The rustling of leaves shifted Étienne’s attention away from his book and towards the end of the room. The door to Aurélie’s room was open, revealing a thick canopy of leaves just beyond the door. Vines began creeping from the darkness into the room, edging closer towards Étienne. 

Confused, Étienne set down his book as he stood up. The creeping vines began twisting themselves around his boot, pulling him closer to the darkness beyond the door. As he stepped through the frame, a cold chill greeted him, causing him to cross his arms tighter in front of his chest. As he emerged from the leaves, he noticed that he was in front of hedges. He stepped forward and began walking on the pathway of a familiar maze, coming to a stop at the centre. The familiar marble pedestal greeted him but instead of a stone statue looking down at him, a woman in flesh sat on top, playing with the petals of a rose in her hand. Her long dark hair swayed in the breeze, her navy robes off her shoulders and silver jewellery adorning her neck and arms. 

“Maman?” Étienne whispered in disbelieve, slowly stepping closer to the woman. She placed the rose down, looking down at the young man in front of her. Wordlessly she pushed herself off the platform, walking over to him. It was there that Étienne began noticing the ripped fabric in the bodice, blood slowly trailing out from a wound on her chest. He felt a sharp pain near is abdomen, close to where he had been stabbed by the Delacroix’s men. His heart began to race as his mother walked to him and placed a hand on his cheek. Her face broke out into a wide smile, before she took his hand and began to lead him away. 

“How are you here?” Étienne asked, his eyes studying every small detail of his mother’s face. The faint wrinkles on the corner of her eyes and the familiar green colour were still the same. To his dismay, she did not say anything and continued to pull him gently through the maze. 

“Is this real?” 

His mother stopped, turning to him. A sad expression crossed her face, her hand cupping his cheek once more. She still did not say anything, simply standing in front of him and holding his face. A weak groan was heard not far from them, causing both of them to snap their heads towards the sound. 

Étienne’s mother took the lead, slipping her hand from his cheek into his hand, pulling him along. After a while, Étienne realised that she was leading him closer to one of the entrances to the maze. His heart dropped as he saw a familiar figure dressed in crimson robes lying on the ground, her pale hair spilt out underneath her on the frozen ground. Blood was pouring from her neck down onto the grass, the dew staining red underneath her. 

“Aurélie!” 

Étienne rushed to the figure, pushing the frozen body over and revealing the face of someone that was not his companion. Confused, Étienne sat back on his heels, his eyes darting from the woman in front of him to his mother. 

“Help her!” 

The voice of his mother echoed around his ears as Étienne shot up from his armchair, the back of his neck drenched in sweat. He looked around in the darkness of the room, his eyes taking a moment to adjust. He glanced over to the bed, his heart dropping as he noticed that Aurélie was not in bed. Cursing, Étienne ran out of the room in a sprint, almost blinded by the daylight that was pouring in from the hallways. He held his arms across his face, backing up into Aurélie’s room. Her sheets were tangled and he quickly pulled one off the bed, holding it over himself. 

The chateau was quiet, all of the staff having gone to rest for the day. Étienne himself felt exhausted, the sheet shielding him from the sun but not stopping his energy being drained. With the dream still burned into his mind, he made his way to the front hall. The doors were still closed and Étienne hesitated for a moment. Perhaps she had simply gone to the kitchens? Or the library to get more books? 

Étienne pushed down the door handles, realising that the front doors were not locked. Immediately he flung them open. The few rays of sun that managed to slip through the sheet immediately burned on his skin. Wasting no time standing around idly, Étienne rushed towards the gardens where the maze was. He never dreamt about the gardens or his mother, hoping that there would be some kind of meaning to them that could help him locate his missing companion. Unable to properly see, Étienne relied on the countless times he had spent in the maze escaping his duties to find his way around. It was too bright for him to fully open his eyes. 

Just after he had entered the maze, he felt something underneath his feet and almost toppled over the figure lying on the ground. Looking down, Étienne’s heart dropped as he realised it was Aurélie, her face red and starting to blister with burns. Letting out a curse he kneeled down and scooped her into his arms, pulling the sheet over both of them and sprinting back out of the maze. As soon as he reached the front door, Étienne began yelling at the top of his voice, trying to wake up as many staff members as he could. The front hall of the chateau soon filled with half-woken staff, including Amelie and Matthieu, each rushing towards them upon seeing the pair. Aurélie was taken out of his arms and carried over to the closest living room, gently placed onto a chaise. Cloths soaked in cold water were placed over her arms and face, various ointments and lotions applied to the burnt skin. 

Étienne dismissed anyone that tried to look after him, urging those that stayed behind to help Aurélie. Matthieu had attempted several times to get Étienne to sit down so that he could have a look at his skin, only to be met with dismissal and anger. 

“Étienne, that is enough!” the booming voice of Duke Saint-Clair caused everyone to stop in their tracks. Noel had entered the room, fully dressed with Caroline at his heels. 

“What happened?” 

