Tristan tried to pretend nothing had happened, but his bubble had burst and it was far too obvious what is life was like. Girls still liked him, but too many of his conquests took place in the woods, as far from any comfort as was possible.

He was living in what was basically a tiny shack, working  hard just to keep a roof above his head. And the ugly business with Tiriel had shown him how lonely he felt underneath all his short-lived relationships.
And what was worst of all, there wasn't any end to it that he could see, no better future, nothing he could ever strive for. He had no clear goal and just drifting along was only bearable when the seas were smooth. When all comfort was gone, he found himself sinking into despair.

He once again considered his meager options and turned to Nadine as his probably only hope. Until then he had been careful, moving slower than he ever had with any girl, making himself mysterious and savouring the girl's interest. But interest alone wouldn't save him, let alone give him the kind of comfort he needed.
Seducing her was easier than he expected. Underneath all her fears Nadine was starved for romance and eager to believe his promises. It didn't take long until she would run to his embrace like a safe shelter, return his tender kisses and only recuctantly leave him to dream about their next secret meeting.

Tristan showered her with compliments, worked on her sense of superiority but made sure to gain her respect at the same time. And when he was sure she was in love with him, he brought her to his shack to show her the squalor in which he had to live.
She was just as shocked as he had expected, if not more. He had to convince her she wouldn't get sick just from stepping over his threshold and when he finally suceeded, she once again hid in his arms.
And from there things took their own direction. Maybe it was Tristan's reflexes taking over, or maybe they were trying to outrun Nadine's fears, or maybe it was something completely else. It was hard to say for sure when Tristan didn't even notice what was happening until they were on his bed, and by then it was too late to stop even if he wanted to.

At the same time Tiriel was looking on her own life, trying to find a future for herself. She had kept her pride, but her refusal to grovel before Tristan or the Church had only alienated her from the village. Eventually she grew tired of seeing disdain in almost every face and she didn't want her child to be surrounded by it from birth.
She used the last of her money to set up a humble home in Ferndean valley, near Devin who as one of the very few people didn't desert her. She had just enough to live on and she supposed she should be grateful for that, but still she worried. She had never been one to give up, but with a baby on the way there wast just too much unknown.

At least the village midwife and wise woman didn't reject her. That one blessing grew more and more important to Tiriel as the baby in her belly grew and the time of birth came closer. Without this support, she would be terrified rather than just worried.
And then the ordeal of birth came and went, Tiriel was holding a baby daughter in her arms and she was more afraid than before. She was happy too, of course. The little girl was just perfect, despite resembling her father so much, and Tiriel loved her from the moment she first saw her. She just hoped she would be able to give her the life she deserved.

She wasn't sure how she would have managed everything without Devin and his wife. They came by often to help around the house, watch little Faelyn while Tiriel had to work, but mostly just to keep her company and remind her that not everyone had rejected her. Especially Katharyn was so good with children she it only took her a while to make normally fussy Faelyn trust her.
Tiriel had to admit the two were perfect for each other, so much in harmony they almost seemed to read each other's minds. It almost made her sad, as a reminder of how she herself had been used and cast aside. But she refused to listen to those feelings. Devin and Katharyn were her friends, maybe the only friends she had, and she wouldn't lose tham out of stupid envy.

One day Devin came alone, looking nervous. Tiriel's first thought was that something had happened to Katharyn and he needed help, but he just shook his head at her concern.
"I think I have something that can help you." He said. "Something to... do you remmeber how you went with me to... so I could..."
Tiriel just nodded. She wanted to ask questions, tell him he wasn't making any sense, but she bit her tongue and forced herself to let him finish.
"It was the Fae who did it to me. At least I think it was. And I managed to steal some of their magic from them and learn... something. I'm still trying to make any sense of it, but... I think I could give you the magic too. If you want, of course, I..." He stopped and looked at her questioningly.
"Magic?" Tiriel still wasn't sure she had understood, but just to imagine herself as a sorceress from old stories felt great. She would never have to bear insults any more, maybe not have to work... "Of course I want to learn magic!" She said.
Devin smiled nervously and took out a twig. He opened his mouth as if to say something and then he probably thought better of it, closed his eyes and waved the twig around. And then Tiriel started to feel her whole body tingling. She had expected a surge of power, but she just felt... itchy and strange.
And then the tingling stopped and Tiriel didn't know what exactly she was feeling.
"Did it work?" Devin was grinning like a child, but there was uncertainty and fear in his voice.
"I think so. I feel..." Tiriel searched for the right word and didn't find it. "Thank you." She said finally and hugged him.

But still there were moments when Tiriel was afraid it wasn't enough. Even with Devin's gift she wasn't able to get rid of work around the house, let alone earn any money. There were little things, like summoning butterflies and cleaning spilt water, but nothing that would change her life too much. And Faelyn seemed to only grow more demanding with age, not satisfied with what food Tiriel could get her, not satisfied with her simple toys or the stories Tiriel would tell her before bed.

