The boys' days were mostly filled with schoolwork. The ambicious older brother wanted to make the most of everything Delia's household could offer him and younger Ronan was just following in his footsteps like always.
Delia by now saw them almost as her own adopted sons and their successes were bringing her immense joy. They were both bright, active and especially Ronan was very eager to please, which was a welcome change after Lucien had decided to abandon all responsibility.
Ronan had in his rush to be just like his older brother almost forgotten the friends he had used to play with. Adrian was full of grand plans for success, most of which were counting on his younger brother to support them, and he never asked Ronan's opinion. Ronan, missing his older brother's boundless energy, felt like he was always two steps behind and struggling to catch up, with no time for a little respite let alone something fun. But what was he to do?
And then Evelyn came around one day, running an errand for her parents, they got talking and Ronan remembered how pleasant spending time with her used to be. And had he ever realised how pretty she was?
Since that day, Ronan couldn't stop thinking about her. Even when he was studying, doing his chores or making plans with Adrian, she was still somewhere in the back of his mind, making his day brighter with her radiant smile.
They started spending time together whenever they could and it felt like more than companionship. They understood each other perfectly, what it was like to be constantly following someone else, trying to be there for them to the extent of almost forgetting who they were themselves. Evelyn never asked anything of Ronan, never pushed or inquired about his feelings like he was warned girls always did. And when Ronan finally realised what the butterflies in his stomach meant, it was clear she shared everything he felt.
After their first kiss, they considered themselves almost as good as married. Just like it always happened in fairytales which they both loved. But not everything was as clear as what they knew they felt.
Evelyn didn't know what made Ethan so angry every time Ronan visited, but he would always go out of his way to pick fights with him, until the lovebirds found a place to hide. She tried to be patient, but what right had Ethan to be jealous when all he wanted with her were pranks and insults? And even though Ronan defended her right for freedom, she was finding it hard to be grateful. She just wanted the fights to stop.
And Ronan's brother was no different. Adrian could seem charming at first, almost grown-up with a great future before him, but he was just better at hiding his vicious streak than Ethan. Ever since he started to suspect Ronan might prefer her company to his own, Adrian started mocking Evelyn mercilessly, pointing out all her flaws for everyone to see. Evelyn just had to grit her teeth and bear it. Ronan tried to defend her, but there was not much he could do against his older brother and she didn't want to drive them against each other by insisting.
Still, she was happy with her life. Just the possibility of meeting Ronan made her get up each morning with energy she had never known before, and just the thought that he loved her made her love herself as well. She even dared hope she was finally growing out of the plump phase and into a woman's body, even though she would probably never be as beautiful and graceful as Faelyn.
Ronan believed in her in the same way he believed in his brother and it made her feel she could do anything, despite Ethan's and Adrian's scorn. With her new confidence she made another attempt at rekindling her friendship with Faelyn and didn't back off even when she was challenged to help sneak a mouse into the home of some unpleasant village woman. Just a harmless prank to get back at her for some kind of insult, Faelyn had said.
In hindsight it was clear to Evelyn she should have refused, clear that there was bound to be trouble. But being in love had probably made her far too bold for her own good.
The girls met after dark, found the old widow's house and Faelyn opened the latch on the door with a surprising ease. Evelyn was sent to check that the widow was fast asleep and then back outside to stand guard while Faelyn would find the perfect place to release their mouse. Evelyn wondered for a moment why, if the whole thing was a challenge, wasn't she the one to do it, but she was more relieved than anything else. She hated breaking into someone else's house and only hoped the prank would be as harmless as Faelyn promised.
And then something went wrong. Evelyn just heard a noise from inside the house and then the old woman woke up and started screaming bloody murder. Evelyn stood frozen with shock until, after a painfully long moment, Faelyn flew out the door and by then it was probably already too late to run.
The two girls were caught by one of the neighbours who came to check on the commotion, dragged before a grim-looking guard and then locked in a cell to await punishment for attempted burglary. Evelyn swore they were not stealing, but after the first few times even she stopped being so sure. The rest of the night passed in expectation of the worst. Faelyn tried to hide her fear with anger partly at Evelyn and partly at their rotten luck, and Evelyn was going through all of her mistakes and all the warning signs she had missed.
When they were told the punishment and escorted to the pillory, Evelyn was in tears. She accepted she deserved a punishment, but she would have rather taken a hard whipping that being shamed before her family and before Ronan.
And there was yet another punishment waiting for her at home. She tried to explain at least to her parents what had really happened, but they still made her feel just how disappointed they were. Apart from everything else, she was forbidden from meeting not only Faelyn, but everyone else as well, and for a time her life was just an endless string of chores. Evelyn took it all without complaining and only hoped she would regain everyone's trust in time.
When she met Ronan again, the first day her prison sentence ended, she was afraid he would reject her as a criminal. But he listened to everything she had to say and then simply nodded. "I believe you."
She was so relieved she thought she would cry.
"I know you would never steal anything." Ronan continued, looking more serious and mature than ever before. "Faelyn... I don't know about her. She's your friend, so I probably should trust her as well." He shrugged before looking her in the eyes again. "But I know you."
It was right then that Evelyn first told Ronan she loved him. They had both known it for a long time now, but putting it in words felt like making a real vow.
