The carriage rolled through Taraben, but Gigi couldn't bring herself to peer out the window. Couldn't bring herself to care about anything. There was an emptiness inside her that she feared would never fade.
The afternoon sun was warm overhead and caught on the swirls of dust that slipped into the carriage's interior. The scent of the sea was gone and Gigi never thought she would miss something so simple. When she opened her mouth she could no longer taste the salty tang on her tongue.
She wanted to rest her head against the cushioned wall and close her eyes. Try to imagine the rumbling beneath her was the same she had felt when she drove to the palace. But it wasn't. The air was thick with smells that were more potent than Loria. The voices that she heard had a rough bur to them.
Lady Brixton took Gigi's distracted state as melancholy rather than a weary forlornness.
"Do not worry, dear," she said, consoling. "I know it seems like a year is a long time but there is still so much waiting for you here. We always have visitors, men and women you will have already met. I am certain Lord Davin will be drawn here more frequently." There was a twinkle in her eye at these words. "And your grandfather travels at times to different Holdings to discuss business, you can accompany him."
Gigi looked to her grandfather, wondering how he would feel about the intrusion. He gave a decisive nod, his face calm as ever.
"Naturally," he said, "you will need to learn how to deal with the workers and men you will one day be in charge of."
A knot formed in Gigi's stomach, her confession heavy in her throat. Her expression was misread.
"But of course," her grandmother said, swooping in," the first visits will not be of such a serious nature, all that will come in time."
Unable to think of a response, Gigi nodded. She was relieved of finding more to add by the carriage halting before the Estate's gates. The standing guard welcomed them back with a bow and waved a hand. Gigi felt a twinge in her chest as she heard the clang of metal, as the gates closed them in.
At the manor steps waited Elkly, his countenance serious as always. When Lord and Lady Brixton emerged, he bowed before them.
"Welcome back my Lord and Lady," he said.
"How is the Estate?" Lord Brixton asked, bypassing a return greeting.
"Well in hand and as you have ordered it be kept."
Gigi alighted from the carriage and gazed up at the stone structure before her. With the thoughts of the palace and its grounds fresh in her mind, the building before her didn't hold the breathtaking wonder she had first felt over it. The stone walls held captivity more than beauty.
The walls riddled with trundles of ivy encasing them was like a barrier to her home, more than a sign of power. Despite how she had come to know every inch of the grounds, she couldn't remember why she had liked them. The world felt dull to her, a contrast to the reality of its rich color and the startlingly blue sky.
"Genevieve."
Gigi dragged herself from her thoughts to look at her grandmother.
"It has been a long journey, go bathe and rest. We will see you at dinner."
Seeing this as the escape she needed, Gigi bowed her head and entered the manor. Inside was just as they had left it. The banisters and floors were polished to a shine. The portraits held the same severe looking noblemen. Even the air felt the same. Nothing had changed. Nothing would ever change. It was as if this place was stuck out of time. It felt claustrophobic.
Growing up life had always been changing. From month to month, week to week the world would shift. Even if her family returned to a location they had been to before it would look different, the weather and time carving away at it, molding it into something new. That was a reality Gigi lived in and loved. It was the true constant of her life.
Walking through the mausoleum of time, she couldn't help the crushing future that stood before her if she stayed. Her life here would be a predictable pattern of events. The only thing to change would be the gossip and the lines on the faces she knew.
Forcing herself not to run for the nearest door and flee the manor, she entered her room. Returning to the Estate hadn't been when she made her decision to leave but being there reinforced it. Margo entered the room behind her and made for the bathroom. The rushing of water filled the space. Soon the scent of lavender followed it, buoyed by the steam curling from the open doorway.
"Lady," Margo said.
Wordlessly, Gigi walked into the bathroom, disrobed, and sank into the tub, letting the warmth envelope her body. As she savored the silky feeling, her mind worked, carefully choosing words and placing them in the right order. As each statement solidified, she felt a stone drop into her stomach. By the time she was dressed once more and standing before the mirror in the last dress she knew she would ever wear, the collection of stones had formed one heavy boulder.
"Margo," she said, summoning the maid.
The girl stepped out of the bathroom, face open for instructions. Wisps of blonde hair were curled around her face from the steam.
"Yes, Lady?"
"Will you please find someone to tell my grandparents I wish to speak with them."
The weight in her stomach was overwhelming and she knew the longer she waited the harder it would be to say all she needed to. Margo nodded and left. Gigi stared at her reflection. Before her was a girl she never imagined she would be and one she hoped she would leave behind. This polished, elegant version of herself was wrong. It was a lie to who she now knew herself to be.
A barefooted Eldin with a cracked heart.
Margo returned with a servant waiting to lead Gigi to her grandparents. The walk to their quarters was longer than Gigi remembered, every step heavy, her words playing over and over in her head. A flicker of guilt sparked in her chest as she thought of all the generosity they had shown her. The flame grew as memory after memory filled her head. It was almost enough to make her turn around, but the deep-rooted need to return home kept her walking forward.
The guards opened the door for her and she entered her grandparent's lavish sitting room. Like Gigi, they were clean and changed, hints of color still in their faces from the heat of the water. Lord Brixton stood by the open window, though he held his hands clasped behind him, his posture was at ease. Lady Brixton sat on a cream-colored chair, her ankles crossed beneath her flowing dress. Gigi didn't know if it was her imagination or not when she sensed her grandmother relaxing upon seeing what Gigi was wearing.
"Genevieve," her grandmother said, gesturing to a chair across from her. "What did you need to say to us that could not wait until dinner?"
Instead of sitting, Gigi stopped behind the chair and held onto the back, as if its solidity could strengthen her.
"I wished to give you my answer," she said. "My answer regarding the inheritance of this Estate."
