Now was a perfect time to explore what was left of the manor, but Avril didn’t want to cause Lucia any more problems. She decided to join her and Viviane as soon as possible. To the right of the stairs leading to the kitchen, there was a door that supposedly led to the guest rooms, opposite the Duchess’s quarters – or so Avril had thought. But now she wasn’t so sure anymore. Why would the servants’s quarters lead to a guest room?

  Her curiosity got the better of her and it soon made sense as she went through the door to confirm which room it was. She saw a gorgeous room, lit by grand wooden windows. The wooden walls and the tapestry had flowery designs. In the center of the room, was a medium sized table with twelve pieces of silverware. The chandelier and the chair had silver ornaments. The whole room was gorgeously lit by the silver’s reflection; everything looked almost too dreamy. There were signs of use in one of the seats – it was probably where the Duchess ate. This private dining area was much more extravagant than the grand dining room.

  Finding nothing more of interest, she went out through the door opposite to where she stood. She had reached the first-floor landing. Without any second to waste she went through the other door next to the private dining area. It was a modest room and not at all a guest room. The flowery patterns were still there but the room looked much more like a tea lounge. There were two facing brown sofas with two animal skin blankets on it. Between them was a little wooden table with porcelain cutlery and teapot on it. Two almost empty bookshelves sat against the opposite wall. Avril could still smell the lingering aroma of the same green tea she served before. She didn’t waste any more time, going out to continue searching for Lucia and Viviane, when a melodious voice interrupted her. She froze, trying to swallow the lump in her throat – Emerie was there.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Emerie.

  Now that she was in front of her, Avril couldn’t utter a single word. She stood still, Emerie’s voice lingering in her ear. She swallowed with difficulty, her hands sticky. A million questions ran through her head. How are you doing? Are you hurt? Why are you here too? But her voice was gone, replaced by agony and yearning. So much time had passed and so much pain. She stuttered:

  “I… I was… Viviane and Lucia.” It was all she could articulate.

  Tears soon filled her eyes. She looked at Emerie. She was so beautiful, exactly like she remembered – her joyful and empathetic gaze, her kind smile and her adorable freckles. The weight of all these years seemed to force Avril to kneel down. Avril silently cried.

  Emerie witnessed this scene and worried:

  “Orane, are you okay?”

  The name hit her like a bucket of ice-cold water. She could hardly breathe. She looked at Emerie with wet eyes and her gaze hardened. She needed to see her true face, right now! She hurried through the door, a million thoughts ran through her head, pushing Emerie aside and rushed to the private dining area. Not caring about anything else she had one thought: Do I look like Orane? Is it why you don’t recognize me?

  She grabbed a silver platter in her hand and didn’t mind crashing the cutlery to the floor with a loud clatter. Emerie had followed her closely and watched her in astonishment. Avril looked at her disfigured face by the silver with urgency. She sighed in relief when she saw that she was not Orane, not at all. Her true face was reflected. She felt her face with one hand to confirm it was her and with a shaky voice asked Emerie:

  “Why are you calling me Orane?”

  Avril let out a low and forced laughter. She didn’t like where this was going:

  “There’s just the two of us. No need to play.”

  She continued to laugh – more like lightly chuckled. Emerie took a hesitant step back.

  “I don’t understand. Are you joking?”

  “Emerie, it’s me.”

  Avril grabbed Emerie’s hand and placed it on her heart. With her other hand she lightly caressed Emerie’s face, and repeated in spite of herself:

  “It’s me.”

  Emerie’s eyes widened in horror. Her trembling hands freed her from Avril’s grip. Her gaze darted around begging someone for help, but apart from Avril, nobody was there. She sucked in a breath and said in a hurry stuttering as she went:

  “I don’t know you. You… You arrived yesterday… How… How could I know you?”

  “You don’t remember me?”

  Confusion dawned on Avril. She had already feared this outcome.

  “I… I’m Avril… we… we were…” Avril stopped here, afraid that naming it would crush every hope she still had.

  Emerie’s eyes narrowed, suspicion creased her nose. She then gave a fake smile and said she was going to talk to Viviane. She darted back and went quickly through the door. Avril dropped the silver plate and chased after her.

  “Emerie, WAIT.” yelled Avril.