Tiriel was more than ready to blame herself for her daughter's unhappiness, but there was someone else who should share the blame.
Living near to Tristan and having to see him was probably the worst thing about her new house, worse than all the discomfort and poverty that came with it. He never missed the chance to rub it in and laugh at her and even dared to harass her in her own home.
"Get out of here. Get out of here and leave me alone, before I make you." She growled.
"I just want..."
"I don't care what you want, unless you want your ass kicked. That I can do."
Tristan shrugged, that stupid smile still on his face, but he at least left the house. Tiriel hoped it was because he was afraid of her.

But then Tristan noticed little Faelyn just outside the door and stopped to look at her and Tiriel stopped caring about his reasons or anything else. He may have ruined her life, but he wasn't going to ruin her daughter.
Maybe Devin's magic could be used for something else than just small cleaning... When she cast the spell she didn't even know what exactly she wanted it to do, just that she wanted to hurt Tristan as much as she possibly could.

There was a flash of light, sickly orange like something rotten, and then Tristan screamed and started flailing his arms around him. Tiriel smiled even before she understood what exactly had happened, before she noticed the growing swarm of bees or wasps or some other insect around him.
And then Tristan ran, chased by the swarm, and Tiriel laughed out loud. She felt powerful and, for the first time since she saw him cheating, really good.

Lady Leandra worried about her daughter. Her little girl had turned into a sulky young woman, who tried to shut her out of her life. She did her best to not be irritated, but she couldn't help wishing things were like they used to be when Nadine was younger. She didn't even think she asked too much, just to love and protect her daughter like she always did.
Leandra believed she was doing a good job of keeping calm and supporting the difficult girl, until she noticed how her figure was changing. Even after that she gave it a week of careful watching, of trying to make sure before confronting her. She didn't have to do that. She already knew she was right, knew what Nadine had been doing every time she asked to visit the church, and she just couldn't believe Nadine could betray her like this. But she tried hard to be rational and understanding, at least until the moment she finally spoke to Nadine and the girl dismissed all her concerns with a handwave and a frown.
It was only then that Leandra blew up. Her daughter was ruining her life and didn't seem to even care about the consequences. She had no plans for the baby other than get rid of it somehow, no plans for herself and no will to start making things right. And when asked the name of the man who had done this to her, she refused with a pout.
It was up to Leandra to fix the situation, to once more save her baby.
At first Nadine absolutely refused to get married, let alone marry someone she didn't even know. But probably for the first time in Nadine's life, Leandra wasn't going to be stopped be a pout of sulking.

After she realised her mother wasn't going to budge, Nadine shut herself up in her room, half sulking and half hoping the problem would go away on its own. Maybe if she waited long enough, her mother would stop being angry? But with nothing to do, she couldn't help going over all her fears and worries, running in circles until she felt so sick to her stomach she thought she would lose the baby.
During some sleepless nights that thought seemed like a release, the easiest way out there could be. If the baby could only disappear... but stories of bad miscarriages came to her mind, stories of women dying in terrible pain, more stories than she even remembered hearing.
But what else was there for her? She considered going to Tristan, but she would never live in the woods. She was a lady and nothing would make get give up what was her right.

And then her betrothed arrived, a real living man after all. Her mother introduced him to her as her future husband with a tone of voice that was not permitting any objections. Lord Meryn, just a younger son of somebody apparently, had arrived to marry her despite "her state" and she should be grateful. As if she had any reasaon to be, as if he wasn't the one who would gain everything.
She barely even looked at him, just muttering monosyllabic responses to everything he said. She didn't even care that he was young and handsome, thinking only about how unfair it all was.

The next few days passed faster than she could have imagined. There were rushed dress fittings, a few more meetings with Meryn in which she had hardly said a word, more time spent sulking and worrying sick with no escape in sight.
And then she was finally standing in the church next to Meryn, under her mother's unflinching gaze. There was no more time and no other choices, both her mother and the priest had explained that to her, and she felt sick. The more sick when she noticed Meryn was smiling at her and actually looked happy to be there.

She listened to the priest drone on about eternal love, respect and obediance, coming to the part where they would have to say their vows. And she just couldn't. She couldn't imagine spending her whole life loving and obeying this man she had barely met. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, she was supposed to have a choice, to be a princess everyone would worship.
Meryn reached for her hand to put his ring on it and she flinched away. "No." Her voice was weak and she still felt sick to her stomach, but she somehow found the courage to continue: "I won't do it."

Meryn stared at his bride. He had never felt so humiliated in his life, not even when he learned he could expect no inheritance from his father.
"No?" He repeated. He felt stupid, but he could find no other words to say.
Nadine just shook her head mutely, backing away even more.

