Becoming a Lady

Noel’s lips are moving as he stares at me from his place on the couch beside me. He must be telling me of some other horrid scheme. But I’m beyond him. Either I’m not listening, or I can’t bring myself to hear whatever he is telling me. We sit there, and as he starts to move in to kiss me, one of Noel’s henchmen bursts in and exclaims, “Sir, there is a drunken soldier outside causing an uproar! He has already upset the cart horse and wounded the driver. Please, he demands to speak with you!” Catching his breath, the man leans against the wall. I can hear quite well now. I can faintly hear angry shouting and the whinnying of a distressed horse.

Feeling important, Noel jumps to his feet. Looking back at me, he exclaims, “Don’t leave this couch, my dear! I will return to you in a moment. Now, you fellow, lead me to this ruckus.” I nod absent-mindedly. The man quickly sighs and strides out of the room with Noel at his heal.

Bored within moments, I glance around. Suddenly, I eye the door. Is there still a guard? Straining to hear any noise, nothing reaches my ears. I am alone. Nobody is here to make sure I remain within this chamber… Suddenly I jump to my feet and race out of the room. Carefully picking my way through the huge house, I find myself in the servants’ quarters, all alone. Smiling in spite of myself, I pull off the huge dress and coarse underskirts. I feel like laughing as I grab a cloak and conceal my corset and loose underclothes. Out of the door in moments, the lord’s black stallion is sitting in his stall, resting after a nice meal.

Coaxing it, I slowly approach his stall and open the door. I croon to him as I slide the saddle blanket on his back. He sits still, perfectly calm as I place the saddle on his back and the bridle on his face. Snorting, he waits for me to mount him. Taking one last glance around the quiet stable, I mount my new steed and cautiously urge him forward.

I haven’t been on a horse too many times since my youth, but I recall the way to use my knees and the bridle to guide my horse. Digging my heals into his sides as we exit the stable, the stallion falls into an easy canter. In a few minutes, we are away from the mansion that would have been shockingly comfortable to live in on any normal occasion.

Picking my way off the road, my stallion grows bored with cantering and breaks into a gallop. As we fly over the valley on the other side of the hills, all of the exhilaration of a good, fast gallop comes rushing back to me. I laugh aloud as we come to the base of another hill and easily reach its crest. I carefully pull my steed to a stop and turn him around to gaze back towards the mansion.

I can still see it, resting there against the sky, a lone spot of color and light against the black of the night. Rearing onto his hind legs, my stallion lets out a triumphant whinny. I gaze into the beautiful night and grin at the sparkling heavens.
 
ohhh HORSIE!!! :woot: haha :lol: I loved it! that was great. though one thing, shouldn't she still be sad that her beloved Hans is well... 'dead'? ;)
--Mandy :angelic:
 
yes... i'm working on the "dead" part

one hint: read backwards ONLY IF YOU WANT TO READ SOMETHING THAT MIGHT GIVE SOMETHING AWAY

? saw nam knurd eht kniht uoy od ohw
 
The horse chomps at the wet grass underfoot as we rest under a tree. Where am I going? I’m gone from Noel and the manor house, but where shall I go now? It would be dreadful to be stuck here forever… not that I would be. But as I search my mind for someplace to take refuge, nothing suitable comes to me. No matter what I decide, I’m not going back to him.

I pat the horse’s back, but leave the saddle on his back. I never know if I might need to make a quick getaway… My father’s house? I can’t go there. The church? There is no place for me there; I’m not religious enough and the sisters would not deign to take me in, even with their vows. My godfather’s house? Uncle Monto, my beloved godfather… I think about the place and a wave of memories wash over me. We all used to go to his home West of our town every summer. That’s where I road horses. I smile to myself. Uncle Monto’s house was quite large and had a large piece of land attached to it. We’d ride those horses, watch Uncle’s painter at work, have picnics, even swim. I recall vaguely that Daria swam quite well at one time, before she went proper on me.

Then I come to my senses… Daria will have moved in by this night! And even now I can see a sliver of pale orange beginning to light the sky. It has gone quite quickly from black to gray, and I can tell it will not be gray for much longer. The dawn embraces me… and Daria will be awakening soon to see to her new household. I swing myself into the saddle and set off, filled with a new zest.
 
