She went into labour sooner than everyone was expecting, in the middle of a night. Devin and the twins panicked, the children scared and confused despite the explanation they had been given before, and Devin just nervous. He ran for a midwife, but Katharyn knew it would take too long for her to get there. She tried to look brave for the children, but she couldn't help feeling worried. What if their amazing luck had already ran out?
Luckily for her, the labour was even faster and easier than her first one. Baby Elias was born at dawn, tiny but healthy.
The twins were excited for their new brother, but they soon returned almost completely to their previous lives. They were friends with their cousins Adrian and Ronan, even more so after the boys moved in with Delia.
And the twins were both going to school and excelling there. Ethan was still prone to flights of fancy, still playing with imaginary friends even as he grew older, but he was bright and inquisitive. His sister Evelyn was much more disciplined, used to helping out in the household, but just as smart.
Devin thought he couldn't really be happier or wish for a better family.
But then the twins came into their teenage years and it was as if they became completely different people. Ethan especially became irritable, impossible to please and prone to screaming arguments every time something was not going exactly according to his wishes.
Devin and Katharyn could only watch as their son drove most of his childhood playmates away and withdrew into solitude with only imaginary friends for company. They tried to love him even more, tried hard to help him overcome the difficult times, whatever their cause, but nothing helped.
Even the relationship between Ethan and his twin sister became strained. They had been inseparable, sharing both chores and playtime, but now Ethan grew vicious. Everything his sister suggested bored him and his only idea of fun seemed to be cruel pranks. He would make fun of Evelyn in front of her friends, mocking her for all the things he had not so long ago shared, and when they were alone he would drench her with ice cold water and laugh.
Tormenting Evelyn was one of the few things that seemed to make Ethan happy.
Evelyn hoped to find comfort with other friends, but Adrian and Ronan were often busy making plans for their new life, even though they made no move to leave Delia's home, and Faelyn was acting too grown up for old friendships, becoming distant and maybe even alarmingly like Ethan.
The half-elven girl had grown up with no father and a mother who was loving, but also overworked and mostly shunned in the village. Devin and Katharyn had always tried to be there for her, but it just wasn't enough. As much as they wanted to make her and the twins into foster siblings, all the other village children made the differences between them far too clear. And now she was almost grown up, almost independent, and determined to never be hurt again. No more craving for attention, she would reject people before they could shun her.
And when faced with any more abuse, she would give even more than she took. Faelyn didn't really care what had made Ethan so nasty or if he had changed at all and not merely stopped pretending. All she cared about was putting him in his place, far bellow her.
She blew up with all her pent-up rage and the look of utter shock on his face was one of the greatest things she had ever seen.
Evelyn didn't know how to deal with the changes expect be the good girl she always was, working hard at school, doing her brother's share of chores, wearing a smile even brighter than ever before, just to create an illusion of normality. Just to make her parents less stressed out.
Every time Ethan was to go to the village, she offered to do it instead, just to keep him away from more conflicts. But it was as if he enjoyed them and revelled in the negative attention he received. It made the orderly Evelyn cringe and she only hoped her brother wouldn't do anything stupid enough to deserve retribution.
Evelyn eventually resigned herself to at least accompanying Ethan when she was unable to make him stay at home, to keep an eye on him and ensure the chores actually got done. As for the rest, she could only pray to the Watcher he would outgrow this strange rebellion soon.
One day she was doing just that, buying groceries for the family while Ethan was arguing with the seller at the next stall, when she noticed Faelyn. Her - former? - friend was striding through the market as if she owned the whole village with her head held high and an expression just daring anyone to stand in her way. Even the did nothing to slow her down. Evelyn couldn't help but notice how pretty and graceful she was, with her lustrous curls and lithe elven body radiating energy. Just watching Faelyn move made her feel pudgy and dull.
Evelyn broke out of her reverie when she heard her brother's voice, raised in anger as it usually was.
"We're not even worth a polite greeting to you? After all that my parents have done for you?"
Before Evelyn could react, Ethan was standing in front of surprised Faelyn and stabbing his finger into her chest. Just barely conscious of the transaction she was making, Evelyn watched as Faelyn took a step back in shock. And then, just as Ethan opened his mouth again to continue in his abuse, the half-elf hissed like a cat and slapped her tormentor across the face, hard. Then she turned and continued walking, her posture and expression that of a queen.
Evelyn glanced at the middle-aged stallkeeper still counting out her money and wondered for a moment whether she should just abandon her shopping and dart to Ethan. Maybe she could still stop him before he had time to react...? A moment's hesitation between her two duties and then it was already too late.
Ethan caught up with Faelyn, grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. And then they were trading blows and trying to wrestle each other to the ground. A crowd immediately started gathering around them.
Faelyn fought like a cat, clawing at Ethan's face, not even attempting to escape despite her opponent's much greater strength.
