Vows Between Shadows and Moonlight Full Episode (ENGSUB) is a captivating fantasy romance set in a kingdom filled with secrets, power struggles, and forbidden love. As rival queens battle for influence and destiny unfolds beneath the moonlight, hidden betrayals, magical mysteries, and powerful emotions threaten to change the kingdom forever. Enjoy this enchanting short drama packed with romance, royal intrigue, fantasy adventure, and unforgettable twists.
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#VowsBetweenShadowsAndMoonlight #FantasyRomance #RoyalDrama #ShortDrama #RomanticDrama #DramaSeries #FullEpisode #ShortFilm #ShortMovie #ForbiddenLove #FantasyKingdom #QueenDrama #MagicRomance #ENGSUB #Drama
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My sister Isabella and I were promised to two very different men on the same day.
00:04She chose Derek, a werewolf leader.
00:07So I was given to the fallen vampire, Lucian Ashwheel.
00:10No one could have predicted what came next.
00:12On the very day Isabella was wed and brought to Blackthorn Estate,
00:16Derek received urgent orders and rode out to war, and never came back.
00:20Meanwhile, Lucian passed every trial the Supernatural Academy set before him.
00:24His future is very bright.
00:26Isabella spent two years inside Blackthorn Estate,
00:29raging and weeping, clawing to be let go.
00:31Our father gave her a sharp slap across the face.
00:34You'll never leave.
00:37Isabella went mad.
00:39When I came to comfort her, something unexpected happened.
00:41A magical energy turned our destiny around.
00:44When I opened my eyes again,
00:45we were both standing in the parlor on the night of our betrothal ceremony,
00:49the night it had all begun.
00:50This time, Isabella spoke first.
00:53I want to marry a vampire.
00:54I smiled, a life of comfort and ease with no household to manage,
00:59and Isabella didn't want it.
01:01The moment Isabella snatched the vampire's token from the tray,
01:04I knew she had been reborn too.
01:06In my past life, she grabbed the Blackthorn obsidian pendant
01:10and threw a small bottle of crystallized roses directly at my feet.
01:14Clara, this fallen vampire suits you far better.
01:18Ashwell Manon is poor and cold.
01:19I've always looked out for you, so I'm giving you the better match.
01:22Blackthorn Estate is yours.
01:25Isabella!
01:25My stepmother's goblet shattered on the stone floor.
01:29My sister leaned close and whispered in her ear.
01:32My stepmother's expression shifted from alarm to something calculating.
01:36Are you certain?
01:37If something goes wrong, that's what I have you for, Mother.
01:41A long silence.
01:42All right, I'll allow it.
01:45And so our fates were sealed again.
01:47My stepmother cited Blackthorn's wealth against Asheville's poverty
01:50and quietly redirected my portion to Isabella's.
01:53I didn't mind, the only question was whether all that gold would fill the void waiting for her.
01:59In our previous life, she swept into Blackthorn Estate at the head of ten carriages.
02:04I arrived at Asheville Manor in a single plane coach
02:07and became the wife of Lucian Asheville, a fallen vampire.
02:12But the night Isabella arrived, Derek rode north,
02:15and not one Blackthorn man came back.
02:18Three months a wife, and she was a widow.
02:20She raged.
02:21My stepmother promised her she would take her away in three years.
02:25We both knew it was a lie.
02:26Isabella suffered for two years and tried to end her life more than once.
02:30The last time, Lady Evelyn summoned our father.
02:33Take her home.
02:35She is young.
02:36Our father knelt down on one knee, said...
02:38No.
02:39...and slapped Isabella.
02:40You'll never leave.
02:42When she learned Lucian had risen to a prestigious post,
02:45she demanded to see me.
02:46Lady Evelyn caught my hand first.
02:48Talk sense into her.
02:49I'd free her myself.
02:50But your father is too cautious.
02:53Walking the corridor, I thought,
02:55if Asheville Manor had anyone half as kind,
02:57I'd count myself blessed.
02:59The courtyard was dark.
03:00Clara found Isabella sitting in the grass,
03:02knees drawn up, facing nothing.
03:06She had been there a long time,
03:08judging by the dew that had soaked through her skirts.
03:11She looked up when she heard Clara's footsteps,
03:13her face looking tired.
03:15It isn't fair.
03:16Her voice was very quiet.
03:18She pressed her fingers into the cold grass.
03:21I chose correctly.
03:22I chose power.
03:24And what did I get?
