#Cute Ending | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

angstyandromanticwriting · 5 months

Text

Vera Alfrey (an OC) x Fem!Reader Angsty, Cute and Fluffy Prompt

• Period drama style

• Vera’s face claim is Margot Robbie as Valerie Vose in Amsterdam (2022)

• There will be more!

!TW: Cheating, facing homophobia, self-doubt, self put-down(s), implied suffering from depression + anxiety + separation anxiety, mention of sexual occurrence(s), mention of death + implied grieving, mention of the loss of parents, presence of blood + injury detail, violence/being abused, break-up, mention of abuse + implied murder, implied suicidal intentions + attempting to commit suicide (via drowning), elements of self-harm - If I’ve missed any, let me know ❤️!

Ever since Vera’s father had been informed by one of the gardeners of your and her undergarments being found within the cornfield, things had been tense between you, her, and Violet; you were all worried about what might happen if your and Vera’s affair was discovered, though neither one of you could understand why it was something so bad to them - like Isabella had told Vera before she had passed away, and had still been the head maid of the household: love was meant to be a force that doesn’t discriminate, so why should anyone be disgusted by you both being two women in love with one another?

Despite the fact that your lives were on the line, this wouldn’t stop you both from seeing one another still behind her family’s backs, with only Violet - her middle sister - knowing now about you both, and trying to cover you as much as she possibly could in an attempt to protect you from the harassment you would surely face if you were discovered by the police.

“Hey-!” You chimed elatedly upon noticing Vera enter the library quietly; she often met you in here secretly as the others often wouldn’t be within the room whilst it was being cleaned by you, considering the fact that you were one of the maids within the house, and she would always - whenever her parents had gone out with her youngest sister, Elizabeth - rush to your side, knowing that you both wouldn’t be walked in on, and therefore wouldn’t be punished, or on edge about being discovered together by any of them; the other maids would most likely not bother checking up on you, either, with Violet keeping an eye on the room for the both of you in secret.

“Hi!” She returned, her eyes glinting following her gaze falling upon you, before she rushed up to you, and threw her arms around you, evidently glad to find that you were okay, worrying you a little, but you would try and hide it from her, returning the hug in an attempt to provide comfort to her as you could tell that maybe she’d been shaken up recently, and you couldn’t imagine why, wondering if her father, or mother had questioned her again, when really she had been trying to evade the both of them to the best of her ability. “I missed you so much,” she expressed timidly whilst she buried her face into the crook of your neck, and you couldn’t help, but appear flustered whilst you began to feel warm and fuzzy; nobody had ever made you feel so loved, and cared about before, and you couldn’t help, but wonder why she was wasting her time on you, being perfect, whilst you believed yourself to be nothing, compared to her, prompting your heart to sink, and a pained expression to cross your face, but you would try and hide it whilst you rested your head upon her left shoulder, fighting back the small tears that had managed to cloud your vision.

“I missed you, too,” you returned, “h-how was it, earlier, with the-.. the general?”

Vera would appear taken aback by the question, holding you at arm’s length whilst she smirked over at you; she could tell that you were a little jealous, though you had no reason to be; the general could never mean anything to her, and she was still determined to find a way out of marrying him, somehow, wanting to remain loyal to you, and only you, now she knew that you felt the same way for her, and that these feelings you were holding for one another were normal, and not something to be ashamed of the way you had both often been made to feel like they were, before. Upon noticing the look on her face, and mischievous glint forming within her stunning icy blue eyes, you would wince, appearing embarrassed at yourself for reacting the way you had; you knew you shouldn’t be jealous, but couldn’t help it - you were terrified of losing her, and couldn’t help, but wish you both could spend more time together, often longing for one another’s company whenever you were away from each other’s sides the way you had been a brief moment ago.

“I hated every second of it,” she admitted, before tilting her head partially, and trying hard to fight back a grin, as well as a giggle upon noticing that you had begun to blush faintly, “why? Were you hoping to get me all to yourself earlier?” You would falter, before beginning to stammer, and hiding your face from her whilst your blush began to grow more evident; she’d always had this effect on you, and she loved it; she always had, and knew she always would, no matter what the future might be holding for you both, after your undergarments had been found within the cornfield you’d both fooled around in together recently, before Auntie Isabella had sadly passed away. “Don’t worry, kitty, I’m all your’s,” she cooed, before lifting her right hand up to your left cheek, prompting you to instantly melt into her touch whilst you found your eyes locking blissfully with her stunning icy blue ones, encouraging your heart to begin pounding overwhelmingly whilst it raced alongside her own in the best way possible, “and that’s never gonna change, I promise; I love you so much-”

“Vera!” Her mother would call from downstairs, and Vera would falter, a pained expression on her face; she’d been about to delicately connect her lips to your’s, and her mother had rudely interrupted the moment for you both.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n, I-.. I should go and see what it is that she wants, now,” she stated apologetically, and you would frown, before nodding gravely, prompting her to feel worse; she didn’t want to have to leave you like this, affectionately connecting her forehead to your’s whilst she wished things could be different for you both; wished that you both could be together freely, somehow, without having the threat of harassment looming over one another’s heads, “I’ll be back soon, I promise, I-.. just don’t forget that I love you, okay? A-And that I always will, no matter what.”

