Les Misérables

Summary: After studying about the dark past of surrounding kingdoms, Tanya asks Cedric and Sofia if any other kingdom ever had the same level of darkness. This leads to a very unexpected story, filled with despair, hope, severed and forged bonds, and preventable demise. Read Me a Story format! (Takes place 5 years after my season 5 stories)

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First. I own Corban and some other OCs mentioned here. MarionetteJ2X owns Tanya and Nana.

Chapter 3: A Wistful Dream

Eight years went by before he knew it, and Roland had assumed a new identity to protect himself: Edgar Carlisle. Lord Edgar Carlisle, the Mayor of Zodia, as a matter of fact. He was well respected by many in the city, as he was one of the sole providers of work for hundreds of people. Perhaps his most popular and thriving business was that of a factory in the center of town, designated for making uniforms for soldiers. The factory hosted numerous jobs, especially for women, who were doing their part for the war efforts. Some women had husbands in the military, while others were simply working to make ends meet.

One of those women was named Lorelei, and she was known as both a hard worker and also a virtuous yet sometimes cold person. As it was, Lorelei was a single mother, having had her daughter Amber at a rather young age. The girl's father had abandoned them not long after Amber's birth, unfortunately, and after struggling for a few years, Lorelei had been forced to make a very difficult decision. She sought out an innkeeper and his wife, who had hosted several families in the past, and pleaded with them to take her daughter in and care for her while she sent monthly payments to support her—just until she was able to find greater stability financially and personally. While they'd been reluctant at first, the notion of an extra income had been rather attractive, and they'd accepted.

It had now been three years since she'd released her daughter into someone else's care. She'd be six soon… If only she'd gotten more time with her daughter—birthdays, holidays… All of those precious moments she'd missed experiencing with her little one…

She sighed as she pushed some fabric aside, threading yet another needle after losing her third one to the creaky floorboard cracks beneath her feet. As she worked, she overheard all-too-familiar comments from some gossipy older women near her, but she tried to ignore their pointed discussions as best as she could.

"She thinks she's so much better than everyone," one woman whispered as she sewed a button onto a gray jacket. She heard her friend scoff, and she rolled her eyes. "The proper and pristine Lorelei…"

"Who cares if she's 'proper and pristine?'" another woman snickered, ripping some of the loose thread from her own fabric. "I don't see her curled up with a loving man, do you? She even thinks she's too good for the lords and dukes around here, I bet. Let her die a spinster."

A younger woman sighed. "She's so pretty though: beautiful flowing golden hair, a sense of fashion, alabaster skin…"

"Are you smitten by her then, eh?" the first woman joked, causing the younger girl to blush a deep red.

"N-No! I'm just saying… She should try harder if she's to marry someday. It's only proper."

Lorelei turned her head and leaned down, lifting some new thread from a basket near her feet. She resisted rolling her eyes or saying anything back to them, because she knew how vicious they could be, both verbally and physically. Instead, she ignored them and kept working.

"Meanwhile," the second woman continued, "the rumors go that she's still a virgin. In this climate, especially with the foreman making his advances toward her on the daily, that won't last much longer."

"Maybe that'll turn her cold blood hot and loosen her up—quite literally," the first woman snarked, laughing as the women around her joined her.

"I fail to see why my life is any of your business," Lorelei finally bit in annoyance, her honey eyes narrowed as she glared at the gaggle of women. "You must lack any form of enrichment in your own lives if you get entertainment out of speaking on my name." She paused, letting them take in her words. After all, it wasn't often she spoke, so she was pretty sure they were just a bit surprised she'd said anything at all. "In any case, since you want to chastise me for my actions, perhaps some of you should turn that finger inward. I happen to know one of you has been accepting tenders from a married man." She glared at the first woman, who returned the icy look. "And another of you…" She looked at the second woman. "You pretended to be pregnant simply to keep your sixth courtier this year. Seems quite unfair to not only the man, but whatever future child you may actually birth."

"You hussy!" the second woman shouted, jumping up from her seat, tripping over some of the fabric as she reached out to Lorelei, shoving her to the ground. She succeeded in knocking the younger girl's breath out of her as she settled her larger form over her, her hands threatening to wrap around her neck. "Think it's funny, do you?! Huh?!" She slapped her once, sneering as Lorelei screamed out in pain. She grimaced when some of the other women grabbed her arms, tugging her off the girl. "Let me go! I'll wallop her again! She'll regret speaking about me like that!"

"Let it go, love," another older woman told her, her more slender frame buckling under the other woman's weight as she tried to help hold her in place. "She certainly isn't worth the trouble."

Once the other women had gotten the second one calmed down, Lorelei slowly pulled herself to her feet, groaning softly at the pain she felt from the attack. She turned to a mirror, busily checking herself in the reflection and nursing her wounds, never noticing that someone had his eyes on her…

The next day, the factory was running much the same way, but it seemed a bit calmer than the day before. There wasn't as much conversation among the women, and the hum of the contraptions around them drowned out the little talking that existed anyway.

Lorelei was by herself again, sewing a patch onto one of the soldier's jackets, when she felt (and smelled) a new presence beside her. She frowned to herself, trying to ignore the foreman as he pressed his body into her side, his calloused fingers greedily scooping her hair into his hand. She cringed as he obviously smelled her freshly washed locks, and she knew she couldn't ignore him any longer. "Foreman," she began firmly, turning to him. "Please stop."

