Of Love Tales and Rabbit Tails

After six years in a progressive French boarding school, eighteen-year-old Lady Alice returns to her family's estate in Surrey, dreading the fate that awaits her-- debutante balls, an arranged marriage, and a life she does not want. She would have preferred to stay in France, teaching and writing love tales rather than living one dictated by others.

Once cast aside by her own father and a stepmother, Alice finds their sudden desire for reconciliation hollow. Only her childhood best friend, Michael, Marquess Lovelace, seems like a true comfort. But as she settles back into her former home, something strange begins to happen.

A black rabbit, eerily familiar, appears in the shadows-- just like the one that belonged to Edmond, her long-forgotten imaginary friend. And then she meets Count D'Arcy, the enigmatic and elusive neighbour whose presence unsettles her. His eyes, his voice, his very being remind her of Edmond.

Could it be him? Or is her mind playing tricks on her?

As the social season unfolds, Alice finds herself tangled in a web of mystery, romance, and the supernatural. The past and present blur, forcing her to question what is real, what is illusion, and whether love can exist beyond the bounds of reason.

In the haunting halls of her childhood home and under the watchful gaze of Count D'Arcy, Alice must uncover the truth before she loses herself to the unknown.

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My entry for the ONC 2025 based on the prompt 105: Your childhood imaginary friend, who disappeared years ago, suddenly returns - only this time, they're real.