𝐼𝑁𝑁𝑂𝐶𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐸 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝑇 // 𝐴. 𝐷𝐸 𝑅𝑈𝑁𝐸

𝑋𝑋𝑉𝐼𝐼𝐼

| XXVIII. When the Lamb Strays From the Flock |

—

That night, Marion did not dream of an endless void, or squealing babes. She dreamt of the dungeon; she could feel the most stone beneath her, and Bastien's firm grip on her biceps– she thrashed and kicked to no avail... even in her nightmares, she was weak. He pushed her down onto the wet floor, and lifted up her skirt– her mother's skirt. Did her mother fight Lord Nicholas? Did she thrash and kick and bite– anything to keep her decency? Or did she just lay there, as was expected of her?

Marion woke up with a gasp, the memory of Bastien lingering on her skin. She wanted to forget, to push each memory into the darkest pits of her mind and never think of him or that fucking dungeon ever again. But she couldn't, not when she carried part of him with her.

She sat up, and stared into the dying fire inside the hearth. Her lower lip stung, and the familiar taste of iron coated the tip of her tongue. Hugo and Amicia were still sleeping– though Hugo was not clinging onto his sister as he usually did in his sleep. Marion sucked the blood off her lip, before pushing the ratty blanket draped across her figure away. She unraveled her cloak–that she also used as a pillow–as she stood up, and wrapped it around her shoulders, fastening the ties in the front.

The dark-haired girl quietly made her way out to the broken room with the tree, sitting at its base and sucking in a deep breath. The cold air stung her lungs, but she didn't cough– not yet at least. She just wanted a few moments alone, that dream had shaken her up... it was not nearly as vivid as the other's she'd had, yet it still swirled through her mind.

Her eyes drifted down to her stomach; it didn't really look like there was a baby in there... she just looked like she ate a bit too much at a feast. She felt a bit guilty about all the things she'd said... she didn't necessarily want it, but she didn't have a choice in the matter; it was still hers. It made her feel strange; she was growing a whole human, and it would be her human. She would have to feed it, care for it, and love it...

Marion didn't know how to be a mother. She didn't exactly have one to look up to either– if you don't count Béatrice. A short time after Hugo was born, when she was around nine or ten, the woman buried herself in her studies... she barely had time for Amicia, let alone the motherless girl she had attached herself to. Now Marion would have to maneuver her way through motherhood as a girl who'd never even held a babe, let alone a sick one.

What if it was worse than Hugo? Béatrice was never bitten by a rat. She couldn't stop her mind from creating horrendous images– not of a sick babe, but a monstrous thing. The rational part of her knew that her baby wouldn't be born with sharp teeth, or claws, or a skinny little tail, or strange, unexplainable deformities... but nothing about this situation was rational. How was she to love a babe, let alone a monster? A real mother would know.

Marion clenched her jaw, and buried her face into her knees. She didn't let any tears leak from her eyes, crying would do nothing to help her. And there was nothing that could get rid of it.

Her nose began to run: she couldn't discern if it was from holding in her tears, or the cold air around her. Either way, she knew it was time to go inside. Marion stood up once again, brushing away the light layer of snow that hadn't yet seeped into the skirt of her 'cloak'.

Shivering, she quickly walked back into the main room, her breath just as shaky as her jaw. She was focused on re-lighting the now dead fire in the hearth– till her eyes fell on the half-empty bedroll on the floor just in front of it.

Hugo was gone.

—

A/N

WHATSUP MY SIGMAS. Ive been on vacation, so I'm sorry for this minuscule chapter (It's like only 600 something words). I promise the next one will be much longer.

Also, my freind @g1ul1a_k and I have made a production, so FACE REVEAl. Im the one with the ridiculous afro, I edited it so it's super hashtag awesome.

(Okay it won't let me post it on here, so go to the tiktok account .lucas.the.perfidious)