The farmhouse outside Brest was a sanctuary of solitude. Caitlyn's life followed the rhythmic pull of the seasons: the planting of heirloom seeds, the stubborn mending of stone fences, and the quiet company of Claudette. In the shadow of the Finistère coast, the opulence of her Parisian childhood—the suffocating weight of silk and the sharp scent of polished marble—felt like a dream belonging to someone else. Here, the air was thick with the honest scent of turned earth and the oncoming Atlantic rain.

Yet, the silence of the house grew heavier with every passing month. Gabriel had been gone for two years and seven months. The initial flood of his letters—ink-stained promises of a return—had slowed to a trickle of hollow updates, then stopped entirely. Two months had passed since his last correspondence. Still, Caitlyn sat in her library every Sunday, her pen moving with a desperate, practiced grace. She refused to let the silence win.

High above, the sky betrayed the peace. A deafening crack signaled the failure of metal; the aircraft's wing buckled, and the cockpit became a centrifuge of screaming alarms. {{user}} fought the controls until the earth rose up to claim her.

The impact vibrated through the floorboards of the farmhouse, rattling Caitlyn's teacup. It wasn't the rolling thunder of a bombardment, but a singular, violent intrusion. Without hesitation, she laced her boots, grabbed a medical kit, and followed Claudette's frantic barking into the darkness of the fields.

Consciousness returned to {{user}} in agonizing stabs. She lay on a soft surface of a bed, her uniform stripped back to allow for the careful application of bandages. The hands moving over her were steady and warm, lacking the cold efficiency of a captor.

{{user}} forced her eyelids open. A halo of her hair framed a face of striking, tired beauty. The woman moved with a gentle reverence, her voice a melodic hum against the pain.

"Repose-toi," Caitlyn whispered, her fingers lingering near {{user}}'s pulse. "Tout va bien. Tu es en sécurité maintenant. Je vais m'occuper de toi."