“I won’t forget, V, d-don’t worry,” you cooed, “I-.. I could never forget - just promise me that you will never forget that I love you, too, a-and I always will, even if you do have to marry-.. t-that guy - my feelings for you will never change because I-”

She would then smile sadly over at you, before delicately connecting her lips to your’s, prompting you to fall quiet, and to instantly melt into the kiss whilst you clung to her shoulders subconsciously, forgetting what you had been about to say; she had been hoping to distract you from the marriage as she could tell that you had been thinking about it a lot recently, and wished she could do more to try and stop it from plaguing your mind any further than it evidently was.

“I’m not going to marry him, I promise,” she insisted, “why would I, w-when I - I’m smitten with you?”

You would appear flustered again whilst your smile grew alongside her own, and your eyes would begin to glint whilst your heart skipped a couple of beats - nothing had ever felt so amazing before, and you loved it, but not as much as you loved her, and knew you always would.

“I - I’m smitten with you, t-too,” you stammered out, prompting her to beam over at you, before she leaned forward to kiss you again a little more passionately, this time, wishing she could deepen it, until she was reminded of her mother wanting to see her as she called for her to come downstairs again, prompting her to grunt, before she begrudgingly held you at arm’s length again, and would briefly entangle the fingers of her right hand within your hair whilst she wished she could stay with you for a little while longer, hating to be away from you as it felt wrong to not be stuck to your side. “I’ll be okay waiting here for you, V, I promise,” you tried to reassure her, and she would hesitate, before nodding gravely, and easing you into a final hug, prolonging it as much as she possibly could.

“I won’t be long,” she replied, and you would nod again, hoping she was right, “I promise - I’m sure she just wants to question me some more, but - we’re gonna be okay, as long as we have each other.”

“I hope so,” you mused, and she would then reluctantly let go of you, before dragging herself toward the library door, and smiling faintly back at you, “s-see you in a bit.”

“See you, kitty, in less than half an hour, I promise,” she returned, before pushing herself to leave the room though she longed to remain by your side, somehow, for the rest of her life, and even beyond it, but her questioning by her mother would end up returning her to you later than she thought it would, worrying you, and even prompting you to leave the room to eavesdrop on her and her mother’s conversation, but it wasn’t long after you had that you found yourself beginning to regret doing so.

🜚

Whilst you were stood outside of the Alfrey’s living room, you would falter upon hearing Vera and her mother’s voice, inching closer to the door so you could hear more of their conversation, wondering why this session of questioning was taking longer than Vera had expected it to.

“For the last time, mother, I am not having an affair,” you heard Vera strain out, prompting you to frown; you could hear that she was trying not to cry, and wished you could enter the room to hug her, and kiss her in an attempt to provide comfort to her, “I could never do that to General Maxwell - I-.. care about him too much to do something like that to him.”

“Really? You care about him? Is that all?” Her mother questioned, and Vera would hesitate, a pained expression on her face, before shaking her head begrudgingly, and trying not to feel guilty though she knew you weren’t in the room with her, and hoped against hope that you were still up in the library though she knew this moment would always burden her own conscience. “Vera-”

“I love him, mother,” she interjected, her voice briefly trembling whilst she did, and her mother would then appear satisfied, glad, “and I could never love anyone else as much as I love her - him, I mean.”

Until Vera had made that mistake, her mother might have believed her, reminding herself of the other pair of undergarments belonging to a maid, prompting her to nod gravely, before she crossed over to the shelf opposite the sofa, and took up the frame she’d had made for her and her husband, Arthur Alfrey’s wedding day.

“You do want to marry him, don’t you?” Her mother inquired, and she would hesitate, finding herself unable to stop it from happening; she just couldn’t shake the guilty feeling she was experiencing whenever she thought back to you, and how she would rather marry you, and spend the rest of her life with you, instead of General Maxwell.

“Of course I do,” Vera mustered faintly in a voice barely audible, “what kind of question is that?”

“I was just checking to see if you were ready to take on such a commitment,” she answered, and Vera would frown, before forcing herself to nod again after her mother had set down the frame again, and was looking back at her, “are you? Because you know what it means to get married, don’t you? You’ll have to tend to him regularly whenever he’s home, and - if you are able - provide him with heirs to continue his family’s legacy - are you ready to do both of those things?”

