Atlas

Your Girl

A few days later

Never before had being alone shook me so much, checking every corner and camping out in the lounge rather than my chambers. For a few nights after they left - those foul creatures returned searching the premises. It must've been quite the sight, me swinging around fire wildly in a nightgown edging on my 'crazy old woman' era – maybe I should've thought twice about being the host of adventurers?

On the bright side, they were a good defence against those who tormented me but their presence also meant the demons limited the amount of time I could scavenge the surrounding area for food - and the answer was when light was my friend. the difficult adjustment was I quantities of portion, Grog was the main clean up for leftovers...but he wasn't here now. They would've gone to Trinket but he's gone too now

Any day now, she'd knock on the door with a sledgehammer swinging to my life ready wreck everything I'd built back up. Even if my hair was darker and shorter, and I had a stronger build...she still knew it was me. That's how it all worked, she learned every little thing there was to know, and melted the fact into a blade that carved away all security in your mind leaving behind a mindless goo to obey her every whim

My fingers gripped the shawl a little tighter as the thoughts sunk in, no matter how many times I told myself I was 'okay' - it never seemed believable. Never had Grayskull keep been so spotless, maybe it was because I never left? Dust didn't have to time to collect, or even embrace the dirt from outside that had been stormed in. What even was the point of marriage? Or dating!

It was picking a random person to run a test to see if they'd be appropriate to spend the rest of your time with, all that you got was company and someone to eat your food. Who really needed someone else their whole life? Sure enough after time they'd get bored and then have the difficulty of splitting assets, it was a pointless game. Stuff that was good always came with strings, so why did people do it?

For a few seconds, my eyes lingered on the door as the lack of sounds outside were replaced by scuffling and grunts - couldn't people find any other place to do it?! The keep was marooned, yes but hardly romantic. Wasn't there an old barn nearby or something? Those always sounded so cozy in the books but maybe that's just the way it was written? Come to think of it, the straw would hurt a bit and it's not private like people need

My feet were planted there in the middle for the hall as the scratching suddenly turned into the group bursting through the door drained of all energy, but they'd brought someone with them. The exact person I'd spent the last few days trying to forget, yet they were conversing like they'd been best friends all their life! My body turned to glass inside of its skin suit as Vex grinned from ear

Even Scanlan was having a good time, or at least that's how it seemed until he saw me standing there in the dead centre of the hall wrapped up. His mouth opened and closed realising how this looked from my perspective, like he'd switched 'teams' and gotten cozy with the enemy. It wasn't rage that I felt, because no matter what...she was still beautiful, the stun of it all

"Marie? I-I can't believe I've found you again! You're okay, you're safe-" I turned around immediately as the woman began to approach me. I refused to let that little girl who fell apart, be tortured again because I snuggled too close to the fire. 'Marie'? A shortened version of the nine letter word that had been given to the baby my mother worked so hard for, and look what good that did

As I spun around to head for my chambers, my eyes caught the new decoration on the stone Grog and Pike were adjusting innocently with no clue as to what they were clutching - on the wall, fanned out like a holy item and pinned so...were the wings that were once attached to my back. They spanned roughly the length of three doors each, somehow holding their colour despite their lack of life "I thought they'd be a nice addition to the halls, this place is so dark and cozy"

My teeth bit down on my tongue to the point a metallic taste tainted the saliva I refused to spit. Back home - everything was up to interpretation, and emotionally based. So when I came here, everything was so easy to hide – the environment didn't match the fear I felt, and people couldn't read my mind immediately...it was a welcome change "They're...'charming'. I'm sure Lord De Rolo will be pleased to have an artifact from the fey realm"

The taller woman leaned a little closer so that no one else would hear what was about to be said, lord help her if one more thing happened - she would end up having the night of her life, or at least the one where it ended. "It wasn't Lord De Rolo I was trying to impress" the veins underneath those calloused scars on my back tingled in its usual sharp sensation, but the shawl wasn't enough this time

The tips of bone marrow of the wings in the middle were still crusted with dried blood, she hadn't even bothered cleaning them. Her arm slithered round my shoulders as we watched the adventurers move away from their accomplishment in pride that the frame was equal on both sides, like Scanlan's - Pike's expression fell slightly when her head turned to look at our new 'friend' catching my face in the process

"So 'Ana' now is it? Your mother cried a different word throughout the forest, one to match a lovely lady who roam the forest enveloping herself where no one could find her" her fingertips trailed up my arm as if they were a ghostly presence from the beyond. That forest was the only place I felt safe, my 'partner' was always far too angry to be let into such an area as she twisted the story to everyone she asked

She'd touch me in ways, I wasn't entirely sure I liked in the moment - but she was my partner, it's what she was meant to do. It was my fault that I didn't enjoy it, everyone else seemed to love her that way too! At the time, that young girl didn't know how to react and was too ashamed to say a single word...some things were still the same but the first step was stopping her hands, progress was progress after all

My grip left the shawl, peeling her hands off my body "I'm sorry but I don't know you - you must have the wrong person" for a second, that flicker of anger flashed in her irises but I wasn't as afraid this time. She had stormed into my legal territory and I wouldn't be so foolish as to let history repeat itself...

I was worth more than that...