Chapter 10: A Walk Through Town

Lyshill Manor, Sceaux, France, 1723

Peter grabbed her hand as they started swaying. Fireflies were all around them, casting a heavenly glow on the couple. Just as it seemed that Peter was going to kiss her, he opened his mouth.

"Aella! Wake up! It's nearly seven thirty-five! We better be getting a move on!" Alice said, startling her into reality.

"What?" she asked. She had been so tired, she had merely heard gibberish coming out of her mouth.

"I know you were out late being the belle of the ball last night, but it's time to get up!"

"Noooo!" Aella whined into her pillow.

Marie laughed at Aella before swiping the blanket off of her bed. Aella continued to whine whilst curling into a ball to hide from the cold. She slowly rolled off the bed and onto her feet. "Wait, what time did you say it was?"

"It's nearly seven thirty-five. We better be going, so get dressed! Quickly! Marie and I will be outside waiting." Alice said.

Aella rushed to dress, putting on her dress, shoes, an apron, and finally put her hair up in a bun. Last night had been… unrealistic, to say the least, but it was perfect. Everything would be alright. But they'd have to be careful. She felt like she needed to see Peter. He seemed so special, like a secret that only she knew.

She rushed out the door as fast as she could, joining her little family. They rushed to the kitchen, and right on time, for Thomas was about to come and find the girls. Aella wasn't serving Peter today, but she would be serving William, who sat across from him. It offered a better view, honestly.

"Girls! I know that the ball was yesterday, and we all got some free time, but that does not apply to today." Thomas said. "Please be here on time tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, Thomas. I was just out so late, I didn't get quite enough sleep." Aella returned.

"You're lucky the rest of the family is tired as well. They aren't eating downstairs today, as not everyone is awake yet. You'll be taking their breakfasts to their rooms."

Thomas handed Aella a plate of pastries to take up to William's room, along with some tea. Aella balanced the plate and tea in her hands as she waited for Marie, Alice, Sylvie, Fleurine, and Esmée. Once they were all together, they walked together through the hall and up the servant's staircase to the second floor. They walked through the second floor to get to the west hallway of the house where all the bedrooms were. They were each serving a different member of the family and knocked on their individual doors to the bedrooms.

Not all of the children were awake, and Madame De la Roche was nursing Liam, so for the ones who didn't answer, they simply left the food outside their doors. It appeared only Monsieur and Madame De la Roche, Peter, and ?lise were awake this morning. They were about to all leave for the downstairs when ?lise asked if Aella could come into her room for a few minutes.

"Yes, of course." Aella accepted.

She entered the room, and it looked exactly the same as it had yesterday, but it felt so different. "What was it you needed me for?"

?lise glanced around her room, contemplating her next steps. She'd never trusted anybody like this. "Do you… believe in magic? Or miracles, or anything of the sort?"

Aella thought about this. She believed in a God above, like most people at the time, but she'd experienced few acts of miracles, although she did count yesterday as one. Though she did not think magic was real, she couldn't deny it was not impossible. "I suppose. I believe in lots of things, and I've always been open to new ideas, as it seems."

"Good. Yes… good, good." ?lise mumbled.

"I'm sorry, ?lise, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I have lots of work to get done, so if we could get to the point of this, it would be lovely."

"I know, I know, just… I don't know if you'd… believe me."

"I'm… sorry?"

"Oh! No, no, no, it's not your fault, it's just… hard to believe in things like this. I might as well come out and say it. Aella, I can… see the future. And no, I'm not crazy. It's been happening for years, and I need you to know this so you can understand some of the things I do. Do you think I'm crazy?"

Aella's eyes were wide, but the rest of her complexion was the same. "I don't think you're crazy. No, but I'd like to… understand this… better."

"I know, I know, it sounds like insanity at its finest, but I seriously need your help. I can only see flashes, glimpses, of the future. They're like portraits or pictures of what happens. And I don't normally see happy things. But you… ever since you got here there've been more of these dreams, per se. I don't know why, but I do not believe in coincidence."

