Three Days In That Coffin Changed Me

Synopsis

My mother is the only female general in the kingdom. The day they bring her body back to Graham Manor, shattered and broken from the battlefield, a royal decree arrives with it. The King names me a Lady. But my father, standing in the very hall where my mother's body lay, orders me to give the title to his bastard daughter, Ann Graham. "It was your mother's jealousy that forced my hand," he barks. "She never allowed me to take another wife. Because of her, poor Ann has suffered the shame of being illegitimate all these years." He adds, "Think of this title, this honor, as your way of making it up to her." My two brothers corner me later, insisting I go before the King and petition him to give my title to Ann. Even my fiancé, William Foster, the man I am supposed to spend my life with, pulls Ann behind him protectively. "If Ann becomes the Lady," he declares, "she will be my wife. I'll still take you, of course, but as a secondary wife. You'll just need to serve her well." I am terrified for them. For the entire household, I plead with them in private, begging them not to defy a royal decree and bring the King's wrath down upon us all. Their answer comes while I am keeping vigil, kneeling by my mother's side. They drag me away to nail me alive inside her coffin. They even faked a letter, stained with blood, written in my name. It claims I have taken my own life to join my mother in the afterlife and that my dying wish is for the King to grant the title of Lady to Ann. And so, Ann takes everything. She becomes the Lady, basking in the doting affection of my father and brothers. She steals the inheritance my mother left for me and uses it to marry William Foster, the man who is supposed to be mine. Meanwhile, I scream until my throat is raw, my nails bloody from clawing at the wood. For three days and three nights, I fight inside that suffocating darkness until the pain and the lack of air finally steal my last breath. I open my eyes, and I am back on the very day they first demanded I surrender my honor. A cold laugh escapes my lips. My finger shoots out, condemning each of them in turn. "How dare you," I snarl. "You speak of defying a royal command. Do you have any idea what that means? It means you are traitors. Guards! Remove these people from Graham Manor at once."