𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕(𝙰𝙲𝙾𝚃𝙰𝚁)

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

age: 19

I loved the sheets of my bed. They were silky and poofy, the perfect shade of evergreen. Being tangled in them with a book in my hands was the perfect afternoon.

One of the full length windows was open, and the crisp autumn air was creeping in and tickling my nose. I sighed contently.

I read peacefully until the door opened. I sat up, watching as my husband entered and fixed his shirt in our full body mirror.

I squinted, noticing a red mark on his eye. I stood up and rushed over to him, turning him to face me.

"Eve--"

"Gods, Elio," I sighed as I took in this sight. He had a bruise on his cheekbone and a cut on his lip as well. "Sit down."

He was sensible enough not to argue. I sat him down and began dabbing at his lip with a handkerchief.

"What happened?" I questioned. "Did you get in a fight with one of your siblings?"

Rhys and I had roughed each other up on several occasions growing up. I had even gotten into it with Cassian once.

"My father," he admitted. I raised a brow. "I expressed concern for my mother. I said she shouldn't be doing all that housework while pregnant."

"So he hit you?"

"You know how it is with fathers," he pointed out. I shook my head.

"I don't, actually," I admitted. "Mine never hit us."

"Never?"

"Not once."

"The High Lord of the Night Court never hit you?" He seemed very skeptical.

"I know he gets a bad reputation," I acknowledged. "But he never raised a hand to us. He yelled, and our mother would send us to bed without supper. But that was all."

"I'm sorry, I'm just surprised," he confessed. "He sold you."

"Yes," I recalled, putting pressure on his wound. "And I know he had his reasons, but I'm not sure I'll ever forgive him for that. No offense."

"None taken," he grinned.

"I always thought I knew him," I opened up, glancing down at my lap. "But when he sold me, I realized I didn't know him at all. My mother will likely never forgive him."

"So you think she'll stay with him?" he wondered.

"Yes," I confirmed with a deep sigh. "Illyrian females get their wings clipped when they come of age. Just as she was about to get hers clipped, my father saved her. She'll always consider herself in debt to him. I also think she fears that if she leaves him, he'll clip her wings."

"Were yours clipped?"

"No," I denied. "I was living with my mother when I came of age. She ordered the camp lords to leave my wings alone. She was Lady of Night, so they obeyed. If they had disobeyed her, they would've had to face my father."

   He grimaced at that.

"But you know it's not normal," I informed him. "The way your father treats you, your mother, your siblings. How your mother, Eden, and I are expected to do the housework and cooking. None of that is normal."

"It's all I've ever known," he said quietly. I sighed, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"I'll start taking over most of the housework so your mother can do the less physically demanding things," I promised. "I'll talk to Eden. I'm sure she'd help." Relief washed over his face.