The world was suffocating, bearing down on Madelynn as if it had a personal vendetta against her. Her head pounded with the intensity of a large rock. She was, without a doubt, extremely hungover. Just opening her eyes felt like a chore, and doing so sent a jolt through her brain as the lights were just far too bright.

“Madelynn!” her mother yelled sharply from somewhere downstairs. Madelynn could vomit. It was far too early for shouting, especially in her mother’s shrill voice.

Madelynn didn’t respond, but instead rolled onto her side, where she stumbled off the bed and onto the floor. Her knees collided with the hard floor and she let out a groan as pain shot all the way from her knees to her eyes. “Elise!” she shouted, craning her head back and furrowing her brows against the lights. “I require your assistance!” When Elise didn’t immediately respond, she added, “Promptly!”

It wasn’t long until Elise’s footsteps pattered up the hall. Two short knocks at the door later, and she was standing in Madelynn’s doorway with a sly smirk on her face.

“Oh, spare me from your degradation,” Madelynn groaned, still on her knees leaning against the side of the bed. She was still in her gown from last night, the corset digging painfully into her ribs. “I’m horribly ill. Will you please fetch me a healer?”

Elise didn’t move, just stared down at Madelynn with eyes that knew more than they should. “I heard a rumor about you,” she chirped out, her smile widening.

“Can you wait to spill all the raunchy details until my head is no longer pounding with the force of a dozen elephants?” Madelynn tried to leverage her weight onto her hands, trying to push herself to stand, but she couldn’t muster the strength. Maybe the floor wasn’t such a bad resting place, after all.

“Always so dramatic.” Elise’s voice had dropped the sarcastic wit, but she still shook her head and rolled her eyes as she took a few steps toward Madelynn. “But-” she twiddled her thumbs in front of her apron, suddenly tentative about something Madelynn couldn’t place- “I’ve been practicing channeling my Essence. Would it be alright if I tried something?”

“If it’ll get rid of this blasted headache, you can do to me whatever you’d like.”

“Yes!” Elise bunched her hands into fists as she trotted over to where Madelynn slumped, and kneeled down next to her. “Miriam has been teaching me different techniques to counter different ailments. She says I’ve got a real knack for it.” She lifted Madelynn’s face with gentle hands and stared into her eyes with a furious intensity that left Madelynn questioning her decision to let her experiment on her. “Okay, close your eyes. And please don’t make fun of my pronunciation, I wasn’t brought up on this stuff.”

“Okay, fine!” Madelynn snapped, letting her eyes fall shut. “I won’t say anything as long as you don’t leave me permanently disfigured.”

Elise chuckled, but slid her hand against Madelynn’s cheek. “Hydratis Doloris,” she whispered, her voice soft but firm, as though she were commanding the words to obey her.

Madelynn felt it instantly. A vibration, faint at first, hummed through Elise’s palm where it touched her face. It was comforting and warm, like a blanket draped over her misery. Elise’s Essence was vibrant and bright as it surged through her head, tinged with a nervous excitement that was, undoubtedly, Elise. And then, her headache was gone- as if nothing had happened.

Elise withdrew her hand, but her Essence lingered, swirling around in Madelynn’s head as it patched and prodded any remaining soreness.

Madelynn opened her eyes to see Elise smiling giddily at her. “Did it work? I think it worked!” She stood, clapping her hands in front of her as she smiled goofily. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”

Madelynn raised her eyebrows and looked around the room, searching for the brightest light to stare into. “I feel fine,” she said, surprised at Elise’s ability. “Better than fine, actually.” She pushed herself to stand and flexed her hands, wiggled her toes, and stretched her back. “I’m pretty sure you saved my life.”

Elise breathed out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t think I saved your life, but definitely your morning.”

Madelynn clapped the smaller girl on the shoulder and shook her head. “No, you definitely saved my life, Elise.” She stepped around her to her wardrobe, her eyes scanning the uncomfortable dresses that hung there. “Do I have anything to do today?”

“No, but-” Elise bit her lip, suddenly nervous once again- “Lady Hawtrey is in quite a fuss this morning.”

Madelynn scoffed, pushing a poofy, ruby rose dress out of the way, pulling on a thinner, paler day gown. “When is she not in a fuss?”

“Maddie, I’m being serious.”

Madelynn dropped her grip on the dress and turned around to cross her arms at Elise. “Why? What’s going on?”

Elise grimaced, pulling her lips away from her teeth as she took a deep breath, as if she was about to ruin Madelynn’s life with a single sentence. “After you left the ball early last night, apparently some of the Young Lords were carrying on about you being awfully rude. And drunk.”