?lise knew she sounded crazy, but Aella was one of the few people she could trust. It wouldn't be forever, but she was here. And she had to keep it that way for as long as possible. There were no coincidences.

Aella didn't know what to do. She knew ?lise was telling the truth, she could hear it in her voice, but it all just seemed so impossible. She could see the future? Is that how she'd known that Peter would have been so… fond of her? Things somehow made less and more sense with this new information, and it was a bit like the insanity they had talked about.

"I do believe you. I'm just… what?"

"It doesn't matter. I just needed you to understand that it's why some things will happen and I'll talk about them like I've known about it for ages, or I'll do something random, and it protects you from something. Things like that. Okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah… okay." Aella said slowly, confusion seeping into her voice.

"Don't worry about it. That's my job. Besides, you have a date today!"

"I do?"

"The walk? In the town?"

"I don't know if that's today…."

"It is. I… well I guess I saw it yesterday.'

"What a pair we are!"

"A pair, indeed. Now please hurry or you'll miss him!"

Aella laughed as she walked out of ?lise's room and right into Peter.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sor-"

"Aella!" Peter exclaimed.

"Yes?"

"Please stop your ramblings, darling, I need to ask you something!"

"You can't call me that here," Aella mused.

"Why? Who will hear us?"

Aella looked around. Nobody was there, but she couldn't risk it. "Well, you need to be more careful, at the very least."

"Anything for you." Aella rolled her eyes playfully. "No, but I did need to ask you something."

"Yes, Peter?"

"The walk in the town that I promised you… could you do that today? I'd love to show you around."

Oh goodness…. ?lise had been right. Aella's mouth started moving before she even realized it. "I'd love to go! It sounds lovely."

"Sounds wonderful! I'll meet you and ?lise by the fountain in the courtyard as soon as she finishes up lunch. Will that work?"

"Yes, it will!" They stared at each other for a moment before they parted ways.

Wait. Why did ?lise need to be there? She tried to think of an explanation but none came. She spent the rest of her time in some of the guest bedrooms, cleaning and tidying up. You never knew when people would be coming to stay, according to Madame De la Roche. Aella remembered their encounter last night and wondered what danger this could pose to her. She'd be under Madame De la Roche's watchful eye until Peter and Mademoiselle Cambout's inevitable wedding.

Aella knew that Peter and her would never work. He was practically betrothed, and what power did he have in the situation. But she had just found a family, a life, and a purpose. She wouldn't give that up for anything. She realized she'd let her mind wander too far, and came back up. It was nearly 10:30 when she finished cleaning her share of the guest bedrooms. She moved downstairs and found Alice, Marie, Sylvie, Esmée, and Fleurine, who seemed to have just finished some of their work.

While Lyshill Manor was very large, it had many servants and the house was kept very clean. So, considering the events of yesterday, there wasn't much to do, and no one to convince that you were doing something. So the six girls went back to the servant quarters and talked for a bit until it was time to bring lunch to the family members. Today was a casual day for everyone, so each took their lunch individually. William was in his room, playing with little tin soldiers. He was nine years old and, as nine-year-old boys do, refused to eat the vegetables that Aella had brought up to him. After arguing for a few minutes, Aella gave up and took his unfinished plate of vegetables and a quiche downstairs. She washed the plate and hurried to ?lise's room.

"?lise? You were right! But we have to go soon!" Aella called into the room as soon as she closed the door.

?lise, who had been sitting on her window seat, glanced over at her.

"Wait… you actually believe me? I thought you thought I was… insane or something."

"No, as soon as I left your room, I ran into Peter and he asked me to walk with him. He said you needed to come too."

"Well he is being a bit obvious about it, but it doesn't matter. Maman and Papa went out today to visit my Aunt Octavie. They won't be home until supper, so we have plenty of time. Peter is taking me so it looks like you are my escort, but my friend, Rosalee, will be meeting me there. So I'll leave you be, I promise. I'm just the cover story, I guess."

