Of Daggers and Bows - Skyrim

[one] broken arrow

   However, threatening did the job well. As he screamed insults and threats to take away her bed and only feed her gruel and the works at his daughter, she sulked towards him, dripping wet. Her head was hung in shame, but she was secretly smiling. His words were empty; he never did steal her bed or plunder her belongings to passing merchants. They were just means of intimidating her.

   The only reason she had departed from the lake was because she knew if she remained any longer, the punishment would be more severe. She already knew her father, if she could even call him that, would wallop and kick her when they were back on dry land. It was inevitable.

   Looking back on it, maybe it wasn't exactly the best idea to hide the dead fox under her father's pillow while he was out hunting. She didn't know what she would gain from taking a risk like that, except the gain of amusement as she heard his scream. She knew she'd face the consequences afterwards, but she had done it anyways.

   But it was too late for regrets; what was done was done. She tried her best to look ashamed and sorrowful as she stared her father in the eye. She held her hand out in front of her, and her father savagely gripped it and yanked her towards their little cabin. Her mother held the door open for the pair, looking down solemnly at her daughter, but all she received was a glare.

   The girl wasn't even given time to prepare herself as her father brought up his calloused hand and smacked her on the back of her head. She stumbled backwards, her chest already heaving. Her head pounded and stung, and she brought up her hand to soothe her pain.

    Her hand soon went down to her stomach as he shoved his foot into her stomach, sending a searing pain across it as the impact registered. The force of the blow knocked her into the wall behind her, and a resonating pain filled her head as it struck against the wall painfully. She put her hand up behind her head, feeling the fresh blood trickle over her fingers.

    As she watched fearfully as her father raised his fist to strike her again, something in her snapped. The fear dissipated and was replaced with something unfamiliar; rage. Uncontrollable rage. In the five years she'd endured this violence and abuse from her father, she had never felt this before. The thought that she could be angry and defiant had never crossed her mind.

   But it was all that could cross her mind as her father's fist was approaching her, and quick. Her nostrils flared, her teeth clenched. Time seemed to slow as she did one thing she had never done before.

   She held out her hand and blocked the punch. It was a simple action, but it said more than words could say. Silence captivated the air as her father stared at his fist and her hand, as if trying to comprehend what had just occurred. The next surprise for him came as his daughter opened her mouth and said the first word she had ever said in five years.

   "Stop."

   Her voice came out surprisingly clear and unwavering, despite the fact she hadn't used her vocal cords in thousands of days. She was thankful for her voice not cracking up on her; she would've sounded like an idiot if she had barely squeaked out the word. But she was also astonished about the authority her voice seemed to hold; the last time she had said something in her eight-year-old voice, she sounded so innocent and sad. Now, the girl had the voice of a powerful leader.

   The girl's brothers, who stood by and watched their sister getting beaten, were in disbelief at their sister's sudden boost of confidence. They always stood by to watch the pain that was inflicted upon their sibling, and never had she once groaned or grunted or shown any type of pain, much less uttered a word. But now, she had even confronted their father, who was frozen on the spot.

   The entire house was quiet, and the tension was thick in the air. Everyone was rooted where they stood, all waiting for someone to act. So the girl took the opportunity to speak again, as she enjoyed the feeling of her throat vibrating and she loved the sound of her voice. "Thank you." she said, bringing her hand to her side and striding off to her bedroom, and she could feel the eyes of her family boring holes in her back.