The moonlight was shining through the window and illuminating her sketchbook, she smiled warmly as she looked at her parents with love in her eyes. She made sure to sketch every detail she could remember, every fine line and every beauty mark they had. "I miss you…" she thought. Even if she conversed with the characters in the novel, they were just that, just characters with no real feelings and no real thoughts. All their thoughts and emotions were in control by the author, that's why she had a hard time believing any character could break free from the plot, in the end no matter what she did, in 11 months Vincent would slice her head off. She leaned her head as she hugged her sketchbook closely, right now it was the most valuable possession she had, since it contained images of her closest friends and family. The letter she received from Lady Odette was next to her, requesting to visit her home and spend time together. "She reminds me of Yuki, she takes initiative like that too." She thought. The two times they would spend time together now was thanks to Odettes innovative, Lilith didn't know how she would entertain her the next day since it was last minute. "Maybe we should walk in the garden and have a picnic, she seemed like she would enjoy that." She thought content. Melinda and Betty were first to come in the next morning, excited to see Lilith so active after having a near death experience. "We should do a baby blue dress with white frills, she needs something fresh since today is very hot." Melinda said as betty brushed Lilith's hair. "Then i'll put her hair up in an asymmetrical french twist." Betty said getting a coupled bobby pins with pearls. "Hmm, Lady Lilith…you don't have much jewelry left, theres only three different options for us to use…" Betty said as she looked in the jewelry box "Oh, yes I got tired of my old jewelry so I got rid of it." Lilith said. "Oh, was my lady thinking of buying any soon?" Melinda asked as she prepped the dress for Lilith to wear. "Well…honestly i'm not a big fan of jewelry, I enjoy food a lot more than jewelry." Lilith said as they laughed. "True, my lady I don't believe I have met anyone with an appetite like yours." Betty said in a teasing tone. Lilith chuckled, "yes, I have goals you know." The door opened and Natalie walked in. "Good morning my lady, I finished prepping for the picnic and everything should run smoothly when Lady Millard arrives." She said bowing. "I was wondering where you were.." Lilith smiled. "Well, for now Betty is doing my hair if you would like to do my makeup." Lilith said, she liked how gently Natalie did her make up since it reminded her of her mothers gentle hands. "I heard Lady Millard was coming to the mansion, is that true?" Vincent asked the duchess. "Yes, Lilith asked me if it was okay yesterday, I saw no problem with it so I agreed." The duchess said as she embroidered a scarf. "I see.." "Is there a problem?" The duchess asked since he was hovering, he always hovered when he wanted to ask something. "Mother, when you married father, did you want to?" He asked bluntly. She smiled softly. "No." "Oh….So it was a marriage of convenience…but you and father get along well, and he loves you very much.." he said now questioning his childhood. "Well, in the beginning I married a stranger, I was simply a suitable lady for the Allard family, but even though we had a rocky start he tried to make me feel comfortable, and when we had your brother…we were amazed at the fact that the two of us could create such a little person, not long after you came along…and you were such a kind and gentle child, while we saw you two grow so did our feelings, I love your father dearly now." She said as she reminisced her youth. "I never knew that, I thought you married out of love." He said. "Not many people get that blessing, and not many get along even after spending years together." "I don't think i'll ever get along with Lilith, after everything I have heard about her and the fact she is a Grimrose makes it very hard to trust her." He said. "Well, everything you heard were rumors, so far she has been a delight, but I thought you liked her? The other say I heard you two being so passionate." She said blushing a little in embarrassment, she did not want to hear that from her youngest and his wife. He chuckled. "Mother, I promise you I have not slept with her, if i sleep with her our marriage gets sealed and I can't annul it, that day I was trying to spoon feed her and I accidentally shoved the spoon into her mouth pretty hard." He said. "Oh..how disappointing..I was hoping for a grandchild…" she said in a sad tone. "Sorry…mother you will have to wait on that…" he said. A maid walked in and announced Lady Millards arrival. "Okay, Vincent, be kind to her, she's lonely in a home that rejects her existence, don't make her more unwelcome than she already does." The duchess said as she went back to her embroidery. Odette hugged Lilith tightly, "I missed you so