Emilie remains in and out of consciousness for several days. She begins to take meals when she is awake and the color and fullness return to her face. She grows stronger and stays awake longer with each passing day. She never speaks of the attack other than what she has already revealed, dodging Oscar's questions by changing the subject or saying she's too tired to carry a conversation. Oscar becomes increasingly frustrated by her behavior.

"You need to be more patient with her. She's been through a lot, after all." says Andre, not looking up from grooming Oscar's horse. Oscar has come to find him in the stables to complain once again about how unhelpful Emilie is being.

"I know that." Oscar snaps. "But the longer she continues to be stubborn, the less likely we will be to find her attacker. She won't even tell me his name. I know she knows what it is."

"What do you talk about with her?" Andre turns to Oscar.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you ever talk about anything other than the attack?"

"Well…" Oscar looks sheepish. "No. Not really."

Andre laughs. "You're too straight forward, Oscar. Emilie isn't the criminal here. You need to stop interrogating her."

Oscar opens her mouth and then closes it again. She hates it when Andre is right. "I'm just trying to help her…"

"Then why don't you try being her friend. It seems to me like she could really use one right now." Andre goes back to grooming leaving Oscar to mull over his words.

Oscar takes Andre's advice and abandons asking about the attack. She quickly discovers that Emilie is delightful to talk to. She is well educated and quick witted which only deepens Oscar's growing suspicion that she's not exactly who she says she is. Oscar tries not to press the matter. She's becoming quite fond of Emilie and finds it more and more difficult to say anything that might upset her.

One night, Oscar wakes up to the soft glow of a single dying candle at the other end of her room. She sits up wondering if she had forgotten to put it out when she had gone to bed. She sees it set on the small table next to her sofa which she is surprised to find occupied by Emilie.

Oscar leaves her bed and walks over to Emilie's sleeping form. "Emilie." She says quietly.

Emilie opens her eyes and looks up at Oscar. Her expression is a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Oscar asks. "You shouldn't be walking around. Your wounds…"

"I-I'm sorry. I had a nightmare…" Emilie begins to sit up, but does so a little too quickly. She gasps and clutches her chest.

Oscar reaches out to steady Emilie, touching her arms. "Ah, you're freezing!" She says, her concern mounting. Emilie's skin feels like ice. Oscar gently gathers Emilie up into her arms. "Here, let me take you back to your room."

"No!" Emilie cries, grasping the front of Oscar's shirt. "Please… Please let me stay. I…" She struggles with her words and a look of shame crosses her face. "I'm afraid. I don't want to be alone…"

Oscar smiles slightly. "Very well." She lays Emilie down on her bed and carefully pulls the blankets over her. "Just for tonight."

"Thank you." Emilie says softly.

Oscar walks back over to the sofa and sits down. She leans over to blow out the candle.

"Oscar?" Emilie's voice is very quiet.

"Hm?"

"I don't mind if… I mean… You don't have to sleep on the sofa… If you… Well, we're both women after all." Emilie isn't usually so inarticulate.

Oscar stares at her from across the room. Emilie's face glows red in the dim light. Oscar starts to laugh. "Yes, I suppose we are."

Oscar blows out the candle and returns to the bed, slipping under the blankets beside Emilie. Moments later, Emilie is asleep. Oscar watches her for awhile before finally drifting off herself.

Early the next morning, Granny enters Emilie's room carrying a tray of breakfast for her. "Good morning!" She says brightly. She looks to the empty bed and gasps, the tray and its contents crashing loudly to the floor. She hurries back out into the corridor, nearly running into Andre.

"Woah, Granny! What's the matter?" Andre catches her before she stumbles into him.

"Emilie isn't in her bed!" Granny cries.

"What?!"

Within moments, the whole manor is clamoring in the search for Emilie. Oscar raises her head from her pillow groggily. "What on earth is that racket?"

"Mm?" Emilie mumbles beside her.

Andre suddenly bursts through the door, making both girls jump.

"Oscar! Emilie is missing!" He says loudly.

Oscar sits up in bed, a scandalized look on her face. "Andre! How dare you barge in here without knocking!"

"But… Emilie is-"

Emilie sits up next to Oscar, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Andre is so shocked by the sight that he backs out of the room slowly and shuts the door without saying anything.

Emilie and Oscar look at each other and Emilie starts to chuckle. Oscar looks surprised for a moment. This is the first time Emilie has laughed since they met. The sound is so genuine and pleasant that Oscar isn't sure if she wants to laugh or cry. She decides on the former and they both laugh until Emilie is holding her chest in pain and taking slow breaths in an attempt to calm down.

Time goes on and while Emilie's wounds begin to heal, her nightmares grow steadily worse. She refuses to speak about them, but Oscar knows she is reliving that horrible night before she found her. When they are particularly bad, Emilie sneaks into Oscar's room at night. It's gotten to the point where Oscar is more surprised if Emilie isn't asleep beside her when she wakes up in the morning than if she is.

Some nights, Emilie comes in right after the manor has settled and the two girls talk late into the night. They mostly talk about what Oscar did that day and the goings on and politics of the court. Emilie also has a keen interest in history and will talk in great lengths about her favorite eras.

"They say Rolf was so tall that he refused to ride the 'little Norwegian horses' and chose instead to walk everywhere. That's why he's sometimes referred to as-"

"Rolf the Walker. Yes, I know." Oscar laughs. "You've only told me this story about a hundred times."

Emilie's face flushes. "Oh, have I? I'm sorry! It was my father's favorite story. He used to tell it to me all the time when I was small. It's a tale from Normandy where I grew up."

"Normandy?" Oscar's interest is piqued. Emilie never talks about herself no matter how much Oscar prods.

Emilie's smile disappears. "Yes. By the sea."

"My family has a villa there. It's a beautiful place." Says Oscar, trying not to sound too eager.

"It is." Emilie twists the skirt of her nightgown in her hands.

"What was your father like?" Oscar dares to ask.

Emilie is quiet for awhile. "He was a kind and gentle man with a sharp mind and a love of history." She says wistfully.

"Sounds like someone I know." Oscar chuckles. Emilie swats her playfully. "What was his occupation?"

"He was a swordsmith."

"A swordsmith!" Oscar is really interested now. "Was he well-known? Maybe my father knew him!"

Emilie suddenly looks incredibly uncomfortable. "I'm… I'm going to go back to my room now." She starts to get up, but Oscar catches her hand.

"Emilie."

Emilie looks at Oscar, her eyes glistening.

"You can trust me." Oscar says gently.

"I'm sorry." Emilie pulls her hand from Oscar's and runs from the room, choking back her tears.

Oscar doesn't go after her, ashamed that she upset her friend so much. She decides that she will apologize in the morning. Hours later, Oscar feels someone small and warm carefully climb into her bed beside her. She smiles slightly, but keeps her eyes closed. She is relieved that Emilie seems to have already forgiven her.


I really like this chapter. I hope you like it, too! Thank you so much for reading!