For safety, I take the back alleyways. Noel might have considered Daria’s home as an option for my hideaway. I am beginning to think this not such a great idea after all when I am behind Daria’s house. The small private stable belonging to John (and now Daria as well) is just to my right. Reluctantly, I creep inside and tie up the beautiful horse. I take of his saddle, but place it just next to him on the side of his stall. I take a deep breath, and step outside.

The dawn is starting to get bright, so I edge around the corner. I am fearful without the cover of darkness. As I come to the edge of the building where a little room sticks out, I pause. If I walk around this little outlet, I will basically be on the street. That little, cobble-stoned street… and I will be right across from my father’s house.

I’m about to creep around the corner when the sound of hooves on cobblestone reaches my ears. I freeze. I have a premonition… it’s Noel. And just as I predicted, I soon hear his voice. “Open the door, man!” he yells. He or one of his men is pounding on the door. I press against the wall. Feeling the whole length of my body on the stone, I notice that I am not feeling any vibrations from Noel’s banging. Then, it occurs to me that Noel is at my father’s house. Maybe, he doesn’t even know that Daria lives across the street! He has never cared for the affairs of people with less extreme amounts of money in their pockets.

Angered, yet cheered, I stay where I am. Soon the door is opened and I hear a maid speaking softly. Yes, that is my father’s maid, not Daria’s. From what I overhear, the maid is letting Noel inside. I hear the thud of the door shutting behind him. Feeling slightly giddy, but unwilling to laugh out loud, I re-enter Daria’s stable and go into the house through the servant’s quarters. The maids are up and about, and I receive several curious looks. However, I keep on walking. I must look odd with my lady-like walk in man’s clothes. A slow smile crosses my face. Now I really want to laugh, but I remind myself why I am here and my face hardens again.

I enter a parlor to find Daria alone, embroidering a little pillow. The intricate red patterns can mean only one thing: a child will grace the house not too long from now. Perhaps he or she will be among us in less than eight months. I dismiss my thoughts and stand straight, waiting for her to look up.

After half a minute, she raises her head and immediately jumps. “Elena, my dear! What has happened to you?” she exclaims, looking at my frightful clothes.

“Nothing, sister, but do you have a dress I could wear?” I ask, praying she won’t ask any more questions.

Daria is flustered, but she says, “Well of course! This is most definitely an emergency as I can see. Follow me. Oh, I don’t believe you have seen my new room… well, our new room as it is. But come along! We must get you out of those dreadful clothes.” I follow her tiredly as she babbles on about various things, causing her to forget her shock.
 
awwww Daria's pregnant! *sigh* as snobby as she is ;) So what's gonna happen now??? :woot:
--Mandy :angelic:
 
Daria’s room is very cozy, with hangings on every window and a painting or tapestry covering most of the walls. She ushers me into a side room dedicated entirely to her clothing. Dresses, corsets, underskirts, night gowns, and everything else line the walls on shelves and in little drawers. “Oh, I have the loveliest one for you, Elena! You can wear it now, and I would be most pleased if you’d also wear it on my wedding party. Of course, we must have a wedding gown made for you, since you will be a bridesmaid. Ah, here it is. Lovely green, don’t you think? You see, I had Mother’s old seamstress make me a dress, but her measurements were all wrong. When it arrived, I thought to my self, ‘Why, Elena must have this dress! She hasn’t any proper clothes.’ So I set it aside and here it is… Well, why don’t you shut that door there? Oh yes, thank you, dear. Now let’s get off this awful attire and dress you rightly, shall we? Just slip that off… oh, leave it in the corner I’ll have my maid have it pressed. Then a stableman can have it… Now, you need a corset for this dress, obviously. How about this black one here? I know you’ve only got one- oh, hold still for heaven’s sake, Elena! That’s better. We shall make a lady out of you yet. I see you are holding yourself properly, and walking properly. Soon, you will learn to dress properly… Ah yes, that’s good for the corset. Let’s see. You need an underskirt. This one should do. Just slip that on there. You know your shape is really starting to form nicely, Elena. How old are you now? Sixteen? Yes, that’s what I thought. Well it is rather nice, as I was saying… There. Now for the dress. This is fun, isn’t it? It’s just like you’re my little doll, and I’m dressing you up! All right, pull that down there. Turn around so I can button it. Heavens, there are so many buttons! I’m not used to doing them all. My maids are skilled at buttoning and it takes them but a few seconds. On the other hand, these ones may take a minute… There. And here are the shoes that came with my order. The green matches nicely, see? You have dainty feet, just like Mother and I. It must run in the family! Now you are all dressed. Let’s have a look in the mirror, shall we?” She pushes me gently forward and I stop in front of the full length mirror.