“Okay?” Madelynn drew out, waiting for her to get to a point, if there even was one. “I’m always rude. The drunkenness just potentially made my words more… potent.”

“No, it- it’s not about that. When your mother tried to shut the rumors down, word got to her that you’d been spotted with a General, alone, on a balcony outside the party. She’s nervous you’ve gotten yourself involved in a scandal. On your first day eligible.”

Madelynn’s eyes shot wide. Shit. She had been alone, on the balcony, with a General, on her first day eligible. She brought up a hand to scrub her eyes. “Shit,” she muttered, feeling her stomach churn with nervousness about the impending conversation with her parents. “Okay, yes. I was on the balcony, and there was a General near the balcony. But, we didn’t go there together and we only spoke for a moment, and… And nothing! There was nothing scandalous about it.”

Elise frowned, but the humor was evident in her eyes. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, Maddie, I believe you.”

Madelynn balked at her. “You do not!” She gasped, feigning hurt. “I’m appalled by your disregard of my feelings, Elise.”

“Okay,” Elise laughed out, moving past Madelynn to pluck the pink dress she’d been eyeing from the hook. “Save your dramatics for your mother. Let’s get you dressed so you can get something besides lemon tarts in your belly.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Madelynn lurched at the memory of the endless snacks. “Don’t remind me.”

Elise helped Madelynn out of the frivolous gown from last night’s event, and dressed her in the modest, light dress for the day.

“Are they really so upset?” Madelynn asked as Elise tied her hair back into a bun, not erasing the disheveled, exhausted look- but hiding it enough to make her presentable.

“Your mother’s been pacing all morning and your father’s been reading the same article of the newspaper. I think it’s pretty bad.” Elise stepped back to admire her work, then sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Was it truly innocent? Your time with the General?”

Madelynn smiled as she recalled the memory. It was a fleeting moment, such a short span of time in such a long evening, but Callum’s easy smile and wild eyes stuck in her mind like a dab of sugar amongst a sea of tar. “It was amazing.” She bit her lip as her mind wandered. “We just talked, and it wasn’t even for long, but it was like he saw me, Elise. Not my name or my wealth or even my beauty. He just saw me.”

Elise smiled softly, and swept a strand of hair from Madelynn’s face, tucking it behind her ear. “Then maybe he’s someone worth fighting for.”

Madelynn’s smile broadened as she smacked away Elise’s hand playfully. “Now who’s the dramatic one?” she laughed out, standing up and clutching her heart. “One night of him occupying my thoughts doesn’t mean I’m in love with the man. I simply enjoyed his company while it lasted.”

Elise wrapped her arms around herself and spun in a circle, her aproned dress poofing out like a ballgown. “Doesn’t every Young Lady dream of finding true love someday? I know I do.”

Madelynn shook her head, watching Elise dance around the room in some romance- driven haze. “Of course, but I also have to be realistic. I’m not a young debutante. What would a General be interested in me for? I’m not prized pickings as my father would put it.”

Elise stopped spinning to stare intensely in Madelynn’s eyes. “True love knows no bounds,” she said softly, closing her eyes and drifting off to some far-off place.

“Yeah, okay.” Madelynn grabbed her shoulder as she walked past her toward the door. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

She left Elise alone to her daydreams as she exited her room and made her way down the hallway toward the stairs. The Hawtrey Estate had been her home her whole life. It was a sprawling villa, decorated with ancient statues and expensive vases. Anything to show off their equally as sprawling wealth, per the request of Lady Hawtrey. Madelynn thought it was exhausting. The only room in the entire house that wasn’t occupied by the flamboyance of delicate art and looming statues was her room. Everything else felt like a museum, lifeless and untouchable.

She could hear the clinking of silverware and food being served as she descended the stairs. Her parents were, undoubtedly, going to completely rip her apart. She could feel her nerves in her belly as she neared the dining room, where her parents were waiting.

Her mother sat, tense as one of the statues in the corner, as she sipped on a glass of tea. Her father clenched his jaw and tapped his foot as he read the newspaper, ignoring the servants working around him.

Madelynn took a deep breath before entering the room, likely her last breath as a free woman, and stepped through the doorway.

Neither of her parents looked at her as she entered, or as she loudly pulled a chair from the table, taking a seat across from her father. “Morning,” she said tentatively as food appeared on her plate. She smiled at the kind-eyed server as she departed from the table, leaving Madelynn alone with her parents once again.

Her mother was the first one to look up at her, setting her tea down on the table in front of her. “Madelynn,” she started, her voice as tense as her back. “What is this I hear of you sneaking off with some soldier last night?”

