Out Of The Woods

Epilogue

*Tw* brief mentions of suicide. The section will be marked for further warning.*

Seventeen-year-old Senna stands in front of her floor-length mirror, holding the front of her dress to her torso as two maids tie the corset tight against her body. It was her birthday, her coming of age. The year she would be able to sense her mate. 

Senna was a bundle of nerves that day, Madame Marie informing her that two very special guests would be arriving to celebrate with her. The Madame was her grandmother, her father's mother. She'd never met either of her parents, hearing little of them her whole childhood. She'd only been told that she would never meet her birth father, the man unsafe to be around. She held onto the hope of meeting her mother though, only ever being told that her mother was far too young to take care of a child on their own. Senna was grateful that her mother entrusted her to Madame Marie, as she was raised in a wonderful home surrounded by her grandparents, aunt, and uncle. Though she wanted nothing more than for her parents to finally claim her as their own and take her back to live with them as a happy family.  

Senna was left to wonder what her father had done or where her birth mother was now. She let her mind create fantasies of what life could have been if her parents kept her. In each daydream, her parents were generous and kind, doting on her as loving parents should. She would live with them and visit her grandparents, and they would only be that. Grandparents. They wouldn't have the responsibility of raising their own grandchild. Though Senna would never voice these fantasies out loud as she loved the Madame and missed her grandfather terribly. 

*Senna's grandfather died a few years back, taking his own life as he felt trapped, confined to the walls of his own house. His death was shocking, as no one had seen it coming. If the Madame was sad about her mate's passing, she didn't show it. The Madame would often say how it was selfish of him to leave in such a manner. Leaving his body for his children and grandchildren to find.

It was Senna's cousins Harriet and Rheta who discovered his body, hanging lifelessly from the rafters of their horse stable. They were never able to fully recover, as they had been the closest to him. Some nights, Senna could hear their fitful cries as they were roused from their sleep in the dead of night due to a night terror.*

Senna knew that her grandparents were not allowed to leave the Northern Isle and that they used to travel to new places in their youth which is why they felt so confined to their villa. She had no idea what transpired for the King to bestow such a punishment on them when they loved to visit new places and travel the world together. But she couldn't wrap her head around why he chose to take his own life when he was surrounded by everyone he loved. Were they not enough to make him want to stay? 

Senna sighs, catching the attention of Madame Marie, who sat in a green, overstuffed sofa at the far corner of Senna's bedchamber. 

"What troubles you so, my sweet granddaughter," Madame Marie says, rising from her seat to stand by the girl. "Is the dress not your liking? I had it custom-made from a popular tailer amongst the nobles. He even stated to me that it was his best work yet, so you must like it because it looks absolutely stunning on you." 

"Nothing is the matter, Madame. I am simply nervous as to who is visiting me on my birthday. You refuse to let the slightest of information slip about them and it is causing me to worry. Will my appearance be to their liking? Is it someone of importance that I should care how I present myself?" 

Senna stares at her reflection in the mirror, taking in her appearance. She was short, but not short enough to be seen as small and slight. Her height rose above most women she met, making her worry if she was too tall. Her hair was a golden blonde - just like Senna's mother, Madame Marie once said- the silky waves cascading down her back, falling just above her backside. Her eyes were a deep blue, ones in which she inherited from her father's side of the family. Freckles dotted across her nose and cheeks. She was a beautiful girl, no doubt. Though she couldn't help the insecurity that she felt bubbling up in her body.