Nightfully ;Azriel

7

Nesta refused to tell her Feyre's story without a deal. Accept the marriage proposal from Benjamin Dolan then she'd tell the entire story with nothing left out. Althea clenched her jaw and walked out of the room, her head held high not accepting the one sided deal her sister offered. 

She'd just wait. 

But Nesta was smarter than her. She went out of her way to invite Grayson, Elain's fiance and Benjamin to dinner at least twice a week. She'd have Benjamin join them in town while we went on their little errands which was meant to be a sisterly thing but she guessed desperation changes things. 

She even made him bring Althea lunch. 

"Your sister is trying too hard, i doubt a lord likes being told what to do." Mrs. Robins said to Althea one afternoon after Benjamin visited them at the shop. She shook her head, her tongue clicking in disappointment. "You'll sooner have an enemy rather than a lover if you don't accept that proposal soon."

She ignored the older lady's statement and tried to go on with her day. 

Unfortunately for her, Nesta was extremely persistent and if Althea wasn't so patient she would've been tired of it. How long has it been? Oh yes, three weeks? Maybe a bit longer. Althea couldn't take it anymore, she slammed the ring box shut. Althea made it quite clear that she was not going to marry him and yet they all just wouldn't stop. 

There was one thing Althea hated the most and that was being told what to do. Maybe if they weren't so persistent and adamant about her getting engaged she would've. But she didn't like to prove others right when it didn't benefit her.

She marched right into the living room where, Nesta and Elain sat sorting their mail. She noticed a few letters piled on top of each other besides them and assumed it was hers. They had enough respect not to look through each other's mail. 

Althea didn't say a word and picked up the letters quickly skimming through the sender's names. With a scoff Althea walked towards the fireplace and threw them in, her fingers curling around the fabric of her dress. Damned marriage proposals.

"They're going to keep sending if you don't reply." Nesta spoke up from her seat, not looking up.

Althea lifted her chin. "And I'll burn each and every one of them."

Elain pursed her lips. Her blue eyes meet Althea's ones. "Is it really that bad if you get engaged?"

Her sweet and innocent older sister. Althea nodded her head thinking about the fact that most men, especially lords would never allow her to work as a herbalist healer and make her do house work instead. Benjamin was the only person who showed some leniency but still, she would never take the risk. 

"I don't want a man telling me how to be, I want to do what i want to do before getting tangled up with someone else for the rest of my life." She bit the insides of her cheeks before continuing. "I'd be expected to carry the bloodline even if i don't want to and all these men are the age of our father, if I'm to marry I'd rather marry someone worth looking at." 

"You don't want children?" Elain asked curiously.

"Maybe one day, if I'm so madly in love with someone that I want a mini us running around, then maybe." Althea shrugged away the answer before turning to face her elder sisters with a smile. "But maybe we should live together in a pretty cottage covered in flowers, where we all have our own pet kittens and scare away kids for the rest of our lives." she hummed jokingly. 

Nesta made a face. "I'd rather feed myself to the wolves before living with you for the rest of my life."

A snort. "It's more likely that you'll scare the wolves away the second they see you." 

With a glare Nesta looked down at her pile of letters. "You're just jealous that young lords want to marry me and not you, maybe it's your hair, they probably think you're a witch." She shrugged. "You should change it."

Althea grumbled. "If they thought I was a witch they would've burnt me at the stake by now."

Elain gasped. "Don't say that, it's bad luck."

Althea didn't reply instead she sat across Nesta the latter not bothering looking up, if she was going to say something about her sister's scheme she might as well do it now. She fiddled with her sisters letters, skimming the names as casually as she could, then she tapped her fingers against the wooden table, letting out the loudest sigh she could. 

"What." 

Althea smiled sweetly at Nesta. "Dearest sister," she started as nicely as she could before her smile vanished from her face. "Stop trying to set me up with Benjamin it's getting on my nerves."

Nesta leaned back into her chair with a brow raised while Elain muttered something about getting more tea.  Althea knew that they were going to end the conversation being angry at each other, and that peacemaker part of her, the one that lived back at the cottage and still lingered here when necessary fought against the upcoming conversation, sending waves of anxiety throughout her body. She pushed it down as quickly as it came, knowing that if she didn't she would fall back at her sister's relentlessness. 

A low chuckle left Nesta's lips, her piercing blue eyes trained right at her. Just like their mothers. "And why would I do that?" Her brow was still raised, waiting for a reply. Smugly might she add.

Althea clenched her dress, the fabric soft and warm yet she found no comfort from them. "I'm not ready for marriage Nesta." was all she could muster but even that made her scoff. 

"That's no excuse." She shook her head. "Not ready for marriage? What? Are you scared of intimacy? Are you a prude?"

She pushed down the offensive remark. "Commitment." Althea replied curtly. 

"Still no excuse." She waved Althea away. "If you don't want to marry, find me a better excuse."

Elain walked in the room with tea. "I used some of the soothing leaves you bought and mixed some honey with it." 

Althea and Nesta never cut eye contact. 

"I don't need a better excuse its my life."

Nesta scoffed. "A life you don't know how to control." her eyes were narrowed. "Until you understand why I'm doing this you have no say in who you marry." 

She stood from her seat, Althea felt hot. Bubbling anger threatened to spill, pouring at her edges like an overflowing pot left on a stove too long. "You Nesta Acheron have no empathy." 

"Empathy gets you no where."

"Stop with the curt answers! I want to know why you're so adamant about my marriage! Why aren't you telling me about Feyre- and why-why you're such a bitch." Althea hissed, she didn't miss the way the teacup clattered in Elain's hand or the way a dangerous flash flashed across Nesta's eyes. 

Elain gasped. "Althea apologise Nesta now." She set the teacup down. "That's no way for you to speak, have some tea and-" 

Althea moved away from the dining table and took a step back, her head held high. "I will personally tell Lord Dolan to call off the engagement. And you will tell me everything that happened to Feyre behind that wall." Her fingers still tightened around her dress. "Until then i will not speak a word to you." 

"Althea-!" 

She didn't listen to Elain's cry as she walked up to her room, the anger she felt was still nowhere near satisfied.