Vanessa was hiding behind a pillar, watching the duke walk into a room she hadn't seen before. The door clicked closed and she quietly went up to the door standing next to it, waiting to see if she could hear any voices. "The kings authorization will be signed after the royal families go back home, since he's busy being a host we can't really rush it." The duke said. "Yes sir, it is a good thing the king and yourself had a great friendship since your youth, perhaps that is why he is interested in investing in the operation. The supplies will arrive on the eastern dock on Saturday morning, China has agreed to sell us the gunpowder and Egypt gladly sold us silver, copper and lead." Sebastian said looking through the files that the kings had signed. "Good, and have you kept an eye on Lilith like I asked?" The duke asked. "Yes sir…my lady has not done anything to arouse suspicion, she keeps to herself, our worries about her acting up were pointless." Sebastian said. "Well, then what is she up to? What does she do?" The duke asked. "She…likes walking in the garden, she hunts along the perimeter of the forest, sews, occasionally I see her drawing, writing, reading, although the past few days she hasn't come out if her room after the ball." Sebastian said. Putting the documents down and crossing his arms as he leaned his hip on the desk. "So she was always walking around and focusing on hobbies, does she interact with anyone in the house?" The duke asked. "No, she is always by herself, the painter still comes by occasionally to sketch her, but he's not here very long since he has many request from other families, Natalie, Beatrice, and Melinda are the ones to spend more time with her, but they have their chores to do and can't always be with her." Sebastian said. The duke stood at the window, watching the birds fly out from the trees. " The girl is a loner…what a shock, although it seems plausible according to how many rumors there were flying about her, count Grimrose was reported to be using her to make deals with other noblemen. Apparently she even seduced married men, and when we agreed the matrimony of her and my son we got reports of her bragging about it to other ladies, but not once have I seen her go near my son willingly." He said remembering her attitude at the altar, she looked even more upset than his son to be there. "Lady Lilith is a respectable lady, most of the maids and butlers she interacts with on the daily smile she's around, although she is quiet about herself, she has a way of making people open up around her." Sebastian said, in all the time she has been there, not once has she spoken about herself, she always just listened, to everything, and she saw everything. Not a single movement or detail escaped her, at times it made him self conscious how hyperaware she was of things around her, like a trained soldier. Vanessa scrunched her nose. "Who the hell are they talking about? Lilith? She is not at all like that, that fool only cares about herself and what she looks like." Vanessa thought. "What about around Thalia and my wife? Does she act strange around them?" The duke asked. "No, Thalia has been trying to spend more time with her, and your wife had tea with her almost everyday before the ball." Sebastian said. "Hmmm, so she starting acting strange after coming back from the ball, do you think her father gave her instructions?" The duke said, he was even more careful now that Vanessa was in household as well. "She didn't speak with him before or after he approached her." Sebastian said, if anything she spent most of the time dancing. Vanessa sneered, all this talk about Lilith was so unfamiliar, like they were speaking of a totally different person, even when she whipped her, Lilith used to cry and beg for her to stop, but now she just clenches her jaw and takes it. "Alright, we should leave now so we're not late to the meeting." The duke said as he rubbed his temples. Before they walked out and saw her, Vanessa walked away. "They said Saturday morning is the delivery, all I need is some copies of the weapons and i'm sure everything can fall into place." She thought, now that she had some information she was going to look for Lilith. "This is so good Natalie." Lilith said as she ate the last of the beef stew happily, she was on her third serving and finally felt full. Natalie watched her with relief, it was just some leftovers from the Allard's brunch, yet Lilith didn't complain. "Would you like some more my lady?" Natalie asked. "Oh no, i'm very full, I should head back to my room." Lilith said, wondering what would happen when Vanessa noticed she had a meal. "Are you sure my lady?" Natalie asked, she was used to Lilith eating big heavy