These threads that bind and tear *A dark fae fantasy- romance*

Chapter 2: The day the threads stood still and the sky burned

Aveline sat cross legged on a small red carpet, watching the fires embers burn black and the flames lick the air violently. She waved the smoke from her eyes absentmindedly, the silvery trails slinking around her fingers and stinging her eyes. The soot and ash had long coated the edge of the fire pit as she stoked the fire, turning a large already burning log over.

The oratory was a modest building build of soft stone carved from the mountain by her ancestors. A sacred architectural monument comprised of two parts; the outer ring which was separated into two halves by four grand columns. The seven gods her kind worshiped notched into the deep red wood. The beams arched into the doorway holding up the heavy roof with broad arms and pointed gazes. Small lanterns burned through out the ground bathing the rooms in a soft golden glow. The torches flickering across the windows, adorned with crystallised stained glass, and small cracks left by time. Both the outer and inner walls were decorated with ancient symbols that had been lost to them the symbols entangling amongst depictions of fated threads, a golden line continuing through each stage of life or monuments their history.

Aveline's golden eyes traced one of the earliest etchings, signs of wear rubbing off some of the detail. The woman's eyes burned into her own, gold paint coated her eyes, she held her hands out towards the sky, her hair whipped across her face, perhaps thousands of strings grasped between her thin fingers while she looked to the sky. Behind the long figure was a bright white smear of paint, perhaps a mistake and a moon with a black think line drawn down the middle. Sometimes Aveline swore that this lady watched her knowing some dark secret she was yet unaware of her smile mocking her.

Aveline couldn't shake the unease still twisting in her gut. She had briefly wondered if she had been mistaken when she saw the thread stand still but when she saw her mother and family huddled around the Grim-hold, their hands pointing through the book and harsh whispers, she knew that what she had seen was something to worry about. What had began as a faint whisper at the back of her mind, like an itch just out of reach, had grown into something darker, more tangible. The air around her felt too thick, each breath heavier than the last. Her skin prickled, and her heartbeat quickened, though there was no immediate danger she could see. Still, the feeling gnawed at her, like a shadow lurking just beyond her sight. Something was wrong.

Aveline focused back on the conversation her Mother was speaking, her voice low and harsh with urgency. "Caelith, please be reasonable. We do not know what this sign means. We have read every chapter of the Grim-hold, the threads have never stilled there is simply no record of this happening"

Her aunt took a long shaky breath. Her long hair flowing loose over her shoulders creating a soft veil, the small grey hairs catching the light of the fire. "We cannot simply expect our village to pack up on the whim of a potential. This is our home! We have young children and the vulnerable to think of." Her aunt pulled at a page in the Grim-hold, the page dimpling slightly under the pressure, holding the frail paper to the fire. Her brows creased together in concentration.

Sighing her Anut gently closed the book, massaging the points between her eyes and releasing a long sigh. "The way I see it, the threads burn to an end when a death is near, there are no signs of death or harm that I have seen. There are no signs of distraction in this path." She turned to meet her golden eyes, the reflection of the waves in the fire dancing in her eyes. "Aveline in your rounds this evening, have you noticed any changes at all? Any things that concerns you?"

Aveline scanned her Aunt Caelith's face, years of duty reading the threads for potential danger had weighed on her painting small lines into the sides of her eyes and forehead, half moon circles hugged her gentle almond eyes, brightened only my her golden eyes. She felt her stomach knot. "I have not noticed any differences yet Aunt Cae, the people seem healthy and happy, the threads appear strong ..." She hesitated drawing a slow shallow breathe struggling to find her words, her hand finding her stomach "but I feel something stirring, I can't explain it but I feel danger brewing beneath the surface."