TW: Abuse
It was the day of the wedding. The world outside the windows was illuminated by the sun, blessed with the scent of a world washed clean by the rain of the night before and the scent of the flowers as they blossomed in the venue with the help of a little magic.
Y/N was sitting at her vanity, staring at herself in the mirror as servants curled and twisted her hair into an elaborate pinup. It wasn't what she wished to do with her hair. Her mother had ordered this, and Aloren wasn't around to put his foot down. Though Y/N had tried to fight against her mother, telling her that this wasn't what she wanted, her mother had ignored her, and with a few simple spells, she had glued Y/N to her seat and was now watching from the back of the room, a coy smirk on her face.
"Miss, could you turn your head to the side for a moment," one of the little servant girls asked. She waved a comb, indicating that she needed to brush out another strand of Y/N's hair.
Y/N's mother's voice cut through the air like a knife, startling the servants. Y/N winced as one of them accidentally pressed the curler to the back of her neck, searing the skin. But Y/N kept her poise about her. The last thing she needed was for these poor girls to suffer more than they already were.
"You shall address my daughter by her proper title," the woman hissed, marching out of the shadows and seizing the servant girl by the wrist. "You shall call her Lady Y/N or My lady. She is not some common peasant."
Y/N scoffed. "Mother. Stop it. You're being ridiculous."
"I am not, and you will hold your tongue, young lady. Just because today is your wedding day, doesn't mean that you are free of me yet. Even once you are married to the sorry man, I shall still control every move you make."
Y/N gritted her teeth and writhed against the magical glue. "No, I won't." She glared at her mother through the mirror. "My future mother and father have seen to that. You won't have any power on this island, and I shall never see you again after today. You will no longer be a part of my life."
Y/N's mother hadn't missed how Y/N had referred to Aloren's parents as her mother and father.
"They are your in-laws," the fae woman hissed. She grabbed the arms of Y/N's chair and spun her around, her nails digging into the wood as she sneered at Y/N. "I am your mother."
"You might have conceived me, but you never have been, nor will you ever be my mother. I am willing to see Father, but you shall never see me again after this day. I have already spoken with Aloren, and you shall be banned from setting foot on this island once the moon rises on the horizon."
"You wicked child! Everything I have done was solely for you, and this is how you thank me? By casting me out of your life and informing me that you have replaced me with a simple human!"
"She cares for me as you never did! To you, I'm just a pawn for you to use!"
"Yes." Venom dripped from every sound her mother made. "Yes. You are a pawn for me to use as I see fit. Because you are my daughter, and without me, you are nothing." She grabbed a strand of Y/N's hair and pulled it, making the young girl cry out in pain. She wanted to lift her hand and massage the part of her scalp, but as her mother continued to pull on the strand, she was forced to sit there and endure it.
"If not for this marriage, I would consider you to be absolutely useless. You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the moment I conceived you. You insist on making my life difficult and-" The woman's eyes suddenly went wild and she gripped Y/N's chin, her nails digging into the flesh as she jerked her daughter's face to the side. Y/N whimpered at the pressure, and a tear appeared in the corner of her eye.
"Who dared to burn her," the fae hissed, turning to the servant with the curling iron in her hands. The metal was still hot, and the fae could feel the heat radiating off of it. She started towards the servant, only to be stopped when she felt someone grab her wrist.
Y/N had managed to break free from her mother's spell and was now glaring at the woman with a ferocity that her mother had never seen before.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on her," Y/N growled. If looks could kill, Y/N's mother would be nothing more than a pile of ash on the ground. "If you do not remove yourself from this room immediately I will not hesitate to have you thrown out of the room, if not the entire ceremony." She neared her mother, her lips curled almost anomalistically. "Now get. Out. Of. My. Room."
But her mother wasn't finished. She raised her hand as if to curse her daughter, but suddenly the door was flung open. Aloren and his mother were standing at the door, looking something between horrified and furious.
"Leave her alone," Aloren hissed, his hand resting on the sword at his side. "I may not be a fae but-"
His mother cut him off as she swept into the room, her eyes flaming with blue fire. Y/N's eyes widened at the sight. She didn't know that Aloren's mother had magic. But when the woman lifted her finger to reveal a blue flame that hovered above the tip, she felt the urge to laugh. Her mother would have no qualms about inflicting a curse on her, but she wouldn't dare attack the governor's wife.
"She is not your daughter anymore," Aloren's mother snapped. "She shall never be your daughter again. You are not worthy of the title of a mother, and I command you to leave this place before I have the guards escort you from the premises."