03:25A husband who died before I learned the sound of his laugh.
03:28A house full of people who look at me like I'm already a ghost.
03:32I wasted two years.
03:35Isabella, don't tell me it will be all right.
03:38Her voice cracked on the last word.
03:40Clara's hand had just touched Isabella's shoulder.
03:43Suddenly, lightning flashed across the sky.
03:45Without any warning,
03:47there was no distant rumble of thunder.
03:49Only a fierce bolt of lightning struck Clara directly.
03:52Along with Isabella, the current leaped between them,
03:54as if a matter of fate.
03:58The 3rd of September, both sisters were wed.
04:00The date had been chosen for Isabella alone.
04:03But she pestered my stepmother for weeks,
04:05to let us get married on the same day.
04:07Because that was the day Derek was to be ordered to go to war.
04:11I just stepped into the new room.
04:13Hoofbeats thundered through the gate.
04:15A pair of dark riding boots stopped before me.
04:18Clara.
04:20Orders from the High Council.
04:21I ride within the hour.
04:23Forgive me for this.
04:24Derek Blackthorn.
04:25He had such a face.
04:28My lord.
04:29I had a dream.
04:30You rode into an ambush.
04:32Wounded.
04:32The roads snowed shut.
04:34The supply lines cut.
04:35Please take this.
04:37Be cautious.
04:39I will be here waiting.
04:40The amulet trembled along with my hand.
04:43I was no great lady,
04:44but I knew right from wrong.
04:45I could not bear to see Lady Evelyn lose everything,
04:48or tens of thousands of soldiers die for nothing.
04:51After a long silence,
04:52a broad hand lifted the charm from my palm.
04:58Derek rode to war,
04:59and I did not stand idle.
05:01My mother's family,
05:02the Vos Merchant Clan,
05:04had trading operations across the kingdom.
05:06I presented my mother's token at the nearest Vos office,
05:09and left word that I needed a trusted contact.
05:12Instead, the very next morning a young woman arrived.
05:15Sophia Vos, eldest of the main branch.
05:17The Vos capital operations are mine to run.
05:20Name what you need.
05:22In my previous life,
05:24I had met Sophia only once.
05:25Three years into my marriage,
05:27when a maid tried to pawn one of my brooches.
05:30Sophia recognized it,
05:31came to Ashevale Manor herself,
05:33and quietly pressed banknotes into my hands.
05:36But the Lady of Ashevale Manor swept in
05:38and declared no self-respecting household dealt with merchants.
05:41Sophia left,
05:42but tucked the money under the tea tray before she walked out.
05:46I tore it to shreds in front of the lady.
05:48We cannot accept money from a merchant house.
05:51She threw a goblet at my head
05:52and made me tend her through the night.
05:54No matter how badly things got,
05:56I never went back to Sophia.
05:58But Lady Evelyn was nothing like that.
06:00When I mentioned my mother came from the Vos family,
06:03she smiled warmly.
06:05I didn't hesitate.
06:06I gave Sophia a full,
06:08earnest bow.
06:09Please help me.
06:12Sophia and I spoke privately for half an hour.
06:15When she rose to leave,
06:16she paused at the door.
06:19Clara, are you certain this is everything you own?
06:21I nodded.
06:22From the moment I had spoken to Derek on our wedding night,
06:25I had known I was wagering everything.
06:28The old Lord Blackthorn once saved my grandfather's life.
06:30I will not fail you.
06:32I stepped into a waiting carriage
06:33for the customary formal call on my family,
06:36a courtesy among noble houses after a wedding.
06:39Lady Evelyn had prepared gifts that filled two carriages.
06:42Oh, sister.
06:44Look at you.
06:44This is quite an hour to finally appear.
06:47The estate keeps one occupied.
06:49You mustn't take the front too hard.
06:51Once things settle,
06:52Lucien will find something for you.
06:55On a battlefield,
06:56blades find no favorites.
06:58What if Derek were to,
06:59oh, forgive me?
07:04Since you know you misspoke,
07:06shouldn't you stand and make it right?
07:07How dare you just because you married into Blackthorn?
07:10Her face went cold.
07:12And yet here you are speaking ill of Blackthorn in their own shadow.
07:16Is that the Asheville standard?
07:19We stopped arguing until our father arrived with Lucien.
07:22One glance told me Lucien had already won him over completely.
07:25He has promised he will never take another.
07:27Isabella moved closer to me.
07:30I nodded.
