A Court of Pain and Sorrow

The broken hunter

Rhaella woke up in a bed that wasn't her own.
She turned around and looked at Evelyn's beautiful face, she leaned in and kissed her.

Evelyn woke up and smiled at Rhaella before kissing her again.

"Did you like your birthday present?" Evelyn asked, a huge smile lingering on her face.

"Like is an understanding. I loved it, sweetheart."

They stayed like that, lying in bed naked and hugging each other, smillind like idiots for what seemed like hours.

"Won't your sisters be worried about you?"

"Don't worry about that, Ev. They know I'm seeing someone."

"Did you tell them it was me?" Evelyn asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, I didn't. They probably think I'm seeing some boy from the village."

"You know I hate this, right?" At those words Rhaella sat up and looked at her girlfriend.

"You hate what exactly?" She asked, scared if her answer.

"Don't get me wrong, I love you. And I love being with you, I wouldn't change it for the world." Rhaella left out a breath she didn't know she was holding and asked Evelyn to continue. "But I wish that we could tell the whole world. I wish I could just go out of my room, to my father's office and scream 'I'M IN LOVE WITH A WOMAN'. You know?"

"Yes. I understand. I wish that too. And believe me, I would do anything to be able to do it... You have no idea how much it bothers me when those men try to approach you..."

"You know that now that Cameron and I are engaged, they don't do it."

"That doesn't mean they don't think about you at night."

"You shouldn't worry about that. It is you I love."

"You better, because I love you, Evelyn, and I'm not going anywhere."

The girls kissed again before standing up and getting dressed.
And as soon as Rhaella finished tying up her laces the door opened.

The youngest Archeron looked up to see a pale Evelyn and a group of men standing there, including Evelyn's father.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Father... I can explain."

"Shut up, Evelyn. I was hoping that the rumours weren't true... but it seems like I'm wrong."

This time it was Rhaella who spoke up: "Rumours? What rumours?"

"The ones who say that my daughter is engaged to her best friend only to hide the fact that both of them are seeing people they shouldn't be seeing." Evelyn's father looked at Rhaella, disgust all over his face. "I had heard stories about impure women who shared their beds with other women... But I never thought that my daughter would be corrupted like that... Let alone by a simple commoner."

Rhaella looked at Evelyn and the sight of her broke her young heart. She was holding back the tears as hard as she could but it was obvious that at any time they were going to fall.

Evelyn looked at her girlfriend and gave her a little smile, which she returned.

This was the end. They both knew it.

They had discussed several times what would happen if their secret came out. They always reached the same conclusion: Evelyn's father was not going to allow such rumours to continue. He would suffocate them with something bigger. And what was bigger than his only daughter's death? He was going to kill her for this. As for Rhaella...