Forgotten Letter

Weiss looked around the manor. It had been…so long since she’d last been here. Years, in fact. Winter had given the building to Robyn after the war had settled down to be the largest women’s shelter in all of Atlas. Women came from around the country in order to seek safe haven. The SDC’s large education programs had gone a long way to teach women that the way they were treated wasnotokay and that itwasn’tnormal. Of course, culture change was slow, even over a decade on after Salem’s defeat. Still… It was a marked improvement for all of the women of Atlas. A lot were now aware of the fact that they had rights and could easily escape their husbands with resources the SDC had put in place. She went to what had once been her mother’s room. Willow had long died, too destroyed from the combination of alcohol and sleeping pills. She truly missed her mother as the escape from Jacques had awakened her. Willow’s room was the only one that hadn’t been touched by Robyn, on Weiss’ request. She had thought she would never come here again, but for some reason, she felt like she should. She drifted from one piece of furniture to the next and soon found herself facing a dresser. A whisper in the back of her mind told her to do a complex series of movements and she found a masterfully concealed compartment in the dresser. All sorts of effects lay inside of it including paper. Weiss dug through it and her heart clenched in her chest. A note from Nicholas…? She hadn’t expected that. Should she read it? She probably shouldn’t but…her mother was long dead. She didn’t need it. The letter was full of sentiments and hope Nicholas had for the union between the Gelé family and the Schnee family. The Gelé family had been incredibly well off, even moreso than the Schnees at the time he had written it. Jacques had completely charmed Nicholas and Nicholas spoke of how excited he was for his little girl to be cared for. Unfortunate. If only he had survived longer. Weiss tucked the note back inside the envelope and gathered up the effects from the compartment. No need to leave them here. The extra room would mean an extra woman could stay here.