Emmanuel stares at me, his eyes not betraying any emotion he might be feeling. "You don't have the courage to shoot me. You're a soft, feeble creature. You can't even see a horse in pain, how will you kill me?"

"I don't hate horses but I hate you." I say, "I won't hesitate in killing you."

Emmanuel takes another step forward.

"Stay back, I told you!" Hands quivering, I put my finger over the trigger, "I.... I'm going to kill you!"

"Emmanuel!" Lady Elizabeth shouts in panic.

"Mother, shut up!" Emmanuel calls to her, "I know what I'm doing."

All of a sudden, Emmanuel is pinned on the floor by none other than Damon.

"Damon!" I cry, tossing the gun away.

He looks up at me, nods his head imperceptibly and turns back to Emmanuel, his hands at his throat.

"How dare you?! How can you even think of threatening her like that? I'm going to squeeze the life out of you." He hisses through clenched teeth.

"Somebody save my son!" Lady Elizabeth cries out.

As if on cue, the men walk forward and it takes all four of them to prise Damon off of Emmanuel. I run to him, wrapping my arms around him. Damon leans his head against mine, unable to hold me due to his human restraints.

"Get her off him, you buffoons!" Emmanuel chokes out. Two of the masked men leave Damon and try to drag me away from him. Damon manages to get one hand free and I desperately latch on it. Our hands are the only things connected between us right now and I am determined not to let go. The men yank harder on my other arm and I squeeze my eyes shut with the effort of holding on.

Slowly but surely, I feel my hand slipping from Damon's. Horrified, I open my eyes to meet Damon's tortured gaze. He shakes his head at me, "They'll hurt you. Let go."

"No!" I cry, holding on even tighter. Despite what he has said, I feel Damon also clutching my hand in a vice-like grip. My hand starts to slip again and perhaps sensing this, the two masked men give one final hard tug and my hands slip from Damon's.

With a grunt, the two men push me into Emmanuel and I fall against his chest. He holds me at arms' length, his face an epitome of disgust and then slaps me with all his force. I collapse on the ground, holding my burning cheek, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Get her up." Emmanuel says, causing the two men to haul me up by my arms. He walks over to me, pinching my face between his large paw of a hand, "You will marry me, do you understand?! The wedding will not be at the end of summer, it will be next week."

"What? But the preparations..." Mother interrupts.

"They will be done." Emmanuel hisses, "Take her away."

The men start dragging me. I struggle against them, desperately leaning towards Damon, and he towards me.

For a moment, we both fight our fate, with all our strength, we attempt to overcome our destiny.

But then something thuds against the back of my head and a dark shroud of funeral black smothers me entirely.

I close my eyes, succumbing to a dark and tormenting sleep...

I wake with a groan. I am in my room, laid clumsily on the bed. A masked man walks in, dropping bread and butter on a tray beside me.

I look at him, "Where's Mary?"

He doesn't reply, he just walks out of my room.

I walk after him, "Hey!"

I open the door, running after him but two sets of arms grab me from under the arms, lifting me kicking and screaming. They take me back to my room and throw me roughly on the bed.

Without a word, they retreat out of the room and close the door behind them. I stare at them in incredulity, my eyes so wide, they practically engulf my face. I look at the tray of bread beside me, then at the door again. Scoffing in skepticism, I walk over to the door again and peer out.

The two masked men, standing on either side of my door, turn to face me, prepared to lift me again but I scamper back into my room, "No, no, no, it's okay. You don't need to pick me up."

They close the door, all the time not uttering a word.

I bite my lip anxiously; where is Damon? How is he? I hope he's okay. I look toward the window. I run over to it, hoping for a route of escape. But no, my mother has already taken care of it. There is a padlock preventing me from climbing out.

I sigh in frustration and look at the engagement ring someone has returned to my finger. I take it off and fling it across the room. Hopefully, one of the diamonds will fall out, but with my current luck, it will be unharmed. Perfect, flawless, shiny, complete; the opposite of me. I look at the food tray on my bed and launch it away from me. It hits the door with a dull thud, the bread sticking to the door for a moment and then falling to the ground soundlessly. There is no response from the two men waiting to pounce on me outside my room.

I pace across the room, twiddling my thumbs desperately, racking my mind for an idea that will help me to escape my prison of a room. What do I do? There are posted guards outside my room. There are probably more downstairs. I have no idea how Damon is, what state he is in, whether he is okay.

I run a hand through my hair, fighting the urge to scream. I look around myself, suddenly noting the emptiness, the silence.

Where is Mary?!

I open the door of the restroom, hoping she might be cleaning in there, but to no avail. She is nowhere is to be seen.

"Mary?" I call out, opening my wardrobe to see if she's hiding there, "Mary, where are you?"

Tears sting my red eyes; I am well and truly alone.

I've never been alone like this before. Not physically, anyway. It is not a good feeling.

I look around myself, desperately throwing the door of my restroom open again and looking in, "Please, Mary! Please don't leave me. You're all I have. Mary!!"

I retreat into the centre of the room, my lower lip trembling. Where is my lovable, caring, sweet nanny? Where is she?! I run to the door, banging on it with a feverish panic.

