𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏

𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 

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╰┈˚ · ° .   HOME. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE TO HAVE A HOME. I couldn't even remember having one. Was home the mansion that I had sparse memories of during my childhood? Maybe the rundown cottage with only one bedroom to share between us siblings? Was it in Prythian or in the Mortal Lands?

I didn't know. I probably didn't want to know either.

But I knew it wasn't in the Spring Court, so when Tamlin had declared for my sisters and I to be escorted back to the Mortal lands, to our family and our old life, I couldn't find within myself to be sad of leaving. The only thought that I spent on more than I would like to admit, was never seeing Lucian again. We weren't exactly friends, but I could say that he was someone that I enjoyed spending time with. Maybe it was a good thing going back to my life if this were how my thoughts were starting to be like. Feeling like a weakness.

Contrary to me, Feyre had even begged the High Lord, her boyfriend, even Lucian, to not send us back. She had found back her happiness between the flowers and spring, love and friendship. Going back to our family meant leaving all of that behind for her.

But there was nothing that made Tamlin change his mind about it.

I climbed down the stairs of the Manor probably for the last time in my life. It came almost instinctive for me to wear the clothes that I had come with, to wear the uniform and the weapons and be ready to disappear into the forest as soon as I breached the wall leaving Feyre to deal with our sisters as I returned to The Temple, but it could wait. I would make myself known to the League, but first, I had a family to see again. Sisters that I spent months without. So I lowered the weapons and wore pants and a camisole set like I almost always did here in Spring Court.

Feyre was already there, her eyes hard with anger, nostrils almost flaring. She made me think of Nesta looking like that. Lucien was talking with Tamlin outside, more so arguing, behind them a gilded carriage awaited us.

"This isn't up for debate." Tamlin snapped at his emissary, his beast hiding almost at the surface of his skin. The High Lord pointed at the house, dismissing him with no care and much anger. "I'll see you at lunch." He said with a curt tone.

Lucien stared him down for a moment, almost looking disgusted by his friend. He spat on the ground with anger coursing through his veins, his skin had taken a rose flush from it, and wordlessly, he decided it was better to just storm away from Tamlin.

His eyes landed on me, the metal one whirled almost frenetically, and I could see the vein in his neck pulsing even more as he glanced back at the High Lord before snapping his head away with a light displeased shake.

"Annoy Tamlin for me, would you?" I joked trying to dissipate the heavy air that you could breathe in the foyer. Lucien continued to stare at me without saying anything, his fist clenching and unclenching repeatedly to his side.

The male sighed. Lucian was feeling too much anger and sadness for just the fact that Tamlin was sending me and my sister back. There was something else, something that had to do with what Rhysand had said during his sudden visit. About Her. Amarantha. Whoever she was. I wasn't stupid enough to not connect the fear of her to the Blight. Because I knew that she was the Blight.

"Lighted up, Red. She has not won yet." I said with a small smile.

And I didn't expect for Lucian to be sentimental enough to hug me. I froze. I hadn't hugged anyone that was not Feyre in years. And before that, it had only been my sisters.

It didn't last more than a couple of seconds fortunately, only enough for me to pat him very awkwardly on his back.

"You are a real piece of work, you know that?" Lucian chuckled as he stepped back from the hug. He flickered the frontal strand of my hair back jokingly, but behind the fox mask, I could see almost the sorrow in his only eye. "Goodbye Maiven." Without looking back, the Fae stormed up the stairs not giving me even the time to say it back.

I rolled my eyes at the small smile that graced Feyre's. A soft one that almost said 'I'm so proud of you'. To have opened up, even in the slightest way to Lucian.

"I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes. Hopefully it will be less awkward than me trying to hug Lucien back." I commented, clicking my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Looking from Feyre to Tamlin, I knew that It would probably be as bad, though. "Goodbye Tamlin." I said curtly, giving him a parting nod before disappearing from the front doors and inside the very opulent golden carriage. And not even a minute after, my sister followed.

Tamlin leaned through the open window of the transport, his fingers brushing Feyre's mouth for a second too long. Then the carriage jolted as the six white horses started into a walk. But Tamlin couldn't help but smile at Feyre one last time.

"I love you," He said. His eyes almost shone with what I thought was desperation. But he simply stepped away not expecting any answer back from my sister.

And Feyre did just that, she said nothing as the carriage moved. Maybe because of her pride, stubbornness, her anger or sadness. I didn't know why, because she loved Tamlin too, but as we passed through the front gate, the first sob broke free from her throat.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"I should have said it back." She confessed, her gaze lingering to the window that still had the view of the manor.

I didn't know what to say to her, how to console her from this pain. I had never been in love before. Never experienced a romantic connection to anyone or the pain of a broken heart. The only people that I could say that I ever loved truly were my sisters.

So I did the only thing that I could think of. I brought Feyre into my arms, hugging her as tightly as possible to me.

The tung of magic filled the carriage as we disappeared deeper into the forest. Feyre was the first to succumb to it as her body was dragged into a deep slumber.

"Fuck." I cursed, beyond pissed at the same trick the High Lord had done exactly when he had brought us here. And before I knew it, I was dragged unconscious, falling asleep just next to my sister.

────༺☽༓☾༻────

╰┈˚ · ° .   Why did Tamlin think that it was necessary to put us into a magical sleep, I still had no idea. Jolting awake about the same time, with slightly muffled groans, I couldn't help but let out a string of curse once again.

"Are you okay?" I asked groggily to my twin as she rubbed her eyes with her palms, suppressing a yawn.