"Lorelei," the man retorted, grinning, a few of his rotten teeth visible as he leaned toward her, the smell of alcohol and the stench of body odor wafting around him as he did. "Let me show you a proper good time, eh? A lady such as yourself needs a good man near her side. I can…fill your needs, if you get me."

She reached up, tugging her hair from his hands, and frowned heavily at him. "No."

Instead of appearing taken aback, like he sometimes did, the foreman now seemed agitated. "No… No?" He laughed, ripping the fabric from her hands, tearing it into pieces. He then moved around, plucking all the completed jackets from the other women, and he then tossed them into the roaring fireplace that was being used to keep the area warm. Despite the cries and protests from the women, he was unflappable. "That'll teach you to deny me, Lorelei… You've just doubled the work for everyone. And you'll all stay two hours later each day until you make up the work you've just lost." Angry, he left the room, ignoring the women cursing at the barely shaken Lorelei.

It took about a week to make up for the burned work, but upon the achievement, the hours returned to normal. Lorelei hadn't said a word since, and by the second day of the extra work, the other women had given up saying anything either. Today, though, Lorelei was distracted. She'd received a letter the afternoon before, and she'd been reading over it constantly, her eyes scanning the poorly penned words. What she recognized: "Amber," "quite ill," and "more money." As if she could afford to send more money, but for her daughter…

The second woman from the other day had just returned from the washroom when she peered over Lorelei's shoulder, reading the letter's contents for herself. She gasped loudly, grabbing the paper from the younger girl, laughing raucously as she tauntingly waved it in the air. "Well, well! Looks like the virtuous Lorelei isn't so virtuous after all! She's got a kid!"

"No!" another woman gasped, the girls around her descending into both giggles and gossipy whispers. "So she's experienced the pleasure a man can provide, and yet she chooses to be solitary…"

"Give it back!" Lorelei demanded, chasing after the other woman as she ran toward the foreman on the other side of the building. "It's none of your concern!"

"Oh, Foreman!" The bigger woman shoved the letter into the startled man's hands, grinning at him. "Meet the reason the little tart won't sleep with you. She has a daughter! Apparently, she's been sending money to some strangers to take care of her—or at least that's what I gather from having read over this chicken scratch called a letter."

The man took his time reading the letter for himself, smirking as he glanced over at the blonde-haired young woman. "Well, then… We can't have that here in the factory, can we? You'll cause us problems if you work extra for more money than we can afford to pay you, so you'll just have to seek employment elsewhere. You're sacked, Lorelei. Pack up your things and head out."

"You can't do that!" she yelled, pushing toward him, ripping the letter from his hand and tearing it in the process. "I have a daughter to support, and you're firing me?!"

"What's going on here?" Roland asked as he stepped into the room, which wasn't a very common occurrence since he had so many obligations to attend to. "I heard screaming."

The foreman briefly explained the situation before gesturing toward the distraught Lorelei. "And as it is, Lord Carlisle, we can't risk it. She needs to go, so I fired her."

"Please, sir," Lorelei begged, folding her hands as she stepped up toward Roland, who seemed a bit perplexed and stepped back. "Please, I'm all she has in the world. I work to protect and provide for her as best as I can. I can't do that if I'm without a job…"

"I'm sorry, Miss Lorelei," he returned gently. "I know you feel unjustly judged, but I can't have trouble in my factory. As it is, many people here have complaints on you, and that is causing problems and delays, and I can't have that. I'm afraid the judgment stands."

She glowered at him, her right hand curling into a fist as she tried to remain calm. "You're a horrible employer," she seethed, her words filled with venom. "You lack true empathy for people, and instead care about nothing more than your precious reputation. I pray you have a better life than the hell you've just brought to mine." With nothing more to say, she stormed out of the factory, leaving a stunned Roland behind.

Several minutes later, after Lorelei arrived at her small room that she rented from a local shopkeeper, she threw herself onto her uncomfortable bed, finally allowing her emotions to be released as she sobbed into her pillow. She was so exhausted from crying that she fell asleep, dreaming of days spent with Amber when she was a baby, and then a toddler. She loved the girl's big eyes and smile, and she had always enjoyed her attentive nature when she told stories of her own life as a child. The girl's father had promised he'd be with her and his daughter forever, but he'd lied. Just like she knew he would, but it still hurt… He'd chosen a wealthier girl a few cities over, and she'd had to pick up the pieces not long after. His last words: "You can both starve, for all I care." How she'd once found him charming and caring, she'd never understand…

The next morning, she opened her eyes, which were still brimming with tears, her cheeks stinging with the red blush that had etched its way into her skin throughout the night. She knew she was in trouble. She couldn't support her daughter or herself now, and instead of trying to appeal to Roland's senses again, her pride got the better of her. She'd look for new work soon. But for today, she would rest.

After all, she hadn't slept more than three hours each night since leaving Amber with those strangers, not to mention the uneasy fear that crept over her when she remembered what sort of environment surrounded her. It was a dangerous city for a single woman like herself to be in. But she wouldn't become a victim of it.

Not without a fight.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Lorelei's Descent