Vera couldn’t help, but grimace subconsciously whilst she bowed her head, and silently wished she could return to your side, knowing that she would instantly feel better upon being within your embrace again whilst you, too, were struggling to hold yourself together apart from her the way that you currently were, trying not to cry whilst you begged her barely audibly to say no, and to tell her mother that she had no intentions of marrying him to prevent you both from losing one another, somehow, before it got to be too late to do so.

“Readier than I’ve ever been before,” she managed dejectedly, and her mother would smile warmly over at her, glad, before she walked up to her daughter, and would ease her into a hug, prompting Vera to hesitate, before she returned it, and would find herself struggling to fight back her emotions anymore, her tears managing to slowly run down cheeks only to be frequently brushed away by her slightly shaky right hand; she couldn’t believe she’d managed to get her and you into this mess, and hoped against hope that the plan she had in mind to pull out of the wedding last minute would work, and look as if it were just her getting cold feet about the whole idea to protect you, as well as herself, though she found that - whenever she was reminded of the possibility that someone might hurt you for being inverted; attracted to the same sex - she only worried about you, and felt as if she couldn’t worry about herself as much as she did whenever the subject arose of you possibly being hurt; she couldn’t imagine her life without you in it, and so the possibility of her losing you was, and forever would remain to be a terrifying one, no matter what the future might hold for you both.

“I’m proud of you,” her mother cooed, “and I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful mother someday.”

You couldn’t help, but falter again, your heart sinking alongside your demeanour whilst you began to wonder if this was what Vera wanted - something you could never give her: her own children. This thought would prompt you to silently curse yourself for ever thinking that maybe she would truly want to spend her life, as well as possibly the afterlife, with you, leaving you feeling empty, and as if you had nothing left to live for anymore, assuming you were soon going to be losing Vera - the only person who had ever provided you with a reason to since live the moment your gaze had first fallen upon her.

“Thank you, mum,” Vera replied whilst her eyes darkened, and heart began to ache excruciatingly alongside your own; she couldn’t help, but feel as if something else was wrong - as if you knew, somehow, about this guilty conversation, and that was when she heard it - a strained sob escaping your lips upon you finding you could no longer fight it back any longer; the pain was overwhelming, and you would then silently curse yourself for allowing it to sound out, before fleeing from the door, and rushing back up the stairs to get back into the library before they could discover that you had been listening to their conversation.

“What was that?” Her mother mused, startled by the sound as she looked toward the door. “Someone must have been listening to us,” she stated as she hurriedly walked toward the door whilst Vera found she couldn’t follow her, feeling much too numb, and weak to for a moment; she could tell that the sound had come from you, and couldn’t help, but curse herself for not being more careful; she hated hurting you the way she could tell that she had a brief moment ago, “I must go and talk to your father, the head cook, and the new head maid about this; they won’t be happy to hear that someone’s abandoned their duties to eavesdrop on our private matters,” she stated, and Vera found she couldn’t even muster up a response, a hurt look on her face whilst her heart raced overwhelmingly; tormentingly, and she was struggling not to break down alongside you. Her voice was stuck in her throat, somehow, and a lump had formed within it that she couldn’t swallow whilst she stared down at the ground in an attempt to hide that her eyes were full of tears, and cheeks were already partially tear-stained whilst her face was heating up slightly like it did whenever she was trying not to cry in front of her mother the way she was, now, in an attempt to protect you from being discovered, as well as herself. “You’ll be okay, won’t you, Vera?” She concluded, but before she could even force an answer out of herself, her mother would leave her alone within the room, and it was after this moment that she allowed herself to break down, sinking onto the sofa whilst she cried, and sobbed uncontrollably into the palms of her hands; she couldn’t believe she had unintentionally hurt you the way she had, and now feared that maybe she might be about to lose you, somehow, if she didn’t figure out a way of pulling out of the wedding sooner than she had intended to as a result of possibly not being able to manage to try and fix things herself by reminding you of all you meant to her, and of how she could never want anything more, than to be by your side as your lover, and your’s only, and this was what she would try and do, getting up off of the sofa once she felt able, and had managed to calm herself down, determined not to lose you again after she briefly had a few days ago following the excruciating passing of Auntie Isabella.

🜚

Upon getting closer to the library door, Vera would falter, hearing that you - too - were still crying, prompting her heart to sink, and eyes to darken whilst she silently cursed herself for allowing this to happen; she hated hurting you like she could tell she evidently had, making her feel even worse to know that this wouldn’t have happened if she’d been more careful whilst talking to her mother, or had been clearer about how the conversation might go so it wouldn’t surprise you if you ended up listening in following her doing so, but it was too late now to change what had happened earlier; she’d just have to try and fix it before it was too late for her to do so, and this was terrifying considering the fact that she couldn’t imagine her life without you in it, by her side as her soulmate as she was certain that you were her twin soul, now, after everything you’d both already been through together.

