Alternate Realities

Prompt: Ptolewren, quotes

Anonymous: "When you love someone, you don't just stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy... even then. Especially then!"

Combined with: "I can't be a mistress, I can't be a bastard's mother," I sob, "my family has been through so much and I won't drag the Skonos name down." 

Answer:

She counted underwear (7), socks (10), pants (3), shirts (3), sweaters (2), and then looked around the room scanning from her right to her left. Something mindbogglingly small was missing. It tickled the back of her ears and made her spin in a circle. Something... maybe important. She spun again, looked at her watch, and decided what ever it was, it could obviously be replaced.

"What are you doing?"

She fell back as if pushed from her feet. The bed bounced her stiff frame. Her jaw trembled. She looked all around Evangeline as if she could wish herself out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Evangeline asked again, stepping forward and touching the satchel open next to her. "You think you're leaving?"

"I have to."

Evangeline snorted and picked up the thick, corded sweater, holding it up to her own body. The purple made the blue in the hallow of her eyes stand out sharply.

"Put it back."

"Or else you can't leave?" Evangeline's smile was small and quirked on one side.

Wren grabbed the sweater and pushed it into the satchel closing and latching the top. She held the handles with both hands in front of her legs and waited as if under inspection. Evangeline made her evaluations, stepped around her, looked at the plaited ropes curled around her head and the warm wool coat strapped around her middle.

"That coat will be too small in a month or two. Did you pack a second?" Evangeline picked at the back seem.

"It won't."

"It will."

"It won't," Wren resisted the urge to clutch her abdomen.

"It will," Evangeline hissed. "If it isn't, I'll kill you myself and spare him the torture of it."

"It's my decision."

"Every decision has consequences, obviously."

"I can't have a bastard child. My family... The house of Skonos is already in the mud, I can't sully it further."

"He'll recognize it as his. You can carry-on as if everything were proper and not one improper word would ever be said."

"To my face."

"Aloud."

"You can't promise that. They're already talking, gossiping, pointing, staring. It's already happening."

"So you don't love him? You lied to him for months?"

Wren wrenched back, another involuntary motion though this one from hurt and anger and not surprise. "Of course I love him. This has nothing to do with that."

"Once you're in love, it's hard to fall out of it. Believe me, I know. You don't just stop loving someone, even if it's the best thing for everyone. You don't wake up and say, 'Stop' and carry-on living. Even when people roll their eyes and call you crazy, especially then! If you leave this love behind, it'll rot you from the inside out and then what good will you be?"

"You never called it quits with Elane, don't pretend."

"I did. I tried for the same reasons as why you run. For my family, for the House of Samos, for all the things that were right and proper. I'm just lucky I didn't go mad before I found my way back. Would you risk it? Going mad?"

"I'm not so sure you didn't," Wren pursed her lips and gripped the bag tighter.