Elsie sits opposite her father, beside her brother, in her perfect white, silk, night robe that Mise chose for her, hair braided neatly against her back; looking just like the obedient little omega that she is.
Elsie takes a long breath of air through her nose, eyes closing shut as she recounts the occurrence in her bedchamber. Now as she thinks, she doesn't know how she managed to hold that mourning robe she wore at her mother's funeral in her bare hands without them trembling and, above all, put it on again after a long stretch of three years.
Was she that blinded by the rage coursing through her veins to do such an absurd thing?
Everything is a rush, the taps of hurried steps of the maids against the marble floor as they attend to the needs of the royals, the harsh thuds of snow against the roof, and the crackling of the wood in the fireplace, just like the constant rush of miscellaneous thoughts crashing in Elsie's head.
A hand clamps around her shoulder, warm and big, and she doesn't have to tip her head down to know who it belongs to. Elsie looks up at her brother, into his yellow orbs glimmering in the amber glow of candles hung above their head. "What are you thinking? Eat." Aiden juts his chin out to her plate.
Elsie offers him a dull smile, dragging her gaze down to her plate. She reaches for the fork and is about to dig in when her father decides to speak and kill her appetite.
"The King of Levica is visiting in two days." He says as if it's as simple as that— the king is visiting— and as if his declaration doesn't have the potential to cut through Elsie's soul.
Why would he come here? Elsie wants to ask but doesn't matter how swayed she is, she still has the remnants of consciousness that aren't eaten away by the rage and loathing taking up her insides to tell her why the king is coming. The King's coming to see her.
Elsie's head snaps up, eyes cutting to her father. She would be stupid if she said she doesn't see it coming. Elsie knew this is how it works. The wolves who decide to wed have to see each other first. But it's just too soon, she isn't ready.
"His Royal Highness has already started his journey here at dawn." Her father resumes. Elsie stills, fingers around her fork loosening as it drops on his plate with a dull clack.
"We should go to the temple next sunrise. Then we have to prepare for his arrival." The King's eyes are stuck on her, face neutral, no crack to his facade for any emotion to slip through.
And Elsie doesn't know what to do, what to do to make her life safe, what to do to live a life that she always wanted, always dreamed of. All she knows is that by marrying the King of Levica, there's no way in hell that Elsie's going to get it, going to live it. Hell, she doesn't even know how long she's going to live after getting wedded to that beast.
Sweat dribbles down the side of her face, its snail-like movement matches the way her head is spinning. It's slow and swaying. She can hear a voice call out her name, but it's muffled as if they're holding a cloth over their mouth. They call again, voice getting low and low.
Elsie feels a hand on her shoulder but it's impassive and she's too numb to move or respond. It's as if she's frozen into ice in a matter of seconds.
"—sie!" Elsie forced her eyes open wide, she can feel them round but can not see a thing. Everything is dark. Dark air fanning into her eyes, dark hands touching her, dark faces calling out her name.
Elsie wants to scream and she opens her mouth, she can feel it wide open, but no voice flees past her dry lips. Throat knotted and stomach twisting, Elsie falls back on her chair.
Everything is dark.
With a hash yank to her shoulder, Elsie's back at the dining table. The dim light of candles floods through, swallowing the darkness hovering over her vision and piercing through her eyes like a glistening sun. Elsie squints her eyes shut with a hiss, trembling hands flying up to her head.
"Hey… Elsie? Are you alright?" It takes her a few long breaths through her mouth to realize she's being held close to her brother's chest. The confusion swiveling the musky scent of Aiden trips up to Elsie's nostrils.
She darts her tongue out to lick over her dry lips, throat too dry to swallow. Elsie hums, the words she wants out of her clench tight onto her lungs resulting in a hinge of pain each time she tries to force them out.
The surface of the gold-streaked glass is cool against the skin of Elsie's lips, and the water touching her tongue is even cooler.
"Mia, take her to her bedchamber." The Queen's voice slithers to Elsie's ears. Footsteps echo in its wake, but before it can reach her, her brother's chest rumbles underneath her face as his voice fills the dining room.
"I'll take her there."
"Mia, get her food to the chamber." The Queen orders again. And this time she hears Mia's voice— the slight waver in it.
Aiden swoops Elsie off her feet, strong hands holding her up with ease. Elsie's eyes stay closed during the walk to her chamber.
Everything is a blur as Aiden lowers her to the softness of his bed. "What happened?" concern is thick in his deep voice.
Even if Elsie wants to tell him that she doesn't have any idea for god's sake, she can't. She can barely open her mouth and Elsie's voice is still held back by some unknown power.
"Can you talk?" He asks, and if she opens her eyes to look into her brother's eyes, Elsie's sure she could see the uncertainty swimming in his yellow orbs although its presence is unmistakable in his voice.
Elsie shakes her head, white hair grazing the wood frame of her bed.
"It's okay." She feels Jihyun's gentle hand moving a stray hair out of her face, thumb grazing the apple of her cheek. "Don't be so bitter about the marriage, Elsie."
Elsie's eyes fly open at her brother's remark, throat knotting. All this time she thought, if there's anyone who could actually feel her, her brother will be the one. But now as she hears Aiden say those words, she realises her misconception.
As if her glare tells Aiden enough about Elsie's disbelief, he starts again, "Don't give me that look, I'm speaking the reality." He pushes a long puff of breath out of his mouth, hands gliding up to ruffle through his wavy, amber hair warily, spine curving as he does so, bed dipping, then says, "I promise you if the King ever treats you poorly or even behaves unsatisfactorily, I'm here for you. You just have to jot down a note for me and in two days, I'll be at your front door, to take you back home."
Tears spring to her eyes, lips trembling, Elsie reaches for his brother. Yanking him forward by his forearm, Elsie buries her face into his neck.
"I'm so scared. I— I- I'm way too young to d-die." She chokes out.
"I won't let you die."