Willowmere Hall: Aurora Snow **Episode 1**

"Her beauty was her gift."

Willowmere Hall: 

Aurora Snow 

**Chapter One**

SLAVERY AWAITED AURORA SNOW, and yet she couldn’t be more excited if she’d won a million pounds.

A smile was brought to her pale cheeks as the warm, sweet breeze blew at her cheeks. She closed her dark brown eyes and stuck her head even further out the limo's window as she beheld the glory of the Willowmere Hall grounds.

Manicured daily, the grounds were lush and green with all manors of flowers perfectly placed on either side of the long driveway that led from the private roads, through the silver gates, and towards the main building that sat pristine just beyond the pond.

Raised as little more than a precious commodity, it had always been known that Aurora would be the one to upgrade the Snow family’s status.

Her cousins were all sent to university, destined to do great things with the money Aurora’s acceptance had provided to her family. Aurora didn’t mind being sacrificed for her family’s sake.

Being selected was an honor.

Willowmere Hall was going to be everything the letter from Claire Willowmere claimed.

A ringlet of dark brown hair flew onto Aurora's long lashes. She pulled it free and tucked it behind her ear. She felt a tug on her lavender and glanced over her shoulder.

"Sit," Aunt Bridgette chided. She gave Aurora a stern look but remained as composed and ladylike as ever. With her ivory hands folded on her lap, she nodded toward the seat across from her.

Sometimes Aurora was too afraid to look at her. She looked too much like her mother.

Aurora pursed her lips. She would not allow herself to think about her dead mother. Not on this day. She could not afford to have her happiness spoiled by poisonous thoughts.

"Just because you are free from our household does not mean that you can act like a wild forest creature."

"Pardon me, Aunt Bridgette. I'm just terribly excited," Aurora said in her American accent. She’d been shipped off to England at fifteen, but still couldn’t shrug her Savannah accent. The deep south was in her past, and yet it would always be present in her speech.

"I understand your excitement. Willowmere Hall is a glorious place. You are lucky to have been accepted. But Aurora, please remember that you are always being watched. Do not shame your uncle and I. Remember that we had been planning for this for the last two years when Lord Willowmere chose you out of all of those girls at that ceremony."

"I know. I was there."

The ceremony had been beautiful. Like a fairy tale they'd been sent official invitations to a ballroom in a posh London hotel. All of the girls in attendance, including Aurora's two cousins, had been there dressed in fancy gowns. The best stylists in all of London had been summoned to make them all presentable to a family that was more powerful than the Queen.

Out of all of the girls, Aurora had been chosen to come and live in the most magical of places.

Willowmere Hall.

Only when the limousine stopped inside the cobblestone courtyard did the nerves start to set in.

Her face flushed when the driver opened her door. She didn't even glance at him as he held his gloved hand out to help her from the limo. Butterflies filled her stomach and her mind raced with all of her excitement and doubts.

Her high-heeled shoes clicked onto the cobblestone as she stepped out and into the fresh Yorkshire air.

Aunt Bridgette didn't exit the limo. Instead, she simply gave Aurora a blue-eyed glance.

"Make us proud, Aurora."

Aurora nodded. One year as a slave, and the Snow family would all obtain unimaginable wealth and privilege.

Wind swept through her hair and her eyes looked up to the white doors at the top of the stone steps. Countless windows looked back down at her.

A woman with neat blonde top bun and a simple black sundress smiled at Aurora from the top of the stairs. She was stunning, like a model in a high-fashion magazine. Her eyes were large and blue, and her skin was the perfect shade of cream.

With parted lips, Aurora reminded herself to breathe.

At the top of the stairs, stood Lysett Willowmere, the person that had told her father to choose her out of all the girls at the ceremony.

Aurora smiled at Lysett.

Her new mistress.

"Stayed tuned for the release of Aurora Snow, the first installment in the deliciously naughty Willowmere Hall series." -Lady Emmi Rue