Prologue: 1482
Everyone was alight with laughter. Wine filled their goblets, food their stomachs, and music their ears. But Lady Amelia had eyes for only one as she sat in her designated chair beside her husband, and they were for the child that slumbered in her arms whose hair was as black as the midnight sky and whose eyes, when they were open, were as blue as the afternoon sky. She was the perfect combination of both Lady Amelia, with her blue eyes, and Lord Henry, with his coal black hair. And even though he had wished for a son, he was in love with their daughter as much as she was herself.
Ellevira, was what they had named her. Elle, after her mother, and Vira after his. Again, another combination. She was a precious gift, one neither of them wanted to ever let go.
Lady Amelia glanced at her husband. "I think I shall take her to bed now for her eyes no longer remain open and she fed some time ago. I will return soon after." She breathed and he nodded, placing a hand on her that covered their daughters small form while she slept. "Hurry back." He replied and she nodded with a small smile, sending another one to their companions before she excused herself from the table, her daughter sleeping soundly still as she walked out of the dining hall and down the corridors that would eventually lead to the nursery.
It was a beautifully decorated room; fit for a princess, let alone the firstborn child to one of the most powerful lords in the lands that were around them. Lady Amelia glanced at her daughter once again as she entered the room, the nurse that remained in that room every single of her waking minutes looking up from her work. She curtsied. "Lady Amelia. Is the Lady Ellevira taking her leave off to the land of dreams?" She greeted warmly.
The older woman nodded with a small smile. "She is indeed, and see to it she remains that way until her next feed. I do, after all, have to attend to my duties as you do yours. Good night, Helena."
The blue eyed noble made her way back down the corridors towards the dining hall, unaware of the dark shadows following her as she did, a gentle hum echoing in her throat as she rounded the corners from whence she had came. It was a lullaby she had thought up for her daughter, a gentle tune that would no doubt be the telling of the gentle girl that would soon come as she grew older and became a beautiful young lady and a loving older sister to the siblings that her parents would make sure followed her in due time.
But that time would never come.
A sharp gust of wind sent her into the stone wall, her eyesight blurring as she did so. Blood trickled down her forehead, a wicked smile and dark brown eyes accompanying it as the owner of both crouched down beside her. "Oh darling, if I wasn't ordered to murder you, this would be so much more enjoyable." He sighed before snatching her up towards him, teeth sinking into her throat as though her skin was nothing but melted butter, easily pliable.
A scream echoed down the corridors, many others following in unison as though it was a rehearsed theatrical script. Helena, the Nanny, shook in the nursery as she heard them, the sound of heavy boots echoing down the hallway towards the room where she and her charge resided. She could do two things; let them both die, which certainly wasn't about to happen, or she could use that wooden weapon her employers had given her to use if an intruder ever tried to take their daughter.
The latter option seemed to be much more appealing than dying, if she was being quite honest with herself.
As soon as the man with blue eyes and long dark blonde hair burst into the room, she struck, slamming the pointed wooden pole into his chest. He gave a wheezing cough at first, then a vicious snarl ripped from his mouth as his skin began to grey and dark coloured veins appeared on his handsome, yet evil face. Who would come to harm a child? A monster, that was who.
Helena gathered the bawling infant up into her arms, pulling the torch on the wall which opened up the secret passage which she had been told to use in case of an attack. She scurried down it, hearing more screams echoing through the once magnificent home. She could also hear other demons approaching and rushed down it even faster, the tunnel plunging into darkness as the wall behind her slid shut, the torches casting just enough light so she wouldn't trip carrying the precious bundle in her arms. There was a bag at the end of the corridor if a thief hadn't looted it, and it contained much needed provisions for the both of them, more importantly Ellevira, to survive in the years to come, and disappear if needed.
The infant began to wail as the cold air reached her once more. Helena glanced down and then around frantically, rushing towards the bag that was still there and she slung it over her shoulders, Ellevira clutched to her chest. The baby searched around for food, and Helena realised with a growing dread that she was hungry once more. It couldn't have came at a worse time either. She couldn't feed her herself, for she wasn't a wet nurse, and the only wet nurse of the castle had surely been slain now.
Finding a horse in the stables, she secured Ellevira to her with the help of a cloth sling, and once she was confident enough it was secure, she rode off into the dark night.
MvM
Helena was exhausted; she'd rode all throughout the night, Ellevira having cried herself to sleep, hungry and exhausted herself. She walked into the local inn, setting eyes upon what looked like an expectant mother herself. She had gone to three such places beforehand, and no such look. They had either cast her out thinking she a spoilt maiden, and yet, this one didn't seem to be that kind of place, or so she hoped.
The other woman looked up as Helena came to her knees beside her. "My sister went during the night," she lied smoothly, putting a quiver in her lips for effect. She could see the other woman softening in an instant. "Please, I do not wish her child to join her." She added, relief flooding her as the woman gave a tenderly gentle smile and nodded, taking her hand and leading her into the next room.
Helena watched her charge, or as she supposed newly adopted child, drink greedily, hands reaching towards the gracious woman. Relief flooded her inside as she watched Ellevira feed with a voracious hunger. She didn't know what would have became of the young infant had they not of found this woman. An idea came to her head and she glanced back at the woman. "How far gone are you?" She asked quietly.
The woman smiled slightly, glancing down at her own swollen stomach. "I have a moon left, ma'am." She replied and Helena nodded thoughtfully. "If I were to offer you employment as her nurse, would you accept? She needs nourishment, something I cannot provide, something I do not know how to provide. I need assistance caring for her, and you would be paid handsomely for helping me, and in turn I could aid in the delivery of your own child." She offered.
Helena watched as the woman thought about it for a moment before nodding slowly. "I would accept your offer then. What is this fair child's name?" She answered and Helena, thinking quick, replied -"Elle," she muttered. "Elle after my sister," she added for effect.
The woman nodded with a small smile. "Well, if I'm going to help you care for the little one, you should know mine. I'm Marie."
