Storm Clouds.

Maple paced the large corridor nervously, roughly chewing on her bottom lip. The tapping of her feet against the cold tiled floor seemed to resound continuously in the brightly lit passage, as she walked from one end of it to the other. All the while her deep brown eyes flicked from the large oaken double doors to the apathetic faces of the guards that stood before them.

Maple didn't appreciate their bored expressions in the face of the duchess's failing health, and so far none of the men had even flinched by accident.

It a weighty understatement to say that she disliked the madame's guards and the majority of her attendants in whole, however although Maple had thought of them being replaced several times, she could not act beyond her station of a waiting lady.

The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, and just like before, the suffocating tension had her practically spinning on the balls of her feet, then back again.

All the while, the fair Lady Regina stood quietly outside the madame's chambers, her dull grey eyes followed the nervous movements of the much younger lady in waiting, absorbed, but not at all amused.

Because much unlike her pacing friend, she was not nearly as disheveled or worried, Regina's hope was completely fixed on the skills of the renowned physician.

The lady Maple Castor on the other hand, couldn't help being restless.

Maple's thin veined fingers which had been locked together in a tight clasp, had probably grown numb since earlier, thought Regina who wondered where her friends surplus energy for panicking came from.

Yes! She was also awfully surprised when the madame's health suddenly deteriorated, but after the arrival of Lord Griff, Regina calmed considerably and immediately began tending to the affairs within her command.

'Worrying won't help the duchess,' Regina thought, 'But it would put her heart at ease to know everything she instructed has been attended to.'

Whereas lady Maple could only worry and think.

'How is the madame doing?'

'Has she woken? Was lord Griff able to calm her seizures?'

'Could he even help at all!!!'

Several frightening scenes ran through her mind, and despite her usual optimistic nature, to her the duchess's health was slowly crossing a threshold that even hope could not affect.

"Lady Maple! Lady Regina! How is the madame?"

Lord Byron's heavy voice caught the the distracted Maple unaware, digging her nails into the skin of her hand, she held in a startled flinch before turning to respond.

"Lord Byron, am afraid I cannot answer that right now," she said with a curt bow and a smile, one that didn't reach her terribly weary eyes.

"The royal physician has been tending to her since dusk, the madame will be fine." Regina's confident words were a great comfort to the lord and two knights who accompanied him.

"Welcome back Lord Byron, you must have only just arrived," she added, politely greeting the much older lord, and the commanding knights by his side.

"Ahh thank you lady Regina," he said.

"I was told the physician came shortly after the madame fainted," it was more of a statement rather than a question, but Regina still answered politely.

"Yes indeed, we were quite relieved upon his timely arrival." She said, her face calm as ever, only the heaviness under her usual bright eyes betrayed her daint expression.

"That was fortunate." Byron sighed, relieved.

"Indeed."

Byron already knew most of the details of what had happened in the mansion, the duchess had been at the private garden at noon when she suddenly collapsed.

Although he had only just returned from an important mission, as soon as he was informed of her failing health, Byron rushed to the main manor to personally check on his mistress, despite all of his other duties that almost had him suffocated.

However, someone thought he cared too little.

"There's nothing fortunate about it,"

Maple almost screamed the words.

Both lady and lord looked at each other, then turned to her surprised.

Extremely upset, she absolutely hated how even Regina Celryn the madame's first lady in waiting, and Lord Bryon third commander of the Vassil Knights calmly conversed about the duchess's health.

It was infuriating.

She was about to voice her displeasure when one of the double doors was quietly pushed open, two servants stepped out of the room and behind them was the lord.

"Lord Griff how is she!" Maple asked the old physician who suddenly had his much bigger hands squeezed in hers. The old lord was clearly startled, but he had expected such a reaction from the duchess's surbodinates.

The physician bowed his head slightly at her question, then let out a deep sigh.

"The worst is over," he said, everyone was visible relieved at his words, even the stone faced guards.

"The madame still needs your utmost attention tonight, so be sure to watch over her and let me know as soon as her condition changes." He said.

"We will my lord, many thanks." Regina's smile was even wider than Maple's.

"Can we see her now please," Maple asked earnestly, still holding unto the physicians hand.

"Of course, but make sure not to disturb her," lord Griff spoke as he gently released his hand from the ladie's grip.

"I have given medicine to the madame to lessen the pain, as well as a bit of sleeping draught to keep her asleep through the night,"

Both the ladies in waiting and three servants behind them, paid rapt attention to the physician as he spoke.

"She may speak of things in her sleep, but not to worry it is only the aftereffects of her medicines, the most important thing is that you let her rest and alert me immediately her condition changes...that is all." He concluded the words then stepped aside to allow the ladies access to their mistress's chambers.

"Thank you lord Griff," Regina said bowing her head slightly in greeting, followed by Maple and the serving ladies.

"Many thanks lord physician," lord Byron also gave his greeting and the old man nodded to him in response.

As Maple and the serving ladies entered the madame's chambers, Regina instructed a servant to guide the lord physician to the room where he would stay, then she remained behind to have an important conversation with knight commander.

Meanwhile, underneath the thick cotton blanket of an overly large and lavish bed, laid a beautiful pale woman, the object of everyone's worry.

Evangeline tried to wrap her arms around herself but failed again, her skin prickled with goose pimples from an unforgiving cold that only she could feel, and her body remained numb in pain and fatigue. The teeth in her mouth chattered together uncontrollably, and she couldn't stop herself from shaking, despite the second layer of cotton blankets that was strewn over her already covered body.

She was shivering from an intense chill, and at the same time her body burned intensely, her temperature running awfully high that even the cold water that was used to massage her face and neck had to be changed at intervals because it grew hot.

However in her delusional state, the madame continued to mutter words to herself just as the physician had said. She spoke strange things, screamed erratically and whispered names in her sleep, repeating it to a point the servants and waiting ladies grew frightened.

"My name is Evelyn...no please," she muttered in her sleep.

"My...my name is E-Evelyn Douglas..."