Somewhere high above, birds sang. Warmth touched my skin. I could smell honeysuckle and gooseberries.

I opened my eyes, then blinked hard as my vision sharpened.

The bright morning sun filled the garden. Our spot was nicely shaded. The snow was gone. The statues and canopy were no longer destroyed, but together and standing proud with bright green ivy wrapping around their forms. Patches of dewy grass sat beside flowerbeds filled with buds every color of the rainbow. Bees buzzed and happily plunged into the flowers and extracted their bounty before flying away. Birds flew around and chased each other through the air.

I stared in stunned silence. This place was even more beautiful in the light.

Something moved in my lap. I looked down.

A woman lay at my feet, fast asleep; her head was nestled comfortably in my lap. Her face was an expression of total peace.

Her skin was pale as snow. Her neck was long and graceful like a swan’s. Short hair black as raven’s plumage fell from her head. Her hands, delicate and slender, were missing their little fingers. A gorgeous black dress made of lace woven with shining sequins adorned her form.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

“Faustine?” I said softly.

Faustine stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times and groaned. Her eyes were the same piercing blue. “Marius…” She murmured. “Is this a dream?”

“No, thank God. it’s not.” I smiled. My eyes were growing misty again.

“Don’t cry.” Faustine brought a hand to my face. I leaned into her touch. Her hand was so cool and smooth. “My talons feel short.” She looked around with squinted eyes. “It’s bright out here.”

Faustine’s eyes suddenly turned wide.

She shot up from my lap and looked around in disbelief. She stared at her hands. She then touched her face, tracing its beautifully sculpted contours. Faustine held her face in her hands in shock.

Something tugged at the corner of her lips which turned into a smirk.

Then she began to smile.

Then she began to laugh.

She threw her hands around me and held me tight. I tried to do the same, but we fell back onto the grass. Faustine’s grip only tightened. We were joined together now, no longer two but one being.

“Thank you.” She said in my ear. I could hear the tears in her voice. “Thank you.”

We lay in the shade for a long time, just holding each other in the grass. I didn’t want it to end. My joy overrode everything. She was dying, dead. But here she was. And she was human again. It worked. My plan worked. The night was over. The cold had finally thawed. She was herself again.

“Mistress?” Someone said.

We separated and stood up together. A man in a familiar lop-sided hat stood along with a crowd of servants behind him. I counted about twenty-five. They were all beaming.

“Finley!” Faustine cried. She tried to stand up, then winced and held her leg.

“Hold on,” I said and held her arm. Together, we rose from the ground. She leaned on me and held me close.

“Thank you,” Faustine said, gently touching my cheek. She turned to the servant. “Oh Finley, thank God.” Finley opened his arms and Faustine fell into them. She broke away and wandered into the crowd who all took turns hugging and kissing Faustine. It was like witnessing a family reunion of sorts. There was laughter and tears of joy. I looked upon it all with nothing but happiness for them all.

“Mistress,” Etienne appeared out of the crowd. She held Faustine’s cane in her hands. She presented it with a bowed head.

“Thank you, Etienne.” Faustine took the cane and kissed the woman on the head. She turned to the crowd. “I don’t know what to say after all I’ve put you through.” She hung her head. “I don’t know if an apology is enough for what I have done.”

“We wouldn’t have stayed if we didn’t care, Mistress.” A servant from the crowd.

“I took you all for granted for so long. You were all a part of my nightmare for so long. I separated you from your families, the outside world.” Faustine continued, holding the head of her cane tightly. She exhaled. “I do not wish to keep you here any longer.”

“Then we can leave?” Another said.

Faustine nodded. She turned up her chin and made herself look as regal as possible. “Then if anyone wishes to leave, they may. Return to your families.”

Together, the servants and us all walked through the halls of the manor. All the disrepair and darkness had vanished. Rays of sunlight streamed through the windows. In full light, the walls were warm brown and white wood. Gold trim lined every inch of the elaborate molding. The floors were bright polished marble which reflected the sunlight brilliantly. I could see the many ravens embedded in the architecture had precious gemstones for eyes.

During our walk around the restored home, I heard a loud squeak from one of the rooms. My face lit up as a little furry blob scampered up to my foot.

“Doux!” I exclaimed, I grabbed my friend and kissed him on his head. He responded by licking my nose and tickling me with his whiskers. “Oh, you brave little thing. I was so worried.” I let him on my shoulder.

