When Raisa was a little girl, the only time she would see her father was the day before her birthday. She wasn't sure why the tradition started but each year she would fill with excitement at the thought of seeing her father. Her mother would wrap her arms around her as she sat on her lap in the carriage and they'd sing the whole trip.
Each time was the same though. Raisa would arrive with a smile on her face, ready to run into the arms of her Papa, only for the smile to fade as her father greeted the Queen with a kiss on the cheek. He wouldn't even look down; if he did, he would see Raisa starting up at him with tears pooling in her eyes.
Her parents would disappear for a few hours, leaving Raisa to play with the other children at the brothel, only for her mother to return alone.
During The War, Raisa didn't visit her father. Her mother was far too busy and Raisa was afraid to go alone but then things changed when her mother died. She had no excuse to be afraid: she was the Queen after all and The War was over.
Raisa bit her nails to nubs the carriage ride to the brothel. Not only was it the day before her fourteenth birthday, but she would marry the Honorable General Caius soon. She was excited to tell him the news but at the same time, she was eager to share her grief with someone that loved her mother as much as she had.
Raisa arrived at the brothel, her emotions were all over the place as they greeted her like they had once her mother. And then she saw her father. People told her she got her beauty from him; his glossy dark hair, piercing green eyes, and full lips. It was the kind of beauty people killed for but Raisa saw none of that as she looked at her drunken father.
His eyes were half-lidded as a Lord ran his hands down his exposed chest. Raisa just froze. Her father's eyes slowly traveled to her- just as everyone else's in the room- and stopped. He blinked; his green eyes showed no emotion at first then suddenly filled with a twisted rage.
"Get out!" He threw the Lord's hand off his chest and abruptly stood up. For a moment, Raisa didn't believe he was speaking to her. No one had ever raised their voice at her and this was the first time he had ever spoken to her.
His gold trimmed robe danced around him as he stormed over to her and grabbed her by the front of her dress. "Papa," she cried out as he shoved her with all his strength.
She looked up at him with shock, not knowing whether to cry or scream with rage. Instead, that feeling bubbled out of her with laughter. Her guards gave each other a confused look and her father looked down at her with disgust.
Raisa climbed to her feet, still laughing, and turned her back on her father. It wasn't until she was out the door that a sob finally broke her.
That was the last time she saw her father. Every birthday that passed, she spent the day before remembering the feeling of being so small. Of being reduced to nothing by a mere look. Of intimidation. Of not being welcomed.
She had those exact feelings as she met the High Lady of the Night Court's blue eyes.
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To the Shadowsinger | Azriel
Fantasy[COMPLETED] A hundred years had passed since the war against Hybern. Life was back to normal until a fae child fell from the sky and claimed to be from another world. No one in the Night Court understood how the gate between worlds could have opened...
