What Scars Can Teach
Art By: DragonWriter664
Main OC: Willow Tiergan
Side OC: Her (ex)husband
"Mendax? Do you need anything?" Willow called to her husband, who sat in his chair by the fireplace across the hall.
"No, I don't need anything," he called back, casting a glance towards the other room, "Are you going somewhere?"
"Just to the market, to grab some things for dinner."
"Alright," he mumbled in response as she stepped into the room.
Willow leaned down beside his chair, placing a soft kiss on his cheek, "I won't be long," the red-haired woman spoke as she straightened back up and turned to walk out the door.
She made her way into the market and through the small crowd, going stand to stand in search of some good meat and vegetables for a stew.
"Willow!" a cheerful woman called from a stand over, starting to walk towards her.
"Hello, Clarice," Willow greeted with a small smile.
"Why such dark colors? You know, blue would really make you stand out," she told her, "It would look much nicer than that grey, not that you don't look nice anyway," she laughed.
"I think I'll be fine with what I have."
"Are you sure? What about a dress? It can be grey if you'd like?"
She smiled and glanced down, "Thank you, Clarice, but really, I like what I have. Now, I must get back to my shopping."
Clarice let out soft sigh "Alright, if you must. I'll leave you be for now," she said before turning and walking back along the stands.
Willow chuckled lightly to herself before going back to grazing the stands, pulling out her coins and purchasing what she needed when she found it before heading home. Once back, she went directly to the kitchen to start cooking dinner.
"What is it tonight?" Mendax asked, still seated by the fire in the other room.
"I'm making a stew," she told him, receiving only a grunt in response.
The two were silent after their brief conversation, the only sounds remaining in the house being Willow moving around the kitchen as she cooked.
"Mendax," she called softly as she set the table, "Dinner is ready."
Mendax stood from his chair and walked into the kitchen, only to sit back down at the table as Willow set a full bowl in front of him, then took the seat across from him.
"I ran into Clarice at the market," she told her husband, attempting to make conversation with him.
"She talks a lot," he mumbled as he began to eat.
"I suppose so," she sighed, "I think we should invite her and her husband for dinner tomorrow night."
"I'll be out in town tomorrow night."
"For what?"
"Just business," he told her.
Willow frowned slightly, but didn't question him further. It wasn't until they'd both finished when she spoke again.
"I think I'll go to bed early," she said as she stood, setting their dishes aside for the night. "Will you be going to sleep soon?"
"I might," he answered.
She nodded slightly in response before walking out of the kitchen and too the bedroom.
Willow slept lightly that night, shifting every now and then and finally opening her eyes early in the morning, just before the sun would begin to rise, when a faint thud sounded from the kitchen. She sat up, glancing at her sleeping husband before standing and slowly stepping out of the room and into the other. She froze at the sight of the stranger ruffling through the cabinet, then turned to wake her husband only to run into a second.
The man was towering over her, a hood over his head so the shadows masked his face. "Make a sound and you won't live through this," he threatened, his voice deep and scratchy, as he pressed a knife against her stomach.
"We didn't come here to kill them," the first one whispered from behind her, "That'll only cause more problems for us."
"She didn't have to know that," the larger man growled.
"Let's just get out of here, we have enough," sighed the first man as he lifted a large sack, stolen items from around the house clinking together inside.
The second nodded, "You get going, I'll take care of her."
The other man ran out the door as the second grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to one of the chairs at the table. As his hand reached for the rope at his side, Willow suddenly swung her foot up as she panicked, landing a kick between his legs. She stood and ran for the bedroom as the man fell to his knees with a pain filled groan.
As she made it to the room, the man forced himself back up and went after her. She quickly shook her husband in an attempt to wake him, but he was groggy as he opened his eyes, so she went for the sword he kept on the wall. The weapon was dull from never being used or sharpened, but it would have to do as she turned to face the thief.
The man stopped when the sword was pointed towards him, he stood for a moment before turning and fleeing the house. Willow's mind blurred in the heat of the moment and she chased out after him, her husband just beginning to stand.
