𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝟎𝟕

     It was nearing the crack of dawn when Arya rose awake from her dreamless sleep. She sits up, ignoring the ache on her back from sleeping on the hard floor right at the end of their tiny bed. In the last few years, the three sisters kept trying to convince her to sleep on their bed with them but the three can barely fit in it and Arya would rather herself sleep on the floor than have one of them do so.

Arya quickly gets dressed for the day before quietly piling all their dirty clothes in a basket to wash. She walks out of the room, trailing down the hallway to the kitchen. She let out a sigh through her nose as she stole a glance at Arthur who was huddled in their tiny settee by the dying hearth.

A week after Arthur sent all his ships out, news came back that all of the ships ended up destroyed on their journey. The creditors he owed his debts to came by their estate whilst Arya was in town and ransacked their entire estate, leaving them with enough to move into the tiny cabin they now inhabit. Though, the creditors didn't feel it was enough and proceeded to break Arthur's knee, leaving him crippled.

It was Feyre who ran to the village, crying as she frantically looked for Arya. Without Arya's power, she wasn't able to heal the knee back to normal. It took six months for Arthur to be able to walk and a year to be able to walk a mile. The man sold wood carvings that he made in their sitting room, only gaining a measly amount of money throughout the years.

Nesta hated their father and she made that known. Elain was the comfort for the family, even though her eyes had dimmed a little, she still had hope in them with a smile on her face. Feyre did not accept the fact that Arya was the only one working to take care of all of them and after several arguments, Arya hesitantly allowed the youngest Archeron to go out to hunt.

It wasn't an easy decision and it took almost half a year of Feyre convincing her mother figure to let her hunt. Arya took as many shifts as she could at the medical centre in the village but the truth was the money she was paid along with the inconsistency of Arthur's income wasn't enough to feed five grown stomachs and buy necessities they needed. Therefore the decision to allow Feyre to go out in the forest became clear and so Arya allowed it, only with a few conditions.

Arya was to teach Feyre basic survival skills in case she was attacked or had to camp in the forest, which was only to be her very last resort. She had to come home before dusks ended every day. Feyre agreed to those conditions without a second of consideration and she was allowed to go out in the forest alone once Arya deemed she was trained well enough to.

The fae bought Elain a couple of flowering seeds along with some herbs and simple vegetable seeds to plant in their backyard. Nesta who lived with wealth surrounding her took a lot more pushing to help around the house. The woman was stubborn and with the coldness in her eyes, every person became her target for resentment except for Elain. However, at the end of the day, she respected Arya and looked up to her as a mother so with a huff and a roll of her eyes she inevitably obeyed and did the chores as long as it wasn't getting her dresses dirty.

With a shake of her head, Arya focuses back on the present. She rounds the settee and softly throws a few logs into the hearth to keep the fire going. She takes a glance at the near-empty pile of wood and notes down to cut some later today.

It turned bright outside by the time she finished all their laundry, she was almost done hanging the last few pieces of clothing on the clothesline when Feyre walked out of the cabin dressed and ready to hunt.

"Morning honey," Arya smiles softly which Feyre returns.

"Morning ma," she greets with a kiss on Arya's cheeks. "Thank you for sharpening my bows last night."

Arya nods at her as a welcome and Feyre continues, "I told Nesta to chop some wood and please do not do it for her."

With a sigh, Arya shakes her head. "We might freeze to death before she moves to chop some wood." And Feyre shrugs, "Well if that's what it takes for her to learn her lesson."