  The Duchess’s door opened suddenly with a loud noise as Emerie and Avril were in the middle of the stairs. The slumped masked person appeared followed by the Madam who seemed angry. The two women stopped and turned slightly bowed.

  “Madam I…”

  As Avril tentatively soothed she was rudely interrupted.

  “What Is Going On While I Rest!?” roared the Duchess as every syllable was articulated.

  Both women bowed a little more trying to appease the Madam’s anger, none of them dared to talk. Viviane and Lucia, who were lured by the loud noises, appeared downstairs. They bowed too, waiting for the orders. Viviane’s eyes trembled. The Duchess’s face was red from anger and fatigue. She turned to her masked subordinate.

  “Seize them.” she faintly pointed to Avril and Emerie’s direction.

  The masked person did as they were told. They approached aggressively. Emerie’s face showed her horror as her mouth was agape and her eyes widened. Avril thought fast and put herself right in front of her.

  “Madam… Excuse my insolence. I was the one who yelled and made so much noise. Please excuse me. I’m begging you.”

  She kneeled on the stairs, hand on top of her head. She couldn’t see Viviane slightly shaking her face. It didn’t even lightly appeased the Duchess, her face turned green and she shouted:

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  “I want them punished! Undress them!”

  The masked person turned their head lightly to question the Duchess, no noise was heard as they communicated.

  “The four of them.” she answered.

  The masked person grabbed Emerie and Avril by their neck and pushed them upstairs. They forced them to kneel in front of the wall and tore their dress apart, showing their back. Emerie started to silently cry. Avril’s heart was beating so fast it could escape from her ribcage. Then the masked person grabbed Viviane and Lucia and pushed them in the same location. Their backs were soon exposed too. Lucia was trembling so hard she heaved. Only Viviane stared at the wall with the rest of her dignity. Their backs were facing the Duchess who was so angry she could have ripped them off at any moment.

  “Hands on the wall!” she yelled.

  Everyone executed the order.

  “If I hear one word, you’re done for.” said the Duchess cruelly.

  Lucia and Emerie were shaking, tears rolling down their faces. Avril was hardly breathing, guilt was ripping her body. She couldn’t see but she braced herself for pain.

  “Five each. Begin!”

  Suddenly a whip sliced through the air and striked Emerie with force. Her muffled whimper was heard as she flinched, mouth opened. Five times she shook and cried silently, tears rolling down to the floor. She didn’t dare make another sound. Avril wanted to reassure her, took her hand and endured in her place but she stood still, not wanting to aggravate the situation. Soon it was her turn. At the first lashes she convulsed, yelping with difficulty. The second striked at the same place, tears soon were felt. The stinging pain flew through her whole body. The third one she lost her capacity to think, all she did was brace herself through the pain. The fourth one made her spit, saliva dripping from the mouth and through the fifth one she lost a bit of consciousness. The pain was unbearable. She sobbed lightly and tried to keep her head above. She couldn’t help but shake as Viviane didn’t flinch through each stroke. She kept her head fixed and gazed faraway through the walls. Lucia was so scared her hands shook against the wall. She wanted to beg for mercy but all she did was cry as the first lash landed. We could hear distinctively each stroke as they hit Lucia’s back, slapping ferociously. At the fifth one, Lucia fell down and lost consciousness.

  The deed done, the Duchess clapped satisfied as Lucia laid down unconscious.

  “Get back to work.” she simply said a big smile through her face.

  She then turned around and, followed by the slumped masked person, they entered the Duchess’s quarter. Viviane was the first to move to lay Lucia in a better position. She caressed her face gently as she murmured some comforting sentences.

