Throughout her entire life, Lady Giuliana Crane strove to be better than everyone else. It became a compulsion that she was unable to shake. She practiced dances until her feet bled. She spent lavishly on the most elegant and costly gowns. She studied all subjects both mundane and magickal until none were her equal. All to earn the respect of the Elite of Etria and the love of the Duke of Wytchwood. She mastered all that came her way as befitting the future Duchess of Wytchwood.
But, one day, a young woman arrived in the Capital. With red-gold hair so fair it looked pink and a pair of sea-green eyes that tempted men into its depths, she made quick work of the Elite, earning their praise and acclaim in a way Giuliana was never able.
Ms. Adella Dunstan had neither the education nor the fortune of Lady Giuliana. But she looked poised to earn the love of the Duke. And so, Giuliana befriended the Belle of Etria out of curiosity and a desire to keep her close. They took walks together and whispered in corners at balls. Giuliana taught Adella all she needed to know about society and etiquette. She invited Ms. Dunstan to tea every day along with the Duke, who seemed puzzled over the recent arrival. Even with this friendship, the Elite cared little for Giuliana, flocking to Adella and leaving her in the dust.
The gossip grew and grew as people were certain the Duke would break his engagement with Giuliana for the far more suitable Ms. Adella Dunstan. Her low birth mattered not to the Elite as she was kind-hearted and lovely. They all suspected she had an unfortunate birth, likely the by-blow of a lord and a servant. Surely, she’d make a better Duchess than Lady Giuliana whose mother hailed from that swampland to the south. Anyone who looked at Adella saw she was Etrian through and through while Lady Giuliana’s dusky skin and coils of hair marked her as other, as not Etrian.
The Duke never tried to break his engagement with Giuliana, yet he couldn’t hide the way his eyes followed Adella around or the upturn of his lips when he stood in her presence. And Lady Giuliana witnessed it all as he distanced himself from his fiancee in favor of Adella.
One day, she convulsed over tea and died in front of Adella and the Duke. Poison was ruled the cause and an unknown assassin was named the culprit.
The Elite of Etria mourned as expected, though they eagerly awaited news of His Grace’s inevitable engagement to Ms. Adella Dunstan. With Lady Giuliana gone, no one stood in their way. But, the announcement never came.
As Lady Giuliana passed from the world, she cursed ever befriending Ms. Dunstan. She knew neither how nor why, but she had to be responsible. She saw the smirk on her lips when she breathed her last breath. Ms. Dunstan had even bent to whisper words in her ears when the maid went for help. But what had she said? She bemoaned the cruelty of fate and her premature death.
It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this, right? Who had she ever wronged? Why did she have to die?
She had always tried so hard and to be the best and none of it mattered. She died at envy’s hand still unsure if she captured the Duke’s heart. If only she could do it all again, she’d play by her own rules and oust those who dared to speak against her.
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