Emeric

The smoke was suffocating as I searched room after room. Then I found him. A large beam had collapsed across the doorway. Beneath it lay a young man with silver-blond hair, unconscious, shielding a maid with his own body. I quickly checked his pulse. "Alive." The maid's eyes snapped open. The moment she saw me, her face turned pale. "M-My Lady!"She scrambled to her feet, not even looking at the unconscious man beside her. "I-I can explain!" Before I could say a word, she gathered her skirts and ran out of the room. I blinked. "...Seriously?" Then I remembered. In the original story, this maid was rumored to be Duke Emeric's latest affair. Amara had believed the gossip without ever hearing his side. I rolled my eyes."Really? You leave the unconscious duke behind to save yourself? Some affair." There wasn't time to think about it. Using a broken iron poker as leverage, I pushed the beam just enough to free Emeric. His breathing was steady, but blood trickled from a cut on his forehead. "You certainly know how to make things difficult." I pulled one of his arms over my shoulders and hauled him upright. He was heavy. Every step through the burning corridor felt like a battle. Flames licked the walls while burning timbers crashed around us. I pushed forward just as part of the ceiling collapsed behind us in a shower of sparks. The cool night air hit my face. Servants gasped. "The Duke!" "His Grace is alive!" Duke Philippe rushed toward us as several guards carefully lifted Emeric from my shoulders.