much!" Lilith grunted at how tightly she was suddenly held, "I…missed you too.." she said. "What are we going to do today?" Odette asked finally letting her go. She cleared her throat. "Today I thought we could walk in the garden, they have wisteria trees in the shape of a dome, and the flowers hang over your head in the most beautiful way.." Odette held onto Liliths arm, "okay, lead the way." She said making Lilith giggle. They walked through the wisteria trees awed by its beauty, "They look so well taken care of.." Odette said. "Yes, they have many gardeners to take care of every part of their garden, they check daily for any weeds or dry leaves." Lilith said, "the pond is also taken care of everyday, its crystal clear." After giving her a tour of the garden they sat down for their picnic, eating small sandwiches and chocolate cake. Lilith felt like someone was watching her, and she looked around, she saw a boulder and smiled a bit. "Mathew.." she thought as she stood quietly, she snuck up to the boulder as Odette watched her with strange look on her face. She leaned over the boulder and Mathew was intensely sketching her, so focused he didn't notice her looming over him. "He's talented…" she thought watching his long skinny fingers expertly detail her face and hair. He looked up and his face drained of color, he didn't even flinch, he just instantly fainted. Lilith snorted as Odette rushed over. "What happened!?" She asked concerned. Lilith kept laughing. "I think I scared him."she said. Mathew felt a slight breeze flutter on his face, a sweet smell infiltrating his nose, something soft under his head. He slowly opened his eyes and his heart started beating faster, above his face was Lilith looking down at him with a teasing look in her eye. He realized he was sleeping on her laps and he sat up, rushing away from her and since he was already on the ground he bowed placing his forehead on the grass. Odette laughed a little, "My lady I apologize for being so impudent, if you wish to have punished I will obey." He said as he shook like a leaf. She smiled. "There is no need for you to be punished, however if you wanted to sketch me, why didn't you ask? I would of loved to pose for you." She said, he didn't even notice she had been looking through his sketchbook. He felt his face burn red in shyness and he groaned. "My lady…you torture me…" he said. They laughed and Lilith stood up, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to be mean, but…I am serious, if you would like to sketch me you can just ask, I won't mind." She said, he looked up at her from the ground, his pupils seemed to dilate as he watched her. "There is nothing in this world that would make me happier." He said. "Okay, next time, bring your supplies and I will sit still for you alright." She said as he left im a good mood. She was a bit shocked when he stood up since she didn't expect him to be so tall, but she kept a straight face. Odette walked up to her, "Lilith, you are a heartbreaker.." she teased. Lilith softy smacked her arm, "Hey it's not my fault I became his muse." She said. "Lilith, I have to ask you something.." Odette said as they sat down at the picnic table. "What is it?" Lilith asked concerned. "Is it true that you got poisoned?" Odette asked. "Oh, yes a week ago a maid drugged my food, I only took a small bite since it looked suspicious so it wasn't enough to kill, and the doctor was here so he had the antidote." Lilith explained. "Did she say what her motive was? Did you find out who gave out the order?" Odette asked, a sad desperate look in her eye. Lilith smiled softly, "There are a lot of rumors about me, and my father is count Grimrose, he….isn't a trustworthy person, he had ill intentions when he arranged my marriage to Vincent, I believe the maid might have been ordered by him, someone in the mansion, or maybe out of her own will, but I don't want to dwell on it." Lilith said, she didn't have any leads and instead of focusing on that she decided she would keep her attention to finding a way back home. "Oh, well i'm sorry to hear that…it just makes me so worried and I feel powerless when I can't help a friend." Odette said sadly, she looked at Lilith and saw her concentrated face. "She looks upset…I should try to lighten the mood, make her laugh, it's the least I can do.." she thought. Odette tried thinking of something she could say, she remembered the wedding and giggled. Lilith looked at her confused. "I remember at your wedding, someone accidentally ate one of Dilly's treats." She said laughing. Lilith's face burned in embarrassment recalling that moment. "I wonder who would do something like that." Odette said as she laughed harder. Lilith cleared her throat. "I don't know..some Idiot maybe.." she said looking away trying to be discreet, hearing Odette laugh made her smile. "I couldn't believe it when they told me." Odette said through her laughter. Lilith couldn't help herself anymore and laughed with her