the bed, I was wracked with nausea and vomiting. I made a mess of everything and myself and fainted from exhaustion.

To my relief, the next time I woke up, I was sitting in a rocking recliner on my balcony in the shade. Below the balcony, I could see some staff playing some sort of ball game during their break that looked like a strange type of basketball. It was entertaining to watch and to try and figure out the rules. I repositioned myself to sit up a little straighter with a lot of effort.

My nap was interrupted by someone feeding me a mix of cake, jelly and cream. I smiled at the head maid who was feeding me.

"Delicious," I told her, making her grin with pleasure. "Good choice."

It was like how the duke had said. Or rather, what the doctors had said to the duke. The length of my heavy sleeps grew shorter and my waking times grew longer. I went from being only able to manage personal care and a small meal, to being able to enjoy the feeling of sitting on my balcony and watching the world below me with great interest.

The four maids who served me most closely were the first names I learnt to remember, while the duke's more difficult name continued to elude.

Aster, my head maid. Then my singing girl, Aria. The orange gifted mage was Amber. The purple mage was Amethyst. Four A's. Sometimes I got the names mixed up, but if I remembered what their names were associated with, it wasn't so bad.

I was able to dine with the duke on occasion and once in a while have someone take me for a walk through the gardens. Once, I got to sit on the edge of a fountain and kick my feet in the water to cool down during one hot day. I paid for it the next day with an extra day in bed, but I had enjoyed it.

I went from rolling on my bed to sitting up on my own and being able to shake off the dizziness before calling for my maids, to standing to transfer between bed and chair and bathing chair. From reclining to bathe to sitting upright to standing for a shower. I felt I was making great progress. I didn't need so much help to wash myself anymore. When I could finally wash my hair on my own, I kicked my maids out to enjoy some private time with just me in the bathroom and nobody looking at my naked body. I was in a good mood all day after that.

Food went from soft, easily digestible foods to cut up foods and then normal food I could handle myself. I could make requests of the chef and I could enjoy all the desserts I wanted while the doctors encouraged me to gain more weight.

From sit to stands to sideways walking to normal walking, backwards walking and even skipping, I felt I would be back to normal in no time. That was until I overdid my activities one day in excitement and was out for the count for five. My maids got to know what I could and couldn't do and to recognise the signs of my fatigue.

When I wasn't doing rehab exercises, I began my numeracy and literacy studies, supplemented by history and geography. And when they felt I had gotten most of the basics down pat, I started etiquette, deportment, diplomacy and dancing classes. In short, I ended up so busy with so little time to myself that there were times I just sat down and cried for want of a rest. But if I didn't look unwell, the staff would urge me on, saying I was so behind that even these crash courses wouldn't be enough for what was needed. Even after I got married, I was going to have to continue studying.

And that just made me sad.

In the midst of all the busyness, I forgot that I had just been a mediocre working girl from Earth. All I knew was that I had to become an acceptable noble woman or die trying. That was literally what it felt like.

Whenever the duke spent some time with me, it was to test what I had learned, correct my mistakes, make changes to my curricula and add extra classes. Soon, on top of everything else, there were riding classes, archery, self-defence and martial arts classes. There were singing classes, classes on various musical instruments, painting, penmanship and calligraphy. There were medical classes, pharmacology and herb lore. I wondered if I would ever be able to go back to my days of lounging on my balcony, tasting various desserts. A noble lady needed to learn way too many things.

I began to lose weight again, but this time it was because the soft fat was being replaced with muscle. My mind was always spinning and trying to come to grips with what new things I had learnt that day. I pushed my self harder and further, to the point that Aria often had to send me to sleep with her gift at night to make sure I got enough rest.

Everything was progressing in a relatively clear linear pattern. I knew what I was meant to do when and how. I was becoming more and more like the noble lady they wanted me to be. I wasn't as averse or afraid of the duke's presence as I had in the past. I got used to the idea he might be two decades older than me. Nobody has told me his age, so I could only guess from his looks. Once I got used to his older looks and the idea of getting married to him, I stopped thinking about it. After all, I was far to busy to stop and think about it too much.

In fact the marriage had become a goal to look forward to, because when we got married, it would mean that I had fully recovered and that I had learnt enough in my studies that they felt I was ready to function in real society.

And then Storm arrived during a heavy thunderstorm and interrupted the structured new life I was just getting used to.