meals, always confused as to why Lilith never seemed to gain much weight. "Yes Natalie, I will see later." Lilith said standing from the small wooden table and flimsy chair. Natalie had never seen a noble lady willingly sit and eat a meal where the maids would usually take their breaks. The respect she had for Lilith grew more the more she knew her. The walk back to her room was torture, most of the food should be digested by now, but whatever was still there Vanessa will be sure to get out. "I'm so tired…" Lilith thought, the past 3 days she had been feeling unmotivated, even sewing and drawing didn't make her feel any better. Doing any decent work out would just be dangerous now since her body was losing its nutrition, losing weight rapidly since her metabolism had sped up from the meals she had the past few months. She entered her room and Vanessa wasn't there yet so she sighed happily. "I'm going to sit in the sun so my food digests faster." She thought as she opened the window and let the sun warm her skin. Her peace lasted five minutes when Vanessa walked in with a smug look on her face. Lilith frowned, she probably got some information, ignoring Vanessa she kept watching the sky, not wanting to be bothered. "Are you still not going to help? I need you to write down….what is that smell?" Vanessa asked as she approached Lilith with a darkened expression. Liliths heart dropped, Vanessa probably figured out she ate something but she kept a poker face. Vanessa stared at her face, Lilith gulped and started standing, clenching her fist she waited for Vanessa to make a move. When she did, Lilith punched her jaw full force, making Vanessa stumble back. Lilith tried to make a run for it but Vanessa grabbed her ankles and pulled her down, Lilith tried crawling away but something stabbed her leg. Looking back she saw a syringe in Vanessas hand, a clear liquid inside, before she could even wonder what it was she started feeling nauseous. Vanessa stood up and dragged her by the hair to the bathroom, holding her head over the toilet, she started vomiting the food that hadn't been digested yet. She felt dizzy and weak, tears were streaming down her red eyes and snot was starting to drip out of her nose. She couldn't stop throwing up, every movement was painful , and her vision slowly faded to black, her body limp as she fell asleep. Vincent was fresh out of the bath, hair still a little wet when he was changed into fresh clothes. His head was hurting a little, but he figured it was because he didn't drink enough water. The butler walked out with the dirty laundry and he was finally on his own, he sat on his chaise and poured some wine into a glass. The sunset showered his room with a golden light, it was his favorite time of day. It was the only time he could relax and think about anything troubling him. Recently, it was Vanessas presence, he used to see Lilith walking around every day, and the maids were constantly at work trying to invent new dishes since they liked feeding her. He chuckled. "She eats so much…yet she's so thin, where does it all go?" He thought. A smile creeped on his face, he knew she was very active, she enjoyed sports and the times he's seen her run or jump she was very agile. If Thalia tried running and jumping like that he's sure she would have fallen pretty fast. Although he acted as he didn't want to dance with her at the ball, he enjoyed having her close, and he was disappointed that they were interrupted. "…..disappointed?" He thought, he felt like ice water had been poured down his back. "I was disappointed….." he whispered, shocked at the fact that he just caught himself smiling to himself while thinking of Lilith. A soft knock came from his door, taking a deep breath he went to open it. "Thalia? What's wrong?" He asked, the sun had set and she never visited him before when it was night time, especially alone. She was a wearing a dark red nightgown, with a black lace robe, which was very unusual since she always wore light pastel colors, and never anything that mature. "Hi…can we talk for a minute?" She said softly. His eyes fell on her exposed shoulder, he reached out and gently pulled it back onto her shoulder properly. "Yes…come in." He said, she sat on the end of the chaise, and he stood by the bookshelf in front of it. "So, what's going on?" Vincent asked. "I wanted to apologize, it seems like for a little while we haven't been able to talk…" Thalia said. He could smell her perfume from where she was, normally that would have been enough to relax him and get rid of the headache. However, his headache remained the same. "It's fine, we've all been very busy, I heard you were trying to spend more time with Lilith…" he said. She