Étienne turned to his father, ignoring Matthieu grabbing hold of each of his arms and thoroughly inspecting the exposed flesh. “I found Aurélie passed out in the maze.”

Caroline rushed over to the companion, gasping as she lifted the wet wraps and noticed the burnt skin. Aurélie’s face was red and raw, small blisters speckled across her nose. 

“How long was she outside for?” his aunt asked, replacing the cloths with Amelie’s help. 

Étienne shrugged, pulling his arm out of Matthieu’s grip and muttering a quick ‘I am fine’. 

“I have no idea. Why is her skin reacting like that? She usually took strolls in the gardens during the daytime with no problem. Sure a couple of light burns here and there but never anything this severe,” Étienne stated, questioningly turning to his father and waiting for an answer. 

His father had one hand on his chin, inspecting Aurélie. Apart from the burnt skin, he had noticed that she was growing thinner and weaker with each passing day. While the doctor had mixed together medicine that would ease her stomach so that the companion could keep down food, there was little improvement in her appearance or strength. The Duke was at a loss. He never spent much time around humans, not fully grasping their illnesses. Sure, he himself had lived through several plagues and witnessed the extent an illness could have on someone, but never had to experience it himself. Whatever Aurélie was fighting left him stumped. 

“I will call upon the doctor again in the afternoon. For now, carry her up to her room and let her rest. You and Amelie will stay with her until she wakes once more,” the Duke ordered, causing everyone around him to bow their heads. 

Étienne simply nodded, scooping his companion back into his arms and making his way to her room with Amelie slowly trailing behind him. 

***

“Are you out of your mind?” 

Aurélie looked over to Étienne after she woke up, coming to face with his angry expression. He was the only one in her room, several candles flickering in the darkness. Her heart sank as she sat up, groaning in pain and gingerly touching her burnt face.

“What happened?”

“What happened?” Étienne scoffed, standing up and walking towards Aurélie’s bed. “What happened was that you ignored the physician’s orders and overexerted yourself!”

Aurélie sank back into her pillows, the sharp pain in her ears from before growing worse. Her stomach was squeezing itself uncomfortably, almost causing the companion to double over in pain. She instead gritted her teeth, took a sharp breath and looked up at Étienne, who had now seated himself down next to her. He looked upset and angry, a thick line forming on his forehead from where his brows were tightly knitted together. 

“I just wanted to go outside,” the companion whispered, her face red and slightly swollen. 

Étienne sighed, shaking his head slowly. “You could have woken me up. Or waited until the afternoon,” he said, his voice so low that Aurélie could barely hear him. 

“I am sorry,” she mumbled, gently placing a hand on arm in an effort to relief the tension that was between them. 

Étienne stood back up from the bed and slowly made his way over to the windows, drawing back the curtains and revealing a night sky filled with stars. “I just do not understand why you do not listen or ask for help,” he said after a while, turning back to Aurélie. “You are not a prisoner here and are free to do as you please, but not when you are this sick. Look at you, Aurélie. Have you seen yourself lately?”

Aurélie bit down on her lip, quickly glancing over at the standing mirror that Amelie had procured for her a while back. What greeted her was a thin and pale women, skin burnt red. Her hair had lost all volume and shine, limp strands falling down her back. Apart from the burnt skin, there was no hint of colour on her body. Her lips were pale and almost blue, her veins visible on her neck and hands. She looked like a ghost, and for the first time, Aurélie was scared. 

“What is happening to me?” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I was fine before we left for Transylvania. Am I dying?” 

Étienne’s heart almost broke upon hearing his companion choke out those last three words. He placed his balled fists in his pockets, swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat. “Stop this nonsense. You are not dying.”

“How can you be so sure? I cannot eat anything anymore. I do not have the strength to even make it fully through the gardens. I am wasting my life away here on this bed unable to do anything but sleep or be in pain. I— I just want to be better again,” Aurélie said, tears spilling down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands, shoulders beginning to shake. 

Étienne slumped his shoulders and made his way to his companion, slipping off his shoes as he crawled up next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Aurélie let herself be drawn in, burying her face in his chest as she continued to sob. 

“You will get better again. Everything will be alright,” he continued to mumbled over and over again, his voice soft and soothing. Étienne wanted to believe that Aurélie would get better. He wanted nothing more than to spend his evenings laughing and spending time with her. Yet deep down, he knew that something was terribly was wrong. His suspicions were confirmed after Aurélie developed a fever later that evening and began throwing up blood. 

The physician was called promptly and after running some tests and conducting physical examination, along with confirming reports of similar symptoms running ramped in various ports across Europe, Aurélie was diagnosed with a new type of illness. 

There was nothing for them to do to cure it, leaving Étienne to spend the last few days with his companion in the quiet space of her room. 

The physician’s estimate of Aurélie having less than a week left shocked the entire chateau. With Amelie crying in Matthieu’s arms each night and Étienne losing more and more control of his temper, Noel Saint-Clair gathered his things and set off to seek help from an old friend. He was not about to leave the one person that Étienne had grown fond of to die.