She would then timidly draw in a shaky breath, before easing open the door, and you would wince upon hearing it, hastily trying to recompose yourself as you sat up, and would quickly wipe away your tears to the best of your ability, but even if Vera hadn’t known that you had heard the conversation, she would still be able to tell that you had been crying for a little while, now, and she couldn’t bear it, a pained expression on her face when she noticed your tear-stained cheeks, and slightly sore eyes, making her feel even worse for what had happened, as well as prompting her heart to ache a little more excruciatingly whilst she locked eyes with you blissfully for a moment, and this would allow you both to briefly forget about the pain you were in, until you managed to stammer out the words: ‘you’re back’.

“Y-Y/n, I - I’m so sorry,” she managed feebly, before rushing up to you, and throwing her arms around you whilst she sat down beside you on the sofa beneath the stained glass window, and you would subconsciously melt into her embrace instantly, finding you’d missed it whilst she was talking to her mother, before you returned the hug, and would bury your face into the crook of her neck, “I really am - I never meant to hurt you, I swear-”

“Hurt me-?” You interjected, feigning confusion as you glanced up at her for a moment, before forcing a smile as if you were no longer in pain, but she could see through it, and the pain only grew to be even more excruciating for you both as you could tell that she knew; she knew you too well for you to be getting away with shiny smiles around her in an attempt to try and hide that you were in pain as you didn’t want to hurt her, too, making you feel guilty upon realising, and being able to determine by the crestfallen expression on her face that she was in pain, too. “V, you - you’d never hurt me,” you tried to reassure her, before affectionately connecting your forehead to her’s, hoping that this would make her feel better when she only felt worse, and wished you weren’t so good to her after what had just happened a brief moment ago, “I was only worried you weren’t going to come back after half an hour had passed - that’s all; it’s not important, a-and you’re here, now, that’s all that matters-”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Y/n,” she stated dejectedly, before holding you at arm’s length, and you would tense up, evidently worried about what she might think of you after you had eavesdropped on her and her mother’s private conversation, “I know you heard it, a-and-.. I know I should have told you what we might talk about, first-”

“So-.. you do want to have children in the future with that guy, o-or another one?” You murmured, and she would fall quiet, a hurt look on her face, before she hastily shook her head, and would ease you even closer to her so she could hug you tightly again as if her life depended on her holding you, and never letting you go for fear of her losing everything if she ever ended up losing you, somehow, and to try and provide comfort to her again you would return the hug; you could tell she had also been crying, and had also been upset like you were, making you feel bad for assuming that she wanted more than you as she’d always insisted otherwise, and had been trying to prove it to you everyday to the best of her ability without the others who didn’t already know about you both finding out.

“No, kitty,” she cooed, and you couldn’t help, but smile softly upon hearing the nickname she’d been using for you ever since you’d both been relatively quite smaller, before you had started falling deeply and helplessly in love with one another, “I could never want that - I’ve only ever wanted you, and will only ever want you - I promised, didn’t I?” You would then wince upon remembering that she had, before you began to feel bad for forgetting, and she couldn’t help, but smile lovingly over at you, finding your reaction adorable, before she delicately kissed away the last of your tears on your left cheek, prompting you to giggle softly, before you affectionately connected your forehead to her’s again, and would timidly intertwine the fingers of your hands with her’s, surprising her as she felt her heart skipping a beat, before it began to race blissfully alongside your’s again; you both always seemed to have this reaction to making physical contact with one another, and hoped you’d never lose the feelings you were currently experiencing for one another as they were more perfect than anything either of you had ever felt before whilst you silently revelled in one another’s company for a moment, and couldn’t help, but admire each other, before she managed to find her voice again, stammering briefly as she kept finding herself almost getting lost within your eyes whilst you already had given into her’s, wishing you could be lost within her stunning icy blue eyes for the rest of however long eternity might be, and even beyond that. “You - You told me you wouldn’t forget that I love you,” she reminded you, and you would frown, beginning to feel bad again, before you bowed your head slightly, prompting her to feel a little guilty for bringing it up, “but it’s okay - I forgive you; I’m not upset with you, I promise - I just-.. don’t want you to ever think that there’ll be a time I decide I don’t want you anymore, b-because-.. I could never do that to you, Y/n; you’re everything to me; half my soul, like the poets say, remember? A-And I can honestly say that that’s never going to change; I can feel it - it will always only ever be you for me, n-no matter what - I love you, kitty, m-more than - more than life itself, and I always will, okay?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” you replied playfully, and she would pout; she’d evidently been hoping you would return the three words to her, “what? Was that the wrong answer?”