was caught off guard by the question, looking at him strangely. "Yes…I have sent her flowers, and I wanted to invite her to have tea with me, but her maid seems to be the one to respond each time, I don't know if I maybe offended her…" Thalia said sadly. "I don't think so, she would have spoken up about it, but you said her maid is the one responding?" He asked, it was strange to hear since Lilith was always the one to confront someone and never relied on her maids for that. "You're right…i'm probably just overthinking.." Thalia said, she smiled, feeling a little better that it seems like it was all in her head that Lilith didn't want to see her. Vincent was starting to find it strange how Lilith seemed so closed off, locking herself in her room when she used to spend almost all day outside. "I was thinking we could go together to the boutique plaza? It's been a while since we've gone together." Thalia said. "Okay…that's fine, but you should go to sleep now it's getting late, i'll see you tomorrow at breakfast." He said as he opened the door for her. She seemed surprised that he was the first to say goodbye, he used to always ask her to stay a little longer. He opened the door with a gentle smile, she felt comforted and she gave him a quick hug before she left. He finally went to bed, and as he stared at the ceiling he started wondering why even though Thalia had been in his room and her soft scent remained, he didn't feel any better. After an hour he was finally able to sleep, the last thing on his mind was Lilith's warm hands when they danced together. Lilith woke up with her body feeling heavier than lead, her eyes puffy and her throat burning from the irritation of her stomach acid from throwing up nothing the past two days. Vanessa wasn't in the room so that in itself was a bit of a relief. She groaned as she got out of the bed, slowly moving towards her chair at the vanity mirror. When she saw her appearance her eyes widened, after 6 days of not eating or drinking water her weight had gone down considerably. Her skin was dull and her bones were noticeable, looking at her hands they were also thinner, since she hasn't been able to eat. Even if she did try to eat now she would just throw it up because of the injection Vanessa gave her three days ago. The effects weren't as strong as that day and her stomach wasn't as bad. Every waking moment was torture, Vanessa whipped her and kicked her, she wrapped Lilith's head in a cloth and poured water over it making it difficult for her to breathe. The use of a thick needle between her nails and skin was another after she got strapped down, gagging her with cloths and tying something around her neck only enough to construct blood flow until her face turned purple. The only reason she was able to do all that was because she had her tied down the whole time, blind folded, gagged and wearing ear plugs. Last night she finally let her go after 2 nights of sleep deprivation and Lilith woke up at a later time than she was used to. The marks on her neck were concerning, and even just swallowing her almost non existent saliva was like swallowing glass. She got up, her legs trembling as she walked to the door. She tried turning the knob but it was locked. "That….bitch…" she said hoarsely. Her voice so raspy she didn't even recognize it. She went to her window, opening the curtains all the way and trying to open it, to no avail. Vanessa had tampered with it so she wouldn't open it. She leaned her forehead on the hot glass and gave up, every ounce of strength had left her body. Unfortunately even if she tried to kill herself to end all this the plot line of the story wouldn't let her. The door opened and Vanessa rushed in, her face serious and she locked the door again. Lilith sighed in anguish, wondering how creative she would be today. Vanessa went into the bathroom she began to run water to run Lilith a bath, laid out clothes and took out all her make up. "Get undressed. You need a bath." Vanessa said. "Okay." She said and starting removing her clothes. When she caught sight of her body on the mirror and saw all the bruises and cuts she had she wondered how she even managed to move at all. The bath stung her cuts and the water turned a little pink from the open wounds. Vanessa applied a lot of make up on her face to cover the dark eye bags and make her look more lively. The dress she wore had a turtleneck with long sleeves, open in the chest area in a diamond cut. The long flowing skirt covering her long legs to prevent anyone from seeing the lesions. "What's going on?" Lilith asked. "I told the Allards you had a cold the past few days and that's why you voice is raspy, Vincent has requested to meet you for a walk." Vanessa