Evelyn was finally handed her groceries and coins and was free to rush to the fight, but stopped to hover just outside of the commotion when she noticed some members of the audience. One of the guards was there, probably getting ready to grab the two combatants, and even worse, there was Lady Nadine herself with an ugly smile on her face.
The whole thing probably only took a short moment, but to Evelyn it felt like hours before Ethan threw Faelyn to the ground and then had his arm twisted behind his back by the guard. His face went straight from triumph to surprised pain and then a pout of a sulky child.
The guard turned to his lady for instructions, probably deciding whether to drag Ethan straight to prison. Evelyn cursed her inaction. Would it help if she threw herself before them now and begged for leniency?
Lady Nadine smirked before she spoke. "I believe they should both be punished."
The guard nodded and before she could realise what was happening, Faelyn was also caught in his vice-like grip. "They will be." He said. "I'm sure their parents will see to that."
The lady frowned, but then nodded. Evelyn breathed out. It seemed the worst wasn't going to happen, but still... she wondered how angry her parents would be and hoped it would not be too bad. Especially as she wasn't sure she was entirely blameless in not preventing the incident.
Devin and Katharyn, usually so gentle and patient, were both furious. Ethan tried to protest and blame Faelyn, but no no avail. She may have slapped him, but he was the bully who had attacked her.
If his parents hoped that severe punishment would achieve what patience didn't and get Ethan back under control, they were disappointed. The boy only grew even more sullen and withdrawn, silently plotting his revenge against the unfair world. His imaginary friends became more violent, often advocating hurting people in many ways, but Ethan didn't quite dare follow all their advice.
Instead, he joined forces with Geoff, a boy around his age who was already on his way to becoming a serious criminal. Together they talked about how aristocracy had done nothing to deserve their position and how they should get even with Lady Nadine and her guards. So far they limited themselves to petty theft that was unlikely to be traced back to them and to a few secret nightly rides in Nadine's carriage. But they planned that one day they would rob the guard barracks as a grand gesture. And Ethan's voices were excited about the possibility of getting real deadly weapons.
Faelyn escaped punishment altogether and instead got self-defence lessons from her mother. Tiriel warned her daughter against angering Lady Nadine, but refused to play her game. Especially as she suspected that she herself might have been the main fault Nadine found in the girl.
Maybe it was seeing her little girl become a fierce warrior that did it, but Tiriel suddenly realised she wanted to move on. Her daughter was growing and soon she wouldn't need her. She had lived in the shadow of Tristan and her damaged reputation for far too long, for far too long she had tried to be invisible, never ask anything for herself, stay away from all men. And now she was finding that there were many things she wanted and had entirely missed, and that soon it might be too late. She was not getting any younger.
She didn't even know herself how the relationship with Leon happened, just that suddenly they found out that they both wanted to live their life to the fullest when they still could. At first, neither of them expected anything. After all, Leon ever since his failed courtship with Delia Leon had always drawn the line at any actual commitment. But they were spending more and more time together and it felt nice to feel the warmth of someone else's body after such a long time.
But there was still one thing missing to make Tiriel's life truly satisfying. As much as she tried to convince herself that she didn't need magic, that it was never truly hers to begin with, she could still feel the hole inside her from where it had been torn. It had been a gift from a friend, a solace in hard times, a weapon she could use for protection.
As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she couldn't help but want that gift back and found her thoughts and later her steps returning again and again to the old gnarled tree in the woods. Maybe, if she was brave enough, that could be a way. Maybe if she could trick the Fae into taking her again, seduce them if needs be, take their secrets and escape...
She started coming every night, hoping it would happen again and give her this chance.
And then it finally did. There was the light, the strange, otherworldly music, the laughter. Again there was darkness, but this time at least no pain. She remembered laughing with them and dancing until her feet hurt. She remembered whispers, something about a gift. And then she was flying high above her house before she woke up in the snow just outside her door.
At first she believed she had succeeded, but soon she found that she had brought back a completely different gift.
She often wondered what kind of child she was carrying, if it even was a child and not something else entirely. But it grew normally and in time she found herself in love with it already.
And, as her belly grew and labour approached, scared as well, but for a different reason this time. She had seen far too many childbirth complications and was way past the age when she would advise anyone to get pregnant.
When her time came, she swallowed her pride and asked for help from the village. She didn't care there would be questions about the child's father, this time not only absent but completely unknown, she just wanted it to be safe and healthy. No matter what it would mean for her reputation.
The labour took long, much longer than she believed she could take, but somehow she managed to get through it with sheer willpower. And then she held in her arms her newborn daughter, a tiny baby with milk-white skin and strange pearl eyes.
Despite all of Tiriel's expectations and fears, the little girl seemed to be a normal healthy baby. If there was any magic or any other talents in her, they would have to manifest later in her life and Tiriel didn't know if she was disappointed or grateful.
Still, little Avianna's birth seemed to cost Tiriel the last remnants of her youth. Her life was once again reduced to changing diapers and she had no energy anymore to even wish for anything more. Even her dreams were growing increasingly mundane, when she wasn't too tired to remember them at all.