putting her embarrassment behind her. Thalia walked through the halls, her long hair in a braided low bun with flowers tied in. She wore a pastel yellow princess line dress to match the flowers in her hair. She heard that the painter was visiting today and thought she should offer to pose for him since he said she was his muse. When she saw him walking towards she blushed a little and bowed elegantly. "Good afternoon." She said shyly. He bowed. "Good afternoon my lady." She noticed how calm he was, he wasn't blushing or stuttering like he was when he mentioned her being his muse. "If you are not busy today, I could pose for your paintings." She offered shyly. He bowed again to show respect. "I apologize my lady, I just came to pick up some supplies I left here, i'm actually headed to make a portrait for another family, so maybe some other time." He said as he walked away. When he left she felt a bit embarrassed. "I thought he would get excited…" she thought. Turning to look at him properly, she started wondering if she wasn't his muse, who is? Natalie was setting up the bath and nightgown for when Lilith went to bed. Odette went home one hour ago and Lilith was writing in her journal. "She really likes writing, maybe she's afraid to forget…" Natalie thought as she heated the bed with a pot filled with boiling water, rubbing the bottom of the pot on the sheets and blankets. When Natalie finally left from putting Lilith in bed, she got up and put on her slippers. She snuck into the garden and rushed to the pond, the fireflies and lights from the mansion giving her a good amount of lighting to see the water. "This is my chance." She thought. She took off her slippers and stepped in, the water was slightly below below room temperature and she sighed. "At least I wont be freezing as I drown…" When she made it to shoulder length water she paused, taking her last breaths of air and sinking her head in as she took a few more steps and finally reaching the deep. As she prepared herself mentally she blew out the air slowly, and quickly taking a breath in she filled her lungs with water. It burned her throat and lungs like fire was ablaze inside, her eyes rolled back as she spasmed in the water. Fighting the urge to swim to the surface she let herself sink deeper, her brain was in desperate need of oxygen and she almost started swimming up. However she had too much carbon dioxide and water in her blood that she started to los consciousness, as her vision darkened a small smile appeared on her face. "Mom…dad..i'm coming home.." She felt something heavy on her chest and wind being blown into her mouth. Suddenly water rushed out and she threw up all the water she gulped down a few minutes ago. She was still weak and she saw a blurry figure of a man above her and voice she could barely hear. She grabbed the persons color in anger. "Fu..ck…y..ou." She said weakly and fainted. Cyrus walked along the garden, he passed by the fig tree thinking he might run into Lilith again but she wasn't there. "Maybe she doesn't eat figs anymore after she got poisoned." He thought. When he got to the pond he saw something white, it looked like clothes and there appeared to be a struggle in the water. "That's weird…" he thought, his eyes caught a glimpse of two slippers at the edge of the water and he realized, there was someone in there. He quickly jumped in and grabbed the body, which was now still, and cold. He started CPR and finally saw Lilith face, lips almost blue and color drained from her face. As he breathed into her mouth he felt her twitch, and as he pulled away she threw up water, he turned her face so she wouldn't choke on the water she was spitting out. "What were you thinking you fool!?" He said angrily as her eyes looked at him, pupils dilated and she seemed to not know who he was. "F…" came out of her mouth, he stopped scolding her as he tried listening to what she was going to say. "Fu…." She said hoarsely, "Fu?" He thought confused, "is she trying to say thank you?" "Fu..ck..y..ou." She said as she glared at him and immediately passed out. He opened his mouth offended, he rubbed his temples and carried her. His tight hand under her knees and left arms holding her body as her head rested on his shoulder. "For a lady she has such a vulgar mouth." She was floating, in an open space, like she was in water but she breathing normally. "Am I going home!" She thought excitedly, when something seemed to manifest in front of her and suddenly, she was face to face with the original Lilith again. "Hey…" she said disappointed. Lilith scoffed. "You're a fool, you haven't changed anything or put anything in its rightful place." She said in a snarky tone. Estella huffed and crossed her arms, "Well you gave me nothing to go on, no leads or clues." Lilith rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you seem to be good at seeing." Lilith said. "No shit sherlock, my eyes work perfectly fine." Estella said angrily. "No. I mean you see