The years had treated her kindly, for she had been with Amalica for three years, the two of them sharing some of the most intimate experiences imaginable; Arachne knew everything about her beloved and, in turn, so did the woman that had stolen her heart. She could recite Amalica's full name from memory, for she had several middle names and two first names, as her mother, Matron Angaste, was quite the eccentric woman in her own style, and as such most of her children had multiple names. Amalica had also said that her mother also quite enjoyed the look of fear on the announcers' faces when they were worried whether or not they had forgotten a name.
That was one of the many things that she knew, however, for the two of them had opened up to each other enough, and it took quite some time for them to do so due to their own experiences and mental training, for the two of them to understand everything that had occurred up to the point in which they met. It had taken quite a while for Arachne to talk about what she had done to Bemril, but otherwise she had opened up to Amalica quite nicely, as she did the same, although her experience was far different than that of her own, but that was to be expected.
For Amalica's family, House Caddath, was known for its extremely potent fighting force, overwhelming powerful, and its morale rivaled only by that of House Coborial, tensions high between the two Houses ensued due to this fact. However, House Eilservs had somehow managed to overpower such a force on a night that the House had been expecting a raid, in fact, all of the High Council were expecting it quite readily. Mtrn Aunerae had even begun preparing for the extermination of the House that failed in their own goal, it had just been a poor twist in fate that caused it to be House Caddath's last night.
Amalica had been forced to stand her ground with her mother, but had snuck away due to her small size in comparison to the Matrons who were fighting with much vigor, and as such she had hid with the slaves of the House, which were not averse to her, for she treated them poorly, but not as poorly as that of the rest of her family and the like, as such they allowed her to hide with them in safety. Although, during a raid, no person would be safe from the cutthroats, not unless they either ran or were unnaturally lucky, the latter being the most unlikely.
Amalica had run after she had seen the mangled bodies of her House on the ground through a broken floorboard of the cellar that she had hidden away in, although she shed no tears, for most drow children had no true connection to their families, and if they did it would be a rare occurrence in of itself, and to acquire a relationship of honest care was unheard of. All she had been thinking of was that of her own safety, her own life; and it had been then that she had run out of the estate with a knife in hand, and into the Underdark.
It had been there that she had spent two weeks in its depths before encountering a patrol in affiliation with the Dawn Guard, the then un-anointed Mother Maccis being the lead of the patrol itself. They had found her in a crazed state, wild and hungry, a knife in her hand as sharp as a beholder's maw, yellowed and lethal, and she held it with such ferocity that even the unphased Akordia, a warrior of the highest esteem within the confines of Cell Maccis, was a bit concerned for her own wellbeing. They took her in to feed her and house her, although Amalica was working underneath the guise of a helpless girl, and her caretakers learned of that far too late.
For the moment that she was fed and clothed, Amalica drew her knife once more as she dashed away from the "blasphemers," that she wished to destroy. She thought it had been sin enough for her to even accept help from such people, although she knew she was void from Lolth's forgiveness; for she should not have even been alive to see them. She should have died with the rest of her family, that stood unless she had the intent to bring the House down that had destroyed her own, a symbol of a piece of evidence that they had left behind. The rules in drow society were strange, but it added a dangerous edge to life that made outsiders think that they were more humane, although they seldom said that in any book.
She hid away for a month, pondering how she would bring down House Eilservs,her own existence enough, save for the fact that they would attempt to kill her at every turn. She thought it best to wait it out, stealing from the people near her to simply survive, and Amalica truly thought she could do it for the next few years or so until she could properly handle a blade, and would then destroy her enemy once she had informed Matron Aunerae of their sloppy handiwork. But that would all take a different turn when she watched the children of Eilistraee begin their journey to the surface for a moonlit dance.
Amalica was young, and as such she was mesmerized by the music that they played, for it was different than the music played in Abburth, for the bards played shrewd tunes to scare away anyone who dared be lured in by the songs of salvation. So, as enchanted as she was, the young drow elf snuck into one of their wagons, only to be picked up by Mother Maccis upon reaching the surface, only due to the fact that she had lost all reason and attention staring up at the moon and stars.
The kind woman had talked with her, and had eventually calmed her down from her violent and overprotective state, and it had been there that Amalica had told the Argent Maid everything that she had done; everything that she had seen. And there, Mother Maccis told her the reason for the community, the ideals and its strengths, and the young drow elf listened attentively, beginning to live with the others not too soon after. And only a year later, she began to hear the songs of salvation the same way the rest of them did, praying to the Lady Silverhair instead of Her mother.
She had been working for many long years to recover from what she had to go through over the course of her short years among the drow of Abburth, and as such, both Arachne and Amalica were compassionate and kind to one another, working through their issues together, and as such the two of them had not been happier since. Perhaps it was the solace of companionship that consoled them, for it was something that they could never have, let alone wish for. Very few even wanted it.
So it was with great comfort that the two of them slept in the same bed, and had since that year, for they were deciding to take the relationship quite slowly so as to not stress themselves. It had been a mutual decision, although the simple feeling was quite enough for Arachne, as she hugged onto her beloved with a gentle touch she had not known she had before then.
Pressing a gentle kiss to Amalica's head, she felt her partner begin to stir, for her arms, that were around her waist, as was Arachne's own, tightened so as to tell her that she was awake and that there was fault to be placed upon her. It was something that they did, simply because they were both accustomed to blame, and as such they had found small things in their relationship, sweet and kind, to hold each other in a regard of safety.
"Well, good morning." Arachne bade, a warm smile on her face as she separated herself from Amalica, each of them sitting on their sides in the bed, Amalica's eyes opening gently, its crimson as bright as the sunset. They brought her comfort more than they brought her anxiety as of the past three years, for she was content with her feelings, as they were real and kind. "How'd you sleep?"
Amalica yawned, stretching her arms slowly, although one would not think so on account of the small pop the movement had made, "I mean, I slept as well as I could considering Tris had us over for her babyshower. The alcohol was good, but I will admit, seeing you drunk was better." Arachne blushed a bit, recalling some of the very fuzzy things that she had been doing during the celebration of pregnancy for both Ristil and his wife. She was a strange person while drunk, or so the woman across from her said whenever she managed to get her to drink enough. She didn't get wasted as easily as some. "Don't get that way, sweetheart! It was adorable, and don't even say it wasn't. I'm sure I'm the same way!"
"Well–uh–well," Arachne sighed, defeated, "fine. It was pretty cute."
Amalica cheered, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek while she was giggling, a small grin on her face, "I win! You lose!"