Alysanne met her half-brother soon after he settled in the valley. He was handsome and charming in an easygoing way and he reminded her of her father in the rare days when he actually took notice of her. Alysanne liked him instantly. And she couldn't understand that he really lived in the middle of the woods, with no roof above his head, sleeping on the ground...
Damien just laughed. "It's still a great improvement over the convent. And all this is just a beginning, I'm going to become rich, you will see."
"But still, isn't it hard...?"

When Damien came again, Alysanne had a small gift prepared for him, to make his beginnings at least a little easier. There were supplies, money, something warm to sleep on, everything she could afford and managed to put together.
After all, her life was good and secure now and she would never forgive herself if she let anyone, let alone a family member, suffer in poverty. And despite all Damien's reassurances that he didn't suffer at all and that he actually enjoyed being free - reassurances that he never failed to embellish with more descriptions of what he had and especially what he didn't have - Damien's face lit up when he saw the gift.
Alysanne smiled, happy she could help. They were family, after all.
It felt great having a real family. A real, loving husband, a healthy baby and now a brother.

And she still had friends, as well. She invited Alvin to see baby Delia and the life she had made for herself. If she couldn't share her happiness with her best and oldest friend...
Alvin held Delia, commented about her being full of life, but he mostly had eyes for Alysanne herself. Finally he put the baby back in her crib and suggested that he and Alysanne take a walk, to see what changed about the house and the grounds.

They swapped stories, which quickly turned from news and daily life to other topics and soon it was as if no time had passed and they were still only friends with big dreams. Everything fell into old patterns so seamlessly, it was too easy to forget the baby cooing in her crib back in the house.
They stopped at the woodshed, holding hands and grinning like teenagers. It was so easy, so comfortable and pleasant, Alvin wanted to tell Alysanne about the night of the strange light, his missing memories and everything else.
"Will you come with me? I want to show you something... private..." He gently caressed Alysanne's hand, searching for the right words to continue.

But before he could find them, before Alysanne could respond in any way, they were interrupted by Tomas in a fit of rage.
"Come where? For a private meeting? I have heard the rumours, but I thought... how dare you?"
Alysanne flinched at this unexpected explosion, any words of explanation frozen in her throat. Tomas looked angry and betrayed, so surely she had to be guilty?

First, Tomas turned to Alvin and threw him out of his house, at the moment completely ignoring the fact that it was Alysanne's house as well. All his life Tomas had been brought up to respect the social order and to see priests as teachers and guides to be obeyed without question. But he had also been brought with rules, all of which were now being overturned and mocked. When he saw a priest seducing his wife, it took all his restraint and respect for Alvin's robes to not launch himself at him.
Alvin took one look at the other man's face and decided to withdraw without protests. If he felt any fear or pity for Alysanne, who was watching nervously, he silenced them by what he thought was reason. There was no use in fighting, he would explain everything later when there was a better chance of being heard.

As Alvin disappeared and Tomas turned his attention to her, Alysanne cowered even before he exploded at her.
"I should have known when I heard the rumours. Or when you spent more time in church than at home, looking for "comfort". Like father, like daughter, right? Was the church not comforting enough for the two of you? How many secret private trips have you already had together?"
Alysanne was unable to speak. She only hugged herself, her lip quivering with fear. She was almost certain Tomas was going to hit her.
"Is Delia even mine? Look at me!"

It took all her courage to raise her eyes.
"Of course she is yours!" She blurted out. "We have never... never broken the marriage vows. Never." She started sobbing, still trying to get the explanation out. "I am sorry I made you angry, it will never happen again, I promise. I would never betray you. Please..."
Tomas held out a hand to stop her. His fury was slowly passing, leaving cold disappointment underneath.
"Please... nothing happened, I promise!"
Tomas turned and walked back into the house while Alysanne looked after him, the guilty look still on her face.

Tomas didn't speak with her for the rest of the day and when it was time to go to bed, one look was enough for Alysanne to not even attempt getting in next to him. Instead, she fixed herself a blanket on the floor and spent the night there, tossing and turning in guilt and fear of future.

She tried to turn for comfort to her only other friend, but Lissa wasn't really interested or at least failed to see Alysanne's desperation.
"Nothing happened, right? You didn't do anything, that's a mistake, by the way, nothing happened to you, end of story. You should just take it easy."
"But Tomas hates me now! And I..." Alysanne stopped, unable to explain the flurry of feelings fighting inside her head and heart.
She felt completely alone. Tomas still wouldn't speak to her, her newly found brother was in the woods all the time and seemed to consciously avoid her, and even seeing Alvin was impossible.

Not that Alvin didn't try, but Tomas had decided that there was a difference between respect for a priest and allowing an affair to continue. Or start. Or whatever it was, he didn't much care when he could clearly see affection between the two.
Alvin was never allowed in the house, not to give any kind of explanation and absolutely not to see Alysanne. And Alysanne was not allowed to go to the church or basically anywhere alone. Tomas was head of his household now and he discovered he enjoyed being firm, it made him feel much stronger and more important than ever before. He deserved respect as well, after all.

Alysanne tried to find comfort in the quiet domestic life that had just a few days ago seemed perfect. At least baby Delia didn't reject her, if only because she had no idea what was happening.

When the baby was safely asleep and she had a moment's rest from work, she found solace in books, learning new things or just getting lost in stories from different times and places.
Still, no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the words on the page, she could still see how Tomas was looking at her. Sometimes she wished he had punished her somehow, his quiet anger hidden beneath the surface frightened her deeply. And his disappointment was even worse.

Time passed and eventually Delia's first birthday came. Alysanne baked a cake, even though the baby wasn't able to eat it yet. She did her best to act excited, cooing at the baby as she brought her to the cake, but she couldn't help glancing at Tomas, who just stood there, quite unlike his previous excitable self. She wanted to know what was going through his head... and at the same time was afraid to guess.

Their family life continued quietly. Alysanne found Tomas glaring at her less and less frequently now, the previous hidden hostility replaced with cold silence as he spent most days working with his back turned to her. She supposed she should be glad, only the feeling of bitter disappointment stayed the same. Sometimes she even asked herself if the new silence wasn't worse.
Their lives went on and they seemed to be doing well, at least financially and on the outside, but Tomas stopped talking about his big plans and Alysanne didn't dare to have any of her own.

She was only grateful for one thing - that Tomas eventually warmed to little Delia. As the child grew, it was becoming more and more obvious how much she resembled her father. She had the same eyes, the same unruly hair, the same smile when she was interested in something... until Tomas couldn't ignore it any longer, no matter how hurt he was or what he wanted to believe.
And while she had been mostly ignored by him during the first few months of her life, it was her father who taught Delia her first steps and first words.