daylight

chapter six. . . the lakes

tw: implications of sa? i don't really know how to tag this sorry. but the one of the scene includes dorcas' assualter trying to intimidate her, i'll warn the reader when that part gets mentioned, then it stops before the ***. i'll give a tl;dr in the author's note.

DAWN GIGGLED TO HERSELF, LEANING AGAINST THE COUNTER AS SHE JOTTED SOMETHING DOWN. "What've you got there, Dawnie?" Thalia asked, lugging a heavy bag of flour through the front door. The young girl looked up at her, eyes wide before slamming the book closed. Thalia looked at her suspiciously, the bag falling to the floor with a loud THUD.

"Nothing," the girl replied quickly, getting up and running to their room. Thalia chased after her, tackling her onto Dorcas' bed. She clutched the book close to her chest, as Thalia tried to yank it from her grasp.

"That better not be what I think it is," Thalia growled, straddling Dawn's waist as she tried to hold her younger sister down while retrieving the book. "That better not be my diary," but it was obvious-if not because Dawn didn't own a writing book, but by the rainbow ribbon.

"I need it!" Dawn exclaimed, attempting to shove Thalia to the floor and escape. However, her grip on the book slipped and Thalia snatched it up.

She flicked to the page Dawn was scribbling on, only to find a page full of names. "What's this?" Dawn's face flushed, as she looked down at the ground.

"My baby name's list," she whispered, refusing to make eye contact with her older sister.

Thalia snorted, holding the book up to cover the bottom of her face. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Thalia sighed, ripping the page out of her book and handing it to the brunette. "Next time, ask for paper, and I'll give you-actually, I'll buy you some if you need it so badly," she offered, flicking back to make sure her song was still intact.

"It's a nice song, by the way," she complimented, drawing Thalia's scowling eyes to her face. The blonde scanned her sister's expression for any sarcasm, sighing softly when she didn't see any. "Was it for me?"

Thalia bit her lip and nodded, "Yep. You and Dorcas," it wasn't a complete lie. Only a half-lie. Besides, it was worth it to see the beaming smile that occupied Dawn's face. The brunette ran up and hugged her sister, mumbling appreciation before going back to help Dorcas with baking. However, a sinking feeling returned to her stomach as she realised something. If Dawn could find it that easily, what if someone else did as well? It wasn't like she'd written anything besides the one song-no secrets, or diary entries-but what if that changed?

She pulled up the planks under her bed, hiding the diary under there along with other contraband that would have her hanged at the tree if the peacekeepers found it. It was quite an obvious hiding place, however, it had served perfectly well for the past few years. No one had found it. Yet. . .

*trigger warning applies ahead.*

As she replaced the planks, the door slammed open. "When you're baking something, for the love of. . . everything set a timer," Dorcas snapped. There was something off about her, however, as her voice trembled. Her eyes were wide and teary, as her gaze shifted back to the door that led to the front.

"What? I'm not baking anything right now," Thalia replied, getting up and following her older sister to the kitchen. However, on their way there, Dorcas grabbed her wrist and turned to open the door to the front, where three peacekeepers stood. Thalia sucked in a deep breath, before plastering a smile on her face. "What can I get you fellas?"

One of them had a knowing smirk, as his gaze refused to leave Dorcas' direction. The other two stood at ease, their guns by their sides but not sheathed. Were they expecting trouble? Thalia had never seen her sister so. . . helpless. She cowered behind the door, her head barely peeking through. A nagging feeling occupied her stomach, as she waited patiently for the peacekeepers-one of them, any of them-to reply.