07:31Lucien had said the same to me in our previous life.
07:33He kept that promise.
07:35Technically,
07:36right until the moment I died.
07:37After lunch,
07:38I made an excuse to leave.
07:40Just as I stepped out the gate,
07:41a simple black carriage was parked by the roadside.
07:44A gust of wind lifted the curtain,
07:46and I saw a beautiful girl who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
07:50How interesting.
07:51I stepped into the Blackthorn carriage.
07:54Over the next two months,
07:56I asked Lady Evelyn to teach me how to manage an estate.
07:58She had me and Derek's sister Cecily learn about accounting,
08:01staff,
08:02the politics of supernatural nobles,
08:04and how to calmly manage a room full of werewolves.
08:08Cecily found most of it miserable.
08:10I absorbed everything.
08:11Before long,
08:12we were genuine friends.
08:14She offered to teach me to ride.
08:16I turned out to have a gift for it.
08:18Three days in,
08:19cantering unaided,
08:20Derek's notorious horse standing docile beneath my hands.
08:24Cecily laughed.
08:25You and my brother are made for each other.
08:27Even his horse agrees.
08:29Have you seen his letter?
08:30She marched me back to the manor,
08:32a sealed envelope on the writing desk.
08:34To my wife,
08:35Clara,
08:36for her eyes alone.
08:38One line inside.
08:40I dreamed of you.
08:41I hope the dream's true.
08:43He was alive.
08:46When news reached the capital that the Blackthorn forces were surrounded,
08:50Isabella arrived the very next morning under the guise of sisterly concern.
08:53She was told I was unwell and unable to receive guests.
08:58She performed her sympathy beautifully for Lady Evelyn's benefit,
09:01then left half disappointed,
09:03half pleased.
09:05Cecily sent me a note by pigeon that evening.
09:07I cannot believe you share blood with that woman.
09:09I've never seen such a despicable person.
09:11I had no paper to reply with.
09:13I folded the note and tied it back to the pigeon's leg.
09:17That was the signal we'd agreed on.
09:19It meant,
09:20I am safe.
09:21Don't worry.
09:22By then,
09:23I was less than a hundred miles from the northern front.
09:25The day Derek's letter arrived,
09:27I went straight to Lady Evelyn.
09:28I knelt before her,
09:30laid out the whole story.
09:31Every word I had given Derek on our wedding night,
09:34then placed his letter on the table between us.
09:37Lady Evelyn was quiet for a long time.
09:41But if something happens to you,
09:43how do I face Derek?
09:43How do I face your father?
09:45Grandmother,
09:45I go to stand beside him,
09:47not behind him.
09:48As for my father,
09:49he has never especially valued me.
09:51I have no illusions.
09:52I am no great lady.
09:54But since I came to this house,
09:56you treated me well,
09:57Cecily treated me well.
09:58Derek's sister-in-law taught me things worth knowing,
10:00and the little boy still learning to walk
10:02saved me the last piece of his honey cake
10:04because he said I looked tired.
10:06Lady Evelyn pressed a hand over her mouth and wept.
10:09Then slowly,
10:10Lady Evelyn rose from her chair
10:12and to my astonishment dipped into a formal bow.
10:15Lady Evelyn.
10:16Clara, when you return safely,
10:17I will go to the crown myself
10:18and petition for a title in your name,
10:20not tied to Derek's yours alone,
10:21whatever path your life takes.
10:23And if Derek ever fails to deserve you,
10:25I give you my full blessing to walk away.
10:27A title of her own,
10:28not borrowed,
10:29not conditional.
10:29Go.
10:30Come back to us.
10:31She personally chose her finest household guards
10:34to accompany me north
10:35and arranged for the group to travel
10:37embedded within a Vos merchant convoy.
10:39What I had not anticipated
10:41was finding Sophia herself leading it.
10:43Did you think you could mobilize
10:44the entire Vos network without me noticing?
10:47And besides,
10:48when we win this,
10:49I want to be named crown merchant supplier.
10:51You'll speak for me.
10:52I laughed genuinely.
10:54From surprise,
10:55I said,
10:56done.
10:58We rode north through fog and frost,
11:00the land bleaching to gray and white
11:02and the pale silver of bare trees,
11:04even wrapped in the finest fur cloak
11:07and warmest boots I owned.
11:08I shivered in the cutting wind.
11:10The exposed skin of my face cracked raw.
11:13My fingers swelled red and stiff with frost.
