A Court of Silent Suffering

~ 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓮𝓷 ~

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The pink sunrise put the color on the walls to shame. Elara sat, greedily drinking it in from the window seat in her room. The rounded window stretched above her to capture the sky in its frame. She had risen much earlier to whisper to the stars, sleep running from her grasp after Tamlin and Lucien's argument. She lightly held her head in her hands, watching as the last wisps of night faded away. A small cough sounded behind her, and her long hair swept over her shoulder as she turned to see who it was. 

"Elara." Tamlin said her name like a statement, with no room for comments.

"Tamlin" She replied, standing and giving a bow of her head. He didn't return the gesture, instead continuing with his speech.

"Tomorrow night, stay inside. You know I don't ask much of you, ever. I give you everything, so just stay in your room." He waited one last moment before turning on his heel and marching away. She watched his retreating back disappear before returning to ogling the sunrise.

.✦　˚

"Alright, so first you'll need a pair of riding boots- don't make a face you can't just run around barefoot all the time. You know this is technically a court, with nobility?" Lucien pulled the laces tighter, the boot hugging Elara's shin snugly. She only let out a light laugh, as there was no way Lucien could ever be serious like emissaries from the human world. 

"Yeah yeah - like you could ever take anything seriously" His teasing words rolled off her, a shield of excitement forming as the stable hand brought over two horses. She glanced down to check Lucien was done tying the shoes before bouncing up to her feet to greet the mares. As she stroked down the soft mane of one of the horses, she felt Lucien step up behind her. 

"Careful, my Koda doesn't take well to new people-" He spoke in a low whisper, but Elara still felt the change in the animal before her. The horse threw its head back, rising upwards over Elara. They both screeched loudly, Elara immediately dropping inwards on herself and onto the floor. Before Koda could bring her hoofs down, Lucien roughly grabbed Elara and hurled her into his arms. She was shaking, tears already racing like her heartbeat. 

"Ok-ok its fine- your fine-" He rushed words out, sitting against a stable door with Elara curled in his arms. She turned him out, trying to focus on her breath. After a few more moments, she returned to herself. Lucien didn't seem to notice, and continued to whisper in her ear. She just looked up at him, silently asking if he was done. He looked back into her eyes, nodding before standing up and setting her lightly on her own feet. The silence reigned for a while after that, neither of them speaking as Lucien helped her up onto the other horse brought in with Koda. He hopped onto Koda, and with a brief pause to assess Elara's face, he grabbed her horse's reins and led them out of the stables. 

.✦　˚

She stared. 

She stared, unblinkingly, for what felt like forever and never at the stars. Her and Lucien had ridden around in the woods for hours, staying close to the edge of the forest lest any things find them. As soon as the sun set, Elara felt her attention immediately shift upwards to the twinkling beauties she loved so much. She drew invisible lines between them with her eyes, tracing design after design in her mind. An ache slowly ebbed into her neck, but it wasn't as important as this indescribable feeling. 

She stared at the stars as if trying to commit each and every one to memory. 

She stared at the stars as if someone was going to take them away.

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oh... well

its been a while... sorry about that...

also sorry that this chapter was a bit short - I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and be creative recently

also, hi! this is the first time you guys are hearing from me and let me just say- the attention these ten chapters have been getting is unreal to me

nearly 650 reads?? that's so mind blowing to me and I'm so grateful <3

and well not to be one of those people but make sure everyone is taking care of themselves

I know firsthand how bad the wattpad rabbit hole can be, and how easy it is to lose yourself in fiction - so make sure u drink some water ok bestie? 

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.