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Chapter 1

Once Upon a Time

The servants of Chanceux Chateau would have screaht in the little hall shattered and a young wolass She dropped like a twisting cat and landed with an orooms reached her first She was passably pretty but plain, wearing the ed and her face was tight with pain “NO!” she screaroorooht for sure she was unconscious, but the young lady opened and rolled her eyes She didn’t cry, but she clenched her cloak close to her body with shaking hands

The groom inched back to her side and extended a cautious hand to her skirt, intending to re into the cloth

“Don’t,” the young lady whispered “My leg—,” she broke off, hissing in pain

The groo a charoolass away froed to his feet and hurried to stand in front of the chateau’s lord, gesturing at the broken skylight—where night lurked like a pool of black ink—and then to the fallen girl

The groom stood as well and bowed to the lord, but he sank back into a crouch when the lord disirl’s body, brushing glass away as her breathing caasps

“Duval has been called for? Good, he may see to her and send her on her way,” the lord said, his voice the lowest of baritones

The footht and a hall door before lifting his hands in a plea

“I do not care if it is late She shouldn’t have been skulking around the castle,” the lord said

The groom stood and waited until he had his lord’s attention before he gestured at the intruder’s leg

“Fine Put her in a bedrooroolass away fro when he tried to extract a large shard of red glass froirl screamed It was an utterance of mindless pain that seeroaned, clenching her eyes shut and finally throwing her arms wide