Abigail woke up just as her carriage pulled up in front of a large manor. As she slipped out, she noticed the abundance of servants dashing around both outside and inside the large building. This was supposedly the home of Henry, but they were to stay on opposing sides as to not meet until next week - their wedding day. She could feel her ears grow warm as she was lead to a guest bedroom.
Coco had refused to have servants. She reasoned that none of them were to be trusted and at any moment they could turn on them. Although Abigail never really understood where this underlying distrust came from, it was only their governesses that ultimately ran the household. Their parents were rarely home, and never noticed the emptiness of the house when they were.
Tyler had never grown up with servants, so he was fairly content. She couldn't figure out who Tyler had resonated with so much, but there was also a sort of familiarity that she had felt when she saw him waving goodbye to her. He also had her brown curls, but his eyes were maroon. She had been the only one to inherit her mothers' telltale golden eyes, and as a result became very popular very quickly in her mothers' family and the larger textiles community. Tyler could have simply been a former classmate reincarnated, or he could even be a cousin of hers for all she knew.
Abigail missed the extra help that she would always receive from the servants - it had only been two years since all the household servants were stood down, but she still found doing menial but fundamental tasks quite strenuous. Since Coco had looked more like her father with her hair and eye colour, he had immediately taken to favouring her, and they few times they had met their father he was very formal even with them. Coco had aspired to surpass her father, and this is ultimately what motivated her to become the most powerful person in the nation. It wasn't such a far off dream, considering her pedigree, and Abigail realised that having a sister like that was an asset on her behalf. They never spoke much - Coco was always out practicing one of her three sports disciplines, or in the local library reading through ancient and political texts, while Abigail much rather preferred to stay home and read her romance novels, or occasionally go out to the shops and socialise with acquaintances of the family.
Her head started to hammer. Her friend Coco from her previous life filled her mind. She was lying in a bed, and Coco was sitting over her, holding her hand and crying. She had cleared her throat and looked up to Victoria's mother, who was standing next to the door.
"If she dies I'm going to ruin their lives"
Abigail recognised that rage that lay underneath her expression. She realised that she was out of her body, and watched as the line on the heart monitor came to rest at a horizontal line. Coco's eyes had widened as the telltale beep filled the room. Victoria's parents had started to sob, and a single tear had slowly run down Coco's face, before she quickly wiped it away and her face became void of emotion.
Victoria's mother slowly shuffled to Coco.
"It's ok, Kate, she passed peacefully."
That was her real name.
"No, it's not. I don't care. They have to suffer. They don't care so I'm going to wash my hands like they did."
"Kate, we've forgiven them."
"I haven't. And I won't unless they suffer and fall at my feet. If you aren't going to avenge your own daughter, I will."
Abigail felt tears well in her eyes as she pulled the covers of the guest bed up to her chin. When did she die? As soon as she died? That was a bit ironic. Thinking about tests and then just dying. But Kate....Coco....she would never be able to let go of Victoria's - her - death. Even she didn't want to be avenged so badly. She didn't even know how she died.
The Coco in this life was just Kate being ambitious - and she realised that it took very little to distract her and stir her up. Both Kate and Coco had the 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth mentality', which she realised might be their ultimate downfalls.
Abigail stared at the ceiling, which was golden, bearing carvings of cherubs. Now what? Her husband-to-be was in this very house. What if they accidentally met? No, not possible. Is it true he was useless? That could have been Coco being dramatic. Surely. But she had always seen his name in the newspaper as sales went up. What did their family do, exactly? Noting illegal, right?
A servant knocked rapidly on the door.
"You may enter"
A young girl held out a letter to her, not making eye-contact. She took it.
"Thank you. You may leave."
After the girl shuffled out, closing the door behind her, Abigail carefully opened the first letter in her hands. It had the seal of Henry's family - a dragon breathing fire. The letter read
'My dearest Abigail'
Abigail's face flushed a light pink. How could Henry address her so openly like this? It was something she never perceived to even occur, yet here she was.
'We are not to see each other until our wedding, which is seven days and seven nights away. However, there are not constraints on other means of communication - hence why I am sending you this letter. I have never met you before, but I must be honest with you, I have seen you before multiple times on my monthly outings to the coast. I have been able to visit your town. Although I have been unable to visit your residency, I have tried to communicate with Coco multiple times but she seems distressed every time I talked to her. It may have been because Roark had been with me, however, and she seems to loathe him very much.'
Wouldn't have Coco told her that she had met them both? It wasn't like her to lie, but then again, Kate had liked to omit information too, so it wasn't unlikely this had been the case.
'Coco has described you to be a fair maiden - possessing the pretty eyes and hair of your mother. Although I do not like to judge on looks alone, I am looking forward to talking to you, as I agree completely with her. Your laugh lingers in my mind, and your amber eyes are much more attractive than your mother's. Your chocolaty hair is something that cannot be compared to anything tangible, and your skin is the fairest in the land. I have also heard from your sister that you are very nice, considerate and "the best sister in existence", which I also think to be true. I have also heard that you enjoy shopping and fashion, and I hope that we will be able to shop for clothes together once we are wed.'
That's odd. Why didn't he talk to me if he had seen me? Was it because he didn't have the time? Yet, he seemed like a kind man, so he must have had his reasons.
'Since we know nothing about one another, let me start by introducing myself. I am Henry Burton, and I am turning nineteen in the coming spring. I enjoy reading about philosophy and theology and watching the ships come in from the port. My favourite thing to eat would be spaghetti bolognese with mozzarella cheese - oh, and scones with jam and cream. I spend most of my past time attending business events with my father, which is where I had first met your sister Coco and your father.'
Again, Coco had never told her that she had actually attended business meetings with her father - and it was fairly odd that a woman was to attend them - usually only widows were the women who attended - and there were currently none as they had all passed away due to old age. What was she planning to do? She did mention arms manufacturing from time to time, but that was a really hard industry to break into based on connections alone.
'I am also fairly idealistic, if I do say so myself, and I take human rights very seriously. I am required to have servants here because of Roark, as he is also residing here - you might meet him at dinner as my dinner is being delivered to me - but I strive to treat my servants as equals. As well as this, I believe that I too must make contributions to household duties. Once we have children, I see it as my responsibility to take care of the cooking and the cleaning when the servants are away as your time and efforts will be taken up by our children. I think this is very fair, and I hope you can see the logic in doing things this way.'
So much for being useless, Coco.
' However, I must address now that I am in no rush to produce an heir. As we are nowhere near becoming legal adults, I think we should enjoy the few years of childhood we have left. I hope you also agree with this ideology. This way we will be able to get to know each other much better and create a safe environment for our children, so that when they arrive it will be ideal for all of us. '
Ah, that's right, Abigail recollected, the official and legal age for becoming an adult was twenty one.
'Anyway, what are your hobbies and interests? What do you like to do in your spare time? What's your favourite foods? I am looking forward to your answers.
Yours truly,
Your loving husband, Henry Burton'