said, her eyes giving Lilith a clear warning to keep quiet. Vanessa gave her a liquid made if herbs and medicine to get her energy up and numb the pain a little so she could move a little easier. Lilith rolled her eyes as Vanessa finished brushing her hair. She covered her up well with the makeup and the hair, she simply looked like she had lost weight on purpose. Vincent waited patiently at the end of the hall, his hands in a cold sweat. When Vanessa told him that Lilith had a cold the past week he couldn't believe a single person had checked on her. "I'm a piece of shit…" he thought. "Hey..Vincent." Lilith's raspy voice came from behind him. He turned around and immediately froze, she looked so thin, like she hadn't been eating at all. He was so used to seeing her standing tall and confident, that seeing her look so weak and tired didn't sit right with. "Have you been eating? You look so thin…" he asked. She smiled weakly, too tired to even give an excuse, with Vanessa hiding behind the corner she didn't even bother. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked. "I just wanted to walk with you…I heard you were sick and bedridden, I thought some fresh air would do you good…" he said. She smirked. "Did your mother tell you to do this?" She teased. "No, I wanted to." He said as he offered his arm to her. She eyed him suspiciously but took his arm, letting him lead the way to the garden. Vanessa decided to take this opportunity to try and steal documents from the dukes office. As they walked on the rocky path under the shade of the oak trees, she took deep breaths to enjoy the scent of flowers. "Are you feeling okay now?" He asked. "I'm feeling better, but i'm just really tired…" she said. "Natalie has been asking my father about getting reassigned to you, and Melinda and betty were hovering near your room almost every day trying to see you.." he said. "How do you know that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I asked…one of my butlers to keep an eye on you.." he said. "Oh, so you're stalking me?" She said, a mocking smile spreading on her face. "No…I just…I was wondering how you were, it was strange to not see you out of your room…" he said concerned. "Ah..so you were worried about me, isn't that sweet." She teased. Faint blush seemed to adorn his cheeks. "I just…wanted to make sure you were okay.." he said. She stopped walking, he looked at her concerned. "Are you okay? Are you too tired?" He asked. Her hand was on her forehead, and her eyes were closed. "I'm just a little dizzy, but i'm fine…" she said. The air around them changed, when she looked back at him, he actually looked worried. "I'm okay.." she said. Trying to reassure him. Vincent tried to comfort her, he wrapped his arms around her awkwardly and held her firmly. His scent invaded her nose and she smiled softly. "Wanna dance?" She asked. "There's no music…how would we dance?" He asked. Thinking what a silly question she asked. This was the first kind interaction and she was touch starved, hungry, sad, frustrated and his presence seemed to strangely calm her. "Let's just pretend there is." She said as she pushed him away softly to put her arms on his shoulders. "She's so thin…I feel like she'll break in my arms…" he thought. Compassion took over him and he decided to humor her. He put his hands on her waist and they started moving, she hummed softly as they moved. The soft breeze seemed to dance with them, and the bids singing almost seemed to in sync with Lilith's humming. Even though she seemed so skinny and fragile she still looked so pretty. As they stepped back in sync, and he was about to pull her back in she slipped on one of the rocks from the path. He freaked out and caught her before she could hit the floor, his back hitting the floor and her face buried in his chest. She started laughing. "You should have seen your face…you looked so-" she stopped talking when she looked at him. His eyebrows furrowed, and jaw clenched, fury in his eyes. "What the hell is on your leg?" He asked sternly. Confused she looked back and saw that her leg was raised and the dress had slipped down and the lacerations and bruises were exposed. "I…" she stopped, not knowing what to say. He sat up. "Is that why you're covered up?" He asked angry. She saw her chance, knowing they were in an area nobody really passed by she reached into the back of the dress unclipping it and pulling it down, exposing herself to him. Turning her back to him she showed him all the cuts and bruises, she felt his shaky hand touch the skin on her back. "Where else…" he said softly. "My stomach, arms, and legs." She said in a shaky voice. Fear racing through her blood, it was still hard to trust them, but