“Completely wrong,” she answered, before inching closer to you suggestively, and smirking whilst she teased you by brushing her lips against your’s for a moment, prompting you to tense up, and to have your heart begin to pound overwhelmingly whilst you would appear flustered, blood rushing to your cheeks, “what if I told you there might be a prize if you gave me the right one? Would you?”

“E-Er, I-” You stammered shyly, evidently still not used to doing this with her even though you’d had a few moments like these before already; you always found yourself fearing you might disappoint her, somehow, though she knew she could never be disappointed by you; she loved you too much, and revelled in anything she did with you. “V-”

Vera would then appear worried about you, not wanting to make you feel uncomfortable as she sat back a little, and would smile reassuringly over at you, before she lifted her right hand up to your left cheek, soothing you instantly, and even prompting you to subconsciously melt into her touch whilst you found yourself admiring her again, soon getting lost within her stunning icy blue eyes in the best way possible.

“It’s okay, Y/n,” she cooed, “we don’t have to; I don’t want you to feel like you do if you don’t feel up for it-”

“N-No, I do, I - I swear, I just-…” You would then fall quiet, a pained expression on your face, before you reluctantly let go of her hands, and would timidly stare down at your own whilst you fidgeted with them anxiously, concerning her even more; she hated seeing you upset like you evidently were, now, and would try and provide comfort to you by inching even closer, and resting her head upon your right shoulder, prompting you to smile faintly subconsciously; you wished you knew what you had done to deserve someone as perfect, kind, and caring as her. “I get scared sometimes,” you admitted dejectedly, “what if - what if I disappoint you, one day? What if-”

“Disappoint me?” She mused, a hurt look on her face whilst she glanced up at you, prompting your heart to sink upon noticing the look on her face; you’d never intended to upset her the way you could see you had, and wished you had never brought it up, now. “Y/n, you - you could never disappoint me,” she contradicted, before wrapping her arms around your waist, and you would try and hide your face from her, evidently embarrassed, as well as ashamed of yourself for assuming maybe you’d lose her if you disappointed her, “I love everything about you; everything that you do, and I’m never going to stop, so don’t ever worry about me being disappointed by you, somehow, because I never will be - s-so-.. would - would you want to-?”

You couldn’t help, but grin down at her, before nodding hastily, and leaning down a little to delicately connect your lips to her own, prompting her to instantly melt into the kiss whilst you both held one another closer to the point that no gaps were left between you both, and you loved it.

“I’d love to,” you answered once you’d reluctantly broken the kiss, and she would then appear elated, her stunning icy blue eyes glinting, before she chimed out the two words ‘I’m glad’, and would lean forward to passionately kiss you, and the moment was perfect, until the library door was opened, and Vera’s youngest sister, Elizabeth, was stood by it, shocked to find you both together, kissing the way that you were, but before either of you could say anything, she would flee from the room, terrifying you both; if you wanted to remain alive today, you’d both need to run away together, and fast.

🜚

“Vera, what - what does this mean-?” You questioned, your voice briefly trembling; Elizabeth had just fled the room, and you were evidently terrified of what might happen to you both. “What are they gonna do to us-?” You then couldn’t help it as you began to cry quietly, considering the possibility that maybe you both would never be able to see one another again, and you couldn’t imagine what your life would be like without her in it, by your side. “Are we gonna die?” You strained out, and Vera would frown, before she hastily shook her head, and rushed to embrace you after she had closed the library door, soothing you instantly as you melted into her arms, leaning heavily against her whilst you clung to her shoulders, and would allow your strained sobs to escape your lips into her left shoulder whilst she rubbed your back using her right hand, desperate to try and calm you as she knew that if she wanted to run away with you - something she had longed to do ever since you’d both confessed your love for one another - she would have to calm you first, and then begin her hopeful escape with you, hoping that you both could hide yourselves within the cornfield for a little while, until nightfall, at least, when she knew you’d most likely not be spotted, and nightfall wasn’t too far away, now.

“They’re never going to get to us, I promise,” she cooed gently, and you couldn’t help, but smile softly upon hearing her voice again, feeling warm and fuzzy as if nothing were wrong; as if you both weren’t possibly about to get hurt for being the way that you were, “I won’t let them, but - Y/n-.. we’re going to have to run, okay? Run, and never look back at the place, until we get to the cornfield - can you do that?”

“I - I think so,” you answered, trying to appear confident, and she would nod, before holding you at arm’s length, glad whilst she smiled reassuringly back at you in an attempt to try and further relax you, and it was working, somehow, quicker than you ever thought it could, prompting you to smile lovingly back at her subconsciously whilst your heart raced blissfully alongside her’s once more, “a-as long as you promise me that we’re never going to lose e-each other, a-and that you will be okay - you matter to me more than I could ever matter to myself, a-and if I lose you, V, I-”

She would then lean forward to delicately connect her lips to your’s whilst she wrapped her arms around your waist, prompting you to fall quiet whilst you melted into the kiss, as well as melted into her embrace again, forgetting what you had previously requested for her to do, until she fulfilled your request - of course she did; she couldn’t not; she loved you too much to leave you worrying about her like that.

