Part 1

France, 1002

Nadine, a young servant girl, stood in the hallway and stared at the wine goblet she was holding. It was a silver goblet and the wine was the most finest in France, made especially for his grace, Count de Martel. Her master. Nadine's face remained stoic when she took a quick look around before spitting in the goblet. She had done that many times before, hoping that she would have some poison to put in the wine instead of her spit. Well, it was better than nothing.

"Nadine!" Lucien's tense voice suddenly hissed.

She hadn't noticed her brother, but she didn't startle.

"What do you think you are doing?" he whispered and grabbed her arm. "If anyone else would have seen you…"

She looked at her brother calmly, making him to sigh tiredly.

"You would have been flogged or something worse. Is that what you want?"

The truth was that she didn't care much what would happen to her, she was too dead inside, but she did care about her brother, the only family she had left. She couldn't bear to see him so distressed, so she shook her head. Lucien leaned towards her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Promise me that you will never do that again," he demanded.

She didn't want to give that kind of promise, but she did. For Lucien.

"Thank you," he sighed and kissed her cheek after she nodded. "I cannot lose you too, sister, I cannot."

She would have wanted to smile at him, but she couldn't. She hadn't been able to smile or speak a word after seeing her parents and her two little brothers getting killed. The soldiers had laughed when they had tortured her father, raped her mother and hung her brothers. She had been hiding under the floor like a coward. The cries of her family haunted her every night. Lucien didn't know all those horrible details and she never wanted him to know. He already hated himself enough for serving the man who had got their family killed. All because their father, a simple merchant, had been accused to be a traitor, to plot against Count de Martel.

Lucien had been sent to serve the count when he had been a young boy, just like the customs required. Count de Martel was the ruler of Marseille and his subjects were basically his property. Servants who tried to run were hunted down and punished in very brutal ways. Nadine hated "his grace" with every fiber of her being, but she wasn't foolish enough to think that she could ever hurt him. Lucien would pay the price and she would never let that happen. Gently she touched his cheek and placed her hand on his chest above his heart.

"I love you too, sister," he murmured. "Now you must go, his grace is waiting for his wine."

She nodded and quickly entered the great hall. Count de Martel was sitting on his throne, as usual, carelessly observing his lackeys, also known as his court. They all wanted to please him in order to improve their own position. Count de Martel was just talking with his son, Lord Tristan. According to Nadine's experience, he was just as bad as or perhaps even worse than his father, he tortured people for sport. He had asked his father to have Nadine as his personal servant soon after she had been brought to Lucien when their neighbors had found her wandering in the woods. That had been almost two years ago.

She hated Lord Tristan almost as much as she hated his father, but she had never shown it. She didn't show any emotion because she didn't usually feel much anything. Then there was Lady Aurora, the count's daughter. Most lords in the court would have given pretty much anything if she would have paid attention to them. She knew how beautiful she was and she had got used to getting what she wanted. Unfortunately poor Lucien had lost his heart to her. He had always been a gentle and kindhearted man, perhaps sometimes too kindhearted. Nadine knew that this woman would rip his heart out and stomp on it.

Lord Tristan would no doubt do that literally if he would ever find out about Lucien's feelings. Silently Nadine approached the throne and curtsied briefly before handing the wine goblet to Count de Martel. He didn't pay any attention to her, he never did, she might have as well been invisible. Lord Tristan however glanced at her with his cold eyes. Many servant girls were afraid of him, but Nadine wasn't. He had groped her few times and often he ordered her to bathe him and massage his feet, but fortunately he didn't take servants to his bed, he was too high and mighty for that.

"Bring me some wine too, girl," he ordered.

Nadine curtsied and backed away, she wasn't allowed to turn her back on them. Who would want to turn their back to snakes anyway? They were nothing but evil, monsters who called themselves noblemen. There certainly was nothing noble about them.

2 days later

"Make sure he feels welcome," Count de Martel stated. "He is an important man."

"Yes, your grace," Lucien replied.

"And take some servant girl with you in case there are ladies in his party. They might need some assistance."

"Any servant girl, your grace?"

"Yes, any girl who knows how to behave."

Lucien suppressed a smile, he knew exactly who to take with him. Hopefully Nadine would enjoy taking a ride to the harbor. She didn't have many things to enjoy these days, poor thing. Lucien had been away from his family for so many years that he hadn't really got to know his brothers, but he had always been very close with Nadine when they had been children. She had been a babbly and lighthearted girl, always following him around. There wasn't much left of that girl anymore. Someday Lucien would find a way to take her and hopefully Aurora far away from this place.