Madelynn opened her mouth to fire back a quick retort, but her father interrupted her, slamming the newspaper down against the table. His deep, brown eyes were alight with a fire she’d never seen before. Not even when Irene and Lydia announced, on the same day, that they were to marry lowly men.

“You disrespected our entire family with your actions. Bringing shame upon yourself brings shame to all of us,” he said calmly. His tone was soft, lacking the anger burning in his eyes. It was terrifying.

Madelynn sighed, rolling her head around on her shoulders. “I didn’t sneak off with a soldier,” she said, enunciating the words in a mocking tone. “I stepped out to take a breath, and he happened upon me while I was standing out on the balcony.”

“And so?” her mother questioned, thumbing her fingers on the table. “Did you excuse yourself when you noticed his presence?”

“Well, no. I stayed and spoke with him for a moment. But that was it, we just spoke. I don’t see the scandal in that.”

“The scandal!” her father bellowed, staring up at the ceiling. His jaw tightened as his eyes searched for something Madelynn couldn’t see. “The scandal is that you’re a Young Lady spending time, alone, with a General. One with a reputation that is anything but desirable.”

“I didn’t even know he was a soldier when I first saw him!” Madelynn shouted back, her nerves quickly turning to anger as her parents nagged her. “And I definitely didn’t know he was a General. Not until he walked into the ballroom later.”

“It doesn’t matter what you knew, Madelynn,” her father continued, his voice booming through the room like a thunder storm. “What matters is that it happened. And, on top of that, you were drunk. And, apparently, completely dismissive to the Young Lords who approached you. Do you know what kind of reputation you’re setting for yourself?”

“Not just dismissive,” her mother butted in. “She was rude, ruthlessly so. I witnessed that myself.”

“I was rude because they were insufferable! And I was drunk also because they were insufferable. How am I expected to sit and smile while I’m being presented like a trophy for the highest bidder? You were both aware I didn’t want to debut this season, and now I’m being punished for a choice that wasn’t mine.”

“No, you’re being punished because you keep making increasingly terrible decisions,” her mother said, her eyes softening as she spoke. “You cannot parade yourself around with the self-importance you apparently possess. It’s unbecoming, and you will draw the wrong kind of attention.”

“As opposed to… what exactly?” Madelynn retorted, scoffing. “Is the attention I receive now supposed to be appealing? I had one single interaction with someone who seemed actually, genuinely interested in listening to what I had to say, and I might as well be the devil for saying that I enjoyed it!”

“That is enough!” Her father stood, planting his hands on the table bowing his head in frustration. “General Whitlock is known for being a cruel and ruthless executioner. He’s not good company, and you will not see him again.”

Madelynn stared up at him, and she could feel her heart beating behind his eyes as her anger reached a boiling point. “I’m not some pawn you can trade for a dowry, Father! It’s not my fault Irene and Lydia married men with no wealth. But it will be my fault if I marry into a life of misery. If General Whitlock chooses to call on me, which I don’t see happening anyway, I will not refuse the offer.”

Her father’s nostrils flared as he stared down at her. “You will-”

The door from the servants’ kitchen flung open, banging loudly against the wall. All eyes were on Elise as she scrambled into the room. “Lady Madelynn!” she called, breathing frantically, a piece of folded parchment in her hand. “A letter! With the royal seal!”

Madelynn gasped, standing to reach for the paper, but her father was quicker. He plucked the paper from Elise’s hand and tore it open. Madelynn watched with discontentment as his eyes scanned the note. “Does privacy mean nothing anymore?”

He didn’t respond, rubbing his bearded chin as he read the letter over again. Finally, he set the letter down, his eyes wide with confusion. Madelynn didn’t dare speak, as a single word might fracture the tension hanging over them. “You’ve been invited to the Military Banquet tomorrow evening.”

Madelynn furrowed her brow. She’d been invited to a Military Banquet? She wasn’t important enough to attend something so lavish. She shook her head and stood, dashing over to her father. She scooped up the letter and scanned it.

Dear Lady Madelynn Hawtrey,

It is my great honor to invite you to the formal Banquet, celebrating the Malyrian’s great Military triumph in its campaign in Korner. The night’s events will include dinner, a victory ceremony, and a dance. The Banquet will take place on the evening of tomorrow, in the courtyard of the Royal Castle.

Your grace and poise at the last eve’s ball left an impression I would be remiss to ignore, and I believe your attendance will lend the occasion an air of distinction.

I hope this letter finds you well, and I look forward to your acceptance. You bare a unique potential, and I am confident you will enjoy the company as well as I will enjoy yours.

Yours Sincerely,

General Casimir Aldrich