She saw the priest looking from her to Meryn and finally to her mother, who stood up and was marching towards her. Nadine made one more step backwards, her head still high, but her brief spark of courage was already fading.
"As you wish." Leandra said, her voice barely raised above a whisper. "You can still go to a convent. You can live among the sisters until you change your mind... and until another suitor is found."
Nadine tried to be brave, but tears were already coming to her eyes. To live in a convent, be stripped of all luxury and comfort and surrounded by strict nuns who would treat her as a sinner and punish any disobediance... She had heard enough to know she wouldn't bear it.
"No... please not that..." She said in a small voice.
"You can still say your vows. If Lord Meryn would still have you." Leandra replied coldly.
At that moment Nadine hated both her mother and Meryn with his stupid puppy eyes. But there was no escape, no other choice.
She nodded and sealed her fate.

Tristan was enjoying life to the fullest, or at least trying to.
Tiriel was still head over heels in love with him and Tristan would be a fool if he didn't take advantage of that. But despite all the fun they had in bed, it seemed that now that he had her and the mystery was gone, her energy and passion were the main things that were keeping them together. Now that she had stopped being the one girl who was not interested in him, the one who contradicted everything, there was really no reason to continue trying. Everything was as if was supposed to be, but he was slowly starting to realise maybe there was less fun in that. Even Tiriel's adventuring spirit lost much of its attractiveness when he didn't have to pursue her.

 

Boredom lurked behind this seemingly perfect romance and Tristan did the only thing he knew to chase it away. He started looking around again. After all, there were other challenges to pursue. He had seen Edric talking with young lady Nadine and just the thought of the two of them becoming friends made him too angry for words. He could imagine them laughing at him together, scheming to cheat him of his own fair inheritance.
Tristan was determined to not let it get that far.
He chose the church as the best place to talk to the girl and while her mother was busy crying over her husband's grave, he filled the daughter's ears with sweet words. He didn't even have to try that hard.
It took a single red rose and a few mentions of how Nadine was too beautiful to stay locked at the Lorimer Manor all her life and the girl was already swooning. He promised her safety and rebellion at the same time, a way to escape from her mother's gilded cage and lose nothing while doing it, but nothing too specific.
And when he had fanned her interest enough, when he was sure she wanted him, he disappeared and let her think about how she could earn his favour.

While Tristan was busy scheming, Elena felt she was at a crossroads of her life.
She often thought about Orin, the funny boy the gypsy said was her true love, but after that magical first meeting he seemed to vanish from the world. Eventually she accepted the idea that he might have been conjured up just for that one day and settled for the life she could have.
When she met Malcolm it wasn't love at first sight, but they understood each other. And he wasn't going to disappear and that was probably the most important thing.
It was Malcolm who pushed their relationship forward, who asked her to be only his and who wanted to meet her family. And she went along with it, desperate for real lasting love and for some stability in her life.

Malcolm seemed to be more than stable. He wasn't one for big emotional outbursts, but soon he was completely at home with her family, eating meals with them regularly and talking about his big plans. He only needed some money to go from blacksmith's apprentice to being his own master with own workshop.
Tristan rolled his eyes, but Elena did her best not to see him.

She was happy, she had no reason not to be. Malcolm said he loved her, he would give her a family and enough money for a comfortable life. What more could she possibly want? Only there were times when she thought of Orin, or somebody else with whom she would feel a spark of something more than just stability. Was this really what she wanted for the rest of her life?
She didn't want to emulate Tristan, but maybe what Delia had with Adrian...?

Or maybe she just needed to stop thinking about it, stop worrying and take the plunge. That, after all, was what Delia had done. Maybe what Tristan was doing wasn't all bad, when he seemed happy doing it.

Elena didn't know what she had expected or if she had really expected anything at all. When Malcolm proposed to her after the first time they had fooled in bed together, she was definitely surprised, but decided to just roll with it.
She just smiled and accepted the ring and the new life that lay behind it without much thinking.

It didn't take long for her to discover how good a decision it had really been. She had started feeling ill in the mornings, nauseous and strangely tired despite not doing anything that could cause it. As the only woman in the house, she only realised she might be pregnant after long days of worrying and trying to hide both the sickness and her fear.
She didn't want her brother to make fun of her. She didn't know what Tristan had against Malcolm or against her, but he was turning more and more vicious. After she had accepted to marry Malcolm, there wouldn't be a day without Tristan reminding them how hard and boring their life would be. He said they had no money, that as just an apprentice Malcolm wouldn't get his own workshop, that they would never achieve anything. He said there wasn't a chance for her to be a knight or anything else, that she wouldn't be allowed in a castle even as a servant. He spoke about her like he knew what she wanted and never mentioned any plans for his own life, but she felt too sick to say anything and Malcolm was probably too well brought up to argue.