A flicker of fear flashed across the eyes of the fae. For once, she was terrified. While a fae could not be harmed by any common blade, the new knowledge that this family possessed magic struck a chord. She glanced over at Aloren who still had his hand on the blade at his side. It was most likely enchanted, meaning that it could take her life before she could curse him and his family.
"GUARDS!" Two armoured guards appeared at the door behind Aloren, waiting for their mistress' command. She pointed to the fae. "Escort her to the docks and ensure that she remains there. Take Alfre with you. That should ensure that she doesn't try to escape."
"No! You can't do this to me," the fae growled as the guards each took a wrist and started pulling her from the room. "I have a right to see my daughter's wedding!"
"You lost that right when you lay a hand on her," the governor's wife hissed, following her to the door and watching as she was dragged down the hall. "You lost that right when you decided to treat her as a pawn on a chess board rather than your own flesh and blood." She made a rather rude and un-ladylike gesture to the fae as she was dragged off down the hall, before reentering the room.
Aloren was comforting a shaking Y/N, and the woman smiled at the sight. She knew Y/N was strong. She knew that she could fight her own battles, but it seemed that once she arrived on the island, she realised that she could allow Aloren to come to her rescue every once and a while.
"How are you, dear?"
Y/N looked up and smiled at the woman. "Thank you." She gazed up at Aloren and squeezed his hand, silently telling him that she was all right. He released his hold on her shoulder, bent to kiss her on the forehead, and left the room.
"We'll leave you to get ready."
As the door clicked shut behind the two, Y/N fell back into the chair behind her, letting out a breath of relief. Her mother was gone, the room was still, and for once, she felt at peace. True, she still did not wish to marry Aloren, but his family had accepted her and had loved her despite her... excursion with Malleus, which she had a sneaking suspicion that they were acutely aware of.
"Miss? Are you ready for us to finish your hair?"
Y/N nodded and turned toward the vanity again, watching as the three servant girls approached her again.
"I'm sorry about my mother," she said after a moment.
"It's okay, miss."
"We're sorry that you had to put up with her as a mother."
Y/N giggled.
"I'm sorry I burned you by accident, miss," the smallest of the three said. She was still standing a little bit further away than the others.
"It's okay... sorry, what are your names?"
"I'm Abigail," one said. Y/N admired her in the mirror. She was the one her mother had nearly attacked. A dark-skinned beauty, who Y/N thought could be a siren, if not for the lack of a tail. Her golden eyes seemed to glow like the sun, and her hands moved as if Y/N's hair were the delicate strings of a violin. The definition of poise and beauty.
"I'm Valentina," the little one said. She had moved closer to Y/N. Cute little pink cheeks, a round apple face, bluebell eyes, and hair as dark as snow.
"And I'm Celeste. We'll be your ladies-in-waiting." Y/N was one hundred per cent sure that Celeste was at least part fae, for her eyes seemed to hold the entire night sky in her irises, and it seemed as though eight stars had made a home in her cheeks, four beneath each eye.
Y/N smiled. "I'm honoured to be in the care of such wonderful ladies-in-waiting, but I hope that we can become friends." She picked up a dark blood-red lipstick and twisted it out of the tube. "After all, I suspect that I'll see you a great deal in the coming years."
The girls all giggled.
"We're honoured, miss," Celeste said.
There was a sudden earth-shattering knock at the door and the girls all jumped. This time, Valentina burned herself instead of Y/N and whimpered as she felt the heat of the iron in her palm.
"Valentina," Y/N exclaimed. She spun around and took the young girl's hand in hers as Abigail went to answer the door. "Are you okay?"
Valentina nodded. "Y-yes. I-I just didn't want to burn you again."
"Y/N! I'm here!"
"Uira!" Y/N quickly waved the fae over. "As happy as I am to see you, please heal Valentina. You startled her with your knock."
"Oh, stars, of course." Uira waved her hand and the burn disappeared a second later. Valentina let out a breath of relief as she held her hand close to her chest.
"Valentina, how about you give the iron to Abigail," Celeste suggested, not wanting anyone else to be hurt. Valentina eagerly handed it over.
"How are you, darling," Uira asked, taking Y/N's hands in hers and pulling her to her feet. "You are to be married today!"
Y/N smiled. "Yes, I suppose I am. I think I am... conflicted."
"Malleus?"
Y/N nodded and Uira wrapped her arms around Y/N, taking her into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry, darling. If I could do something..."
"It's all right. Aloren is a wonderful man and I know he will make me happy."
"Okay," Uira said. She released Y/N from the embrace and pulled her over to the box that was sitting on her bed. "Now, here is the dress I promised."