~Tea Party~
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A lot had changed over the years in the Thornhart household. As Persephone started growing, Francis was being more and more distant towards her. Never once holding her, never once caring any ounce about her. His pride and ego never allowed him to share a bond with his daughter and throughout the years, Persephone had gotten used to it. She was used to being ignored, never once sharing a father and daughter bond that the other girls had. She only had her mother and after all, that was all that mattered.
Even though Francis became distant with Persephone, it didn't mean Athena had any special treatment—no, ever since that fateful night, Francis became distant with Athena as well. Athena was once the light of her father's eyes but the only thing that consumed him was pure darkness. But Athena was determined, she was determined to win back her father's love and rebuild the bond that was now broken.
Now at the age of 5, Persephone had her own things to worry about. One of them being which doll she should bring to the Bridgerton household. And as of now, she couldn't quite decide which one of her dolls was worthy.
"Margaret, which one should I take? Marie or Polly?" Persephone asked the older woman who was styling her hair. Persephone showed her nanny the two dolls, one was blonde while the other was a brunette.
"I say go with Polly, she does match the dress you're wearing." Margaret replied, finishing up the young girl's hair. "There, you're all done for your play date."
Rachel and her daughters were invited to the Bridgerton household. Of course, Rachel was very good friends with Lady Violet Bridgerton and was happy to accept their invitation to their home. It was also an excuse to leave the house and have Persephone have a playdate with Daphne.
"Do you think Francis might come?" Persephone asked as she grabbed the doll she was going to take. Her relationship with her father was so bad, she always referred to him by his name, never calling him 'father'.
Margaret frowned as she looked at Persephone. She can never get out the image of Francis walking out of the house after it was announced his last child was a girl. Margaret was disappointed in seeing him act this way but she couldn't do anything, she was just a worker after all.
"I believe not dear. He left pretty early for work." Margaret gently grabbed the girl, it was evident Persephone didn't enjoy her father's resentment towards her. "But don't you worry, you are going to have so much fun with the Bridgertons."
Persephone nodded her head as she hugged her doll, bringing the animant object close to her. "I heard Daphne has some new toys."
"Persephone dear, it's time to go." Her mother announced from downstairs.
"You best get going." Margaret told the girl.
Persephone hugged Margaret and quickly ran downstairs with her doll in hand. She met her mother and sister downstairs who were both waiting by the door.
"Took you long enough, next time we should just leave you here." Athena huffed, crossing her arms.
Now at the age of 13, Athena was growing up to be a beautiful young lady. But the more she grew, the more she started blaming her little sister for her father's actions. As much as her mother tried to convince her that her father's distance shouldn't make her blame her sister, it didn't mean she was going to listen. Athena loved Persephone but she was selfish and wished she had never asked for a little sister.
"Athena, don't speak to your sister that way." Rachel scolded the teen. "Come on, we don't want to be late.
Persephone nodded her head as she started walking out the door, staring down at the tile floor. She was used to it. She was used to her father's behavior. She was used to Athena's sudden outburst. But that didn't mean she enjoyed it.
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"I think it'll be fun, just imagine the dancing." Daphne smiled as she looked up to the sky.
The girls were outside while their mothers were inside having tea. They had dropped their dolls and started talking about the social season that had just started. Even though they were pretty young, they knew their time would come.
"I heard Athena talking about it once or twice. I think she hopes she gets a chance with Anthony." Persephone shrugged, not caring about exposing her sister's crush on the older boy.
"I doubt Anthony would want to do it. He seems more carefree." Naomi chimed in. "Athena has better luck becoming a soldier than actually marrying Anthony."
"Ewww, please don't speak about Anthony and Athena marrying." Daphne shook her head. She had heard a couple of things about Athena and felt that Anthony deserved better.
"Well, I hate the social season. It makes people obsessed with finding a partner to marry and to have kids. It becomes a competition just to see who comes on top." Naomi was against social seasons and wished people just found love on their own.
"But just imagine marrying a prince and becoming a princess. Instead of playing a princess, you can become an actual princess." Unlike Naomi, Daphne was all for the social season and couldn't wait until it was her turn. "What about you P? What do you think about it?"
Persephone shrugged, not really thinking much about it. "Honestly, I never really thought about it. I would like to marry someone for love, not for social status."
Persephone saw the marriage her mother and Francis had and she would never wish that upon anyone. Francis did love Rachel but was never the type of person who would show affection. He was very closed off and didn't like people seeing him act affectionate. Rachel loved him for him but that didn't mean she liked his actions.