11:16My arms and legs ached in waves.
11:18I pressed low against the horse's neck
11:20and told myself again and again,
11:23Clara,
11:23this is the last stretch.
11:25After this,
11:26no one controls your life but you.
11:28Because of your birth,
11:29because of your blood,
11:30they look down on you.
11:32They put chains on you,
11:33layer by layer.
11:34Break everyone.
11:38Derek's horse suddenly screamed
11:40and lurched to a halt.
11:41I hauled back on the reins
11:43and from behind the snowdrifts ahead,
11:45dozens of dark shapes poured out.
11:48Arrows split the air
11:49and thudded into the sleds and cartboards.
11:52Raiders!
11:52Protect my lady!
11:55The guards threw steel and charged.
11:58But the attackers outnumbered us three to one
12:00and hit hard and fast.
12:02Within moments,
12:03two guards had taken arrows and gone down.
12:05A sled driver was cut from his seat.
12:08Blood spread bright against the white snow.
12:10The last guard at my side
12:11raised his blade to meet them.
12:13A raider caught him across the chest
12:15with a backhand stroke.
12:16The guard fell.
12:17The raider came straight for me,
12:19blade raised,
12:20face-to-face savage.
12:21I pulled my belt knife.
12:23My hand was shaking.
12:24I could not stop this blow.
12:26The steel came down.
12:27I shut my eyes.
12:29A dull thud.
12:30When I opened them,
12:32the raider was pitching sideways from his horse.
12:34A white feathered arrow buried in his throat.
12:37I followed the arrow's path with my eyes.
12:40Through the driving snow,
12:41a column of armored cavalry
12:43came crashing through the drifts.
12:45Hoofbeats rolling across the ground
12:47like muffled thunder.
12:48The rider at their head wore black armor
12:50and carried a longbow,
12:51red banners snapping behind him by the dozen.
12:54Derek!
12:57Derek vaulted from his horse.
12:59A sound like snapping timber
13:00tore through the air as the change took him.
13:03His frame erupting,
13:04armor splitting at the seams.
13:06A massive dark wolf rising from the wreckage of the man.
13:09The raider stumbled backward,
13:11horses screaming and bolting.
13:13The wolf moved before they could run.
13:15A streak of black through white snow,
13:17each strike a collision of pure force growls.
13:21Screams,
13:21the crack of something breaking.
13:23Then silence absolute,
13:25and sudden,
13:25the snow around him churned dark and still.
13:28He shifted back.
13:29Derek again, breathing hard,
13:31standing at the center of it.
13:32His eyes found mine across the snow.
13:35There were flecks of blood on his face.
13:37His eyes moved over me from head to foot.
13:39Are you hurt?
13:40I shook my head.
13:42No.
13:42My voice came out tight,
13:43for he said nothing more.
13:45He simply lifted me.
13:47Leave the supplies to my men.
13:49You're coming back to the garrison with me.
13:54Derek gently carried Clara into the room,
13:56the firelight from the fireplace
13:58immediately illuminating their faces.
14:00He settled her on the armchair by the fire
14:03and pulled a blanket over her trembling shoulders.
14:06Looking at her cheeks flushed red in the firelight,
14:09he swallowed hard,
14:10his voice a few decibels lower than usual.
14:12Wait a moment.
14:13I'll go get the medicine.
14:14Clara looked up, meeting his gaze.
14:16I'll be right back.
14:17He finished speaking, turned and strode towards the door,
14:20as if afraid that if he lingered any longer,
14:22he wouldn't be able to leave.
14:24I watched his departing figure.
14:26In my previous life,
14:27this was the day Derek had died.
14:29He had been 16 the first time he rode to war,
14:32led 800 men into enemy territory
14:35and returned victorious.
14:36At 17, he drove a hostile force,
14:40300 miles back from the border.
14:42At 19, he married Road North
14:45and was killed on this exact date.
14:47Because of glory,
14:49hungry commanding officers sent him and his kinsmen
14:51into a trap without sufficient support.
14:53His kinsmen was captured.
14:55Derek went back for him,
14:57badly wounded in near whiteout conditions,
14:59and got him out.
15:01He died of his wounds three days later,
15:03a rising star extinguished
15:05before it had properly burned.
15:07In this life,
15:08that story would never be told.
15:10I settled into the chair by the fire
15:12and was asleep before I could think another thought.
15:17Derek came back to find me asleep in the chair.
15:19He stood in the doorway.
