The days after the oak tree passed like a slow, colorless ache.
She moved through the mansion as her spirit split one already half-vanished_present in body, absent in spirit. Servants bowed. Doors opened. Her name_Scarlett followed her everywhere, heavy and wrong, pressed into her skin like a bruise that would not fade.
She had her meals alone most of the time and only occasionally with the lord, when she inquired about his family , he replied curtly.
' They'll be here in due time ' his replies left her puzzled .
At night, sleep refused her, she lay awake listening to the wind curl around the stone towers, to the distant howl that echoed from the forests beyond the iron gates. Wolves, the servants had whispered to her about them during their brief conversations . They were not ordinary but bred, trained, loyal only to the Lord .
Protection, they called it but to her it sounded more like a warning to never step outside the gates alone .
She thought of the oak tree constantly, of Henry standing beneath it, checking the path, waiting for footsteps that would never come.
She imagined his confusion, his hurt, his quiet loyalty turning slowly into doubt.
'I was supposed to be there ' she thought to herself, tears slipping soundlessly into her pillow. She was supposed to choose her future.
Instead, she had been caged in silk and stone , forced into a life she had never wished for .
The thoughts of escape crept in quietly at first...soft, treacherous then hopeful.
During her lonely and cold nights, she watched the guards' patterns from her window. She noted which torches dimmed first, which paths fell into shadow. She memorized the sound of the gates, the shift of the wind, the timing of the howls.
Just beyond the trees, she told herself, just far enough to disappear , board a carriage back home...her father would recognize her and help her . He surely would .
The thought grew teeth and her burning desire to have her life back even stronger, she made up her mind...wolves or not_she will try to escape . Though determined and hopeful her plan wasn't foolproof.
The night she tried to flee, the moon was thin and sharp, like a blade drawn across the sky.
She dressed simply and quietly, with her heart pounding so hard she feared the walls would hear it. No jewels. No silk. Only determination and desperation wrapped tightly together.
The door opened without a sound ,the air outside was colder than she expected, biting and merciless .Most of the candles and torches were dimmed and not a soul in sight as she tiptoed along the halls recalling the paths leading outside .
She stepped into the deserted kitchen and made her way towards the small door leading outside the mansion and surprisingly it wasn't locked_ she was relieved and stepped outside .
Only a few guards were on patrol , she prayed for a chance to distract the guards and they were when a door creaked somewhere distant, the guards turned their heads.
That was enough.
As they made their way to the noise ,she made a run for it _heart hammering, one hand pressed to her mouth to silence her breath , the gates loomed ahead—iron and immense, etched with vines .
Charlotte's fingers trembled as she reached the narrow servant's exit hidden beside the main gate. She had seen a maid use it once at dawn, keys dangling, laughter careless.
Tonight, the lock was stiff with cold.
She pressed her forehead briefly against the iron.
'Please ' she silently prayed .
The lock gave way with a soft, merciful click.
The forest air struck her like a living thing_sharp, wild, intoxicating. She stepped beyond the threshold, the gate whispering shut behind her, and for one fragile heartbeat, she believed she had done it.
She was free from the cold walls , lonely whispers and grief .
The grounds stretched endlessly before her, moonlight silvering the grass, the forest looming dark and close.
Freedom was there so she ran .
Not gracefully. Not carefully, she ran like someone being chased by a life she hadn't choosen.
The trees swallowed her quickly. Branches clawed at her dress, roots caught at her feet. Her breath came in sharp, panicked gasps—but she did not stop.
Then she heard it.
A low growl , not distant but close maybe too.
She froze , as the branches shifted_ eyes gleamering between trees. The path ahead dissolved into darkness thick with slow movement ,as fallen branches snapped .
Her breath hitched caught between hope and terror, as shadows detached themselves from the trees—massive, silently circling her .
The wolves stared at her , with bloodlust and predator intent to tear her to pieces and drag her remains to their master . She thought as she tried backing away, heart screaming that she had miscalculated and gone was her desire to escape now replaced with fear and regret .
'I want to live..,' she whispered, voice breaking. 'Please…' she added as beads of sweat formed on her face .
A snarl cut through the night and she stumbled backward, tears blinding her, certain absolutely certain now that this was where it would end . And how happy her sister will be to hear her tragic end .
She closed her eyes as she saw them about to pounce on her but before they could, a voice came like thunder through ice .
'Enough ! ' , it was deep and commanding enough to make the wolves stop instantly .
A single word was all it took .
The lord stepped from the shadows, coat dark, eyes colder than the night itself. The wolves retreated at once, melting into the forest as if they had never been there.
She collapsed to her knees, her body shaking uncontrollably as sobs tore free helplessly and unstoppable.
He looked down at her, his green eyes unreadable and abit darker .
'What..' he asked calmly, 'are you doing outside the gates?' he added after a pause .
She looked up eyes wide with relief _ she tried to hold back her tears but failed and couldn't compose herself. Every inch of control she had practiced cracked open under the weight of terror.
'I_' she began but her voice failed . She pressed her hands to her face, shame and fear twisting together. 'I couldn't breathe. I just needed_ air' .
It was a lie and a weak one , but he did not call it out instead studied her for a long moment her torn hem, her shaking hands, the way she avoided his eyes.
'i thought you know better than this, Scarlett,' he said quietly as if disappointed by her actions .
'You could have been killed,' he continued, his tone restrained and unnervingly calm.
'Those wolves do not hesitate killing
strangers.'
'I didn't know,' she whispered. 'I swear.'
'I know,' he replied.
He removed his coat and placed it around her shoulders without a thought . The warmth startled her more than the wolves had.
'You are not reckless,' he said, almost to himself. 'That is not like you.'
She stiffened.
His gaze sharpened not accusing, but searching.
'Come,'he said at last, offering his hand. Not gently. Not cruelly. Simply there to help .
She hesitated only a second before taking it and standing up .
He led her back to the mansion, the gates opening silently before them, she felt the weight of his presence beside her—solid, dangerous, infuriatingly protective.
He did not ask again.
He did not punish her.
But as they crossed the threshold, he spoke one final time.
'Do not leave the grounds again at night,' he said. 'Not without me ' he added lastly.
She nodded, throat tight and dry .
The lord spared the now frightened guards a quiet glare before he stepped inside the mansion too .
Inside, the doors closed.
Behind them in the forest , the wolves howled long and low mourning a freedom she had almost touched.
And somewhere deep in the manor, as he released her hand, the lord wondered quietly, privately ,why the woman he believed to be Scarlett looked like someone who didn't act like he was told she would. And a silent flicker of doubt crossed his features before it quickly disappeared.