“We’re never going to lose each other again, I promise,” she stated, prompting you to express relief whilst you beamed over at her, and would revel in the feeling of her hands being on your cheeks gently, whilst she was partially entangling the fingers of her right hand within your hair, “a-and we’re both going to make it out of here - I’m going to make sure of that, n-no matter what happens, okay? Just know that I love you, a-and that I’m going to stick by your side - just don’t look back if I fall behind-”

You would falter, your eyes widening a little whilst you hastily shook your head, and would subconsciously ease her closer to you protectively, prompting her to smile sadly back at you; she knew that you were scared, and of course she was scared too, but she was certain that you both could get away together without being scratched, somehow.

“V-” You whined, but before you could beg her to take back her advice, shouting would arise from her father downstairs, and you both knew that it was time to go.

“We’re gonna be okay, kitty, I promise,” she insisted, before briefly planting a kiss on your lips to soothe you again, leaving you in a daze long enough for her to delicately grab hold of your left hand in her right one, before she hastily guided you out of the room, and down the staircase intended for maids like you, and gardeners, as well as cooks and butlers servicing the Alfrey’s home, allowing you both to slip through the back door somehow unnoticed, before you ran toward the cornfield hand in hand.

🜚

Once nightfall had finally arrived, you both would hesitantly remain cuddled up together for a little while, wanting to take advantage of the unique view of the night sky as if you both had simply come out here like she would with you when the others hadn’t found out about you yet, either to fool around, or just lay together and admire each other, as well as the night sky.

“The stars are shining brighter than they ever have before tonight,” you mused timidly, and Vera couldn’t help, but smile subconsciously upon hearing your voice beside her, before she beamed over at you, and would intertwine the fingers of her right hand blissfully with the fingers of your left hand, prompting your heart to skip a beat, and you to grow easily flustered whilst you glanced over at her, smiling sheepishly in her direction whilst you both revelled in the perfect moment, wishing it could last forever, somehow, but you knew that - as they’d most likely never find you both in a cornfield like this, the workers would most likely just return to work in the morning, and that’s why you both knew you needed to leave soon, and not remain here for the entire work as the gardeners would most likely locate you both in the morning.

“Maybe it’s a sign; we’re going to be okay, after all,” she speculated, and you would hesitate, a pained expression on your face for a moment whilst you thought about it, your eyes even darkening, and heart beginning to overwhelmingly pound - you were terrified of an alternative reasoning, and of course she was, too, but she didn’t want to think that something might end up going wrong, especially not when she knew she would lose you, if it did, and she didn’t doubt at all that if she ever did end up losing you, it would break her, and leave her feeling lost, as well as as if she had nothing to live for anymore, and she couldn’t let it happen, whilst you were concealing the same fears regarding her, not caring about what they might do to you if you both ended up being caught by them.

Upon noticing your demeanour change, Vera would falter, her smile slowly disappearing; she could tell that you were still convinced that you would both end up getting caught, somehow, though she had hoped you would try and be more positive about the idea, not wanting you to be overwhelmed by worry regarding you possibly losing her. Upon remembering your fears regarding her, and not yourself, her heart would sink - she couldn’t help to think about how you both were being hunted down for being in love with one another, as if it were a crime like treason, and this would spark another thought to invade her mind: what if they hang us if they do end up finding us, somehow? That was another terrifying possibility, but she would try and force the alternative scenarios from her mind, wanting to try and provide comfort to you somehow by inching closer to you, and wrapping her arms around your waist, and her action did seem to soothe you a little more, prompting you to instantly melt into her embrace whilst you returned the hug, and would close the gaps between you both to the best of your ability whilst you affectionately connected your forehead to her’s, prompting her to smile lovingly over at you, and though her smile was infectious, prompting your own to return, you still couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility that you would both lose one another today, and it was excruciating to be aware of, especially after you had dreamed so often of spending eternity with her, and dreamt so often of doing everything you could with her, and her only - it was painful.