"Let me out! Let me out!" I shout, my knuckles sore. I still bang on the door, "Please!"

Sobbing and crying, I continue to batter the door with all I have. It doesn't matter that the door is already open. It could be locked, for all that matters because the moment I step out of the room, I will be dragged back inside.

I won't stop until they let me go, until they let me be free. I bang on the door harder, kicking it for extra measure. Just to round it off, I scream at the top of my lungs, tears streaming down my face.

After a few minutes of senselessly clobbering at the door, I slide to the ground, occasionally slapping my hand against it, completely depleted. I sniff, my body heaving with the continuous series of sobs my broken heart shoots out.

I put my knees to my chest, my head in my hands and wallow in my despair. How can I feel so alone? How could this be? How can my life change so much in the space of a few hours? It seems like days have passed since I pacified Damon to talk to me again, but still I know, the sun has not set even once yet. It is still the same endless day. I wipe my eyes, which does nothing to stem the flow of tears seeping from them.

I hear murmurs coming from outside of my room and stumble to my feet. I rush over to my bed and sit down, facing away from the door. Whoever it is, I do not want to see them.

I hear the creak of the door opening and footsteps entering the room. I close my eyes, not wanting to hear the voice that will most likely be Emmanuel's or my mother's.

So, indeed, I am surprised when a soft, familiar voice calls out to me, "Eloise? Darling?"

I turn around immediately, getting to my feet, a smile lighting up my dull, dead features. I see the person in front of me, the auburn hair, the gentle smile.

"Mary!" I yell, jumping into her arms, pulling her close to me, breathing in her scent so deeply that it scars my mind, never to leave again. "Oh Mary!" I say, holding her closer, the sorrow overwhelming me, sobbing into her wholesome bosom.

She pulls me back, looking down at me with tears welling in the corner of her eyes. "My child. My beautiful little girl. Don't cry like this, sweetheart."

"Mary, where did you go?"

"Eloise, I do not have much time left with you. I must leave soon. Let me explain, Eloise darling." She sits me down and strokes my cheek, "It's going to be hard for me, I have never been away from you for the last seventeen years of my life. Well, when you were returned to your room, I was not permitted to see you. Your mother came to see me and I was told I am now relieved of my duties."

"Mother has fired you?!" I ask, horrified, "She's letting you leave?"

"I'm afraid so, my dear. I must leave you. I love you so much, Eloise. You are such a beautiful person."

"I... I love you too, Mary. Please do not leave me; I do not wish to be alone. Not anymore, I swear." I say desperately, wanting her to stay so badly.

"I know." Mary nods, "I know, Eloise. However, we do not have a choice. I have to leave now."

"Mary, please." I grab her hand, latching on it, "Do not go. Let me talk to Mother, let me convince her to allow you to stay with me. Please."

"You cannot budge her from her decision. She is in the darkest mood I have ever seen her in. There are people walking in and out of the house, carrying dresses and decorations and cake designs and rings."

"What? They're planning the wedding?" My heart sinks into my feet and through the ground, landing somewhere unreachable to man. It passes the boundaries of all things that live, it goes somewhere that is lost to me forever. It leaves me and with it, leaves my courage to fight this, to overcome this life-threatening hurdle in my rotten existence.

"Yes. I am sorry, Eloise. I have to leave now, I am returning to my village tonight. I wish you and Damon the best of luck." Mary stands, kisses my forehead and walks over to the door, picking up two suitcases I had not spotted before. With one last look directed at me, she walks out of the room.

Sullenly, I note that this is the last time I will ever see my dear Mary.

I do not protest, I do not fight. The only sign of my disapproval of all things happening are the silent tears that roll down my face like rain on a window pane.

I don't deserve this. I don't deserve any of this. All I did was fall in love. Maybe with the wrong person, but I only fell in love. What is the crime in that? What is illegal in that? It will not be socially accepted, but I can deal with that. I could have gone away with Damon to the countryside and Emmanuel could have found another young bachelorette who would be everything he seeks to find in me. It could have ended happily, not with this nightmare.

Not like this, with Damon's presence unknown and Mary being relieved of her duties. The duties she did without any complaint, the duties she did so thoroughly. I didn't want things to be like this, with me imprisoned in my bedroom and guards posted outside my door.

I sigh and look around myself. I look at the empty room; the room that once housed a friendship, a love, it housed laughter and tears, happiness beyond compare, a nurse and her devoted child. The nurse who loved that child more than the child's own mother did. The nurse who has been relieved of her duties for none of her own faults; but because of the mistakes of that child.

Yet, what mistakes did I make? Opposing someone who I do not wish to spend my life with? What kind of a mistake is that?

Thinking so much and so deeply, it makes my head ache. And from that unknown, lifeless place where it has sank to, my heart lets out a dull pang, letting me know that although it is lost, it is not dead. It is still there, waiting to be revived by a love that will probably never come. A love that I cherished more than my life, a love that was taken from me so rapidly, I did not have time to register it.

