𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕(𝙰𝙲𝙾𝚃𝙰𝚁)

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

age: 18

Four months had passed. I had yet to consummate my marriage, but Elio was still kind to me. I'd grown close with his sister and mother.

I walked down the hallway, arm in arm with Eden, who was telling me all about the male she'd been sneaking around with.

      Eden and I had gotten off to a rough start, but over the months, we'd found pleasure in each other's company. We had played together as children, when the High Lords had meetings, so it was easy to find common ground and reminisce on those days.

"Are you sure he truly cares for you?" I wondered. "It sounds like he's using you."

"If he can get me away from here, I don't care," she grimaced. I chuckled.

      I couldn't blame her. Her father treated her and her brothers terribly. Almost as bad as he treated their mother.

      We turned the corner, both of us bumping into someone. Eris immediately began scolding us about watching where we were going, but I tuned it out, glowering at him.

"You're the one who should watch where you're going," Eden snapped at him. Not her greatest comeback.

"You really shouldn't speak to me that way," he warned her. "Not when I saw you climbing through your window at 4:00 this morning." She went red.

"Don't you dare tell anybody," she glared, hitting his arm.

        He smiled the smug smile of a male who knew he had power over somebody. I'd seen it many times in my brother when he caught me doing something I wasn't supposed to.

"Come on, Eden," I pleaded, clutching her arm.

     She sent one more glare to her smirking brother as we made our way down the hall.

"I will murder him if he tells our father," she grumbled. I giggled, shaking my head.

"If he tells, he won't have any power over you anymore."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

"I fear nobody here likes me," I admitted to Eden as we sat in the sitting room, sharing a bottle of wine.

        Elio was playing a game of cards with his brothers and father. Marzia was cleaning out the fireplace. Eden and I offered to help, but she turned us down, so we started drinking.

"My mother likes you," she promised. "Elio likes you. I'm not sure of my father or brothers."

"And what about the people of the court?" I wondered, my words slurring a bit.

"They don't like any of us," she promised. "It's my father's fault, really. He's so cruel."

"Shh," I warned, as the male was in the same room as us.

     She giggled, glancing over to make sure the male didn't hear us. She sighed, resting her head on my shoulder.

       Callum cried out in joy, which meant he likely won the game. His other brother groaned, Elio even slammed his fist against the table, which made me flinch.

"So dramatic," Eden mused. I chuckled, nodding my agreement.

        Marzia sighed as she finally stood up, ashes covering her lovely dress. I didn't understand the way the males treated her.

       Back home, my mother was never treated as less than, and neither was I. We weren't forced to do housework, nor did we have to cook. We certainly didn't get scolded for speaking our minds, and we weren't expected to have children if we didn't want them.

"Shall we retire to the bedroom, my dear?" Elio asked as he approached me.

I smiled, taking the hand he was offering me. He helped me to my feet, though I stumbled a bit, the wine going to my head.

"That'd be lovely."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

    It was four months into my marriage. I'd woken up in shattering pain, blood coating my inner thighs.

   I groaned, sitting up and clutching my stomach. I nudged my husband awake next to me.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting up.

"My cycle," I explained, squeezing my eyes shut. "I got blood on the sheets. I'm so sorry."

    He got out of the bed and made his way over to my side. He picked me up like a bride and carried me to the bathroom.

   With a wave of his hand, it was filled with water. He carefully set me on the ground.

"Take a bath," he instructed. "I'll clean the sheets. When you get out, you can go back to bed. I'll bring supplies and breakfast."

"What of my chores?" I asked, my voice straining from the pain.

"Don't worry about them," he insisted. "I'll bring you anything you'd like, my dear."

"You're too kind to me," I said, my face blushing.

   He chuckled, leaning down a pressing a kiss to my forehead. I watched as he left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. I stripped out of my nightgown and lowered myself into the tub.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

    Eden came clambering into my bedroom, waking me a from a much needed nap. I groaned, chucking a pillow at her. She giggled, catching it and climbing into bed with me.

"I brought you chocolates," she announced, handing me a bag. "These are the ones Eris always brings me when I'm on my cycle."

    I raised an eyebrow at that. Eris didn't seem decent enough to do that. Though, I hadn't spoken a word to him in my four months here. I was still furious about what happened to my cousin.

"Thank you," I sighed, sitting up and indulging in one. I moaned at the taste, nodding my approval. "Delicious."

"I also brought some novels," she grinned.

"I don't like reading," I complained.

"Oh, you'll like this," she smirked. "I can even read it out loud to you."

    I nodded my agreement, resting my head on her shoulder as she opened it up and began reading out loud to me.