A Court of Silent Suffering

~ 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 ~

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𝓜𝓪𝓲𝓼𝔂

She stared at the girl sitting in front of her, unsure of what to do. Lucien had shown up at the bakery's doorstep, Elara in tow, nearly begging Aster to look after her for the day. Aster, both being the mother hen she is and knowing what today is, immediately agreed and called for her daughter. Maisy had grumbled for a bit, but after seeing the stern look on her mothers face she agreed to entertain Elara. 

"Sooooooooooo..." She drew out the word, eyes bouncing around the familiar bakery in which she lived. 

"Humannnnn..." Again, she stalled out the syllables. 

"What was it like - over there? with other... humans?" Great start Maisy, great start. She internally cursed herself.

The red haired girl didn't answer. 

Okkkkkk... Maisy studied her outfit again, the paint-stained overalls bringing a small wave of comfort and inspiration. 

She looked back at the quiet human, with a slight confidence boost before asking:

"Do you know how to paint?" 

.✦　˚

𝓔𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓪

She studied the slightly off-white canvas. The paintbrush also sat In front of her, both waiting to be used. 

"Here- do you know how to hold it?"

Maisy hadn't given her a chance to answer when she whisked Elara's hand into her own. Elara jolted at the sudden contact, but Maisy didn't give her space to feel uncomfortable. The girl radiated kindness, albeit mixed with sharpness, but everything about her simply screamed warmth, and ease, both of which Elara certainly needed a lot of.

"So just dip into the color you want, aaaaand there! on the canvas it goes." A soft pink stroke of paint appeared on the blank surface. Elara met Maisy's eyes, nodding slightly to the unasked question. 

Maisy then turned to her own, already started painting and began adding minuscule details with short brush swipes. Elara let out a silent breath, glad the attention was off of her. She then raised up the brush before touching it down to the linen. 

.✦　˚

Elara brushed off the distant feeling of wrongness. Tonight had a certain air about it, the same way prythian felt when she first woke up in the spring court. Over the little time she had been here though, the feeling faded.

Tonight brought it back with an exclamation mark.

She tried to focus on the sweet smell of food, the smell alone of Aster's cooking making her melt. A few words found their way out of her during her time with Maisy, even more spilling out to thank Aster for her trouble. The small living space behind the bakery was the coziest place Elara could have ever imagined, and she felt no need to be anyone but herself in the tiny home. 

Aster walked over to the wooden table, arms laden with dishes of every kind. Elara's eyes grew as she took in the feast, the sinister feeling from earlier slinking away. She almost didn't notice Aster taking Maisy aside for a harsh whisper conversation. Almost. She thought she heard Maisy's name, and something about fires but she decided it wasn't her business. She waited, hands folded in her lap for Aster and Maisy to take they're seats. She saw an extra plate set out on the table, empty, next to Asters already claimed spot. Did she have a husband? Maisy didn't mention anythi-

"Alright then girls, go right ahead. I'll be right back with-" Aster's words trailed off with her as she walked out. Elara only looked to Maisy for confirmation before reaching out for food.

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Ok I know the picture was taken in a car so not very acotar, but this is what I envisioned for Maisy's outfit:

https://pin.it/4s5ivOQfz

and the painting she was working on: (my girls an artist ooo la la)

https://pin.it/1JFk7IbxN

aaaaand elara's painting: 

https://pin.it/1S7DOnUWn

(haha its abstract don't come after her)

and y'all I PROMISE maisy is not a mini Feyre just because she likes to paint - she is her own person who happens to have the same hobby as someone else in the series. don't assume things about her because of her likes/interests. don't do that to anybody in real life either, dislike/like/love people for who they really are and not what they do for a hobby, sport, etc. 

anyways - right now (as I'm writing this note) the book is only a few reads away from 700!! thats absolutely insane to me and I'm so thankful <3 

hopefully I can discipline myself enough to put these chapters on a schedule, but no promises haha 

just know, I care about these characters so much and wont rest until they're stories are finished <3

also you guys - (don't if you don't want to ofc) but I would love to see some comments? any feedback really I would love to hear from anyone about anything! (and anyone can always pm me too!)

go eat something besties <3

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