Fantine

The heavy door of the master bedroom clicked shut as I pushed it closed behind me, and the loud noise of the sirens outside finally began to fade while the frontline guards took over the fence line, but my hands were shaking so hard that I could barely unbuckle the leather belt around my waist. The mud on my arms was dry and tight against my skin, and the blood from the fight at the nursery stairwell was staining the torn silk of my dress, but when I turned toward the bathroom mirror, the sight of my pale face made me turn the hot water tap on immediately so...