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Snow had settled across the plains of our home, thick drifts piling up against the walls that kept them safe. Most of the trees were bare, the flowers dying in their beds and little vegetables grew in the sparse patch that the cook kept.
Leaning back into the window seat, a blast of cold air had me shivering despite the thick wool shawl that settled around my shoulders. I huffed, curling around the book in my hands and turning back to it. It was on nothing of importance, as those were the only books in our family library.
I wanted something more exciting. An adventure book of some sort, if that was even possible but my eldest sister, Nesta, didn't like the thought of adventures. She watched my sister and I like a hawk, sharp eyes and ears listening in to try and hear any sound of discontent that might spring from our lips. Of course, Elain never did complain. She was always the good sibling, keeping herself busy with gardening or decorating the house or anything like the good wife she was training to be.
That left me to take my youngest sister, Feyre's, role of being the haggler in the house, and the troublemaker, whilst she was away at our aunt's house.
"Aimee." Pausing, I turned to look at the study door. "Elain needs help in the garden."
"I'm reading." I called back, not tearing my eyes from the boring page in front of me. Curling my legs further beneath me, I pretended to read through it as the door to Father's study was flung open. Nesta appeared, not looking too thrilled with me.
Her eyebrows were furrowed, showcasing her disappointment in my refusal to help Elain with her half dead plants that she was struggling to keep alive in the cold winds. She crossed her arms, her thin lips twisting into a displeasured scowl as she glared.
I cocked my eyebrow, not in the mood for an argument.
"Get up and help your sister."
"No. I'm busy and those plants are dead anywhere." I protested. "You help her."
"Don't argue with me."
"Then stop acting like father." I stood, throwing the book back onto the desk and shaking my head. "I don't want to help her with her stupid plants, they're all dead. What's the point?"
Nesta glared.
"Don't say that."
"Why?"
"Because I said so." Nesta rolled her eyes as I brushed past her and out of the door. "Garden, Aimee, now!"
"Fine, fine." I saluted her sarcastically, before groaning at the prospect of being forced to go outside and help with the dying flowers. Thundering down the stairs, I continued to ignore Nesta's screeches of annoyance as I pulled a cloak on and hurried into the garden.
The wind was even more biting outside, nipping at my nose and cheeks until they turned red. My teeth were already chattering, and the ground was almost too slippery to walk on, yet still my older sister sat outside to tend to the plants that were sheltered from the wind.
"Aimee! You came to help." I shot the dying plants an annoyed look. If they had just died, then I wouldn't be forced into going outside.
"Yes." Elain beamed at the thought of me helping, motioning for me to crouch beside her as I glanced back at the inviting house, with it's glowing windows. Warmth emanated for it, yet here I was, stuck outside. "What do you need me to do, Elain?"
"Can you help me move the pot into the shed?" She questioned, as I leant down to pick the pot up and walk it to the shed. "Thank you! I did not think that I would manage to do it by myself."
What Elain meant to say was that moving a pot was far below her station as a true lady, and that I would be better suited to it as I was not as much of a lady as she was. Elain liked to remind me of that often enough.
Whilst it was true that I was a lady in some regards, more so than my sister Feyre, who used to hunt and chop woods and the like (incredibly improper for a lady), I was nothing like Elain. I knew language, and could play the piano well enough, but it was not nearly as good as Elain or Nesta. I was never good enough for either of those two.
However, I could paint well. Far better than them, and nearly better than Feyre as well if I continued to practice. It was a talent of mine that I enjoyed far more than reading, or learning, and it provided me with enough moments of peace so that I did not have to listen to either of my sisters.
I loved them, truly I did. But being stuck in the same, confined space as them for months on end was doing my head in.
***
"Thank you for helping your sister." Nesta called, curled up by the fire as I kicked the snow from my boots and glared at the back of her head. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"Next time, I will not. It will be you." I spat, shaking my head in annoyance. "Those plants will die."
"Don't say that."
"Elain is not in earshot and why should I hide my thoughts? It is winter and they are dying."
"She planted them for us." Nesta hissed in response. "One for me, one for you and one for Feyre. If they die, she fears that one of us will die!"
"It is winter. How does she expect to keep them alive?" I rolled my eyes. "It is foolish of you to keep feeding into her superstition. She needs to grow up and start realising that there are real life consequences."
"Let her be a child."
"She is twenty-one. She is an adult." As the two eldest daughters, this was a common argument between myself and Nesta. "Stop treating her like she is twelve. For goodness sake, she is engaged."
"Stop it!" Nesta stood, stepping towards me as we glared at one another. "We will not speak anymore on this topic."
"Yes, we will." I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. "Nesta, she is not a child. We do not need to protect her, or else she will never learn. You have to let her grow up, Nesta."
"I don't want her to lose her innocence." Nesta shook her head. "We are more than mature enough for all three of us."
"We shouldn't have to be." I waved my hand, dismissing the conversation. "We'll speak on this later. I need to warm up, since you left me outside in the freezing cold."
"You're being dramatic."
Hiya,
So, first chapter of Bleeding Love and we're meeting Aimee who is in between Nesta and Elain. The relationship is going to be a fun one, and I really do love Aimee, so I'm hyped for this book.
