As she continued to play with the candle, her mind wandered to other things she could set ablaze. the endless possibilities of what could happen if the last string of her sanity got cut. The thought both excited and terrified her, but in that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. She had been holding on for so long, and the idea of finally letting go was liberating.
Her eyes fixed on the dancing flames of the candle, and she felt herself slipping into a trance-like state. The warmth radiating from the wicks wrapped around her, and she couldn't help but feel as though they were speaking to her in some foreign language.
She couldn't resist the desire and lowered the candle sluggishly toward the curtains. As the flame grew closer to the fabric, she watched it lick at the edges of the curtains. She could see the threads starting to turn black and curl away from the heat. Soon enough, the fabric caught fire and quickly grew larger; it held onto the curtains like a predator holding onto its prey, devouring them with fierce intensity. Then it slowly shifted to nearby furniture, the wood crackling and popping as it caught fire and was gradually consumed by the flames.
The flames spread quickly, filling the space with a cozy orange light in the pitch-black night and her nostrils with the acrid smell of burning cloth.
She knew that there was no turning back now.
Despite the chaos around her, she remained surprisingly calm. She was aware of what she had done and felt satisfied with the result. The flames danced and flickered, illuminating the room in a way she had never seen before. She couldn't help but feel a sense of power and control as she watched everything burn. In that moment, she knew that she had unleashed something within herself that she couldn't contain. The fire had become her obsession, her new addiction. She simply gazed at the masterpiece in front of her while her chamber, her own hell, was being demolished and reduced to ashes.
What love was left for this dreadful family was burned along with it.
She took a dark blue amulet from her pocket and clutched it tightly, feeling the coolness of the gem against her skin. It held teleportation powers that she had never used before, but now seemed like the perfect time to try them out and escape this chaos.
For a brief moment, she glanced at the amulet, a sad mocking grin on her past self's pitiful attempts to reconcile the nonexistent father-daughter bond she had with the Duke.
She gritted her teeth as tears began to well up in her eyes. Back then, she thought maybe if she tried harder and loved more, things would be different. So she bought the amulet and intended to give it to him before the hunting festival, hoping it would somehow bring them closer.
but instead, she was falsely accused of insulting and trying to hurt a noblewoman during a social event.
Quickly, everything went wrong from there...
The accusation was a huge blow to her when she realized it was all a set-up by Gloria Kellen, who wanted to tarnish her reputation and make a joke out of her.
Her older brother put her on probation without again taking her justifications into account. Despite her attempts to clear her name and prove her innocence, the damage had already been done. She felt betrayed yet again She couldn't help but wonder if anyone would ever believe her side of the story or if she would forever be seen as the villain in these situations. The weight of the false accusations and mistrust felt heavy on her shoulders. but she kept hoping that her father would eventually believe her innocence and help her. So, she waited..