My dried-up eyes become an oasis of emotion yet again, as tears extricate themselves to dampen my cheek another time, to remind me of the dilemma I face. Taking in a ragged breath, I attempt to piece together the broken shards of myself and to execute a plan to get myself out of here, but to no avail.

I am too broken, too shattered. There is no hope for my lifeless soul anymore. Only Damon can heal me... and I do not know where he is. The sun will rise, but it will not bring a new day. The stars will shine, but the night will not be beautiful. The rain will fall, but not as rain. The rain will fall inside, against my cheeks, the rain will come as tears.

They will flood me with their weight, the weight of impenetrable sorrow and loss and pain.

How can so much have happened and yet no one on the outside has a clue? How can all this happen and yet everyone goes on with their happy lives, their minds untainted by everything I have seen? How is it possible at all?

The handle of my door turns and in walks Emmanuel. My mood darkens even more, if that was even possible.

The demon from my nightmares walks over to my bed, grabbing my shoulders, forcing me to rise. "You are a wretch, you hear me? You are nothing but a worthless wretch!"

"Then why are you marrying me?" I brazenly ask.

"How dare you question me?!" Emmanuel shakes me roughly, "It is not a woman's job to speak in front of her husband. Women should be seen, not heard. All you are is a pretty arm-piece for me to wear. You just have to bear me children and then die. That is your only purpose!"

"I will not bear you any children, Emmanuel. I will not let you touch me!" I wrench myself out of his grasp, running to the wardrobe and picking out the spare fire poker, pointing it at him.

Emmanuel chuckles darkly, "What are you going to do, hit me? Take your best shot, go on, darling. I want you to."

"Don't call me darling." I hiss spitefully, raising the metal bar over my head, hatred pooling in my eyes. I hold it there as rationality fills my head. I steel myself again, ready to strike him but my hands feel like stone. They won't move, no matter how much I want them to.

I can't do it.

The determination leaves my eyes and I exhale, dropping the poker to the floor and with it, my self-esteem. Emmanuel smiles shrewdly and walks over to me, picking the fire poker up and tossing it into a dark corner. He steps behind me and his long arms curl around my waist, his mouth at my ear, his sickly breath brushing at my cheek and neck.

I do not do anything to hide my disgust; I shiver openly against his touch, not pleasantly, but with horror.

"We will get married in seven days." He whispers. I close my eyes against him, tears racing down my still-damp cheeks. "It will be a white wedding. You'll wear the most ostentatious dress I can find. You'll look worthy of me. The priest will be young..."

...not an old fossil like there is at most common weddings. The dais will be at St Mary's church. The food will be extravagant and people will dine like they never have in their lives. You'll walk down the aisle with my father, like a princess. Everyone will look at you, but you'll only have eyes for...

Where Emmanuel should be standing, it's Damon. He smiles at me and then his face twists into a dark, evil twin of himself. It's not Damon. It's Emmanuel with his monstrous disguise.

My eyes snap open and I elbow Emmanuel, causing him to stumble backwards. I spin around, a deep pit of fury lighting up in my eyes, my hands clenching at my sides.

"I will never be your arm-piece. I will protest, I will fight for every day of my life. Even if you take Damon away from me, I will fight. I hate you."

Shuddering with the brute force of rage, Emmanuel takes long strides over to me and the back of his hand connects with my face, just like it does every time I say something he does not like. Stumbling over his foot, I fall to the ground and look up at him, "You can hit me, you can kill me but I will never stop loving him."

Emmanuel looms over me threateningly for a moment or two. Then he reaches down and pins me to the floor, his hands pinning me. He lurches in a crouch over me, his eyes blazing with a cold distaste. He pulls his fist back and rams it down with breath-taking speed into my left eye.

For a moment, I feel as though I have gone blind and desperately writhe under Emmanuel's grip. I cry with pain; my eye throbs intensely, sending out sharp blades of agony all the way to my temple. I cover my eye with both hands, shielding it from Emmanuel, attempting to wriggle away from him.

"Mother!" I shriek, "Somebody! Help me!" I open my eyes slowly to see Emmanuel grinning maniacally at me.

He twists my hair around his fist and pulls my face up close to his, "You ever oppose me, I will kill you, understand?"

With the little of my strength left, I hawk up as much of my saliva as I can and spit into his face. Squealing with surprise, he reels back, leaving me to sit up and press my hand to my eye in excruciation. The door slams open and Mother walks in. She sees me, sees my eye and turns to Emmanuel, looking irritated.

Finally, some justice.

"Emmanuel, do you know how hard it is to cover up a black eye with make-up?" She snaps.

Maybe not.

"Come with me downstairs. We need to get you fitted." With a final annoyed look at my eye, Mother and Emmanuel leave the room. I scramble to my feet and stumble to the restroom, switching the light on and inspecting my eye.

It looks horrid. There is a rapidly-swelling, purple-blue bruise all around my eye. A large bump overlaps my eyelid, making my whole eye look droopy. Unable to look at my disfigured face anymore, I switch the light off and trudge back into my room, slumping into the bed and tiredly closing my eyes, surrendering to the seductive call of a good sleep...