this should be enough to prove that she didn't willingly accept Vanessa to the Allard home. He helped her up, and softly helped her button her dress back up. "Show me." He said, his eyes were red and he seemed to be having a hard time keeping calm. They walked back to his room, he sat on the chaise with her back turned to him, his hands unbuttoning her dress from the back. As it slid off he saw the bruises and lacerations clearer, he turned her to face him and her stomach had bruises and cuts as well. "The whole time I just thought you were sick, I never even bothered to check.." he said, feeling like a failure. "Vanessa did this?" He asked again, feeling like he was in a nightmare. "Yes…I kept track of everything she did and wrote in my diary…Natalie is the only one that knows where I keep it….if Vanessa is to be caught we need to do it right, don't be hasty. For now have some guards find and detain her.." she said. The lightheadedness catching up to her. "She is a trained mercenary so we need to do it fast…" she said weakly. "Okay…i'll inform my brother and father, for now go back to your room, i'll be there soon alright?" He said as he helped her pull her dress back up. The image of her bruised thighs burned into his mind. She sat on her bed, her heart racing as she waited for any news from Vincent. The door slammed open and she flinched, Natalie had red eyes and tears streaming down her face. Seeing Natalie meant they had Vanessa captive, Lilith's tight muscles and nerves suddenly relaxed and she passed out in relief as Natalie caught her. "My lady…I have you…it's okay…I have you…" Natalie said petting her hair. Vanessa sat on the cold floor, hands and feet bound as she gritted her teeth. She was caught near the dukes office, she was glad she wasn't holding any documents or else she could have gotten count Grimrose in trouble. She watched the guards quietly, trying to see if she could find a way out. "Are you sure?" The duke asked. "Yes father, she agreed to let you see her back so you could witness the amount of damage done." Vincent said. Cyrus was shocked to hear that a maid had been physically and mentally torturing her master. The duchess was clenching her fists. "Once again. We have allowed this to happen. We should have checked on her at least once in person, for a week she has been tortured, for a week not a single person went to check on her." The duchess said. Thalia was quiet, the shock of it all left her staring at the wall with wide eyes. Natalie walked in sadly, they looked at her expectantly. "The doctor is finished examining her, you may go in to see her." Natalie said. They rushed in to the room and saw Lilith laying there, sleeping peacefully the doctor had a grim expression on his face. "She was deprived of food and water, she was whipped at least ten times daily, kicked, punched, her body is in a horrible state. If this had lasted even two days longer she wouldn't have been strong enough to take it anymore." The doctor said. The duchess covered her mouth with her hand, tears welling in her eyes. "Will she be okay?" Vincent asked. "I'm not sure, only time will tell. Here are some instructions and recipes, some prescriptions, you need to give her a lot of fluids and highly nutritional food. It looks like she was injected with a drug meant to induce vomiting." The doctor said as Natalie read the notes. "Natalie, does she have a diary? Or anything that could help us?" Vincent asked. He already knew the answer, but he needed Natalie to be the one to say it to not cause any suspicion from his father. "Yes, I will go get it now." Natalie said as she rushed out. The duke sat down, he wanted to wait for Lilith to wake up so they could talk. "Trouble seems to follow this girl no matter where she goes." He said, they all silently agreed. "Well, I will be leaving, if anything happens please call me back here." The doctor said as he left. "This incident will not leave this house. We will deal with it quietly." The duke said. "What about the execution for the maid?" Vincent asked. The duke was caught off guard by his sons question, Vincent was never the type to declare an execution right of the bat. "We will speak of this when she wakes up, we need to hear her side." The duke said. "Yes father…" Vincent said. Thalia watched Liliths sleeping face, she looked so calm. Natalie came back in with the diary, but didn't hand it over yet. "When my lady wakes up she can tell us where she started writing about Vanessa." She said. They seemed to agree, but when Lilith showed no signs of waking up even though the sun was now setting, they decided to leave, Vincent telling them he would stay to watch her. "Please be okay…" he thought as he held her hand.