In the city of Vir girls are property, bred and raised to be the perfect wives. To serve and obey and honor the men that rule their city.
Elaia has always been content with her place in society. She is a perfect daughter, and with any luck she'll b...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
------- CASTINE -------
Archer closes the door behind him before turning back towards Elaia. She backs away as he stomps towards her, hate and anger plastered across his features. "I don't know what you mean," she stutters, her blue eyes filled with fear. I see the tiny pin fall from her fingers, bouncing underneath the bed.
He rolls his eyes. "When you were braiding her hair," he mocks. "What did you say to her?" He spits, repeating the question. He's so angry, he's practically drooling like a rabid dog.
Elaia swallows, trying to sit up straighter. She forces herself to meet his gaze. "I-I told her that what happened to her wasn't her fault and that he didn't have a right to touch her like that," she replies, her voice quivering. But she spoke the truth, and that's what matters.
"Where the fuck do you get off spewing such lies?!" Archer hisses at her, towering over her.
Elaia backs away further until she reaches the edge of her bed. She thinks for just a second before climbing off the bed, rising to her full height. She's not much shorter than Archer.
"They're not lies," Elaia tells him calmly even though there are tears in her eyes. "She didn't deserve what happened to her! And you'll never be able to change the fact that it was his fault - the boy who touched her... raped her. He will always be at fault."
Archer slaps Elaia hard enough to send her toppling into the wall. "Say that again, bitch," he spits at her.
"Hey!" I snap before I can think about what I'm doing. "Leave her alone!"
Archer whirls around to face me. "What was that?" He asks, raising his blonde eyebrow at me. taunting me. Begging me to step out of line so he can hit me, too.
I clench my teeth, knowing that interfering definitely means a trip to Sebastian's office, and maybe even solitary confinement. But I won't let him treat her this way. "Elaia is right. It was his fault," I spit, narrowing my gaze as he slowly stalks towards me. I glance to Elaia who's holding her cheek in her hand, tears streaming down her face. Rage bubbles up inside of me. I can feel it in every finger, flowing through every vein.
"In fact," I add, folding my arms over my chest. "Your whole fucking gender is at fault!" I hiss at him, ignoring the shock of pain from my bracelet. I don't actually believe that all men are at fault for our oppression, but I want Archer to stay focused on me. That means pissing him off past the point of no return.
He snarls like an animal that's been poked and prodded too many times and he tries to slap me, too, but I duck out of the way.
Archer is disoriented and almost stumbles to the floor but he rights himself, whirling back to face me. His face is red with anger, his eyes wild as they find mine.
"What's the matter?" I taunt with a shrug. "Miss your target?" I glare at him, waiting for him to come at me again.
"You fucking bitch!" He hisses at me, stalking towards me. He grasps for me but I roll down onto the bed, avoiding him a second time. I stand up, backing away towards the door. I want to run out into the hall and find Francisco, but I won't leave Elaia alone with this crazed abuser.
