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Harry quietly whistles a melody as he walks through the hallways of the Starling home. Many emotions run through him and he's filled with dislike as his eyes scan across a portrait of Julian and Constance. The two are just as insufferable as he had thought they'd be, and yet, their daughter isn't bad. He had assumed that all of the Starlings would be horrible, but there's something about Accalia that makes her different.

His eyebrows furrowing when he sees that there's one portrait that has a person he's never seen before. The person is male, and has a similar appearance to the rest of the Starling family. Harry's first guess would be that he's the eldest Starling child because of how much older he looks than Accalia, but he's not sure. This figure doesn't show up in any other portrait or painting. He sees that there's a label and he scans the names of the people in the painting before coming across the name of who is most likely the man.

Eadmund Starling.

Shaking his head, Harry decides to walk away, going down another random hallway. Today has been a rather easy workload. He didn't have to go to breakfast because Constance had dismissed him. He had noticed her distressed expression but he didn't care. These people don't deserve his sympathies, not after what they've done. Every time he thinks about it, his hands clench into fists and he's filled with a seething rage.

"Soon," Harry murmurs darkly as he goes outside. There's a part of him that wants to go find Accalia and talk, since she said they might be able to the other night. As much as he hates to admit it, he felt shame when Accalia had asked if he was only saying sorry because he wanted have sex with her. The obvious answer had been yes, and being called out made him feel dirty.

The sounds of faint sobs alert Harry to the fact that he's no longer alone, that he's about to come across some one else. There's a few moments where he debates just going back the way he came, but he's too curious. It doesn't mean that he'll comfort them, but he wants to know who the source is nonetheless. As he gets closer, he begins to realize that it's the sounds of a woman crying, and as he rounds yet another corner and sees that he's stepped out into a small courtyard. There, he sees a figure staring at the fountain with tears running down her cheeks.

Harry freezes, not really sure as to what he should do. He's never been good with people who cried—especially women. He'd usually just leave before they'd notice, but it's too late for him because Accalia has noticed his presence. She quickly wipes her face clear of the tears and turns her head away so she can prepare herself. Then she takes a deep breath and stands, determined not to show any more signs of weakness in front of him.

"Good afternoon, Harlequin," Accalia says. Her voice is hoarse from crying and she winces at this. "You have the day off. I'd have thought that you would be in the village, trying to bed a young maiden," she adds with a forced smile.

"You think too low of me," Harry says, trying not to sound offended.

"That may be so," she says quietly. "I apologise." Harry frowns at this, not liking how easily she's given up. Part of him had expected her to respond with some sort of sharp comment. He had prepared himself for the insult, but it never came.

He doesn't like it.

"Are you okay?" he asks, biting the inside of his cheek. Accalia scoffs and takes a step back just as he moves forward.

"No, but I'd rather not talk to you about it," she says as she goes over to the other entrance. "I need to go and see someone," she adds with a hint of desperation as Harry reaches out and grabs her arm.

"What's wrong, Accalia?" he asks.

"It doesn't matter," she says, trying halfheartedly to get out of his grip. She's not going to tell him, not when he doesn't care. He's only feigning concern because he's still trying to bed her. While it would be nice to confide in him, Accalia is apprehensive.

"How about we go on a walk?" Harry proposes.

"Did you not just hear me say that I need to see someone?" she asks sharply. Part of her feels bad for being rude, but her worry is greater; she has more important things to worry about.

"I promise I won't take up too much of your time, Darling," Harry says, not bothered by her behavior. "I won't try and take advantage of you either. I only want to brighten your day a little."

"I—" Accalia begins, stopping herself as she tries to refuse again. "Do you promise? I do not think that I am up for dealing with your advances today."

"I will not try anything with you, unless you wish it," Harry promises, happy with himself that he's managed to convince her to come with him on a walk around the grounds. "Come on, Miss Starling," he adds in a mock formal tone. He notices the corners of her mouth curve up slightly. As the two head out to the grounds, Harry feels Accalia's small hand grabbing the crook of his right arm.