15:21He removed his armor piece by piece in silence,
15:23then crossed quietly to the fire
15:25and added another log.
15:26When he turned around,
15:28I was watching him.
15:29You're awake.
15:30The plies are secured.
15:31Men are handling the incoming runs.
15:33He sat on the edge of the cot
15:34and looked at me across the fire.
15:38We're not safe yet.
15:40Not enough to last through a real engagement,
15:42but enough to hold
15:43until the capital sends reinforcements.
15:45Good.
15:45I said, and exhaled.
15:47You knew the exact date.
15:48He said quiet.
15:49When you warned me, you knew the week.
15:51And you knew details about our position
15:52that shouldn't have reached you at all.
15:54I believed you because what you described
15:55was already beginning to move.
15:57But I've been thinking about it since.
15:59The fire crackled between us.
16:02I can't offer an explanation
16:03that would satisfy anyone reasonable.
16:05Try.
16:06I looked at him properly.
16:08The way I hadn't allowed myself
16:10on our wedding day
16:10when everything had been moving too fast.
16:13He was younger than I kept forgetting.
16:15The authority he carried
16:16sat so naturally on him
16:17that it was easy to mistake him
16:18for something fully formed.
16:20But there was still something
16:21unresolved in his face.
16:23The look of a person who had learned fast
16:25and was still deciding
16:26what to do with all of it.
16:28Say I had seen how things would go.
16:30All of it.
16:31And I didn't like the ending.
16:33I said carefully.
16:34For us?
16:34Or for the garrison?
16:36Both.
16:38Derek was quiet for a moment.
16:40He crossed to me without speaking,
16:42knelt beside the chair,
16:43took my injured hands in his
16:44with a careful precision
16:45that had nothing to do
16:46with the soldier he was,
16:48and worked a tin of salve
16:49into the cuts.
16:50He said quietly,
16:51You'll go back to the estate
16:52when the supply runs are finished.
16:54This isn't a safe place for you.
16:56I know.
16:57I was already planning to leave.
16:58He glanced up,
17:00faintly surprised
17:00as if he had been bracing
17:01for an argument.
17:04I'm not useful in a garrison.
17:05I'd only be a distraction.
17:07I can do more good from the estate.
17:08All right.
17:10He rose,
17:10and carefully settled me
17:12under the blankets on the cot.
17:13Enemy forces sometimes
17:15probe the walls at night.
17:16But don't be afraid.
17:17I'll be here.
17:18He held my hand
17:20and patted my back gently,
17:21steadily,
17:22like one soothes a child
17:24through a nightmare.
17:25Sleep.
17:26I'll keep watch.
17:29Exhausted from days
17:30of hard riding,
17:30I was already drifting.
17:32Just before sleep
17:33took me entirely,
17:34I thought I heard him
17:35say something soft,
17:36almost to himself.
17:37She's thinner.
17:40We did not stay long
17:41at the garrison.
17:42After a few days of rest,
17:44when the snow eased,
17:45we turned south.
17:46Derek walked us out
17:47through the gates himself.
17:48When the walls had shrunk
17:49to a distant smudge,
17:51Sophia pulled her horse
17:52alongside mine
17:53and looked back once.
17:54He watched until
17:54we couldn't be seen anymore,
17:56Sophia said.
17:57I kept my eyes forward.
17:59My grandfather always said
18:00you learn a person's
18:01true nature
18:02in three moments.
18:03When they've just won,
18:04when they've just lost,
18:06and when they think
18:07nobody's watching,
18:08she straightened.
18:10I know which side
18:11we're on when this is over.
18:12The return south
18:12was easier
18:13than the journey north.
18:15By the time
18:16Blackthorn Estate
18:16appeared on the horizon,
18:18the worst of the winter
18:19had spent itself.
18:20I had barely stepped inside
18:21before a maid intercepted me.
18:23My lady,
18:24Miss Isabella
18:25has called on us
18:25three times this week.
18:27I changed my clothes
18:28and went to the front parlor.
18:30Isabella was waiting,
18:31impeccably turned out,
18:32as always,
18:33but the edges were framed,
18:35a tightness around
18:35the eyes of someone
18:36holding herself together
18:37by will alone.
18:38She looked me over
18:39and something crossed her face
18:40before she smoothed it away.
18:42You look dreadful,
18:44Isabella said.
18:44The northern roads,
18:45I assume.
18:47They are what they are.
18:48How are you, Isabella?