"Yes, I'm fine, are you?" She replied.

I nodded wordlessly, opting to peek outside out the window to see if I could recognize any landmark to understand where we were.

The was sloping drive lined with conical hedges and irises that lead directly to an Estate, a chateau of white marble and emerald roofs, nearly as large as Tamlin's manor, everything was surrounded by the flat expanse of lands.

"Where are we?" Feyre asked as she followed my action on the other window.

"I have no idea." I answered honestly.

As the carriage stopped, a footman appeared from the various human servants. I went out first, making sure to have my senses sharp and that the hunting knife strapped to my tight was easily accessible. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary, not any killing attempt yet, at least.

In distance, dressed in fine dresses and perfectly styled hair, eyebrows rising at the gilded carriage, Nesta and Elaine approached.

"Are they...?" Feyre asked, trailing off her question.

"Yes." I said. They were our sisters.

Nesta spoke first, curtsying low. Elain followed suit. They both had not recognized us yet. "Welcome to our home," Nesta said a bit flatly, her eyes on the ground. "Ladies..."

Feyre let out a stark laugh. "Nesta." she said, and our sister went rigid. She laughed again. "Nesta, don't you recognize your own sisters?"

Elain gasped. "Feyre? Maiven? What of Aunt Ripleigh, then? Is she... dead?"

Nesta looked up and down Feyre, taking in her clothes, the pearls that were woven into her gold-brown hair that gleamed in the sunlight. The carriage...

"She left you her fortune," Nesta stated flatly. It wasn't a question. Her eyes then stopped on my, on the pants and simple camisole to the knife. Her distaste and judgment was felt so heavily that I could help but roll my eyes at that.

"You should have told us!" Elain said, still gaping. "Oh, how awful—and you had to endure losing her all on your own, you poor things. Father will be devastated that he didn't get to pay his respects."

"Why are you being so quiet?" Nesta said, keeping her distance.

I just stared at my sister, face even more emotionless than hers. If there was one thing that Nesta and I had in common was the easy way we could mask our emotions. I had missed her. Just like I had missed Elain. But I just stood there unmoving. Not uttering a word. Still too on guard for any problem. I didn't know where we were. And that was something that I didn't like.

"I'm... glad to see how well your own fortunes have improved," Feyre managed to say, "What happened?"

Elain beamed, "Didn't you get our letters? Oh, you'll never believe it! Almost a week after you two went to care for Aunt Ripleigh, some stranger appeared at our door and asked Father to invest his money for him! Father was hesitant because the offer was so good, but the stranger insisted, so Father did it. He gave us a trunk of gold just for agreeing! Within a month, he'd doubled the man's investment, and then money started pouring in. And you know what? All those ships we lost were found in Bharat, complete with Father's profits!" She explained "Feyre, you look as dumbfounded as we were," Elain said, hooking elbows with her. "Come inside. We'll show you the house! We don't have a room decorated for you two, because we thought you'd be with poor old Aunt Ripleigh for months yet, but we have so many bedrooms that you can sleep in a different one each night if you wish! Father will likely faint when he sees you two." Elain babbled on, patting Feyre's hand as she escorted us toward the main door. "Oh, maybe he'll throw a ball in your honor, too!"

────༺☽༓☾༻────

╰┈˚ · ° .   As the sun began to disappear behind the horizon leaving the sky in the hues of the sunset, I knew it was time. Even if many things had changed during these months, others remained the same. I was the same. I was still bound to The Temple, I was still only one of many assassins.

I found all my weapons in a chest decorated with rose carvings, probably where Tamlin had kept them while we stayed in his Court. The many blades, my sword, my bow. Everything was so familiar. The leather of the uniform against my skin, the weight of the weapon on my body, the quiver against my back, my hair braided tightly kept away from my face... And the hood above my head and the veil to conceal the lower half of my face.

It was easy to sneak away from the Estate, with only three miles away from the cottage, it was quick enough to arrive at the smallest tavern of our old village.

As always, it was full of patrons with the night. Drunken men were laughing loudly with women in their laps. Food and alcohol were served by the couple of maids.

I approached the far end of the counter, even if inebriated with alcohol everyone that frequented this tavern knew to not approach any person with a hood and a veil and many weapons. Even this was more familiar than a family dinner that the rest of the Archerons were for sure holding at this time.

I waited, eyes locked forward, not moving a muscle and it wasn't much before it came.

From the corner of my eyes, outside near one of the windows, another assassin of the League stood. He was impossible still, that for one second it was hard for me to actually acknowledge the fact that he was human. I thought that maybe that was what people thought of me too whenever they saw me. Too inhuman to be human, too human to be anything else.

I dropped a coin on the counter before walking outside. The assassin was already nowhere to be found as I stepped into the night, but a horse was tied to a tree not much further away.

I mounted the brown horse and rode for hours until the moon was high in the sky.

The Temple was exactly as I remembered it to be. An old temple of the old gods where many centuries ago people visited it to pray. But no more prayers were whispered between those walls if not the begs to be killed to the endless darkness.

And as I looked at the structure before my eyes, between the veil and the shadows, I thought of something.

Maybe this was my home after all.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

Welcome back everyone!!

I hope you liked this first chapter of Act 2!!

I want to say thing again, for this Act there will be a lot of Trigger Warnings,please, go and read them on the page before the first chapter of Act 2. (The one before this) There will be a list of them!

I swear that you are going to see a happier Maiven, with much happier moments in Act 3!

Her journey has just begun!

I still hope you liked this first chapter!

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Thursday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