Now it was Ronan's turn to grow bolder when he looked for a way to make Evelyn feel better again. She was older than him and yet she was still seen as a child. That felt even less fair than himself being constantly in Adrian's shadow and obeying whatever he told him to do.
There were times when he really envied Lucien. Nobody would dare call him a child and yet he could easily shrug off any responsibility he wanted and spend whole days in bed or in hot bath with his lady love. Especially the big tub was something Ronan longed to try, unquestionably an adult activity and so deliciously lazy. And, after all, why shouldn't he? Delia always said the whole house was at his disposal and he was sure Evelyn would be delighed...
Everything went exactly as Ronan had imagined. He invited Evelyn over and after some time spent just talking, they sneaked to the tub. It was full, probably prepared for Lucien just like he usually kept it. All that was needed was to light the fire underneath.
Evelyn giggled when they both undressed, her cheeks flushed from excitement.
They cuddled in the warm water and forgot everything else as the sun slowly set. Ronan wanted that moment to never end and probably would have stayed until the fire under the tub went out, but his bliss was broken when angry-looking Lucien chased them out.
"What are you doing here? You can't... this is not for children!"
The pair scrambled out of the tub, feeling embarassed and vulnerable when they stood before their older cousin undressed and dripping wet. Ronan tried to place himself between Evelyn and Lucien's scolding, but his slender body made for a poor shield. The girl behind him was biting her lip, her eyes like those of a trapped rabbit.
Lucien turned to her and his voice grew even harder than before. "And you! If you hope to get pregnant and move in here, think again! When my mother's welcome runs out and your lazy little lover is forced to earn his own living..."
Ronan cringed. He had thought his cousin didn't mind him and Adrian around and he had no idea what made him so angry. But before he could think of an answer, Evelyn exploded.
"Ronan's not lazy! And I love him and hope to live with him forever. Anywhere at all, I don't care about that. But we're not trying..." She threw up her hands and marched past Lucien. Ronan followed behind her, giving his cousin an apologetic smile.
After that the pair mostly met out of Lucien's sight. Ronan was now often thinking about his future and what kind of life he could give Evelyn. It was true he had no money of his own. Even the burnt-out husk of his parents' house would by right fall to his older brother. He was not afraid of work, he was even willing to defy Adrian if it would mean better life for his beloved, but he was often wondering if it would be enough.
Never one to be left behind, Adrian soon found his own sweetheart to brag about and to flaunt before his cousin. Adina was a merchant's daughter and when speaking about her Adrian never forgot to mention her expected dowry.
When he was wooing her everything seemed romantic enough, he was charming and she looked flattered and happy, but somehow Ronan wasn't sure whether the dowry wasn't bigger motivation for his brother than her beauty.
And as much as Ronan wished his brother luck, as much as Adrian tried to show himself in the best possible light, it didn't take long until Adina saw other parts of him as well. Their first row was about Adina being tired of horse riding, but quickly became about both her and Adrian's pride and grew vicious.
Lucien was growing colder to his cousins almost by the day and to compensate this change Adrian demanded admiration from everyone else. And when he felt "disrespected" he was quick to take offense.
And still despite all this, the relationship between Adrian and Adina seemed to be growing stronger rather than breaking up. They were equals in both pride and ambition and seemed to go from argument to passionate kisses to another argument in a single day, but they were staying together.
Ethan was still going about his days with a permanent scowl on his face. With Evelyn often spending time with Ronan, Ethan was more often left alone, to wander aimlessly through life that was failing to satisfy him.
There wasn't a single thing that wasn't driving him mad, but Faelyn still stood out. He didn't really care why he hated the girl so much, there were probably far too many reasons to be counted anyway. The only thing that mattered was that just a glipse of her was enough for his hands to clench themselves and red mist cloud his vision. And that when they were fighting, his anger made him feel alive.
Still, he tried to be careful not to cross too many lines. He wouldn't give Faelyn - or anyone else - the satisfaction of seeing him punished.
All other interactions were dull in comparison, and somehow more confusing. Most people were avoiding him by then and his family... they either ignored him or wanted something from him and Ethan couldn't decide which was more infuriating. He tried to annoy them back, but even his best pranks were growing less funny with repetition.
During all of this time, Devin and Katharyn were mostly preoccupied with little Elias, who was growing fast. When the boy's birthday came, complete with a cake, Ethan didn't know whether to be angry or kind of amused. His parents looked so stupid, doting on the baby, that for a moment he even forgot to be jealous of the attention.
And at the very least, Elias not being a baby anymore gave Ethan a new target for his own, much rougher attention. The young boy didn't even try to fight back or tattle to their parents. He just stared, either too slow or too spoilt to understand how could someone not adore him, looking like a hurt puppy with those huge eyes of his.
Ethan got told off and punished many times for bullying his little brother, but he was determined not to stop until the boy's naivete was completely gone. Until he broke his spirit and showed him what the world was really like.
Elias had everything. He got everything he wanted without even having to ask, there was always someone to play or read him his favourite stories, and Elias didn't even realise it could be any other way.
It wasn't as if Ethan wanted to be coddled. And he definitely didn't want his patents to follow him around and offer silly, childish games. But still... he couldn't help feeling envious when he saw just how much everyone adored his little brother. How everyone fell over themselves to make little Elias happy, while Ethan's own happiness seemed to written off as a lost cause.
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