While my hair is a mess, though the rest of me looks rather nice. I turn slowly to look at myself. The satin green dress with folds at the hem, neck, and sleeves is of fine quality. The neckline is a little lower than I am used to, I notice. I run my hand along it and Daria notices.

“It is lower, but it’s the latest fashion. All of my dresses and yours from now on will have this neckline style… until a newer one comes out, of course,” Daria says. I look at myself and smile. I actually look very nice! If only Hans could see me. My cheeks turn slightly pink, but Daria continues to babble about styles and her dresses.

Suddenly, Daria’s attention is drawn to my hair, which is in disarray. With an impatient sound in her throat she opens the door and pushes me into the bedroom with the piles of pillows everywhere. I find myself seating on Daria’s little stool, and she is behind me armed with a comb, brush and several ribbons. After attempting for several seconds to use the comb and brush on me, she finds that my hair is tangled beyond belief. That doesn’t stop her, though. She keeps at it, pulled firmly until my hair surrenders and bows to her will.

Before my eyes, my hair begins to form behind me into one brown mass. Daria twists it and ties it until my hair is in the latest twist-up style, identical to hers. Then she looks at the image of me in the mirror and then snaps her fingers. “Rouge!” she says, and gets out her lip color and rouge. She beautifies my face, then brushed my eyebrows and eyelashes carefully.

Finally satisfied, she pulls me to my feet and looks at me. She looks satisfied and embraces me. Her fragrance is soothing. After a moment, she pulls back, grabs a little glass bottle and sprays me with perfume. Now we even smell alike. I let out a little giggle at that thought and she joins me. Her lady-like posture collapses for a moment until our laughing stops. Then Daria straightens up and corrects my back with a wave of one graceful arm. She takes my hand and smiles.

Just then, John walks in and sees us. “Daria, love, is that your younger sister?” he says as though it were impossible. Daria looks to him and nods.

“Oh yes. It is Elena,” she says, and goes to him. He casually puts his arm around her waist and I blush.

John is still looking at me. “You are beginning to show your womanly beauty,” he says appreciatively. Daria smiles and I can tell she is laughing inside. I guess I am becoming a woman.
 
Daria turns to face John and I notice how close together they are. I’m afraid I might interrupt a moment, but she says, “Well, I must give Elena a room since she is staying with us for the night. She hasn’t seen most of the house yet, anyway. And I thought we might have some sister time.” She winks at me. I smile and wink back.

“Why of course,” John says regally and walks over to the other side of the room. Daria leads me into the hallway. Suddenly, I am quite tired. A small yawn escapes my lips and Daria frowns slightly.

“Come now, it is morning… or have you been up all night?” she looks at me, surprised. I nod sheepishly. She sighs. “Ah well, I do have to attend to my household, anyway. We can chat when you are rested.” She pats my cheek and leads me down to the end of the hall. Behind a mahogany door is a little room with a bed, window, chair, table with a mirror, and a chest for clothing. I gratefully begin to undress. She turns to leave, but says one more thing: “If you need a maid, call one. Sleep well, sister.”

Daria closes the door behind her. I undo my hair, rub off some of the makeup with a small towel that sits on the mirror-table, pull off my beautiful outer clothes, take off the underskirt, struggle with the corset and give up, and climb into bed. It takes me especially long to fall asleep because of the corset, but for some reason I do not call a maid. Maybe it is to prove to Daria that I am a lady and don’t need help with my own little corset. But after a time, I end up asleep.

I dream of Hans. We are at the manor. Noel is not in the dream; maybe he is dead. Anyway, Hans and I are married with a child or two and the manor is ours. We are sitting on that little bench and he is telling me that he loves me. Though I can’t tell anything really in the dream-world, I know I am smiling at him and loving him as much as he is loving me.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, my eyes open slowly to find the last sight I expected to see: the one I had been dreaming of. Hans.
 
:eek: Way to suprise us!! I can't wait to have her talk to Hans...*sigh* I want some more of that wonderful romance brewing. ;)

Thank-you for the pm's!
 
