𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 | morrigan

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞

Winter was a peacefull season. Everything was quiet and not many people bothered to go outside into the deadly snow. But some people didn't have a choice. They had to go outside in order to provide food for their family. If they didn't, well, then said family would die.

Marina and Feyre Archeron were two of those people. It was freezing and despite not being able to feel certain toes and fingers for a while now, the two women sat high up in a tree, completely still. They were waiting for prey to cross their path and, if they were lucky, the animal would be big enough to feed their family for a while.

Just when Marina was about to open her mouth and say that they should return to the cottage, a deer walked by the tree. Quick as lightning, Marina pulled her dagger out of its leather sheath. In the same breath, Feyre aimed one of her arrows at the animal.

Just as Marina was about to throw her dagger, Feyre stopped her with a motion of her hand. The younger woman pointed a finger in the direction behind the deer. Marina turned her gaze to where Feyre's finger was pointing at -- there, in the snow, a gray wolf had decided to hunt the same animal as the two women.

Marina looked over at Feyre and saw a decision flash across her sisters face. Feyre reached back to her quiver and pulled the ashwood arrow out. Marina couldn't do anything but watch as Feyre pointed her bow at the unnaturally big wolf and let the arrow fly.

It hit the wolfs side and when the creature hit the ground, Feyre shot an ordinary wooden arrow through it's eye. The deer, trying to escape it's inevitable death, landed a few feet away from the wolf, Marina's dagger in it's side.

Feyre turned her head to smile happily at her sister and then climbed down the tree. Marina did the same thing  and the two women silently agreed that Marina would skin the wolf and Feyre would take the deer and start walking back to the cottage.

Marina was fast, the sun was setting and it was dangerous to walk back in the dark while a snowstorm neared. She came back to the cottage to see Feyre cleaning the deer, while Nesta and Elain sat in front of the fire.

She sighed at the sight of them. The oldest loved her sisters dearly, but she couldn't help but feel some kind of resentment at her two younger sisters. They let the youngest of the family, the one Marina had practically raised as her own child, do all the hard work while they didn't even lift a finger.

Marina didn't resent them for her sake, but rather for Feyre's. Nesta's head turned the moment she heard Marina enter. The second-oldest nodded in greeting and Marina nodded back. Though deep within her she resented the two middle sisters, she didn't show it.

Moving toward Feyre, the oldest Archeron pushed her out of the way and took over cleaning the animal. Feyre smiled at her gratefully and Marina smiled at her like a mother would at her child. While cleaning the animal, Marina drifted off into her memories. More specifically, a memory of her and Feyre.

The youngest Archeron was around four, while Marina was twelve. The two of them were in the garden of their old mansion and Feyre was picking flowers, while Marina just watched the toddler. Young Feyre waddled back to her older sister, a bundle of flowers in her little hands. "Here, for you, Mama", she said and handed her the bouquet.

Little Marina just sat there for a moment, trying to process that her yougest sister had just called her 'Mama'. It made sense to her. Their mother rarely took care of Feyre, so the young girl spend most of her time with her eldest sister.

Marina smiled at her sister, "Thank you, Feyre. Come on, we should be getting back, dinner should be ready any moment." She took the bouquet in her left hand and held Feyre's hand with her right. Feyre had called her sister 'Mama' a few times over the years after that, but since they started hunting, she had stopped.

Smiling at the memory, Marina had finished cleaning the deer and was now roasting a part of it over the fire. It shouldn't take long now and so she ordered her second-youngest sister to set the table. Elain didn't dare talk back when Marina gave her a stern look.

Cleaning herself up with a simple wet cloth, Marina put on the one dress she owned and brushed her hair with her fingers. She had somewhere to be after dinner. Feyre was just handing out equal pieces of meat to their sisters and father when Marina entered the room.

Dinner was just as joyfull as usuall (that meant, not at all), when Nesta brought up the topic of marrying Tomas Mandray. "Well, I said to him. 'If you think you can ask me so nonchalantly, sir, I'm going to decline!' And you know what Tomas said?" Armes braced on the table and eyes wide, Elain shook her head.

"Tomas Mandray?", Feyre interrupted. "The woodcutter's son?" Nesta's blue-gray eyes narrowed. "Yes", she said, and shifted to address Elain again. "What does he want?", Feyre glanced at their father. No reaction -- no hint of alarm or sign that he was even listening. Lost to whatever fog of memory had crept over him, he was smiling midly at his beloved Elain, the only one who bothered to talk to him. Nesta and Feyre didn't because they blamed him for their poverty and resented him for not even trying to provide food or money, but Marina had different reasons.

"He wants to marry her", Elain said dreamily. Feyre blinked and Marina chuckled under her breath. Nesta cocked her head -- Marina had seen predators use that movement before. She sometimes wondered if her unrelenting steel would have helped them better survive -- trive, even -- if she hadn't been so preoccupied with their lost status.

"Is there a problem, Feyre?", Nesta flung her name at her like an insult and Marina shot her sister a warning look. Their father shifted in his seat, blinking, and Feyre, brave and foolish at the same time, reacted to Nesta's taunts. "You can't chop wood for us, but you want to marry a woodcutter's son?"

Nesta squared her shoulders. "I thought all you wanted was for us to get out of the house -- to marry off me, Elain and even Marina, although that would be a hard task given her reputation, so you can have enough time to paint your glorious masterpieces." She sneered at the pillar of foxglove Feyre'd painted at the edge of the table -- the colors too dark and too blue, with none of the white freckling inside the trumpets. "Nesta, enough!", Marina scolded her sister.

But Feyre continued. "Believe me, the day you want to marry someone worthy, I'll march up to his house and hand you over. But you're not going to marry Tomas." Marina sighed at her sister, she should just leave the matter alone, Nesta would come to her senses in a while.

Nesta's nostrils delicately flared. "There's nothing you can do. Clare Beddor told me this afternoon that Tomas is going to propose to me any day now. And then I'll never have to eat these scraps again." Marina had enough of this. Her sister would not talk bad about Feyre while she didn't do anything to provide food.  

"Enough, now. Nesta, Tomas' family is barely better off than our own. You'd just be another mouth to feed. If you want to have a better life so bad, maybe you should try to get a job in town." Marina saw the snappy remark in her sisters eyes before she even opened her mouth.

"What? Like you? I will not go and whore my body away for a few coppers. I would rather die than sink that low", Nesta knew her words had hit their mark when her sisters eyes darkened. Marina stood aprubtly, a glare on her face. "I have to go. Whore my body away for the few coppers that provide the cloths on your body."

Feyre watched with worry in her eyes when her sister left the cottage. She loved Marina dearly and it pained her to think about the things her sister did to keep them alive. Nobody should be forced to do something like that only to keep their family from starving.

hey loves
hope you liked the first chapter
i'm so excited for this story, i just love mor and i have so many plans for marina's character
also, the love story between marina and mor is going to be slow burn
thoughts on marina's character so far?
please vote and comment :)