Her grandmother gave her a sweet smile. "Ah dear child, we know your answer. We knew you would see the life you were truly meant to live."
Gigi tightened her grip on the back of the chair.
"That is the thing," Gigi said, swallowing. "I know the life I am meant to live. And I am more than grateful to you for giving me so much. More than I could have ever dreamed of." Her words softened her grandparents. "Your generosity has not been lost on me. Each gift you have given has been cherished."
"We knew you would not waste it," Lady Brixton said.
Gigi's knuckles turned white from gripping the chair so tightly.
"I do not believe I have, but that does not mean that I can stay."
The words froze her grandparents.
"I know you wish for me to accept my title and this Estate but I can not."
The mood in the room changed, it was as if all the warmth from a second before was sucked away. Though Lord and Lady Brixton's expressions remained the same, there was something hardened in them. Gigi understood their shock and pushed the rest of her words from her mouth.
"I am grateful to you for all that you have given me. Getting to know you has been something I will always hold on to. I will never forget this. But I have to leave. I have to go home."
The words stood between them, a wall that was slowly building against them. In the silence, Gigi waited for them to say something, to break from their surprise. Waited for them to say that though they wished she would reconsider they understood. Waited for them to remember their promise to give her the option to stay or to leave. Waited for them to respect the decision she had laid before them.
"No," Lord Brixton said.
The word was not shouted but there was a firmness that left no room for misunderstanding. Gigi stared at her grandfather like she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. His face was an unbreakable armor and his eyes sharp swords. It was a fierceness that she had only glimpsed once before.
"Genevieve," her grandmother said, barely audible. "How could you return to disdain and dirt after what we have shown you."
Her grandfather didn't even seem to hear his wife's voice, his gaze pinned on Gigi
"You are not leaving," he said, his words unyielding. "You will never leave us." Something in his mind cracked. Whether from too much grief and loss or from a determination to always get his way, it didn't matter. "You will not betray us as your mother did. I will not be seen as a fool again."
Gigi flinched at the ground out words. Driven to movement by the emotions roiling inside him, her grandfather stalked back and forth behind his wife's chair.
"Do you not see what we have done for you?" he asked, his voice rising. "We have given you more than you deserve. Your father is less than a commoner, he is a thief! He stole our daughter from us! He stole away her life! Her title! Her inheritance. He took away everything from her."
His tone was cutting and Gigi found herself unable to contradict the accusation, stunned into silence.
"I thought telling the world of his kind's true nature would make her regret her decision and return to us. Help her break ties and see where she belonged, not with a lot of criminals."
The truth was a punch to Gigi's stomach. The hatred and disdain she had grown up seeing in everyone's eyes had stemmed from this man before her. She couldn't breathe, couldn't take her gaze off of him. Because of his hurt over his daughter leaving, she had lived with the invisible scars of people's scathing looks and barbed whispers.
"You...started the rumors..." her voice was thin.
"They are not rumors where it is the truth," he snapped back. "Your kind is nothing but low lives, not fit for society or for this kingdom."
Gigi shook her head but her throat was tight and no argument made it past. Lord Brixton stopped walking, his body a pillar of stone.
"What I said stands," he said. "You are not leaving us."
"You can't keep me here," Gigi said, panic souring her stomach.
It was as if something flipped in Lord Brixton, his face became calm and his shoulder's released all their tension. The flare of anger that had overtaken him was gone. For a moment Gigi wondered if she had imagined the last few minutes, but then his words turned her blood cold.
"Yes, I can and I will," he said, his voice emotionless. "If you try to leave or go against our wishes we will see to it that your kind is starved of work and imprisoned on whatever crimes we say they have committed."
Gigi stumbled back as if the statement had been a physical blow.
"You can't do that."
His gray eyes were cold. "Yes, child, I can." It was a statement made with the utter certainty that was embedded into his very being, a certainty that came from knowing the true power he held.
Someone was squeezing Gigi's lungs, keeping them from working, keeping her breathing. Her legs were waterlogged reeds, weak. Fear consumed her mind, making any form of logical thought impossible.
In a last-ditch effort to change the outcome of this conversation, she looked to her grandmother. Behind the pain of Gigi's denial of their offer was a hardness that echoed her husband's. What hope Gigi could have had that she would let her go was gone.
"Do you understand?" Lord Brixton asked.
Gigi shook her head because she couldn't wrap her mind around what was happening.
"Do not worry, you will," he said. He called for a guard and one appeared. "Please escort Lady Genevieve to her room and stay at her door to ensure her safety."
The guard bowed her and took one of her arms.
"You can't do this," Gigi said again.
The only answer she received was the unwavering look from her grandfather.
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WHAT THE WHAAAA!!! ð±
Okay, so you probably saw the grandparents being evil coming but be honest did you imagine it would take this sort of turn?
Her grandfather was the source of the rumors! So cray! That dastardly man! How could he! Come my fellows, pick up your swords, pitch forks and torches! We must make him pay for the slander he has put upon our people!
Wow you really jumped at the chance to murder him, who knew I had such violent readers! Haha actually I knew this, you've threatened me enough I know you'd be okay killing one evil old dude.
So what's going to happen? Tell me? I need to know! I know you're all wise and knowing, tell me oh great advisor what shall happen?
Okay! Best plot twist you've ever read?
I think mine would have to be one the in Six of Crows (by Leigh Bardugo) or The Hero of Ages (by Brandon Sanderson) or Out of Sight, Out of Time (by Ally Carter) or The Fates Divide (by Veronica Roth) Gosh! There are just so many good ones!
One final thing, how are you? I mean it, how are you doing? You ask me and now I want to know about you. So go ahead, vent, rant or ramble!
Bow, Sword, Axe (or The Fellowship of the Ring! Haha just kidding, vote, comment, follow)