Prolog

I couldn't have told you back then that I would be where I am today. I was always obedient, proper, well mannered and refined, but then again, that is what was expected of me. I had been spanked as a child, reprimanded and scolded as teenager, and now, at young 19, threatened into being that way. I always sucked in my stomach as they laced my corset, held my chin level walking down the street, and kept silent and submissive in the presence of fellow aristocrats and nobleman. No…I would have never been here. I would never have been here in the arms of a strange auburn haired pirate with the devils eyes and an angels' smile.

My father, Commodore Benedict, was strict, and should my mother be alive I would certainly expect she would do the same, though, in a more loving manner. To my father however, I am his chess piece, a pawn for him to achieve his purposes. That is why I am now engaged to the young mayor of our city, Kyle Brandenburg. He is an ever rising 'star' among the political world, and my father promised him my hand, a sure fire way for him to remain comfortable in the lifestyle he has grown accustomed to.

Kyle knew of my fathers' intentions on giving myself to him, but he doesn't care. He has been obsessed with me since I was child, and he a young adult, snobbishly trying to push my limits and get me into trouble. He knew of my silence and how I would be beaten if I spoke out of place, and he would poke and prod, whispering filthy things into my ear while the adults spoke with one another over wine and caviar. I had been caught telling him to mind his manners too many times, and I grew accustomed to his ways, and blocked out his words while I dived myself into a world of make believe, where I was princess held captive by the king, and was plotting her way to freedom.

Little has changed since those days, and I still somehow entertain the idea of being rescued by a handsome young man to take me far away. Childish notions as they are, they were sustaining. That is, until the engagement was announced, and it happened.

My name is Celeste Aurora Benedict, and I am not your ordinary noble. Something has happened to make me different from all the other people around me.

The day the announcement was made, Kyle pinned me between himself and a wall. I was afraid looking up at him, I felt helpless, and wished with all my heart to fade away, wishing to become invisible to him, so he couldn't touch me, so his hand would stop groping my chest, so his teeth would stop biting my ear….

I wished to disappear…and I did.