Written in her Stars

°☆•Eight•☆°

Enya

The pain felt endless this time, wave after wave of suffering washed over her, assaulting her body, keeping her on the verge of consciousness without allowing her to slip into oblivion too often. There was something different about it, too. It felt more intense, penetrating deep within her mind, which usually remained untouched by the magic. 

Her father must be really upset with her. What had she done to anger him so? She wondered in the brief moments when she could focus on anything else but the agony. And why was... Lear there, too? Was he being punished as well? She mused as she opened her eyes briefly, frowning in confusion at seeing her beloved in the tower with her before a new wave of pain, the strongest her father had ever put her through, made her faint. 

When she opened her eyes next, feeling so weak that she yearned to return to unconsciousness, the man chained to the wall in front of her was still there, his black eyes half hidden beyond the strands of his midnight hair intent on her, wondering, lost, alien. It made her feel uneasy. Even though there was something familiar about him, she didn't want anyone to see her like this, defenceless, a victim to her father's magic, whether she knew him or not...

The next time that Enya regained consciousness, she was alone, her legs limp under her, her weight supported by her arms chained to the wall above her head.

Pain surged through her body even though she couldn't feel her arms, and her gasp brought a guard to the small window of her cell promptly. The man peeked through the thick metal bars then was gone again the next moment, and soon a key turned in the lock of the cell's door, the sound obliterating the moans of suffering she could not suppress. But at least this pain felt normal, the result of her hanging on that wall for who knows how long, there was no magic in it, she could tell the difference unmistakably.

Apparently, her father was happy with the punishment, whatever he had punished her for... What had she done? She mused, as she observed her father walk into the cell moments after the guard who rushed towards her, wrapped an arm around her waist and unlocked the iron cuffs hurting her wrists, holding her as she folded into his arms, unable to suppress a whimper as her aching limbs dropped from their forced position and blood rushed back into them, bringing them back to life. 

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she saw the man wince in empathy, before he set her on her own feet and retreated into the corner as she accepted her father's arm gingerly and let him lead her out of the cell.

The bright sunshine blinded her as she stepped on the narrow balcony, causing her more pain, and she allowed her father to guide her down the sand coloured staircase winding around the tower. Its colour felt wrong, in her dreams, she ascended a similar staircase but it was black, and slippery, and the air smelled of the ocean and not apple trees... And a man, a stranger she had imagined was at her side, not her father...

"You've been a very naughty girl, Enya," her father muttered, scattering her reverie. "You've given me so much to think and worry about. But this will change from now on, won't it?" he asked, making Enya frown. 

She must have misbehaved, severely, but... she remembered nothing. Not wanting to anger her father by asking questions, she simply nodded.

He patted her hand, which rested on his forearm approvingly as they descended the stairs, then entered the castle several floors below. "It's early in the morning. I asked the maids to prepare your bath and breakfast. Take the entire day for yourself, you are excused from your lessons today, daughter. Rest, sleep, and spend some time with Roland and Remus, Leonore said that your brothers missed you. I want you present for dinner tonight, though. Landon is coming, he missed you too," with a wink and a fatherly kiss on her forehead, he left her outside her chambers after she replied, "Yes, father, thank you."

Frowning, she watched his figure retreating down the dimly-lit corridor. She felt confused. Something was amiss. But she knew that if her father decided she shouldn't understand, she wouldn't... Sighing, giving up, at least for now, she turned towards the door of her chamber. She needed to look forward, not back...

"My lady, may I help you?" One of her maids rushed to her from the bath set in the middle of her chamber, which she was still filling with pots of steaming water brought from the fireplace as Enya dragged herself into the room. The girl was, as usual, well aware of the treatment her mistress had received, scared of the cruel king even more than Enya. The look in Alana's eyes spoke volumes about how she felt; it was composed in equal measures of pity and dread of doing anything to receive such a punishment herself. 

Even though Enya wanted to ask Alana whether she knew what she done this time as she could not remember anything that she may have done wrong, she changed her mind upon noticing how the girl's fingers trembled while she unlaced her blue, tattered gown. Sighing, Enya let her help her into the bath, then released her. "If you have already prepared a clean gown and some towels for me, you may go, I'll be fine here."

Alana curtsied and smiled thankfully, this was the routine they both preferred. Enya needed to be alone, and the girl didn't want to become a witness of her confessions should she decide to talk. It was safer for everyone who lived in her father's castle to know as little as possible about what was going on among the members of the royal family. The king had made sure his staff knew that well. Curiosity and gossip did not pay off. 

Enya closed her eyes when she heard the soft click of the closing door, letting her know that she was alone. She let her mind stroll as she revelled in the pleasure of the warm, scented water caressing her body, healing her invisible wounds. The strangest and in a way the scariest thing about the magic her father used to punish her was that any trace of it vanished the moment he let go off her, and her tortured body started to heal, pushing the pain it had suffered into the darkest corner of her mind, changing it into a vague memory. Usually, she could forget about it within hours, the recollection being washed away as she sat in the warm water, rubbing her white skin into pinkness even as she dreamed of her last meeting with... Planned her next meeting with... 

She stood up abruptly, impatient with herself, sloshing water over the rim of the wooden tub as she reached for the towels Alana had piled on a stool. It felt like... something was wrong with her mind, she had forgotten something... or someone important...

She shook her head. It was such an unpleasant feeling to look for she did not know what exactly, something that should be in her mind, and not finding it. It was making her feel numb and blind and helpless and anxious... It felt like groping in darkness and hitting an invisible wall whenever she stepped beyond an imaginary border.

Pushing the awful feeling away, Enya stepped out of the bath and proceeded to dress, donning the white gown the maid had prepared for her. She didn't particularly like white, but it was her father's favourite colour, the colour of purity and innocence, and the wise Alana always made Enya wear white after she had been punished. 

Her eyes strolled through the window to the margins of the endless forest spanning beyond the orchard as she laced the bodice of the gown, searching for and not finding... Her breath caught as that thought shattered against a wall of blackness. Who???

She concentrated all her thoughts on that distant spot under the trees for a long moment, frowning, biting her lips, angry with herself for being so forgetful. When the view brought no further memory, she surrendered, though. She couldn't stand by the window trying to recall something the whole day.

She needed to see her beloved brothers, she had missed the twins. And then she would have to prepare for dinner, Father said that Landon was coming again... 

As the last thought, following an impulse she didn't understand, Enya picked the tattered light blue dress of the floor, brought it to her face, and inhaled deeply-- it carried a scent that felt... dear and precious... and familiar and alien... Banishing the confusing impressions, she folded the gown and pushed it into the wooden chest, which stood under the window, containing many other gowns. She didn't want Alana to throw it away.

Exiting the chamber, her legs made their way towards the door of the nursery, while her mind wandered to Landon. They had met a few times before, and he was a decent young man, a prince non the lesser... She sighed; it was becoming apparent that her father had set his mind on marrying her off to him.

It was a shame that she felt nothing beyond friendship to Landon, and she was certain that she never will, even though she didn't know why.