"That was very clever of him, I suppose."

?lise nodded as she looked Aella up and down.

"No. What on earth are you wearing? We're going into the town, you do not want to be dressed like a maid. You're lucky I had Madame Brodeur make you a simpler dress, just in case maman completely overreacted about the dress before we left. It's very simple, just lavender material and we don't have much time, but it's in my closet, on the very left."

?lise ran to get a ribbon while Aella grabbed the dress from the closet. It was lovely, and it would definitely help her blend in. It had long sleeves and a flowy skirt. It was extremely simple, but it was one of the nicest things that Aella now owned. She slipped it on over her head as ?lise came back with a plain black ribbon. She tied it around Aella's waist to give her more of a figure. She tied another smaller ribbon in her hair and slipped her own shoes on.

They were ready, and they walked down to the courtyard, where Peter was waiting by the fountain.

"Thank you, ?lise, for helping us. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" asked Peter.

"No, I'm just glad to be out of this *zut* awful house!"

Peter laughed and offered Aella his arm. She accepted as ?lise pretended to gag. Aella was so glad to have someone to confide in. Her life was so hectic! They continued down to the road and into town. It was a ten-minute walk from Lyshill Manor to the heart of Sceaux, and the whole time the trio talked and laughed. Peter kept stealing glances at Aella and noted that her laugh was the prettiest sound in the world. He'd never considered himself a romantic, but when Aella was there, he thought that anything could be possible.

They arrived at the center of the town, where all the shops, parks, and gardens were. They strolled for hours, talking and looking in different shops. They passed by a little chocolate shop and bought a small box of different ones to share. They went into the park to look at all the fall leaves as they enjoyed their chocolates.

"The town is so beautiful! Everything just seems so magnificent, like castles, almost." Aella said. "I loved Meaux, but it was a small village. Sceaux… it's so much grander. The difference between silver and gold, I suppose."

"You make it sound so amazing here, mon cherie. Really, this is just a town. One day, I'll take you to Paris. They have cathedrals and castles while we only have shops and a theatre. You'd love it there, in the city."

"It sounds lovely, Peter, but please, you can't call me your 'cherie.' We're in public, for heaven's sake. We have to be careful, alright."

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I'm just so used to having to put on a show for my parents when I'm around Mademoiselle Cambout, and now that I actually feel something… it all makes sense. It's natural, I guess."

Aella leaned into Peter as they watched the sun slowly begin to set and the candles began being lit by shopkeepers. It was so romantic. Peter kissed her forehead as she hummed a song they had danced to last night.

"Oh my goodness! Aella! It's nearly sundown, we need to go! Maman and papa will be home soon and then there's dinner, and we need to find ?lise! C'mon!" Peter suddenly said, realizing the time. They hopped up and searched for ?lise, finding her waiting by a bench nearby, as she hadn't wanted to disturb them.

"Finally!" ?lise said. "You know this was a time-sensitive mission, and yet here we are, at sunset!"

They started off walking down the path back to Lyshill Manor, and all they could do was hope that Madame and Monsieur De la Roche had been delayed a little while longer. They hurried back, and within a few minutes were scurrying upstairs, Aella remaining with ?lise. They changed out of their clothes which Madame De la Roche said were reserved for going out and into more casual attire. For Aella, this meant putting her maid outfit on again and running downstairs and into the kitchens. She could only hope that Thomas wouldn't be too upset about it.

-Author's Note-

Heyyyy. So I know it's been months since I updated this story, but I finally finished this chapter and I hope you liked it! I swear, I'll finish this story eventually, but this whole section is taking a long time! Once I get to the real *juicy* parts of the story, I can bet that it'll be a lot easier to write. I'm trying to add in a lot of foreshadowing, but the logistics of the story are about to get REALLY complicated! So, I guess happy reading!