[Ch.1] The Duchess & The Damned |[Wattpad Edition]

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This story was originally posted on my Wattpad account back in 2016 [Crazy that I can say this story is over a decade old 🤯. I wrote it in 2015!]

It's currently being rewritten with more political scandals, more forbidden lovers, and more ... fantasy elements?

Recently, I was contacted on my site by a long-time reader who was looking for the original story, hoping to reread it on Wattpad.

(You're the best, Nahanna!)

Unfortunately, I'd left that updated story unfinished (I was going to change it to something else a few years ago before I got this idea 😅), so the original story became unreadable.

I couldn't help but wonder if there were other readers like them, who were wanting to revisit my old story even after it had been so long since I'd decided to archive it.

And as I need to reread this a few times as I work on this new version, I thought it might be fun to post the story again here.

Not only can I give this beloved story a new home for readers, but I can reflect on it with you guys as I write the new story, bringing all the elements you love into the new world.

It'll be kind of cool to be able to flip back and see where certain ideas connect and how others evolve - and then there's seeing my writing (hopefully) growing all together.

It'll be a good time. 😊

Anyway, to my long-time readers of The Duchess & The Damned, thank you for continuing to seek out my work. It means everything to me. I hope you love rereading this as much as I do (and don't cringe nearly as often 😅).

To any new readers - welcome to my imagination!

Proceed with caution, but also curiosity. 💖

"Get up!" bellowed the instructor, demanding Charles to stand from his bruised and battered position on the ground.

Groaning as he panted, Charles struggled to obey, having been beaten by the three men under the command of the instructor. A brutal, but required training. If he was going to succeed in entering the Heart Estate, he must get up. No matter how many times he was to be knocked back down. Should this be the future, it could be the Duchess' life on the line. Even still, his body screamed in protest to him getting to his knees, at least one of which had been severely wounded.

"Would you have her die? Would you be able to bear the grief, knowing you allowed her to? I said get up!" he hollered.

Charles' eyes narrowed. Not while he still drew breath. The Duchess would never know pain. And if she did, the one who introduced it to her would never draw another. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the crack of his bones to stand tall, lips in a hard line as he prepared himself to continue the training.

"Charles!" squealed the bubbly young Duchess.

Pulled back into the present, Charles blinked his memories away, realizing that he had stopped brushing the young miss' hair, brush idle half way through her chestnut strands, which curled ever so slightly against the cushion of her seat before the vanity. Immediately drawing the brush back and out of her hair, Charles shook his head as the Duchess turned to look over her shoulder.

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?" he asked, brows pinched as his hand delicately grazed the smoothed strands.

"That's the second time you've gone off in your own thoughts," she scolded with a pout. "Do you mean to have me arrive late to my meeting with Father?"

"Of course not," he sulked, his hand raising to return the brush to her hair. "Forgive me, Emilia."

"What were you thinking about, anyway? You do that, sometimes," Emilia wondered aloud as she returned her gaze to the large vanity mirror.

Charles chuckled, a smile tugging at his lips. Even through the most painful parts of that memory, it was still arguably one of his best. The day he had been accepted into the Heart Estate.

"I was thinking of the first day of this job."

"You mean as my caretaker?"

"Caretaker. Butler. Guard," Charles corrected, extending the list.

He had more than proven himself to the Grand-Duke that he was ready and able to take on the full-time job of all positions, and his instructors had seen enough to vouch for his capabilities, thus securing the rest of his life alongside the woman who had won his heart.

Duchess Emilia Heart was everything Charles had ever wanted. He had cared for and looked after her for nearly ten years, and had admired her for longer. He had devoted his life to becoming a worthy candidate for the closest he could get to a companion – her butler. Specifically assigned to the young Duchess upon passing examination, it was more than a commoner who longed after royalty could ask for. And be granted, no less.

Emilia continued, finding amusement in adding onto the list. "Storyteller, monster hunter."

Charles laughed, finishing the daily task of brushing the Duchess' hair, which he had groomed into the spectacle it was since she was young. Setting the brush down against the vanity, he nodded as Emilia turned around, smiling the smile he had been lucky enough to gaze upon each day, and would do anything to keep intact.

"And by monster, you mean the mouse that found its way into your bathroom," Charles snickered, standing up and stretching. Brushing Emilia's hair took anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, depending on a number of factors. How chatty Emilia was, how tired Charles was, and how much time he had to spend with her before her curfew.

"I meant what I said," Emilia argued, raising her chin in defiance.

"Yes, well. Like you said, we shouldn't keep your parents waiting."

---

Sitting in the decorative chair in front of her father's office desk, Emilia greeted him with her usual curtsey, her mother giving her a nod of acknowledgment as Charles closed the door behind them. Standing by the door with his hands folded at his waist, he watched as the glowing Grand Duke gazed upon his only child.

