#lorelei starter

While obviously chaperoned by several people who were keeping their distance, Lorelei had been given the chance to speak to her potential fiancé and determine if the wedding could happen. The expectations had to be low of course, she couldn't pretend much with her reputation, but her father had still given her the chance to have her say.

Lorelei had done her best not to cry when going hungry and asking for money; she had refused to cry when she had finally done something to deserved her reputation and had followed a pirate’s crew to earn money singing and entertaining the Captain who, in exchange for her company, protected her from others - nothing more than singing and sometimes talking, so at least there had been that to comfort her - and had not even cried when surrounded by terrifying men.  But when the navy had come, and she had been faced with reality, with what she had done, her position, the fact that she’d either be hung or may end up wishing for it, she had began to cry over everything.

Lorelei had felt it may be a bad day that morning, but she had tried anyway; as always, it had all been useless, the walk of the day before, more stairs when visiting another lady, combined with the sudden stormy weather that had brought more humidity than usual had made sure she’d be in too much pain to move.  Not thinking too much of it, she sent a maid to tell her husband she would not be present for dinner and, regretfully, spend her night in the downstairs bedroom, which Anna had quickly prepared, as well as helped her prepare for the rest of the day in bed: nightgown, books and tea even if it was only four.  It was the first time that she wouldn’t share dinner with James since they had married, at least first with him in the house, and it felt curiously sad.

When Lorelei woke up she found that her whole body hurt: it was nothing new and she paid no attention to initially, not until her eyes were fully open and she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Her head turned, finding a silent room and one man there, a stranger, who from the looks of it hadn't washed in a while, with ripped clothes and long hair. She also took in the realization that she was on a bed, and it must have been his bed. Then and only then the panic hit and she shrieked, jolting to sit, fear winning against any pain.

Feeling lost in time, Lorelei sang whenever she remembered to do so and slept the rest of the time, nothing ever truly changing beside the crewmembers that sometimes came to listen. But that day someone different walked below deck, perhaps pulled by her voice, looking very human and different from the others. After her last notes she paused, confused.

Her singing had been greatly praised, but it was all too quickly forgotten during the following refreshment; people blatantly whispered about her the moment she turned around, and Lorelei decided to walk outside to get a breath of fresh air. She noticed right away the small group of men following her, which never led to anything good after enough rumors had been spread, and this time was no different; they were convinced they could get some entertainment out of her, and Lorelei was beginning to consider grabbing one of the precious vases out there and throwing it at one’s head.

Sometimes people can be beasts when they believe a woman to be below them, loose and inferior in every way, and when she trips after walking past the gate of the manor, her walking stick failing her, laughter follows instead of concern, a tipsy man offering to help her up for a kiss. She stands, a hint of tears of mortifications in her eyes, and it's pure stubbornness that allows her to limp towards the door with her head up; she recognizes both the tall Admiral that was introduced to her not long ago and the maid who, horrified by what just happened, is already rambling and doesn't know how to help - for the tipsy man is an important one as are his friends. "It's quite alright, dear, no need to trouble anyone over a small accident. Admiral Norrington, it's a pleasure to see you again," Lorelei manages a smile if tight and attempts to get up the steps, fighting to hide any sign of distress: soon she'll sing and forget all about it for a few minutes. But she's been so thrown off that between the recent rain making the stone more slipper, her heels and the trembling of her hands, her cane nearly slips and she drops her purse, her eyes closing in frustration.