Blind Beauty

Blind Beauty | 2

 

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EDITED.

Chapter Dos

Arlette stayed awake all night—thinking and thinking about what her mother said to her—how her and her father were protecting her and her sisters. Especially her though. They were much more worried about Arlette than Ember and Cade, they could take care of themselves, Arlette "couldn't", as her mother had put it. Arlette and her mother were arguing vividly about this the night before. She, in no means, wanted to feel so...helpless.  

Her mother had  said that she was under her parents protection, and that nothing will ever happen to her.

 

She had asked about her sisters, what would happen to them if one of them got chosen. Her mother just sighed and said that they'd go through it, they could take care of themselves; they were grown-ups, after all, and so Arlette shouldn't worry very much about her sisters or anyone else, but herself.

Arlette thought her mother was being somewhat selfish, if not bias. Worrying about her but not her sisters? She frowned at that.

Walking out of her room, she skimmed her hands down her long, heavy dress. Arlette was pulling on it slightly as it was a bit tight for her liking, but she figured that it'll do. Her mother had picked it out for her, and she wasn't about to have an argument about how tight her dress was with  her mother. Her mother was...complex. A really incomprehensible creature.

Stepping into the kitchen like every morning, she was greeted by her mom and grandmother.

"Where's dad?" Arlette asked, curious, as she sat down. She couldn't feel his presence here, not even his manly scent.

"Oh, your mother sent him to a healer, dear.  He has gotten worse."  Her grandma answered, pulling a chair and sitting down. She sounded exhausted.

The fact that Arlette's dad had gotten worse was something that deeply worried her. He had never been this sick, not even when the early plague attacked the place he had been going through a couple of years ago. This wasn't a good sign.  In fact, this was a really, really bad sign, and if the healer can't cure him, there were going to be some serious problems.

 

"He's a very experienced healer..." She heard her mother inquire through the mists of her whirling thoughts. Her mother wanted to convince herself, that was something Arlette was certain. Hopefully, his healing abilities were strong and powerful enough to cure him... But it didn't really matter if he was an experienced healer or not. When Fate said no, it didn't matter if it was a sting of a bee, it was a no, and that was what scared Arlette the most.

Ember had entered the kitchen, her presence heavy and uncomfortable. She greeted her mother then grandma, and at last, Arlette. She must've been upset about something—her stiff voice and movements automatically gave it off.  She pulled out a chair, and slumped down.

"I couldn't sleep," Ember finally clarified, sighing. "There were ninnies flying all over my room...they wouldn't leave me alone,"

"Was your window open?" Her grandma asked. All three of them were sitting in the kitchen, finishing breakfast. The only one missing was Cade—she always woke up late.

Ember sighed. "Yes. I thought I'd closed it..."

Ninnies were incredibly annoying, little fairies.  They were as small and fragile as petals, but their constant buzzing and silliness to "play" was beyond upsetting.  They didn't really do anything other than come out at night and "play", which actually meant that they were looking for any living thing to bug on. Arlette couldn't blame Ember for that one. They were indeed stressing.

Cade came in at last, her presence graceful and happy as ever. Arlette frowned at her behavior.  Something must have pinched her in her sleep, Arlette thought, greeting Cade as well. By the time Cade started to eat breakfast, Arlette had excused herself to go to her favorite place— the meadow.

"Wear your cloak, Arlette." her mother had instructed when she had gotten up.

Arlette frowned, turning to where she felt her mom's presence. "I'm not going outside the meadow, mom. Since when do I  have to wear a cloak while outside of the village's streets?" she asked, slightly irritated. This was unusual of her mother.

"Since now, Arlette." she inquired sternly. "Now, put this on," she shoved Arlette's cloak into her hands.

Arlette groaned, giving up, and slowly, frustratingly, shrugged her big, dark cloak on with a huff. Once she'd put it on, she headed as fast as she could towards the front door, but her mom's voice stopped her.

"Cover your hair!"

She let out an irritated breath, taking the cloak's hood and smoothly placing it over her head.

"Satisfied?" Arlette asked, her voice covered with irritation.

"Yes, very. You can go now."

"Gods..." Arlette murmured as she opened the front door. Her mother could really be a handful sometimes.

As she stepped into the meadow, she instantly knew that there was a very little percentage she would enjoy herself with this cloak, so instead, she just collapsed  between the chirping daisies, her front facing the sky.

They were supposed to wear cloaks when they were outside their house and into the village puzzling depths, not on her family's territory.

Only females were required to wear cloaks when they were outside of their cottages. It showed something about self-respect and dignity, something all females should have.

The sun kissed Arlette's face potently, soon making her have beads of sweat roll down her forehead.

She pushed herself up in a sitting position, taking her cloak's hood off so she could get some fresh air through her sweaty neck and hair. Maybe it was better to go inside the cottage, where the sun wasn't so much of a murderer.

The wind suddenly picked up, and blew Arlette's hair out of her face. She sighed happily, closing her eyes and breathing in the many different scents the wind brought. The damp grass, the smell of the smoke that came from people's cottages, indicating that they were cooking, the soothing scent of the flowers... those were the little things that made Arlette happy, and for a brief moment, it made her want to see what was around her—what it would be like to actually see colors - to actually see her family's faces...She shook her head, telling herself to never want nor wish any of those things; she knew she'd never get them.

And then, out of nowhere, the wind brought an utter, dreading smell, making Arlette desperately cover her nose and mouth with her hand.  What was that stench? She got up, and suddenly the wind got stronger and she no longer could feel the heat of the sun, but hear ominous thundering and clashing in distance, rapidly getting closer.

Un-bearing fear crawled up Arlette's spine as she hurriedly walked back  towards the cottage. She practically ran, not caring if she used her cane or not.  And when she felt like she was right in front of the door, she  threw the door open to sickly hear her mother shouting desperately.

 

"We're being attacked!"

 

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a/n: You'll probably hate my guts right now because of this incredibly short chapter. Sorry! At least it's something, right? Anyways, on another note, I wanted to thank everyone who commented and voted and followed! I didn't think you guys would like it so much. All the support really motivates me, so thank you!

- nessie xoxo