“He helped you?” Faustine asked, eyeing the animal curiously.

“Yes. He led the Maer away so I could find you. He even talked to me!”

“Ah, yes. That was one of the reasons we had no pets. Something about our powers can cause animals to talk. Very strange.” She nervously brought a finger toward the rat. “I suppose there’s no hard feelings between us, then?” She said to Doux.

I expected him to say something. Instead, he simply sniffed her finger and rubbed his head against it. Faustine looked on in surprise, then relieved. “He’s very soft.” She told me.

“I know,” I replied, smiling.

The ballroom’s windows were restored, the windows streaming multi-colored light onto the floor. The piano sat restored and gorgeous as ever. The painting studio too was restored. Faustine’s portrait now sat proudly against the wall. The raven woman in the portrait seemed to watch us enter. I think the eyes went a little too well.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Faustine wandered inside and gazed at the portrait. The sunlight on her pale skin gave her a halo of pale light.

I suddenly remembered something. “You wore a veil as a child. Why exactly?”

Faustine inspected her radiant hand against the sunlight. “They told me I was half-formed. Some in our family were sensitive to the sun, so they assumed I had the same affliction.” She closed her hand into a fist. “It was all a lie, like everything else they told me.” She approached me and laid a hand on my shoulder. “This place has held too many painful memories for me, Marius. I want to leave it.”

“Then let’s go,” I said, taking her hand. “I’d like to introduce you to my family.”

“I don’t know if they’ll accept me. What will your mother think?”

“She’ll have to go through me.” I gave her a reassuring nod. “But I’m sure you’ll make a great impression.”

“I’m not strong with those.” Faustine’s gaze fell.

I placed a finger under her chin and gently brought her eyes to mine. “You can always start over.”

Faustine’s solemn expression broke into a shy smile. “Why are you so good to me?”

“Because you’re worth it.”

Faustine’s smile deepened. She pressed her forehead to mine. “Then let’s go.”

The servants were waiting for us when we left the manor. The entire entry courtyard was full of verdant flowers and green hedges. Beyond the manor, the forest was alive and green with a breeze that tossed the trees this way and that in a beautiful way. A clear path through the trees led straight to the village.

The path was straight ahead, I thought, awestruck. It was just obscured.

Faustine whistled. The horse opened its stone eyes and shook itself with a grinding sound. We climbed on and it rose to its full height. Faustine kicked it, and it began its journey.

I held Faustine’s waist and watched the forest pass by. Doux rode on my shoulder, surveying along with me. The servants followed in a small formation beside them. We resembled a calvary, returning from war back to our kingdom. In a way, we were.

The ride was very short. I guessed it took just over ten minutes before we reached the edge of the village. We passed by the old cottage, then past the cemetery and church. Soon the houses grew in multitude until we were at the village square. A crowd of people was gathered close to the raven statue. They were all gaping in amazement at the clear sky and weather. But when they laid eyes on the procession of people walking alongside a gigantic stone horse, their collective jaws dropped.

The shock turned to joy when the servants dispersed into the crowd. Villagers I’d barely paid much mind to embraced the servants like old friends: The watchmaker down the street from the bakery, the blacksmith by the bakery, the priest I always saw tending to the graves by the church. The servants all had people waiting for them there. I looked over to see Finley tearfully embracing the old man that I recognized as the owner of the carpenter’s shop. Nearby, Etienne was with a woman with two young children. The children were hugging her and cheering “Auntie!”

“Marius!” I heard Mother’s voice.

Mother, my brothers, and Genny were all standing under the statue. On cue, Faustine kicked the horse, and it knelt to the ground. I slid off first and offered my hand to Faustine, who gingerly took it and stepped off. We strode hand in hand to the group.

Instantly Mother and my brothers rushed to embrace me. I held them back.

Mother ran her hands through my hair. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. “I forbid you from running off ever again.” She said as she held me close.

“I don’t plan on it, Mother,” I replied.

“You disappear into the cold again and this time you come back with people? What do you keep getting yourself into?” Connie wrapped an arm around me.

“I guess I’m just unlucky?”

“You’re going to have to start wearing a bell, brother,” August remarked, grabbing my shoulders. “We keep losing you.”

“I always make my way home.”

