Emilie is a bit more reserved in her conversations with Oscar from that night on. She still smiles and laughs and carries on with her stories, but Oscar can tell she is guarding her heart even more carefully than before. Oscar tells Andre what she found out, but without a surname it proves to not be enough information for them to reveal anything more. Oscar plans to ask her father if he knew any swordsmiths from Normandy, but hasn't found a chance yet.

"Maybe we should give it a rest." Andre suggests one morning as he and Oscar ride towards Versailles. "Emilie seems like she wants to forget and move on with her life. Perhaps it's time we try to move on as well."

"No, Andre." Oscar's tone is deadly serious. "Someone tried to kill her. I don't care that she intended to die in her Madame's place. I won't stop until the person responsible is brought to justice."

"Even if we did find out who her attacker was… Would we be able to do anything?" Andre asks. "It's been so long now and we have no evidence. Digging up her past might do more harm than good at this point."

Oscar goes quiet. Andre has a valid argument. The carriage had been released by the authorities and the two men they found were long buried. Without any leads, there was nothing more they could do. All they had left was Emilie's word and she wasn't talking.

"I don't understand!" Oscar shouts, startling her horse who nearly throws her.

"Osacr!" Says Andre in surprise.

"Why won't she tell me who did this to her?" Oscar is shaking. "Her smiles and laughter… It's all an act! You don't hear her cry at night, Andre! She's in pain and I can't do anything to help her!"

Andre rides up beside Oscar and puts a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"I'm sorry." Oscar sighs. "She's my friend. I only want to help…"

"I know..." Andre says quietly. "Forget what I said. We'll keep trying."

"Thank you."

As spring begins to surrender to summer, Emilie's bandages finally come off for good. She starts to ask what she can do to help around the manor. Granny is reluctant to let her do anything at first, treating her as though she might break under the slightest bit of pressure.

"I really feel quite well." Says Emilie, twisting around and bending her arms to demonstrate.

Granny eyes the fresh scars that crisscross Emilie's arms and hands. "You're not in any pain? Not even a little?"

"Not even a little." Emilie grins. "Please let me help you with something… Anything! I feel so useless sitting idly in my room all day."

Granny hesitates a moment more then says, "I suppose you could fold some laundry…"

"Yes! Thank you!" Emilie claps her hands together, looking as though she might jump for joy.

Granny laughs. "I've never met someone so eager to do chores! Maybe some of your enthusiasm will rub off on my lazy grandson."

"Hey!" Andre snaps angrily as he walks by holding two swords. He's on his way outside to meet Oscar in the courtyard.

"See? He's off to play swords with Lady Oscar again instead of helping his poor old Grandma." Granny sniffs.

Andre stops and turns back to Granny. "Sword practice isn't playing!" He huffs before quickly rushing off again. He doesn't want to give Granny a chance to guilt him into doing something boring.

Emilie laughs as Granny mutters disapprovingly.

Granny guides Emilie to the laundry room and shows her what to do.

"You can fold this pile here and then I would like you to take a break. I don't want to overexert you."Says Granny.

"I'll be fine." Emilie says reassuringly. "Please don't worry."

Granny can't help giving her a worried look before leaving to check on the other maids. Emilie dives into her work. She sings to herself quietly at first and then a bit louder until her voice rings clearly. She lets her song envelop her so she doesn't have to think about anything else. It's a habit she's gotten into when she's alone. Anything to take her mind off the heaviness in her heart.

Halfway through the laundry pile, Emilie realizes that she's folding Oscar's clothes. She holds up one of Oscar's shirts to her body, comparing the size. Oscar is a bit taller than her, but they share a similar build. Emilie nods once, making up her mind, and hastens to finish the folding.

"Yah!"

Oscar's sword clashes against Andre's. Andre loses his grip and his sword flies out of his hand, turning over a few times before neatly sticking into the ground.

"You're not paying attention, Andre!" Scolds Oscar, though not unkindly.

"Yeah, yeah." Andre sighs and goes to retrieve his sword.

Emilie walks up and gently plucks Andre's sword from the ground. Andre stops and stares at her. She is dressed in a shirt, vest, and trousers very plainly belonging to Oscar. "May I join you?"

Oscar looks stunned for a moment and then begins to laugh.

Andre joins in, "Watch out, Oscar. This rose has a thorn."

Emilie ignores them and stands guard, her expression somewhat smug. She holds the sword and her body in a clearly instructed manner. Oscar and Andre immediately stop laughing.

"Oh ho! You have practiced swordplay before I see." Oscar looks delighted.

"My father was a swordsmith, remember?" Emilie smiles slightly.

"Yes, but you never told me that he trained up his adorable little daughter." Teases Oscar.

"He may have shown me a thing or two." Emilie holds her stance for a moment longer before making the first move. She's quick, but Oscar manages to block her.

The two girls exchange a few more blows and it becomes evident that Emilie is very skilled, though perhaps a bit out of practice. Oscar is used to having the advantage of being lighter and more agile than her opponents and finds herself blocking more than usual. She adjusts quickly, however, and begins to get the upper hand. Emilie doesn't falter and continues to fight with increasing ferocity. Her eyes are ablaze with a focused determination that Oscar has never seen in her gentle friend before.

"Emilie!" Granny's shrill voice calls out.

Oscar takes the moment of distraction to disarm Emilie. Emilie gasps and takes a step back.

Granny comes rushing from the manor, her face red with anger. "And to think I believed you were having a good influence on Lady Oscar!" She bustles right up to them and gestures wildly at Emilie. "When I said you should take a break after helping with the laundry, this is not what I had in mind!"

Emilie, Oscar, and Andre all start to laugh at once. Granny glares at them furiously.

"Lady Oscar! Emilie's wounds are barely healed! How could you let her do such a rough activity?!" Granny cries. "She needs to rest!"

"I'm all right, Granny." Emilie insists, smiling sweetly. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Hrm hum, it's okay, my dear." Granny stammers.

"I'll go with you now and rest as much as you'd like me to." Emilie says gently.

Granny shoots Oscar and Andre one last scolding look. "Come along then." She says to Emilie. Emilie obediently follows her back to the manor.

"Well, that was unexpected!" Laughs Andre as soon as Emilie and Granny are out of sight. "She's good."

"Yes, very good." The corners of Oscar's mouth twitch. "Better than you. You should ask her to show you a thing or two sometime." She says casually.

Andre punches Oscar's arm as she laughs at him.

Oscar and Andre sit on the edge of the fountain in the courtyard to take a breather before starting up their practice again. Oscar dips her hand in the cool water, watching it swirl around her fingers.

"I wonder what has gotten into her all of a sudden…" Oscar says quietly.

"Hm?" Andre looks at her. She has that serious look again. The one she gets when she's thinking about what happened to Emilie.

Oscar shakes her head and smiles unconvincingly. "It's nothing."


Thank you so much for reading!