And with a baby on the way, it wasn't like there was any other choice now. Even if she wanted to go back, to choose a different life for herself, that road had closed and there was no sense even thinking about it.
They rushed the wedding to get married before she started showing too much and when they said their vows, Elena did her best to only look forward.
She didn't regret anything. Or at least not too much, not enough to think about it.

After the wedding Malcolm moved in with her and her family. He said it was temporary, that he just needed to save some money to build her a proper house. Tristan rolled his eyes and laughed at him. Elena mostly ignored them, dealing with her queasy stomach and all the other pains that came with pregnancy.
She tried hard to be happy and help her new husband make a future for them, but she couldn't stop thinking about her own mother and her tragic death. She was afraid for her life and there was nobody she dared to confide in.
When the day came and she went to labour, she was grateful Tristan was away on one of his romantic conquests. Malcolm at least tried to help, he brought her a woman from the village before settling down to wait and relax.
Finally it was over and Elena was holding her newborn son and suddenly everything was just right, despite whatever Tristan might say when he returned. It was probably the thought of her brother than made her discard all the names they had briefly discussed with Malcolm. She would name her son Adrian, after the man who might have been her father. Nobody knew for sure, but Tristan should never forget the uncertainly applied to her as well as him.

Even before the baby was born Tristan had felt superfluous in his own house. He should inherit it one day, at least if he didn't have something better, but with his sister and her husband in there, he didn't even feel at home. And with the baby, it was even worse. He got no sleep at night and nobody even cared. Even his father, who had never really cared about children, was fussing over little Adrian and it was just too much for Tristan.
He never really wanted that stupid house, anyway. He was sure he could build something much better, and then Elena and her boring husband would be sorry they made him move out.
When he realised how much discomfort and hard work building a house required, it was already too late. He didn't have enough money for anything else and was far too proud to come back.

Instead he tried to forget his reality by chasing dreams. The village was full of other girls all too eager to go to bed with him, girls he had ignored when chasing Tiriel, but who had never stopped wanting him. He went from one girl's embrace to the next one, running from dreary work, from responsibility, from a grey life that would remind him he wasn't a noble, a knight or anything else.
Soon it became almost routine. The smooth talk, the embraces, kisses, everything that came after, he was just going through the motions, always rushing to something new.

Even when Celestine admitted she liked him, the convent-raised girl who had always run from him, there were no real emotions. It was a nice distraction, but nothing too special. He didn't even think about the girl herself, she was just another one in a line and there was nothing to distinguish her from the others.

But even if Tristan didn't really care about anything, someone else did.
He had no idea Tiriel was even there and watching, until she stormed up to him, her face a mixture of shock and hurt.
"I thought you loved me... you said... how can you do this?"

Celestine took a step back. "I didn't know you were..." she began, but Tiriel didn't really notice her. One glance was enough to see she was just another victim and nothing else was important.
"How could you do this to both of us? All those promises and then you discard us? I'm pregnant, do you ever care about that?"
Tristan opened his mouth, but his eyes said everything even before he could. He didn't care. He might give excuses, more promises, even, but he didn't really care.
Tiriel slapped him hard across the face, and then again.

Tristan exploded. "If you're pregnant, it's just your own stupid fault. I don't care. Why should I even care about you?"
"You're pathetic." Tiriel laughed, but her laugh was bitter, just to hide that she would like to cry.

It was probably this laughter that was the worst for Tristan. Tiriel had humiliated him, made him feel small and worthless, and he wanted her punished. For the slap, for her accusations, for making him interested and then becoming boring. He wanted her pilloried like a harlot and hoped that her shame would make him feel good again.
When he dragged her before the priest, he was still counting on the status he imagined himself to have, but the affair very nearly turned against him. The priest calmly listened to both of them and then suggested a wedding, as the best way to save the girl's honour and give the child a family. As if Tiriel had any honour after attacking him like that! Tristan wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or explode.
It was probably this moment of hesitation that helped him the most. While he was still staring in shock, trying to understand what the priest was suggesting, Tiriel spoke up first.
"Never. I would rather take any punishment than let that... person... ever touch me again." The disgust in Tiriel's voice made Tristan want to scream. Even if he no longer wanted her, how dare she look at him like that?
The priest spoke up before a shouting match could start and even though he ordered both of them do penance, his anger seemed to be directed mostly to Tiriel.

She supposed the priest had really wanted to help her, or at least help the unborn baby. She tried to keep her head down, to do the penance without protests, but it was hard to think of anything else than how angry she was at Tristan. She tried to be humble, but even with her hair cut short as a mark of shame and a baby growing in her belly, she really had no use for the priest's talk of repentance and the Watcher's blessing.
She still had her dignity, even if she may have been the only person to see it.