As they step outside, Harry finds himself wanting to know why Accalia had been crying. He wants to know what made someone like her break down the way she had. One of the things that he really likes about her is how strong she is. She's a rare find in this miserable world, especially one that tries so hard to limit the way she can act.

It's a fairly warm day out and both Accalia and Harry find themselves beginning to pant because of the slight humidity. The latter is mildly embarrassed when he feels a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. Accalia has since removed her hand from the crook of his arm and has rolled up the sleeves of her dress.

"Thank the gods," Harry murmurs under his breath once they reach the tree line. They're now closer to the river, which provides a slight relief to the heat.

"You know, Harlequin, when you're not making crude comments about what you'd like to do to me, you can be really nice company," Accalia comments as they walk along the riverbank. "It allows me to appreciate your personality, and not just your looks."

"I guess that's good," Harry says, unsure of how he should reply.

"It's just nice to have a normal conversation with a man," she continues. "Unless it's one of the servants, I always assume that they just want to marry me, fuck me, or both. I like being treated as a human being for once."

"I'm sure that not all men are like that," he frowns. "I'm not."

"Well, to a certain extent, you actually are," Accalia replies. "You've wanted to have sex with me every single time we see each other. If your body language wasn't obvious enough, the words that you would whisper into my ears are another give away." 

"Look—"

"And I don't really blame you. I'm sure that your parents raised you with the beliefs that you could treat women in any way you'd want and there'd be no consequences for you—if they hadn't, I'd be very surprised. I know that I should just get over all of this, but it's hard," Accalia continues. "I guess I should just start practicing because I have to be married soon. I have no doubt that my husband would rather me just being silent and spreading my legs whenever he pleases," she continues bitterly.

"Maybe your husband won't be that bad," Harry says as he presses his lips together. "It's entirely possible that he'll treat you with respect."

"We'll see," Accalia sighs. "It's going to be hard though. I've already had sex before the marriage. No man is going to want a woman who's been with another man—let alone two. Sure, the first time wasn't my fault, but you were a choice and I was stupid enough to succumb to the temptation."

"You're wrong about no man wanting you," Harry murmurs.

"Are you saying that you'd want me?" Accalia asks skeptically. "Harlequin, I want a man who wants me for me, not my body." Harry sighs quietly at this and decides not to respond, knowing that this is only going to make them argue. The two fall silent after this and they walk along the riverbank.

Accalia's cheeks grow warm as they pass by the spot where she had been when Harry had spied on her for the first time. She's glad that they walk very quickly past the area, and they eventually come across an area that's more secluded. There's a small hill by the water, and there's a pool that branches off from the river.

"Why don't we sit here for a little while?" Harry suggests, indicating the hill.

"We should sit close enough so we can dip our feet in the water," Accalia says, nodding in approval. "It's still quite hot out."

"Well, if you want to cool down, we could always go for a swim," Harry offers. "It could be fun," he adds when he sees Accalia's face fall.

"I'm not wearing proper clothes," she says quickly.

"You could swim in your smock," Harry suggests.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Accalia mumbles, her cheeks growing warm. Harry narrows his eyes, trying to figure out why she's being so resistant to the idea of her going swimming with him. He knows that she's gone in the water before, which means that there's no way she's scared of it.

"What if you went waist deep then?"

"I know that you'll want me to go deeper, and I don't think that's going to end well for either of us," Accalia answers. Harry takes a deep breath, and just as he's about to try and get her to go knee deep, he realizes why she's so adamant against going swimming.

"You can't swim," he says. Accalia looks away from him almost immediately and begins to play with the ends of her long brown hair. Harry bites on his bottom lip as he tries to find a solution to this situation. "I could aways teach you if you'd like," he finally offers. Accalia turns her head towards him with slightly wide eyes.

"Really?" she asks.