She wanted to get married and live a happy life with a husband who truly loved and showed the world how much he loved her. Persephone wanted someone who was the complete opposite of her father but throughout the 5 years she has on earth, she didn't see it with her parents and doubted she would find someone different.
But she was only 5, she didn't want to think about getting married or having kids. Even though it was something instilled in them since birth, it was overbearing and wished people stopped talking about it.
As if luck was on her side Daphne's brother interrupted them, next to him was a boy around their age.
"Daphne, mother said to play with James." Collin spoke.
"Why can't you play with him?"
"Because I'm going out with Anthony." Collin didn't wait for a response and walked out of the yard, leaving the boy alone with three girls.
"Are you going to sit or are you going to stand there all day?" Naomi questioned the boy who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Not having much of an option he sat next to Daphne.
"James these are my friends Naomi and Persephone, girls this is James, he's a family friend." Daphne introduced them.
Persephone stared at the boy, taking in his features. Blonde, blue eyed, who looked pretty stuck up and annoying.
"What kind of name is Persephone? Who would name their child that?" James teased, looking at Persephone.
"What kind of name is James? Who would name their child such a basic name?" Persephone argued back. She didn't like people making fun of her name, it was stupid and annoying.
"I rather have a basic name than be named after someone who rules the underworld."
"Keep talking and I'll personally take you down there myself."
"Ok, please don't fight. The last thing I need is to get in trouble." Daphne pleads, trying to defuse the situation.
"I don't know, this is kind of entertaining. My money's on P." Naomi voiced out, watching the scene in front of her.
"James, how's your brother? How come he didn't show up?" Daphne changes the subject hoping the two would stop fighting. As if God listened to her prayers, James averted his attention to the red head.
"He's been fighting with my parents a lot. Benjamin doesn't want to attend events that have to do with the social debuts."
"See!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates them." Naomi adds as she gave the girls 'I told you so' look.
"So how is he going to find a wife?" Daphne asked.
James shrugged his arms. "I'm not sure but my parents are livid. They've been talking about shipping him off."
"They should ship you off instead." Persephone mumbled even though everyone heard it.
"Well I think it's stupid." James ignored Persephone's comment. "What's so hard about finding a wife?"
"Exactly my point. We all have the duty of finding someone to marry, why make things so complicated?" Daphne added.
Persephone and Naomi rolled their eyes at their friends' comments. "Maybe your brother wants to marry someone for love. It takes time to find someone you really like."
"I agree, the social season is for people who are desperate to find a partner." Naomi agreed, nodding her head.
"I want to marry someone for love and not because he was the first person who showed interest in me." Persephone added, pulling out the flowers from the ground. "I want to get to know the person first."
"Well, good thing for us, we have years to prepare for our season. I'm sure ours is going to be the best one yet." Daphne commented. Out of all of the girls, Daphne was the most excited about their social season. She honestly couldn't wait and hoped she would marry someone worthy.
"Can we not talk about the social season? We are way too young to be talking about these things." Naomi pleaded, wanting this conversation to be done and over with.
"I agree, we can talk about it when it's our turn." Persephone agreed.
"And who in their right mind would marry you?" James teases as he chuckles to himself. "I pity anyone who has to deal with you."
Persephone huffed as she crossed her arms. "Any man would be lucky enough to marry me. However, I do pray your wife doesn't blow her head off."
"Here we go again." Daphne sighed, running her hands on her face.
"I actually enjoy this." Naomi smiled, looking at the two arguing back forth. "How much you want to bet they'll end up together."
Daphne turned towards Naomi. "Are you crazy? I doubt they would."
Naomi shrugged. "I heard from my brother that when a boy likes you, he makes fun of you."
"That's awful." Daphne scrunched her face. Who in their right mind would be with a person who says awful things about you?
"The mind of a boy." Naomi spoke, turning her attention back to the two who were still arguing.
"I bet you'll be alone with a bunch of cats."
"What's wrong with cats? I bet you'll be some drunk off the streets."
Naomi and Daphne weren't sure what to do but let the two have at it. Once Persephone started, there was no way in stopping her unless she wanted to. She was raised to never back down without a fight and she wasn't going to let a boy, who she just met, try to speak to her in any kind of way. She had hoped she would no longer see James again. She hoped this would be their last encounter. What Persephone didn't know was how her fate was already set and stoned and she'll be seeing James a lot more than she would like.
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! Author's Note !
─◌✰್ I know this story is starting off slow but trust me on this. Things will make more sense as the chapters roll in.
─◌✰್ Writing 5 year olds is pretty difficult but I tried my best. James and Persephone met even though they wanted to bite each other's heads off lol. There's going to be another time skip so be aware of that.
─◌✰್ Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment. Enjoy♡