  Emerie was in shock. She didn’t move a bit and cried in silence, her gaze unfocused. Avril’s thoughts were in turmoil as she was the culprit behind all of this. She failed Emerie and the others. She failed herself and aggravated the situation. She stood up, ignoring the pain and looked in the distance. Viviane did warn her. Could she bear this responsibility? She walked toward Lucia to offer help but was hushed away by Viviane. She looked at their backs, and five swollen ragged strips were visible, it looked so painful. The guilt was eating her away. She started to panic and cry. Nothing went as she wished. She controlled nothing. She needed air right now. She couldn’t breathe, guilt crushing her shoulders. She looked at her colleagues who were marked because of her, ran away through the stairs and went out of the manor. Fresh air started pouring in her lungs but the crushing weight wouldn’t let her breath. She tried to calm herself but failed. She turned slightly purple and pulled at her hair. Nothing worked, she couldn’t even feel the pain. She heaved and finally threw up the content of her stomach. It freed her breath as she vomited. She knelt down and cried a little more. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and gazed around. At this moment, everything became clear, the fear, the eerie feelings and the play. The previous reminder from the voice rang in her head. The Duchess hated impetuous character and hadn’t any patience. The breeze hurt her swelling back as her thoughts were never this bright. She had to save all these people, whatever it took. It was the only way her guilt could lightly subside.

  “Orane, go change and come back to me.”

  She heard Viviane’s voice from far away. She couldn’t face anybody right now as guilt was devouring her entrails, but she moved despite herself. She went directly through the annex as she would face less people that way. The kitchen’s stench didn’t even bother her this time as she was in her thoughts. Entering her room she saw Lucia crying, kneeling in front of her trunk. She couldn’t utter a single word as her throat burned. She remembered the other used trunk, the closest to the door and went through to grab another dress. Lucia’s sobs were heard in this empty room and echoed through. Despite herself, Avril muttered lightly:

  “I’m sorry.”

  She couldn’t say anything more. Lucia didn’t even hear her, immersed in her own sorrow. Avril undressed herself and changed. The moment the fabric touched her back she hissed in pain. She ground her teeth and pushed herself to endure. It was her punishment, she had to suffer and maybe, just maybe, she could finally be forgiven. Baring through the pain, she dressed up again and turned to look at Lucia who hadn’t moved one bit. She focused her thoughts.

  “Lucia, let me help you.” she tentatively said.

  No answer. She moved to Lucia’s side and knelt too.

  “Lucia, I’ll help you.”

  The fabric rubbed her back and she winced.

  “It hurts.” said Lucia, crying.

  “Let me fetch you some water.”

  Avril executed what she just said and rushed through the bathroom. She grabbed a cloth that was hanging beside the sink. She rinsed it and went back to Lucia who still didn’t move.

  “I’m going to put some water on your back.” Avril said.

  Lucia nodded. Avril wringed the cloth on her back and some relief finally came to Lucia. She sighed and choked. The process was repeated three times before Lucia finally talked a bit:

  “It hurts so bad.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” said Avril.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Yes it is. Can you stand up? I’ll help you get dressed.”

  Lucia nodded again and stood up. Both worked together to dress Lucia and avoid as best as they could the pain. When Lucia was finally dressed, she weakly smiled at Avril. Avril choked and knelt almost immediately in front of her.

  “I’m so sorry Lucia. Forgive me. It will never happen again, I swear.” Avril apologized almost mechanically.

  “It’s okay. I feel better now. Let’s go to Viviane now.” Lucia brushed some hair from Avril’s forehead and smiled again.

  Avril could hardly breathe, guilt ripping her insides, but she smiled back and stood up. Both women went out of their room and met Emerie who was just going out too. Her gaze was unfocused until she saw Avril. She narrowed her eyes and scoffed before turning her back to them and going to Viviane’s room. Viviane went out too and the four women stood still in the passageway. Avril couldn't’ even rejoice about her suspicion being proven true as guilt pressed her heart. She looked down and didn’t dare make a single noise, making herself the smallest possible. Viviane broke the awkward silence.

  “Are you all okay?”

  Everyone nodded silently.

  “Good. It's almost time for the Madam’s mealtime. Orane and I will handle it. Lucia, could you mend our dresses please?”

  Lucia hummed lightly in response. Viviane continued to order:

  “Emerie, go help Isabeau in the garden. We’ll meet in the kitchen for dinner, in two hours.”

  Everyone nodded again and soon only Viviane and Avril stood silently in the passageway. Viviane pinched the bridge of her nose.

  “Are you proud of you now?” she said, disgust written on her face.

  “No…”

  “Do you get it now?”

  “Yes…”

  Viviane sighed exasperately as Avril muttered:

  “It won’t happen again. I swear… I swear.”

  Avril swore, not only for Viviane, but for herself too. She will never let anything like that happen again. Never.