He was just as curious as Emilia, if not more, to find out what this meeting had been about. Unlike previous praise or scolding towards the Duchess, there were now hints given as to what the topic of discussion would be. But seeing both noble figures in such pleasant moods triggered similar ones in them.

As the Grand-Duke cleared his throat, both Charles and Emilia straightened their posture, their bodies tensed in impatient anticipation.

"Emilia," her father began. "We've called you to discuss a matter of great importance."

Charles rose a brow, his initial curiosity immediately turning a shade of worry. He had always kept a list of possibilities in the back of his mind of the things that could ruin his chances with the Duchess. And upon the lack of immediate presenting of a praise, he began shifting through them, while Emilia looked on with her big blue eyes. Boarding school? Emilia was of age and had often spoken about furthering her education. Upon promising to look into it, perhaps they had finally found a suitable institution. One Charles could only hope he would be allowed to accompany her to.

"You've grown into a fine young woman," her mother continued with a proud smile on her painted red lips. "And we are not the only ones to have taken notice."

Charles' heart came to a screeching halt. Leaping bounds over the initial speculation of boarding school, his mind immediately sunk to the depths of his worst, long-awaited fear.

The gleaming smile on her mother's face made Emilia's eyes widen. Her instincts immediately recognized the look on her mother's giddy face, as well as the broad smile of her father. Eyes already beginning to well, she questioned the purposeful pause.

"Father?"

"Prince Benjamin has proposed an engagement."

Both Charles and Emilia's jaws dropped at the reveal. And both pairs of eyes stung with the approach of tears. One of joy, and the other of despair.

Standing from the chair, her hands came to cover her quivering lips. "What?" she exhaled, chest heaving in her excitement.

"You are to travel to his home the day after tomorrow to meet him. He will decide then whether he would like to follow through with the engagement."

Immediately, Emilia broke into tears. Marriage had been all she had ever wanted since she could remember. To have a family and children of her own. She had worked her entire life to become a suitable wife, and finally hearing the proposal of marriage – to a Prince, no less – was more than enough to propel the tears forward.

Charles knew more than anyone of Emilia's humble dream. Her wish to start and have her own family. And though Charles had been comfortable in his current position, he had foolishly let himself fantasize about being able to make that dream come true. He had always thought to himself that when she matured, he would advance in trying to court her.

Had he really been too late? Had he been too humble in his own methods? Had he been that naïve?

"You are to be groomed and at your very best for your travels. Am I clear, young lady?" her father playfully demanded.

Squealing, Emilia rushed forward in her gown, not bothering to lift its front as she dashed, nearly tripping in the process. He stood to meet her, grunting a chuckle as she threw her arms around his portly body, long hair swaying at her back as she kissed at his cheek.

"Yes, Father, I swear it!" she shrilled before spinning around and fumbling towards her giggling mother. "May I have a new dress? Oh, please! Mother, I must."

"Of course," the Grand-Duchess giggled. "You'll have to go into town first thing tomorrow. Charles will be sure to take you." She turned her attention to the internally imploding butler. "Won't you, Charles?"

But Charles wasn't present. His gaze, pale and glazed, stared forward, his mind still racing. Until his silence towards the Grand-Duchess drew the Grand-Duke's attention. Promptly clearing his throat towards the butler, Charles snapped back to reality, head jerking towards the women in atonement. Bowing, he rushed to respond.

"Y-Yes, Miss!" he stumbled before straightening his posture, eyes averted and low. "Of course ..."

Thank You For Reading! 💖

Commentary 📝 - The Duchess & The Damned | Chapter 1 - The Wife To-Be

"Get up!" bellowed the instructor, demanding Charles to stand from his bruised and battered position on the ground.

I can't help but cackle a little at the fact that the rewrite of this story also starts with Charles in pain -- and over the concept of loss, too. Sheesh.

Sorry, Charles ... 😅

"Caretaker. Butler. Guard," Charles corrected, extending the list.

Screaming. I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew he needed to be able to be around Emilia a whole lot. So like, just - that's how that works, right? Guess what Charles is in the rewrite? Ehehehehe.

Charles knew more than anyone of Emilia's humble dream. Her wish to start and have her own family. And though Charles had been comfortable in his current position, he had foolishly let himself fantasize about being able to make that dream come true.

Oh, my sweet boy. I love him just as much now as I did then. I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do to you --- again. Side note -- Charles is a Vengeance Paladin in the rewrite. What do you think Emilia is?

Tell Me Your Favorite Parts? 👀

As we take this trip down memory lane (or if you're reading for the first time 👋🏽), I'd love to know what your favorite parts are along the way. You can comment on those chapters, or you could head over to the site's forum & groups to chat there. I'll be lurking in them as well! 😊