through peoples intentions, you see and notice things others don't, not like…me." Lilith said sadly. Estella sighed as she relaxed, "Look I have no idea what you want me to do…" "I…died pretty miserably, we are now stuck together, you just…need to change what I couldn't." Lilith said sadly. Estellas eyebrow twitched, "You are just repeating what you said last time, you are no help, I want to go home!" She said as she tried to grab Lilith, who just moved back as they floated in the nothing. Lilith frowned, "And how are you so sure dying here will get you back home? What if you're going through unnecessary pain and you never go back." Estella stayed quiet. "It's true, dying here won't take me home, it seems like I can't die until the day i'm supposed to, by Vincents hand." She said. She felt like something started pulling her up and she looked at Lilith. "you're going to wake up, just..let's do our best." Lilith said, and everything turned dark. Soft voices and sniffles woke her up, Thalia was holding Lilith's hand and crying onto it. Vincent and Cyrus watching her from a few steps back and the duchess was softly calling her name. "Lilith..sweetie..how are you feeling." She asked as she gently patted her head. Lilith gasped and sat up as she coughed, her lungs burning and she was struggling to breath. "I'm..as good as I can be.." she said in hoarse voice. "Lilith what happened?" Vincent asked. "I was swimming…and…my foot got stuck on something and I got dragged down…" she said massaging her throat. "It's dangerous to swim alone, especially at night, what were you thinking?" Cyrus said. "I'm sorry, the water just looked so beautiful." She said sadly, disappointed that she couldn't go back home. Thalia wiped her tears. "Lilith…I was so worried you wouldn't wake up…" she said massaging Lilith's hand. "I'm sorry, I won't do anything reckless anymore I promise." Lilith said taking her hand away from Thalias. "I would really like to get some sleep, may I go to my room…" Lilith said. Melinda and betty walked in, and helped her up off the couch, she felt so stiff and sore as she struggled to get up. Cyrus was about to go carry her when Vincent stopped him by placing his arm in front of him. He went over and as she looked at him confused he swiftly picked her up, the duchess smiled softly as she saw her son help his wife. Cyrus looked disappointed that he couldn't carry her and Thalia caught that. She looked at him strangely as he watched Lilith's face turn red and she struggled against Vincent only to fail miserably as he carried her away. "I'm so worried…what if she keeps getting hurt.." Thalia said looking at the duchess and Cyrus with tears in her eyes. Normally Cyrus would rush to hold her an comfort her but this time, he sighed as he patted her head. "It's okay, just go back to sleep we'll figure something out okay?" He said and left. She was in shock, he had never treated her like that before, so nonchalant, before he would have held her and been sweet to her. She looked at the duchess and sniffed. "I'm going to bed.." she said and walked up the stairs. The duchess sighed and stared at the couch where Lilith laid, the fire in the chimney still going brightly. "Was it an accident?" The duchess thought as she remembered how disappointed Lilith looked when she woke up. She shook it off and went to bed as well. Cyrus walked down the hallway towards his room, now that he calmed down he kept recalling the moment he pulled her out. Even though she soaked in pond water she smelled good, and when he had his lips on her she even tasted sweet. The most shocking part was since she was wearing a thin white nightgown, he saw everything, she was practically naked. She looked toned, her breast were a pretty shape too, he shook his head roughly. "No. I can't think of her like that." He thought. He thought of Thalia, she was the apple of his eye, however even though she was of small stature and she did have a childlike body for her age, he always thought her to be the most beautiful. Now that he saw a more mature body, was his taste changing? Or did he just never pay attention? He was conflicted, he tried to ignore his thoughts and focus on trying to go to sleep. Vincent placed her on the bed gently, Melinda and betty watching nervously. "Thanks…" Lilith said still in shock that he actually carried her all the way to her room. "Why are you so foolish?" He asked. Melinda and betty looked at each other worried. "Look, I apologized for doing something reckless, I won't do it again, please just leave it be." She said in a tired tone. He seemed unhappy with that response but he let it go. "Have a good night." He said sighing in defeat. "My lady, are you okay?" They asked. "I am now, sorry for scaring you girls." She said as she rested. They got on the bed and laid on both her sides, "we'll keep you warm." Melinda said as they drifted off to sleep, Lilith held back her tears. "Mommy…" she thought as she remembered her mothers warm embrace.