"Well, you won't be able to learn in a couple of hours, but I can show you how to float on the surface," Harry says.

"And I assume that I'd either have to wear my smock or nothing at all, right?" Accalia asks.

"That's your decision, Darling," Harry says with a smile.

"Would you mind unlacing the back of this dress?" she asks after several long moments of deliberation. She turns her back to Harry, who sucks in a breath at the thought of helping her undress. "Any day now, Harlequin," she chuckles after he doesn't move for too long.

"Right, sorry," he says, clearing his throat. He hastily takes several steps forward and unties the back of her dress. The fabric immediately loosens and he helps pull the dress over her head. He sees that she's in a very thin smock and he bites his tongue as he watches her lift it over her head, revealing her naked body.

"Now it's your turn, Harlequin," she says, turning to face him. "We wouldn't want your fancy suit to be ruined, now would we?" she adds when he just stares at her. His cheeks redden at her words and he hastily removes his clothes. Even though the two of them have been naked in front of one another before, there's something different about this time, and neither of them really know what to say about it.

"Alright, so we just...go in the water," Harry says as he gestures from himself, to Accalia, and finally to the water.

"And what do we do now, Harlequin?" she asks as they walk into the water. They both shiver at the sudden temperature change, but they quickly adjust to it. They're waist deep now but still moving deeper.

"Well..." Harry says, trying to gather his thoughts. His inexplicable feelings of lust are back now as he glances at Accalia's naked body, but he has to resist the temptation, knowing that any sexual advances right now would be the wrong move. "Okay, stay here," he says as the water reaches past her shoulders. She nods slowly and watches as Harry moves farther out.

It becomes clear that he's actually swimming now and as he does this, he begins to describe how he's doing it. He even raises one arm out from the water and tries his best to emulate what he's doing with his arms and legs. Once he's sure that she gets a general idea, he swims over to her and places his hands on her arms.

"I move my arms like this?" she asks, acutely aware of how close her body is with Harry's. Her heart is beating wildly, and it's certainly not because of the activity that they're doing. She can feel Harry's pulse against her back. She enjoys the feeling of his hands on her, and she's slowly losing her resolve to not have sex with him again.

"Do you want to try and stay afloat now?" Harry asks, pausing his movements. His hands are now on her waist—something he did on instinct. "I'll be right here with you, so there's no chance of you drowning," he adds, picking up on her rush of nerves.

"Promise?" she asks in a small voice.

"I promise, Darling," he whispers, slowly taking his hands off her waist. Accalia takes a deep breath before forcing herself to take a few steps forward so she can no longer feel the bottom of the little pool that they're in. Harry watches very carefully as Accalia manages to push herself to the surface of the water. She panics for a second before remembering what Harry had demonstrated.

"Harry—" she says breathlessly. She's barely able to keep her head above the water, but she's actually doing it.

"You're doing amazing," he says encouragingly, smiling happily as he watches her. He moves forward and wraps his arms around her body, making sure she's actually able to breath. "I don't think we should do too much today, but we can always practice another time. We need to get your strength up if you're going to be able to do that effectively."

"I'm already tired and I barely did anything," Accalia pouts, grateful that he had stepped in when he had. She had felt her lungs beginning to burn as well as her limbs beginning to quit on her. Her body feels tired, and Harry senses her exhaustion, because he moves so they're now waist deep in the water.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, Accalia," Harry says honestly. "Swimming takes a lot of energy, and it's hard. The only reason I can do it is because my mum wanted me to know how to swim because we lived in an area that flooded frequently."

"What a resourceful woman," she says.

"Yeah, she was," Harry says wistfully. Accalia notices the use of the past tense, but she doesn't say anything.

"Well, do you think that we could lay out on the grass? I'm getting a little cold now," she says. Harry's arms are still wrapped around her and she's a little disappointed when she removes them as they get out of the water. The two lay on the grassy hill and their hands find each other as they turn their heads to look at each other.