18:50Wonderfully,
18:50she said,
18:51deploying her ease like armor.
18:55I heard about the situation
18:56at the front.
18:57You needn't perform grief
18:58for my benefit.
18:59If things go badly,
19:00I'll make sure Lucien
19:01looks out for you.
19:02And really,
19:03you barely knew him
19:04before he left.
19:05On a battlefield,
19:06no one is safe.
19:07What if Derek were to-
19:08She caught herself.
19:09Forgive me.
19:10I shouldn't say things like that.
19:12Since you know you misspoke,
19:13shouldn't you stand
19:14and apologize properly?
19:15Her expression flickered,
19:17surprise sharpening
19:18into cold fury.
19:19She leaned close
19:20and said in a low,
19:22deliberate voice,
19:23Sister,
19:24I'll tell you plainly,
19:25Derek Blackthorne
19:26is already dead
19:27in that frozen waste.
19:29For no reason
19:30I could quite explain.
19:31The words left me faintly annoyed.
19:33Not grieved,
19:34just irritated
19:35at the casualness of it.
19:37I straightened
19:37and said softly,
19:39Tell me, Isabella.
19:41Does your confidence
19:42also explain
19:42why Lucien
19:43has not yet come to your room?
19:46Not once.
19:48In four months of marriage?
19:49Her eyes went wide.
19:51The situation
19:52at the front was settled.
19:53Isabella could change
19:54nothing there now.
19:55So I saw no reason
19:57not to let her understand.
19:58She was not the only one
20:00who had come back.
20:01The answer is,
20:02I lifted one of Isabella's curls
20:04and let it fall.
20:05Something you'll have to find
20:07for yourself.
20:08I rose and walked away
20:09without looking back.
20:12He's spring sun slanted longer
20:14and the wind turned warm.
20:16Cecily had claimed her spot
20:17at the upstairs window
20:18well before dawn,
20:19pulling me along with her
20:20to watch the Blackthorne
20:21forces return in triumph.
20:23I leaned against the sill
20:25on the street below.
20:26A young man on horseback
20:27seemed to sense anything.
20:29He looked up
20:30and our eyes met.
20:31Cecily shook my arm.
20:32Clara!
20:32Clara!
20:33My brother is looking at you!
20:34All the women are throwing tokens to him!
20:36Quick, throw one too!
20:37I didn't bring any.
20:38Before I could finish,
20:40Cecily had pressed
20:41seven or eight small favors
20:42into my hands all at once.
20:44I gave her an amused look,
20:45selected one,
20:46and tossed it toward Derek.
20:48But my aim and force
20:49were both badly off.
20:50As it sailed wide of the mark
20:52and began to fall into the crowd,
20:54Derek suddenly snapped out
20:55his riding crop
20:56and flipped it back up
20:56into his grip.
20:58He looked up,
20:59about to smile at me,
21:00and was immediately punched
21:01in the arm
21:01by his elder brother.
21:03Cecily re-
21:04collapsing into laughter.
21:06My brother was showing off
21:07and got scolded for it!
21:08Cecily reported.
21:09After the procession passed,
21:11Cecily dragged me back
21:12to the manor
21:12and chattered the whole story
21:13to Lady Evelyn
21:14and Derek's sister-in-law.
21:16Lady Evelyn smiled.
21:17And did you catch sight
21:18of your own betrothed today,
21:20Cecily?
21:20I did.
21:21He came in last.
21:22Lucky he could still ride
21:23or I'd never have spotted him at all.
21:25She had been promised
21:26to one of the garrison's officers
21:27before the winter.
21:28She was to be married
21:29in the summer.
21:30Derek's sister-in-law
21:31rose to see
21:32to the welcome feast.
21:33I moved to help
21:34and she turned me back firmly.
21:35Clara,
21:36go and change.
21:37I looked down
21:38at my dress confused.
21:39She sighed,
21:40called one of her own maids,
21:41and sent me back
21:42to my room.
21:43The maid whispered
21:44something to my attendants.
21:46Then they descended on me,
21:47opened every chest,
21:48found my wedding dress,
21:50and between them
21:50had me dressed
21:51and presented exactly
21:52as I had been
21:53on the day I arrived
21:54at Blackthorn Estate.
21:55It took a full hour.
21:57At the end,
21:58they curtsied to me
21:59and then withdrew.
22:00I waited.
22:00A pair of dark riding boots
22:02stopped before me.
22:04Clara,
22:05I'm back.
22:13I'm back.
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