“Or it could be a warning,” you suggested gravely, and Vera would frown, before subconsciously shaking her head, and entangling the fingers of her right hand blissfully within your hair, “I’m scared, V - if I lose you-”

“You’re never going to lose me, kitty, I promise - they will never find out that we’re here,” she tried to reassure you gently, and you would hesitate, before nodding slowly, trying to hide that you were still doubtful, only because you were terrified of doing anything like this that might pry you both away from one another excruciatingly, somehow, “we aren’t even going to be staying here, remember? Do you want to move, o-or-? I don’t mind getting further away, if you want to-”

You both would then tense up upon hearing voices getting closer; the gardeners must still be searching out here for you, and you would then wince, before timidly inching closer to her, and burying your face into her right shoulder whilst you whimpered quietly, and she would frown, noticing that your body had begun to tremble a little, making her feel bad for not running even further away from the search parties; you were evidently frightened of them, whilst she was trying her best to try and hide her fear to make you feel a little safer.

“Nevermind - I don’t think we have a choice,” she murmured dejectedly, and you would shake your head, before nervously looking around, and noticing the flashlight beams floating around through the cornfield; they were most likely going to start searching here soon, “come on, kitty, we should keep moving - we should be able to find another field somewhere that we can stay in until the morning, and after that we’ll try and find another place to stay - I’m sure we can.”

“Wait-!” You whisper-shouted, and she would lower herself back down beside you again, knowing that if she was crouching for too long she’d eventually be spotted. “I - I might know of somewhere; it’s not much, but - it could be an option, for now,” you suggested, and Vera would appear intrigued, tilting her head partially whilst her eyes glinted a little; she was excited about the idea of possibly being able to begin a new life with you, like you were also elated to be given the opportunity to begin a new life with her, “before my parents died, we-.. we stayed in this shack, a-and I think I can find it from here; I doubt anyone would have bought it, s-so-.. what do you think, V? I’m up for doing whatever you want to do, always, I promise.”

“I think the shack would be a great place to stay, b-because you were there,” she replied, prompting you to appear surprised, as well as a little flustered and flattered; you didn’t think she’d want to go with you somewhere she’d never been before just because you had been there before, “are you ready? I could always try and distract them if you need some more time-”

“No,” you whined, “it’s too risky, V, a-and I don’t want to lose you again, so - I’m ready; let’s go.”

🜚

Though you both seemed to get quite far from the cornfield you had previously been hiding within together, it wasn’t long before you began to struggle to continue after you tripped up, and cried out in agony, startling Vera who faltered, before hastily rushing back to your side, and cradling you close to her whilst she examined your knees, a pained expression on her face when she noticed that your right knee was bleeding; you’d cut it on a sharp rock on the ground, and she couldn’t help, but curse herself for allowing all of this to happen. Despite the fact that she had requested for Violet to watch Elizabeth, she couldn’t help, but feel responsible, knowing that if you’d both been more careful earlier, maybe you wouldn’t have been caught by her, and wouldn’t now have to be running away from her family, excluding her sisters, though it was ludicrous that you both were having to run away like you were in the first place - what was so revolting as well as illegal to them about you both - two women - being in love with one another?

“I’m not going to make it out of here, am I?” You assumed, and Vera would falter upon hearing your voice; you were trying not to cry - the pain was excruciating - though the search parties had already been alerted regarding your and her location, and they were shouting nearby whilst hastily running around the cornfield to try and get to you both.

“Of course you are,” she contradicted gently whilst she lifted her right hand up to your left cheek, soothing you instantly whilst your tears began to run slowly down your cheeks, prompting her to delicately brush them away using the thumb of her right hand whilst she smiled lovingly over at you, trying not to cry as she knew she’d only upset you if she began to cry alongside you, terrified - herself - that maybe this was it for you both; it would be much harder to escape, now, “we can still make it; I’m going to carry you, so you don’t have to run with that knee-”

“No, don’t,” you begged weakly, not wanting her to feel as if she had to do that for you, “I can run still, I swear-”

“I’m not letting you hurt yourself any further than you already have, kitty,” she interjected gently, before she carefully lifted you up off of the ground - the fact that you were somewhat shorter than her helped her as she hastily continued to run as fast as she possibly could away from the house, desperate to get you to safety so she could tend to your wound. You would then cling to her shoulders, not that you were scared of her dropping you; you knew she’d never do that to you intentionally, but you simply loved to be making physical contact with her like you were, now.

You even found your knee was slowly beginning to pain you less whilst you admired her facial features, and couldn’t help, but smile softly up at her whilst you rested your head upon her left shoulder, wondering what you had done to deserve someone as perfect as her.

“You’re so beautiful,” you mused whilst you played with her hair using your right hand, prompting her to appear flustered, beaming down at you for a moment whilst her stunning icy blue eyes began to glint, but you both would appear startled when you heard a dog barking close behind you, panicking her as she pushed herself to run faster, but she knew as well as you and the others that she’d never be able to outrun Auntie Isabella’s doberman, Teddy, and that’s why she got knocked down, but made sure to not let go of you, falling on her back, before she began to try and shoo Teddy away whilst she cradled your trembling body close to her, desperate to keep you safe, and to get you away from her family alive.