Mother turned to Faustine and looked her up and down. She assumed the default expression she reserved for greeting nobility. “Madame.” She said with a bow. Even in the greeting, I still sensed a hint of derision.

“Miss Dufresne.” Faustine greeted. “It is nice to meet you again.”

Mother raised an eyebrow. “We’re friends now? After everything you’ve done?”

“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I am ashamed of my actions in the recent past. But your son is a friend and more to me.” She turned to look at me, then back to Mother. “I would not be here if not for him. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that he is a man of deep conviction and love. I think I know where he gets it from now.”

Mother smirked. “I hope so. He takes after his father most of all. He was a very foolish man.” She laughed to herself. “Only a fool would risk everything for love.”

“Is that so bad?”

“Not at all. That’s why I fell in love.” Mother beamed.

“Then, no hard feelings?” Faustine presented her hand.

“None at all.” Mother shook Faustine’s hand and pulled her into a hug. “You’re family now. I can tell. And call me Elise.”

I grinned at the sight of Mother and Faustine together. Faustine saw me smiling and turned away, flushing.

“Maybe I should go into the woods and see who I can find, huh?” Connie laughed and elbowed me.

“Don’t be crass, Connie.” August scolded.

“You never know. Maybe these woods are full of tall, gorgeous women.”

August rolled his eyes. “You can always start your search today.”

Connie chuckled at his brother’s discomfort.

Faustine then turned to Genny, who had been watching the whole reunion. When Faustine’s eyes found her, Genny shrank away.

“You,” Faustine uttered. Her whole demeanor darkened again. Her tone chilled the air. “I know you.”

Faustine stepped closer until she was above the baker woman. She was a full head taller than Genny. Faustine inspected Genny’s face with narrowed eyes.

“Genevive.” Faustine breathed her sister’s name.

“It’s Genny now. Genny DeRose.” Genny murmured.

“You couldn’t be bothered to change your name. How quaint.”

“That’s not important.”

“Then let’s talk about what is important.” Faustine stabbed her cane into the ground. “Namely, why are you even here?”

We all stood by and watched the sisters. I wanted to intervene and explain to Faustine what had transpired. But I knew deep down this had to happen between them.

Genny swallowed. “I understand that you’re angry with me.”

“You don’t the meaning of the word!” Faustine snapped. “I trusted you! I thought you cared about me! But you did nothing to protect me! You abandoned me like Mother and Father!” Her grip tightened around her cane. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me, Genevive? Do you have the slightest inkling of what he did to me in that stupid little head of yours? Do you?”

I winced. Every word was charged with equal parts pain and anger. For a second, she’d grown talons and was tearing into her sister with abandon.

Genny stared at the ground in shame. She resembled a small child being scolded. She shut her eyes and sighed. “I grew up in that house too. I saw and heard everything. They hurt me too, in different ways.”

“They why didn’t you help me?” Faustine hissed through gritted teeth.

“Because I was too busy protecting myself. My fear of them outweighed my love for you, and that is something I am forever ashamed of.”

Faustine’s gaze softened.

“When we left the manor, left you—” Genny’s throat bobbed. “I hated myself for it. I was cowardly. I should’ve stayed. And only when we’d reached the village did I realize what a mistake I’d made. So, I looked Father straight in the eye and told him ‘This is your fault. Never speak to me as your daughter again.’ With that, he and Mother left me, and I haven’t seen them since.”

“Then why did you stay?”

“Twenty years, Faustine.” Genny simply said. The words suddenly made the drawn lines of her face and the collected bags under her eyes much more noticeable. She looked tired. “That is a very long time to wait. I couldn’t find my way back to the manor, so I stayed and hoped you come back to me someday.”

“Waiting?” Faustine’s voice grew tight.

Genny nodded. “I’ve been waiting for you this whole time.”

I could see Faustine connecting everything in her mind. A million thoughts, moments, and emotions flickered across her face at once.

Then she threw her hands around Genny and began to sob.

The two sisters held each other in the shadow of the raven statue in the square, which now shined brightly against the sun. Its outstretched wings no longer seemed oppressive, but protective. It watched over them, watched over us all as those who were separated by time and darkness were finally reunited.

I looked over to the pedestal on which the raven stood. The plaque was no longer bare, but now set with a bronze plate that read “Demesne De Rosamund” etched in elegant letters.

Below that, tiny buds shot up between the cracks of the stone street.

They were little blue flowers.

Roses.