Once she was outside, she'd lost him, somehow the large man had managed to escape her view. She looked around in search of those who'd taken her belongings, but they were nowhere in sight, until the first one came barreling into her, knocking her to the ground and the sword from her hand.
As she recovered from the impact, the man pulled out a long dagger and the second stepped into her sight. "I thought you said no killing?" the large man huffed.
"I'm not gonna kill her, I'm just gonna ensure she doesn't follow us."
He raised the dagger above her, and her eyes went wide. He drove it down, towards her stomach, and she flung her hands up to stop him. His arms were pushed back up and he lost his grip on the dagger, it was cast back towards her again.
The dagger went down, just barely missing her eye as it cut her cheek before landing on the ground beside her head.
"That works just as well," the second man smirked, pushing the other off of her as he grabbed the dagger and lifted her by her collar, suddenly slashing the tip down her cheek and leaving a deep cut as she yelled out in pain. He let her drop back to the ground and the two ran off again. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she winced at the sting of the injury.
Willow pushed herself up again only a moment after the thieves escaped, reaching a shaky hand to grab the sword before going back to the house with blood dripping off her cheek. Mendax had been waiting at the door, not taking a single step out as he'd watched the scene unfold. She stepped past him, moving into the kitchen and to the cabinet to grab a cloth.
She pressed the fabric gently against her cheek with another wince and stood in silence just briefly before turning to look at her husband. "Why didn't you help me?"
"So both of us could come out injured?" he asked, "What good would that have done for anyone?"
"You...you're just a coward," she growled, her grip tightening on the sword and tears threatening to fall once again as she took a step towards him.
Mendax frowned and took a step back, "Calm down, Willow, there's no need to get angry about this."
"Why would there be no need to get angry about this?!" she exclaimed, "How could I ever think you were better than this?"
"Just clean yourself up, we can talk about it all later."
"What is there to talk about?"
"You need to-"
"I need to? I don't need to do anything," she huffed, "You lounge around all day doing nothing, saying you've got business to do in town and don't come back until the morning after. What was even the point of you marrying me?" she asked, but continued before he could answer, "Am I only here so you don't have to do anything? So you can lie to everyone and pretend to be a good man?"
"I have had enough of this nonsense, Willow," Mendax cut in, "It is all about appearance in this town, that is why you are here. Obviously, you can no longer keep a good appearance for me, so it's time one of us left."
Willow's heart sunk at his words. She wanted to be angry at him, she wanted to hate him for fooling her, for making her believe she meant something to him, but she could no longer feel that anger. She didn't want to be upset this way, but she could only feel pain and sorrow.
"I'll let you keep the home, I won't have any trouble finding a new place," Mendax offered as he stepped forward and took the sword from her hand, "And I'll make sure our separation is official as soon as possible."
"No, you keep the house," she mumbled, "I've been wanting to travel anyway."
"Are you- Willow!" he called after her as she went out the door "Are you taking nothing with you?!"
She ignored his calls as she walked into town, her eyes beginning to water, but she just wiped away the tears that fell.
Willow made her way through the crowd, keeping her head down to avoid any gazes that might land on her. That anger she'd wanted so badly only seconds ago was welling up inside her, and now she just wanted to push it back down. She didn't want to feel anything, not towards her husband, not towards the stolen items or the thieves that took it all, and not even towards the new scar across her cheek. Now, she just wanted to get away, so she went to the blacksmith's, the man looking up at her as she stepped inside.
"Oh, Mrs. Vanidici, what happene-"
"That doesn't matter," Willow interrupted, knowing he'd ask about the blood stained cloth against her cheek and the scar beneath it, the scar that had just caused her so much pain while giving her a new beginning and soon a better life. "And it's Ms. Tiergan, please."
_
I really have no idea how I feel about the writing of this story, I wrote it all in half a day and liked it when I fell asleep so I'm just gonna roll with it for now. I kept changing the title though and I'm still not sure I like what I went with. Oh well.
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