The morning felt too quiet. The carriage carrying Eleanor rolled slowly away from the Ainsworth estate, its wheels turning smoothly over cobblestones still damp with dew. The world looked peaceful as though no blood had ever been spilled, as though fate had never torn her life apart.
But inside the carriage, Eleanor sat in silence, her hands folded tightly in her lap.
"My Lady… you look pale. Are you sure you're alright?" Mira asked softly from the seat across from her.
Eleanor didn't answer right away. Her eyes were distant, but her mind was anything but. The memories kept turning sharp, vivid, impossible to wash away.
She remembered everything. Every detail.
"I'm fine," she said at last, her voice calm but carrying a new kind of weight. "I'm just making sure of something."
Mira's brow creased. "Making sure of what, my Lady?"
Eleanor turned slightly toward the window, catching her own faint reflection in the glass.
The face looking back was young, unmarked by suffering. But behind those eyes, something had changed forever.
"That this isn't a dream," she said quietly.
The carriage rolled on, but for Eleanor, time felt like it was moving in two directions at once. She was here, in the past but her mind was still tangled in a future soaked in blood.
Every second felt like a test. Every breath felt like a fragile second chance.
"My Lady… did something happen before?" Mira asked carefully.
Eleanor closed her eyes for a moment and in that darkness, the shadows rushed back without mercy. The grand hall materialized in her mind, but not as it had been on celebration nights. It was filled with blood now, not light and laughter.
She saw Reginald's cold smile. She heard the sound of the sword that had ended everything. And for a brief, terrible moment, the pain felt completely real as though she were living it all over again.
"No," she said quickly, opening her eyes. "Nothing happened."
Her hands trembled slightly, subtle enough, but not subtle enough to escape Mira, who hovered uncertainly, visibly wanting to say something but holding back.
Deep down, Eleanor knew she couldn't tell any of this to anyone. Not now. Maybe not ever.
"How much longer until we arrive?" she asked, steering her mind elsewhere.
"About half an hour, my Lady," Mira replied.
Eleanor gave a slow nod. Half an hour was enough to settle herself, to gather the thoughts still churning beneath the surface.
Thirty minutes to form a plan, before she had to face someone she had watched die right in front of her.
"Father…" she breathed, barely a sound.
The carriage came to a stop before the military headquarters a large stone building standing solid and unyielding, with guards and soldiers moving in every direction. The sounds of footsteps, orders, and clinking metal filled the air.
This place. Where it all began.
Eleanor stepped down slowly, her breath catching as her feet touched the ground.
"Lady Eleanor?" One of the guards looked surprised to see her. "You've come without notice?"
Eleanor met his gaze steadily.
"Take me to Duke Marcus," she said, without hesitation.
The guard bowed immediately. "Of course, my Lady. Please follow me."
Mira trailed behind, her face still creased with worry, as they moved through the long corridors busy with military activity.
But for Eleanor, all that noise faded away. All that remained was her own heartbeat growing faster, growing louder.
"My Lady… you look nervous," Mira whispered.
Eleanor didn't turn around.
"I'm not nervous," she said quietly. "I'm just… getting ready."
Her steps slowed to a stop in front of a large door.
The guard knocked twice.
"Your Grace, Lady Eleanor is here to see you."
From inside, a voice she knew better than almost any other answered "Come in."
Eleanor went still. That voice. Only now did she realize how deeply she had missed it. Her hand trembled faintly as she pushed the door open.
And there he was. Duke Marcus Ainsworth, standing with his back to them in front of a map table. Alive. Whole. Unharmed.
"Father…" Eleanor whispered.
Marcus turned.
His expression shifted from focused to surprised. "Eleanor? What are you doing here?"
And in that moment, every wall she had built nearly crumbled.
But she held it together. She couldn't afford to be weak. Not anymore.
"I need to speak with you," she said, keeping her voice firm.
Marcus studied her face carefully. "Has something happened?" he asked.
Eleanor stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
The room felt smaller somehow heavier. As though the past and the future were colliding inside it.
"Father," she began slowly, "what would you do… if you knew that a single decision was going to destroy our entire family?"
Marcus's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Eleanor held his gaze without wavering.
This wasn't just a meeting. This was the beginning of everything changing.
"Answer me," she pressed, her voice soft but unyielding.
Marcus was quiet for a moment, then said, "I would make sure that decision never happened."
Eleanor gave a slow nod.
The same answer. Exactly what she had hoped to hear.
"Good," she said.
Mira, still standing near the door, looked increasingly bewildered.
"My Lady… you're speaking as though…."
Eleanor raised her hand slightly, cutting her off.
Her eyes went back to Marcus, sharper this time.
"Father… starting today, we need to be very careful around the royal family."
The room went quiet immediately.
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"That's a serious accusation, Eleanor."
"I know," she replied, without a moment's hesitation.
Marcus stepped closer, his expression shifting into something heavier.
"What makes you say that?"
Eleanor paused, aware of just how impossible it would be to explain something that hadn't even happened yet without sounding completely unhinged.
But one thing was clear. She couldn't waver.
"Call it… a feeling," she said at last.
Marcus looked at her for a long moment. "A feeling?" he repeated.
Eleanor nodded. "One that's going to save us," she added quietly.
Marcus drew a slow breath. He might not have fully believed her but he couldn't dismiss it either. Because the one speaking was his own daughter.
And there was something in Eleanor's eyes that was different. Something far too serious to be written off as imagination.
"Alright," he said finally. "I'll be more careful."
Eleanor exhaled softly. Just one small step but a real one.
And that was enough to begin.
"Thank you, Father," she said.
Marcus still watched her with a face full of unspoken questions.
But this time, he didn't push further.
"Now…" he said, "tell me everything."
Eleanor smiled faintly but behind that smile lived a shadow. A wound. And a fire that had no intention of going out.
"Alright," she said quietly.
"We start from the beginning."
Inside, she repeated the vow once more. No betrayal. No death. No ending like before.
Because this time, Eleanor Ainsworth was going to rewrite her own fate.
"First… we need to restrict access to military information," Eleanor said, her voice low but firm.
She moved closer to the map table, her eyes sweeping across every line and marking with a focus that hadn't been there before. All of this had once been part of the plan that destroyed them and now she was looking at it as a blueprint for protection.
"Not everyone can be trusted," she continued. "Even those who appear loyal."
Marcus watched his daughter in silence, the realization settling over him that this was no ordinary feeling she was describing. "You speak like someone who has already seen how it ends," he said quietly.
Eleanor smiled faintly, but her eyes were cold. "Maybe… because I have."