Morning.
Lydia's room, Statham estate.
Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.
******************
Lydia stared at herself in the wooden decorated mirror and wondered how she had ended up in such a chaotic situation, she had been everything but rebellious or disobedient to her parent yet the minute they got a chance they threw her under the moving cart now she's going down a free fall and she wonders if anybody can save her.
Lydia had always been made to stay inside the house because she was an unacceptable mistake, an abomination to her mother. Her noble-born family welcomed her still, a story she had heard so many times she could now envision it. How a slave had forced himself on her mother when the family took a trip to Critic-Ishelm.
An abomination in the empire of Critic-Ishire, A bastard in Critic Arley was uncommon as it was highly frowned upon by the society so her family hid her from outsiders limiting her to doing house chores with the employed and slaves. Aside from the verity that her room was also amongst the rooms for the girls of the house, the employed would have thought they were all employed.
"It won't be that bad being married to the lord, he is a fine man" Her friend 'Mathilda' who works in the Statham estate patronizes Lydia or at least tries to.
"How would you know that, you have never even seen him" She has and he indeed is a fine man, striking even but what about his inside?
"You're right I haven't but you have and we have to stay positive, everything will be well" Lydia rapidly fanned her face to prevent the tears from falling, everything will be alright she had heard this line from Mathilda ever since she could understand the words she speak and she's not sure anything had ever changed for the best, instead it is for the worst now.
She is getting married to lord Theodore today by dawn and they were nothing alright about that, her life is officially over, it has been a whole bunch of misery since birth for Lydia but this is next level, she had 1 elder sister, and two younger, but when lord Theodore had been looking for a bride and no one had sent their daughter to the selection banquet but her family, if she could still call them that had sent her out to the devils mansion and her being the naïve young lady who was elated she could finally go out to not just anywhere but a banquet had jumped into the free falling carriage.
They all have the same mother yet it was she the outcast who they deemed fit for a lord if they didn't think it was an unfortunate thing they would have sent Liza their eldest sister because she had come of age for a few years and desperately needs a suitor she will finally agree to and a lord was perfect for her ambition but he is an Empire's enemy so he is Lydia's.
Lord Theodore had suddenly arrived the day after the fair night that had ended without a full stop to ask her father to prepare for they were getting married two days from then as the emperor had cancelled the engagement between him and Lydia before Julius could protest a message had come from the citadel that the emperor was no longer taking Lydia as his wife but instead, Mira, Liza had been livid for a while but she suddenly dropped the topic and seemingly moved on living a cocky Mira to gloat, Lydia was then to be married to lord Theodore of critic Arley in two days.
The series of events that has taken place this past week is enough to make her miss her former quite boring life, but this going to be her life now and she would not be left behind to hold the horse's tail, she would take the horse by its reins and hold on tightly
"I'm doing it" she declared, not as though she had an option it was either the lord or the streets of Critic Arley, and she would rather have one of the most powerful men in Critic Arley as her person, her ally and husband. Except for the part where he is the Empire's enemy and she will ultimately automatically be included as the Empire's enemy, the Emperor's blacklist.
"You will marry the lord?" her friend asked
"Do I really have a choice?" she shot back as she met her ocean blue eyes, which was ironic because they were more green than blur
"Barely" Mathilda agreed nodding along
"Stop trying to be decent Mathilda, I don't have any other option or choice, no other noble man much less a titled noble-born would want to marry me, they wouldn't even court me" This is a blessing in disguise
"That's not true you're a beauty Lydia" argued Mathilda as she made her way behind Lydia quickly, both looking at Lydia through the mirror now
"Beauty wouldn't fill for my unacceptable illegitimate self" she sighed her shoulders quivering
"The emperor was going to take you as his wife" Mathilda defended gingerly her smile proud
"As a punishment, I would have been demoted to a mistress when the need arose" she reminded with a sad smile, the sadness brief
"You're right and I don't want to go into the question of why he suddenly changed his mind and took Mira instead" Mathilda frowned
Lydia looked at the mirror lost in thought, Salvatore had looked really intent on having her that day, swiftly laying out marriage yet without a struggle it looked like he gave her up, but the smarter part of her head made her believe Theodore had something to do with his withdrawal and that alone makes Theodore far scarier than Salvatore, she gulped
"She's got massive boobs" she commented with a small laugh to lighten the room of her thoughts
"You're so smart-mouthed" Mathilda gave out a way to a snort that startled her to cover her mouth quickly earning a cherry laugh from Lydia
"How are you going to be after I leave?" She asked her only friend, they'd been close for as long as she could remember. Mathilda, a slave, had been the only one nice and brave enough to stay in touch with her, now she was leaving her alone in this estate.
