Read Thornes Of A Villainess :: Chapter Fourteen- Midnight Misery

Today was the big day the first day of school. Seraphine was grateful the Duke had allowed her to start class before she officially turned seventeen in two months. Yet even that small mercy didn't ease the gnawing knot in her stomach. She woke up earlier than usual, convinced it was still midnight. Her thoughts churned: Did I do the right thing? Maybe I should have thrown things, gotten angry at the tutor. What if the original Seraphine, she made the same choice and ruined it?

Too late to turn back now, she reminded herself, but perhaps not too late to prepare her mind.

She quickly changed into her riding outfit, hunting through her reorganized wardrobe maidly efficiency had reshuffled everything in preparation for the school year. With an oil lamp in hand, she made her way through the quiet manor and reached the stables. Cookie was already waiting, eyes alert, a low neigh greeting her.

Without a word, she grabbed his bridle, tossed it on leaving the saddle behind, and brought the mounting block forward. One hand held the reins, the other steadied the lamp. As she rode into the dim early light, the world opened before her. Hours passed like minutes; the freedom of the night, the rustle of leaves, the calls of owls and crickets it was all hers

She thought of the Academy and her role in it, and the uneasy truth settled in; maybe she hadn't done the right thing by being compliant. Maybe she should have made herself untouchable, unpredictable-ruined her chance to prove them wrong on purpose. Yet now, here she was, riding the night away, stuck in the consequences of her own choice.

When she returned to the stables, the first streaks of dawn were painting the sky. Cookie stood quietly, and Seraphine's chest tightened. She couldn't say a proper goodbye, not really, and the jump field her favourite refuge remained unseen. Cookie had been her only constant. One last pat, one last restrained breath to hold back tears, and she left.

The lamp had long since burned out by the time she returned to the manor. A maid, unfamiliar but attentive, spotted her immediately. "My Lady! Are you alright? I went to check on you you weren't in your room! I was about to tell the Duke; I was so worried!"

Seraphine couldn't help but laugh, the storm of emotions spilling into a quiet moment of relief. Someone carec someone besides Cookie. Regaining her composure, she straightened and said firmly, "I quite like you. Now, run along start me a bath and have the kitchen prepare me a meal."

With a deep breath clinging to hope: Well I wanted to change the ending anyways... No harm starting early, right?