OMG, this was awesome. I love your story. Sorry it has been a while since I been in here, but your story is fantastic, and you are such a great writer. I can't wait for more, and thanks for the pm!! More soon please (y) :D

Love ya,

Penny :angelic:
 
:eek: NO WAY! yay! *dances* hahaha Hans is back! *dances again* sooo happy. they should totally make out and Daria can walk in on them :lol: :rotflmao: anyways great job! more soon!
--mandy :angelic:
 
He is smiling at me and sitting in the little chair, just gazing at me. For a moment I think myself asleep still. But then I remember I’m wearing naught but a corset and underskirt and feeling my cheeks turn pink. I am suddenly aware of the blankets that only cover up to half of my stomach, leaving my upper torso in the corset in his site. Slowly, I pull the blankets up to my neck and sit up. Pillows are stacked behind me, so sitting up is as comfortable as lying down. An embarrassed smile crosses my face. I must look completely tangled. My hair is a mess; I’m only wearing so much clothing, and a little bit of rouge is still on my cheek. He doesn’t seem to care though.

“Hello, Elena,” he says softly in that beautiful voice of his.

“Hello, Hans,” I say, trying to be strong. But he is just smiling dreamily at me and I relax into the mountain of pillows. Hans reaches for me and strokes my hair. I savor the moment, then wonder how he came to be alive, not dead. I begin in a lazy voice, “What happened to you?” For the first time I notice that a small bruise is on his forehead, near his temple. Fortunately, it looks like the kind of bruise that goes away after some time. Hans notices what I’m looking at and shrugs.

“Well, it’s quite a story,” he begins. “Are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Of course,” I say with a laugh. “No tale of yours is unworthy of my ears.”

“In that case, I’ll tell you immediately!” Hans says. I’m still smiling. “Well, it all began the day we parted from the Lake.” I blush. “I arrive home to find my father even worse than when I had left him, only hours before. Of course Noel is at his side, telling him that everything is going to be fine. Before I enter Father’s bedroom, I pause at his door and listen to the conversation inside.

“Noel was off-handedly trying to change my father’s will to be in his favor. My father was very weak, but kept saying that I was the first-born and most worthy of the inheritance. After Noel brought up the question the third time and waited for an answer, I moved into the room. Father looked up at me and I saw that he was trying to smile. Noel looked accordingly frustrated. I nodded at my father then turned to Noel. His right eyelid was twitching at that point and I looked at him with distaste.

“I told him, ‘Brother, it seems you’ve the answer to your question. Don’t press our father on his death bed. And you should know, Noel, that you will find no loop-hole.’ He looked rather angry, but put up a serene face. After my words, Father turned to Noel and frowned at him. ‘Well, my son,’ he said, ‘it’s not that you won’t be getting anything out of my will.’ He began coughing and gestured for me to complete his statement. So, I said, ‘Father is trying to tell you that you have been granted one tenth of his original land plot. If you want to know which tenth it is, it’s the far tenth that is separated from the rest of his land by the river. See? Now you will definitely be sure of the border, for anything on the other side of the river is mine. You can add on to the old guest house that’s over there. Oh, and it says in Father’s will that you are to keep Master Till’s cows off your pastures. He’s been grazing them over there for the past four years.’ When I had finished speaking, Father nodded and his frown disappeared.

“Noel got up and nodded stiffly to our father. Then he just left. I sat with Father for a long time. I stayed by him so long, occasionally talking but mostly sitting, that I fell asleep. When I awoke, my Father was calling to me. His eyes were red, and his face looked wasted. It pained me to see him that way. I held his hand and waited for him to tell me whatever it was. He tried to speak several times, but nothing came out. After a few tries, he said to me, ‘Hans, my son… I think it is time I gave you the last advice you’ll ever get from me. Don’t… give in to the ones who want you to suffer. Don’t let them… win. You are strong. That is why I… gave you most of the inheritance. Noel… is not strong. But here’s my… advice: don’t spend all… of your time… fighting evils. Save time… for the good. And be as loving as you… can. Find a wife… and marry her. Hold on to… her. She is the one… who will… save… you…’ I nodded, saying, ‘Yes, Father.’ He smiled and closed his eyes. His breathing was coming very shallowly, so I sat back and watched him. I knew that he would soon be dead.

“After about a minute, I realized that I was no longer hearing his breathing. My father was dead.” I sniff and a single tear runs down my face. Hans looks at me and holds my hands. I look at him and smile sheepishly. Looking very serious, he leans in and kisses my tear, and then my mouth. I let myself get lost in him.

