Rising

Oh, Brother.

JUST SO MY READERS KNOW, I DID NOT ENJOY WRITING THIS, BUT IT IS NECESSARY.

Wren was reading one of her favorite books while curled up in her family's library when she heard the door to the library creak open. She thought nothing of it until the book she was engrossed in was snatched out of her hands. Looking up to see the sharp angles and glittering purple eyes of her brother, her stomach turned and palms started to sweat.

"What are you doing hiding in here, little bird? I have been looking for you."

Wren stood so that she wasn't as easy a target and lifted her chin to try and meet his gaze and she softly said, "I wasn't hiding, Soren, I was just reading."

Her older brother pinched her chin between his long fingers and growled, "You are mine, that means whenever I want you, I need to be able to find you."

Her pulse was the only thing she could hear and she prayed that someone would come looking for her, but they never did. No one ever came to stop Soren. If she truly resisted him he was able to use his power to lull her into trusting and accepting his onslaught. Soren had the ability to bring others to trust him instantaneously, but the effects wore off after a few hours. He didn't need much time though. He enjoyed her tears, he loved to hear her cry and beg him to stop.

Soren was three years older than her, so he had always been her hero. Until she had turned twelve. When Wren had started to develop into a woman Soren's touches became less brotherly, his glances held intention, and his words had a menace behind them. At first Wren hadn't understood what was happening, and then one night Soren snuck into her room. Soren climbed into bed with his little sister and then told her to stay quiet and that no one was to know. Most children were scared of monsters hiding beneath their bed or in the corners of the closet, Wren was terrified of the monster that wore a smile in the light and a snarl in the dark.

Hiding never worked, it made things worse when he actually found her. Soren being the eldest and the heir to the name and honor of their house, their parents would never do anything to jeopardize his future. Not even for their daughter.

Wren learned early on that the world was a place where awful people were allowed to do as they pleased as long as others had the ability to turn away and dismiss what was happening around them. Her parents never questioned the bruises along her neck or the dark circles under her eyes, or even the bands around her wrists. The only thing that kept Wren going was the knowledge that summers ended and he would be gone in the fall.

With one bruising hand on her waist and the other still gripping her chin, he placed a savage kiss onto her mouth, there was nothing she could do but numb herself to what was about to happen.

Wren woke up drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, feeling the bruising fingertips of her monster. She had always been plagued with dreams from her past, they were the main reason she hardly slept. When she couldn't sleep she snuck out of her and Lyra's room to either haunt the library or question the stars.

Walking through the towering shelves that curved inward under the weight of the innumerable books, Wren could almost hear the whispering of their stories. The library was composed of walls and towers of leather and paper, throughout the maze of books there were worn leather couches and blankets for when students needed a quiet place to read. Large tables and desks were to be encountered randomly since students were able to move them around to be closer together or in the furthest corners of the library. Wren usually chose the latter.

Wren walked through the library to the windows that made up the outer walls and stared out to see the mist covered forest swaying as if it were alive. The moon illuminated the library enough that she did not need to light any candles meaning there was no need to alert anyone to her presence in the library. Sometimes the cleaning spirits would enter the library and they did not react positively to seeing a student out of bed at such a late hour. Last time she was caught, the spirit had cursed her so that she could only speak backwards for a whole day. Terrible was it.