About a week had gone by and she thought she had a firm grasp on the situation. She went back 5 years and was now 16. This year was the year things went downhill but there was still time before those events happened. Luckily she remembered how things played out, so this time she could plan ahead. If everything stayed the same then she'd have until the Hirenth Ball. That was the first of many disasters. It was unfortunate she didn't go back one more year earlier before she ever met that girl.
When she was a young girl she was an orphan on the streets. Her and her mother were dirt poor and her mother had grown sick. To be such a prosperous nation, the rich only grew richer and the poor only poorer. There was barely enough to eat and they could barely get any money from onlookers. Winter soon came and with no shelter, tragedy was bound to struck. Both her and her mother grew sick, their condition only worsening by the day.
The only thing they had for themselves was each other's warmth. And even though they were at rock bottom her mother tried her best to comfort her. Each night she held her close and sung her songs to ease the pain. One day Eliana woke up but her mother didn't. Just a child, she had nowhere else to go and refused to part from her mother's body. The weather only got colder and as she cried her tears painfully ran down her face. Yet no matter how bad she felt she refused to part.
However like everything, things eventually came to an end. She seemed to be on her deathbed when like an angel, a woman appeared.
She held out her hand towards her and she felt warmth for what seemed like the first time in forever.
That lady turned out to be the Baroness Anne. She was a Nobel woman from birth who married the Baron. She was a kind lady whose heart seemed bigger than herself. Recently their family discovered that she could not give birth. The news devastated her.
It just happened that evening as she was on her way home from an event that she noticed something huddled together. Coming to the realization that it was a child she immediately stopped the carriage and rushed over.
The little girl seemed to be no more than 12. Anna had never experienced a day of hardship in her life but seeing someone so young in such a state she felt her heart break. What was she doing out here? The weather was barely standable.
"Where are your parents?" She asked. Who in their right mind would let their child out like this. The girl didn't respond though. She stayed in her same crouched position, unmoving.
She realized the girl seemed to be focusing on something. Moving over a little bit she suddenly screamed. While the snow covered her body she could make out the limp blue hand the girl was holding onto.
Realizing what had happened. She quickly pulled the girl away from the body and rushed her to the carriage. She didn't notice at first but the girl was so small. Smaller than she ought to be. Being pulled away from her mother the girl screamed out,
"Mama! Mama!"
Yet no matter how hard she screamed, she got further and further away from her. Inside the carriage she was suddenly overwhelmed with the heat inside. She had been outside for so long that the sudden change in temperature made her dizzy.
In her state of confusion she quickly passed out. Seeing this Anne quickly rushed the driver to return home. Finally inside she had her maids assist the girl. She was freezing so they quickly brought her to a spare room and tucked her into bed. After that was settled they called the doctor over to examine her.
The doctor concluded that the girl was suffering from hypothermic shock and would need to be watched extensively for the next few days. She was severely underweight and so this could really affect her. The doctor was surprised she even survived this long.
At the time the Baron wasn't home but when he heard of what happened he rushed back.
Understanding the situation, he was hesitant to let the girl stay in the home. Who knows what she could've caught out there. However the Baroness insisted that she stay there.
The Baron was not dumb and could clearly see what was going on. A woman unable to conceive discovered an orphan in the street who was in need of a family.
After making sure she was perfectly fine and not carrying anything, it wasn't long before she was adopted by their family.
She was taught all the things a proper lady should know. From etiquette to how to read. Despite not being used to this life, she picked it up rather quickly.
She didn't have many friends growing up. Everyone knew of her origins, where she came from, and thought of her to be dirty. She was very thin from years of malnutrition and she wasn't very talkative, it was easy to see why no one approached her. However that all changed one day.
While reading a history book, a maid came in with a letter. "What is it?" She asked excitedly. She never got mail and this was one of the first letters she had ever received.
"Lady Natalia invites Lady Eliana to attend her 15th birthday banquet"
Hearing this she was shocked. No one her age had ever reached out to her despite the countless letter she wrote to them.
"So will you go?" The maid asked.
"Of course!"
__________
Thinking back on that time, she shook her head. She was naive, so quick to jump at the smallest thing that she never took a moment to think.
The party was nice, despite the whispers from the other children when she arrived everything seemed to be fine. Natalia seemed genuinely happy that she had come and greeted her warmly. After the party they continued to see each other and Natalia even helped her make new friends. It was easy to see how she could've been tricked and Natalia played her right into her trap.
It was small things at first, making comments about her hair or her appearance. Little jabs that could seem harmless at first and come off as playful. Then it was when other girls started talking of things she shared privately with only Natalia. When confronted about this, Natalia cried and stated that she hadn't meant to. Each time something happened, Eliana would forgive her because it was she who first showed her kindness.
If only she had read the signs, noticed the little details maybe things wouldn't have gone the way the did. Maybe her head wouldn't have rolled across the courtyard.
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