Eventually, he sits back again and says, “Shall I continue?” I just nod. He grins, then becomes solemn. “We had a funeral the day after the day I went to you at the Lake. He hadn’t even lived the two days that the doctors had given him. Instead, he had lasted about seven hours after I went to you.” I bow my head and frown. Evil Noel. “After Father was buried, a letter arrived for me, from my Aunt Reda. She had never liked me, so I was surprised. The letter suggested that I go and visit her while I was in mourning. Noel looked innocent when I showed him the letter, so I decided to go ahead and start the two-day journey to her home, east of here.

“I set out, and travelled quickly to Aunt Reda’s. It took me only a day and a half to get there. When I arrived, she took me in straight away. However, she kept eyeing me strangely. I couldn’t ignore it anymore after some time, so I asked what was wrong. She replied to my question, ‘Well, I just heard of your Father’s death. But I had no idea that you were coming out here to see me. Why did you do that?’ Then, I knew it was a set-up.

“I set out immediately with a different horse, after having stayed with Aunt Reda for barely an hour. It took me a day and a half to get back, at which time it was late evening. Noel had apparently done lots of damage. You see, in event of my death, he would inherit the entire estate. So he sent me off, claimed I was dead, and began to take over.

“I got there and the household immediately panicked. The ones who had thought me dead were frightened. Naturally, that caused a row outside the house. Noel came out.” That was when I escaped! I quickly do the math in my head. I had been sleeping in the mansion for almost two days… Just like that maid, Lorna, had said Hans had been missing that long.

“Noel came out and I could tell that the people outside with us were looking from him to me. They had to decide whose side they were on. Most of them chose me. A few people who were probably in on it stuck to Noel. However, the people loyal to me outnumbered his by 5 to 1.

“I locked Noel in a room and his people in another, setting my people to watch them. My people were so glad to see me. Most of them had followed my father, and his decision to have me the main heir. The others had been my own servants and such. Anyway, once I had Noel shut up, I sat down and listened to the tale of what had happened while I was gone. It was quite a story! They told me all about his journey around town, where he accused the people of murdering our father. They told me how he had sent people searching for you after you didn’t show up. I think he wanted you because I did. That would really make him feel powerful.” I blush again.

“My servants told me all about how they had found you unconcious in a heather field and brought you to the mansion. You had slept for a long, long time. When you awoke, Noel had brought you down to him and said that you were going to have to marry him. Then I had arrived. Afterwards, they told me that you had disappeared, as well as the lord’s black stallion. So I went looking for you with a few people. We looked in the fields, by the Lake, and all over town. We ended up in Daria’s house. She looked surprised to see me, but she let me in right away and brought me here.

“I’ve been sitting with you for a few hours, waiting for you to wake up,” Hans finished. I look at him. He has been through so much… he must be tired. I sit forward and look at him with my head to one side. He really does love me. As if to prove my thoughts correct, he moves himself onto the bed beside me. Now, we are lying side by side. I look into his eyes, just like that time at the Lake. I can see his soul again. It is so deep, and it is truly wonderful. Suddenly, I almost can’t stop smiling, I am so happy. We look at each other for a time. Then, he lunges in and sets his mouth on my own. I let my arms slide around his neck.

Hans is kissing me like he’s afraid I might die at any moment, and I welcome it. He doesn’t want to lose me. I lean back onto the mountain of pillows and his body follows mine. I am so entranced I am barely aware that his arms are holding me so closely at my shoulders and hips.

It lasts until Hans pulls back for air. My lips feel softened from his. His hair is looking sort of messy, in this adorable way. Then a little giggle comes from behind Hans. He whirls around to find the door open a tiny crack. Hans quietly slides off the bed and sneaks over to the door. He looks back at me once and grins. I smile back. Then, he yanks the door open to reveal Daria, standing just outside the door.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Elena my dear!” she says in a very high voice. “I’ll be going now.” She rushes down the hall away from my room. Hans slowly shuts the door. Then, as a second thought, takes the chair and puts it against the door. Then, he puts a pillow on the chair to block any view through the keyhole. I sit up a giggle a little. When he has finished, he turns his head towards me. Hans looks at me sidelong, then pulls off his jacket. Laying it on the chair he turns to me and gives me a look, as if to ask if I’m ready. I lift my chin and unlace my black corset. He grins and walks toward me.




(that's the end! besides the soon to come forward!) :D i feel so good
 
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