Matilda older but young at heart and inexperienced was thrown into Julius's arms after he caught her father stealing, the man was to be hanged so he made Julius promise he'd take in his daughter and Julius maintained his promise, which is why she is still alive despite her insistence to stay close to Lydia, she didn't want to think about this place without her only friend but she didn't want to be an emotional mess when Lydia need strength
"I think the Lord is better than a crazed king" was Mathilda's reply as she played with her fingers, her head dropped
"I will miss you" came Lydia's confession in a whisper
"He might be a monster but he is generous so his wi…"
"Mathilda! Calm down, I shall be fine, weren't you always the optimistic one just now?" Lydia pouted feeling gloomy too
"I'm just so scared and trying to assure you" Mathilda sniffed as her nose turned pink
"But I'm fine Mathilda, I am" she assured with a smile, she stood up
Her dress, the one she had worn to the lord's banquet days ago now looks even more beautiful as she wore it for the meetings of nobles before the union celebration. She is to smile and show their entire guest that marrying the lord of critic Arley was an elevation to their family's status.
"Alright let's go" Mathilda held her arm out, not her mother to prepare but a slave she smiled
"To the lord of critic Arley," she moved
Downstairs, it appears as if Mira is the one getting married by dawn, she is dressed in a huge blue dress that drew attention from miles away, she wears a big smile that does little to affect others into returning it, and her love for attention and worship blinding her to the hidden scorns and rolling eyes at her dirty antic in showing off her engagement to the emperor
"The emperor realized what a terrible mistake he made choosing Lydia so he made a wiser choice" she'd say
"Congratulations" they'd mutter
She kept the attention on herself by all means till the guests started leaving one by one, Liza out of view, licking her wounds, Mira thought
Shi'enz had been following their mother around ever since the lord came to the estate and no one cared to ask why, as everyone was sucked in the bubbles of their lives
Lydia stepped out and every guest swept to her, the new bride of lord Theodore, much to Mira's horror, they exchanged pleasantries, gave excess compliments and started conversations that pushed Lydia to the cliff of discomfort, she wished her mother had been with her but she stayed polite till she could excuse herself and go back in waiting for dawn to arrive.
Then she will become a wife.
Lady Theodore.
*
* *
*
Days before.
River.
Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.
*******************
On the banks of a tranquil river, Mathilda and Lydia, two maids from the nearby estate, found respite from the burdens of their daily lives.
With a carefree abandon, they shed their worries along with their clothes, their laughter ringing out as they waded into the cool, crystalline waters.
Mathilda, her chestnut locks cascading in loose waves around her shoulders, kicked playfully at the gentle current, her eyes sparkling with unbridled joy.
She reveled in the sensation of weightlessness, the cares of the world slipping away with each stroke through the shimmering depths.
"This is nice" she whispered to herself. "This is always nice" she repeated surely.
Beside her, Lydia splashed water eagerly, her dungarees clinging to her lithe frame as she dove beneath the surface with a mischievous grin.
This might be my last day of happiness, she mused sadly as she might soon run away or be married off to a supposed monster.
With each graceful movement, she seemed to defy gravity, her laughter mingling with the soft murmur of the river as it danced around her.
"Lydia" Mathilda's call pulled Lydia out of the water.
Lydia sprang out of the water, its remains trailing down her body.
"Yes?" and when she noticed the look on her friends face, Lydia knew she was about get chastised so she started first with a tease. "Boring-extremely-orderly-even-in-the-river-Mathilda, yes?"
Mathilda shook her head. "You know that is not a structurally correct thing to say and you are soon to be married off, when can I get go teach you well?" she said agitated yet resignated.
"Oh please, you are not my governess" Lydia replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Of course, just as I know you never had one and now you are to marry a duke"
"He is not a duke" Lydia corrected pointedly, she'd read enough to know.
"Yes, apologies, he is only a powerful lord" Mathilda replied with a roll of her eyes.
"What is it, Mathilda?" Lydia asked bring the topic back to why the maid called her out of the water.
Mathilda narrowed her eyes at Lydia. "Do you have a plan I do not know about? Why are you laughing and swimming?"
"You wish for me to cry and grumble?" Lydia asked back before lifting a brow. "When have I ever done that?"
"Okay, let us swim out worries away then" Mathilda agreed joining Lydia in the water.
"Yes!"
As they swam, Mathilda and Lydia shared secrets and dreams that might never be, their voices rising and falling like the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.
In this idyllic sanctuary, they were free from the constraints of the Statham estate, united by the simple pleasure of companionship and the soothing embrace of the water.
No struggling thoughts of Lord Theodore.
With every stroke, they felt the weight of their worries melt away, replaced by a sense of liberation and renewal.
For in the embrace of the river, Mathilda and Lydia found solace and sanctuary, their spirits lifted by the timeless rhythm of its flow.