ATARAXIA • BELLAMY BLAKE

[ 0 9 ]

"No, it's gonna fall again!" whisper-yelled Freya at Bellamy. He was holding up the blanket that served as the roof of their pillow fort.

"It won't," he assured, adjusting it. "See?" he pulled back and the blanket stayed in place.

"Okay, so," started Freya, clasping her hands together. She meant business. "O," she said to catch the young girl's attention. "You're the baby, okay?"

"I'm four," she grinned, accidentally slapping a clumsy hand on the pillow next to her. Freya paused to see if the walls would fall, but they didn't.

"Yes, but we're pretending, remember?" said Freya. "I'll pretend to be your mommy and Bell will pretend to be your daddy. It'll be fun!"

"That's silly," giggled Octavia. "Mommy's working."

Freya's face fell slightly. "No—I mean yes. But right now I'm your mommy. Right?"

Octavia was having a full on giggle fit at that point. "No!"

Freya's shoulders slumped. She just wanted to play. Bellamy snorted a laugh next to her, and Freya quickly shot him a sharp look. In response, Bellamy tickled her side with two fingers, forcing a smile onto her lips. She slapped his hand away and sent him a look to ask for help.

Bellamy then cleared his throat dramatically and put on the deepest voice he could muster. "Yes, I'm the man of this house, Octavia. Please behave—"

"Behave?" questioned Octavia at the unfamiliar word.

"—I just built you and your mother this wonderful house and now I'm very tired."

Freya beamed at him. "Oh my! Off to bed then." she said, before turning to Octavia. "Octavia, take mommy's hand."

When Octavia only looked at her with a derpy smile, Freya grabbed her hand instead. She then shimmied a bit off to the side. There wasn't much space in the fort. She gently pushed the little Octavia to lay down. "Now, close your eyes. Tomorrow's a new day."

Finally, Octavia joined the game. She closed her eyes, but her toothy smile didn't make her performance that believable. It was still good enough for Freya.

"Well then, husband," she said next, looking at Bellamy who then nodded proudly. "We should turn in too."

Bellamy cracked an amused smile before whispering to only her. "Why are you talking like that?"

Freya forced a smile, and whispered through her teeth as to not ruin the game. "This is how mommies talk, Bell." She then lay down on her back, bending her knees so that her feet wouldn't stick out of the fort from under another blanket. She sent Bellamy a look telling him to do the same. And so he did.

"Goodnight, my dear," said Freya. "Sweet dreams."

Bellamy grinned widely, looking at Freya as she folded her hands on her stomach, closed her eyes and let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

"Goodnight, wife," he then said, but Freya had already started fake-snoring, and a small giggle left his little sister's lips at the sound.

•••

"What the—" A voice starts as I stumble into the cave before being cut off by my sudden coughs. I hunch over, resting both hands on my knees as I try to draw some air into my lungs, my hair sliding forwards to cover my face like curtains. My coughs melt into strained wheezing, and I touch a hand to my throat, trying to rub its soreness away and feeling the imprint that the chain of my necklace has left on the skin.