EYES LIKE RAZORS

(25) Esmé Shelby

"Ada? What're you doing here?" Madison questions, wrapping her arms round her older sister. "It's a family day, I'd never miss family day." Ada replies.

"Family day? Pol, what's she talking about?" Madison asks.

"You'll find out soon enough. Come on." Polly says, leading her nieces towards the Lees camp.

"Pol, why the fuck are we on Lee territory?" Madison hisses, her hand finding the revolver in her waistband. "You won't be needing that. The war with the Lees ends today." Polly tells her.

"Why? What's happening today?" Madison inquires frustratedly.

"It's a wedding." Polly states.

"Whose fucking wedding?" Madison asks, as they ascend the slight slope where the Lees wagons were all parked.

"No... you can't be fucking serious." Madison says, when she spots John kneeling next to a woman in a white dress.

"Deadly. It's this or war. So don't make a scene." Polly warns. "You're acting as if we haven't just fucking sold John off." Madison exclaims quietly as the two women stop at the back of the crowd, Ada continuing forwards to stand beside Thomas.

Madisons stands in silence, she could feel her aunt taking sneaky side glances at her, obviously aware that the nineteen year old was trying to keep her anger at bay.

They hadn't even given him a fucking warning. Not even a fucking chance to say no to the marriage. It was an ultimatum be wed or be at war again.

What had happened to Lizzie?

Maybe Madison didn't agree that she's marriage material. But she is a nice woman, a woman trying to make her way in the world. Just trying to pay her bills.
And Madison was aware that if she weren't raised into her family, she'd be in a similar position.

She liked Lizzie, perhaps not as a bride to one of her brothers, but she appreciated the woman's kindness. Before Madison went off to war, Lizzie used to come round and help Martha with Johns kids, and if Pol and Ada needed a break from the hyperactive group that were Finn, Isaiah, Ash, Eddie and Madison, she'd take them off their hands for an hour or so.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an array of clapping which she begrudgingly became apart of when Polly elbowed her ribs.

-

"Drink?"

Madison looks up from where she was sat to see Isaiah stood there with a glass in his outstretched hand.

"Are you going to drink it if i don't take it?" Madison questions. "It's highly possible." Isaiah nods.

"Give it here then." Madison says. "Is there space for another person on your log of loneliness?" Isaiah asks, and she rolls her eyes, budging up so he could sit beside her.

"Now it's the log of love." Isaiah teases, winking at his bestfriends older sister.

"Why aren't you enjoying the party?" He asks. "Why aren't you?" Madison counters. "I noticed you were sat alone. Wanted to see if you were alright." Isaiah shrugs.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Madison says, sipping from the glass.

"Hey, little kid, why don't you give the woman some space? Let people that might actually stand a chance at smashing through." A man speaks stood infront of them.