"You are breathtaking, Miss Starling," Harry says, genuinely meaning it. He squeezes her hand lightly and she closes her eyes, feeling perfectly content. It's been awhile since she's felt this way, and the fact that a stranger like Harry makes her feel this way is strange. Maybe she's being delusional, but she's beginning to imagine a possibility of a future with Harry.

This moment feels like a dream and Accalia is afraid of when she has to get up and leave. She doesn't want to wake up. When she's alone with Harry, she feels comfortable, and she doesn't like it. There's still so much that she doesn't know about him, and she can't allow herself to care for him.

"I think we need to head back now," Accalia finally says once her emotions get the better of her. "I still have to go see someone. I promised that I'd stop by today." Harry feels a sense of disappointment at her words. He wanted to spend more time here in this paradise with her. He knows that they have to go though; they've been away for too long and someone may come looking for them.

The two get dressed rather quickly and are silent as they walk back to the Starling residence. Harry can sense a change in Accalia's behaviour and attitude towards him. She stands much closer to him than she normally does, she held his hand for most of the walk back, and she insists on him coming to her room.

"Thank you so much for spending the afternoon with me, Harlequin," Accalia says, smiling up at him. "It has meant a lot, and I truly appreciate it."

"It was my honour," Harry says, noticing how her small hands are holding onto his collar. She pulls slightly and he understands what she wants. Just as he ducks his head down and their lips barely meet, the sounds of footsteps fill the hallway. The effect is immediate and Accalia pushes him away while trying to straighten her clothes. He tries not to feel disappointed as he does the same thing.

"Lady Accalia," a servant's voice calls, sounding frantic. The two turn their heads and see a young man running towards them. "There you are!"

"Duncan? What is it?" Accalia asks, her eyes wide with alert.

"It's Miles," he says breathlessly as he finally runs up to her. "You need to see him now."

"Oh no," Accalia says, getting the look on her face that Harry had seen just hours before. Without another word, she runs off in the direction that Duncan had come. Harry looks at the servant for a moment before immediately running after her. He has no idea where he's going, but he knows to follow the very worried girl in front of him.

Soon, they reach what is clearly the hospital wing. Accalia doesn't stop to talk to one of the nurses and goes to the bed in the far left corner, where it's the most comfortable. Harry stops a few beds away and watches as she kneels down beside the bed of a very weak little boy. His eyes widen as he sees the striking similarities between them, and he struggles to figure out what is really going on here.

"Miles, baby, I'm here," Accalia says softly. "I'm here just like I'd promised."

"Hi," Miles says weakly. As he says this, his body is wracked with coughs and a doctor comes by, noticing this. He pushes Accalia away from the boy and holds a cloth up to his mouth, catching the blood that falls out.

"What's happening?" Accalia asks frantically as tears begin to run down her cheeks.

"Lady Acc—"

"Don't," she interrupts. "Please, just tell me what's happening. I need to know," she says desperately. Harry takes a few hesitant steps forward, ready to pull her away from the sick boy if he has to.

"Miles doesn't have much longer," the doctor says despondently. Accalia lets out a loud wail at this and Harry immediately goes to pull her away, just as she dives for Miles' bed. He holds her against his chest and as she sobs, it suddenly hits him why she is so desperate right now. He had been stupid not to see it the second he walked in.

Only a mother would be acting this way with her sick and dying child. He had seen it before in his own mother; she had cried as his sister died of an unknown sickness. He can remember the despair that she felt, experienced and showcased. It's exactly how Accalia is reacting, and his heart lurches at the thought of her losing the son she very obviously loves and cherishes.

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a/n: so I finished watching the new episode of American Horror Story and I'm honestly so mad. It was the worst episode in my opinion and the bs about the supposed Zodiac Killer made me roll my eyes in annoyance.

Anyways, this is a pretty important chapter, and helps set up a lot of things in the future. I can't wait to get to them.