“Get away, Teddy!” She cried, and upon recognising her, he would whine; you were both close to him, and had been ever since you’d met, and befriended Auntie Isabella, and instead of trying to lead the others to you both, he would run back to try and distract them to give you both more time, but despite his efforts, and Vera’s attempt to continue fleeing with you in her arms whilst you cried quietly into her left shoulder, desperate for this day to be over, you would both be ambushed by the gardeners, and forced away from one another whilst you both struggled, and cried for each other, desperate to be within one another’s arms again. “Let her go!” She begged shakily whilst her own tears began to stream down her cheeks; she couldn’t help, but break down upon being gingerly parted from you the way she just had been. “Y/n!” She shrieked feebly whilst you tried to kick at the people trying to drag you away whilst Vera’s father rushed up, her mother following closely behind him.

“I should have known,” he spat whilst he looked between you both, scowling; he couldn’t believe he had never noticed that you both were still sneaking around behind his back like you evidently had been, “all these years you’ve been hiding this from me, huh? That you’re one of the inverted? My own daughter?”

“Arthur,” Vera’s mother spoke up timidly; she didn’t like the way he was talking to her, “stop-”

“Stay out of this, Gertrude,” he interjected sharply, before returning his attention to you, prompting you to tense up, terrified as you subconsciously shook your head, and longed for Vera’s arms to be around you, but she was still being restrained by the other gardeners who weren’t holding you back, “I should have known it was you-”

“Father, don’t, please,” Vera begged, “I love her, a-and by hurting her, you’d be hurting me-”

“Oh cry me a river, Vera,” he retorted, prompting her to falter, a hurt look on her face whilst she hastily shook her head again, “I’ll never be able to see you as my daughter again after today; you’re dead to me, and I can’t wait to have you married off to General Maxwell; I’ll never have to see your face again-”

“I hate you!” She cried, whilst her mother would subconsciously grimace over at him, but she knew she’d never be able to change his mind, or stop him from being the way that he currently was, so she would begrudgingly step back, and lower her gaze whilst he stormed up to Vera, and would slap her across the face, prompting her to have to try and fight back a whimper; her left cheek was stinging, and he’d managed to leave a faint red mark on it, but he’d never care, that was made clear when he raised his hand to hit her again, but you couldn’t let him, managing to break free of the gardeners’ hold on you so you could rush up to him, and try and pry him away from her, prompting him to grab you gingerly by your hair, prompting you to cry out in pain again as he forced you away from him, and wouldn’t hesitate to shove you down onto the ground before he began to repeatedly kick at your sides whilst Vera cried, and begged him shakily to stop whilst she struggled against her own restrainers, desperate to save you from him, but they were too strong, and the other gardeners as well as her mother had already managed to pull him off of you whilst you curled up, and sobbed uncontrollably into your left arm, everywhere paining you excruciatingly whilst Vera looked on helplessly, wishing she could cradle you close to her whilst she cooed sweet nothings to you, and tended to the wound on your knee, as well as to the bruises you must have just been administered by her father’s previous beating of you a brief moment ago, now.

“Let me go,” he demanded gruffly, and they would all reluctantly do so whilst Vera’s mother, Gertrude, lingered warily beside him, a pained expression on her face whilst she did - she disapproved of the way he was handling the situation, of course she did, but she knew there was nothing she could do to stop him; knew she would also be accused, and beaten if she opposed him to protect Vera. “You both disgust me,” he concluded, “now get back inside, and go to bed, both of you, and just know that there’ll be no more funny business; you’ll be watched even more closely from now on - come on, Gertrude, Teddy.”

He then turned and began to walk back toward the house whilst Gertrude smiled apologetically back at her daughter, before she followed closely behind him, and Teddy would trot at her side, reluctantly, though he would rather stay with you and Vera, and make sure that you both were okay, but he knew that he’d most likely be hit, or scolded if he did, and so wouldn’t go against his new master’s orders.

“Y/n,” Vera strained out through her shaky sobs, and you would whimper in response to her voice, silently begging for her to stay by your side, “I’m so sorry-”

“Come on, Miss Alfrey - don’t want to upset your father anymore, do we?” One of the gardeners interrupted, prompting her to falter, and to subconsciously shake her head whilst she found she couldn’t pry her gaze from your currently curled up, and trembly frame upon the ground; she couldn’t leave you like this, and knew that if she did, she would never be able to forgive herself, and was terrified of losing you, somehow, if she didn’t try and provide comfort to you after what her father had just done to you.

“I’m not leaving her out here like this,” she managed, “I can’t, I - I just - I just can’t; you don’t understand-”

“We’re sorry, Miss, but-.. it’s your father’s orders-”

“I don’t care about his orders anymore!” She cried, and the gardener would fall quiet for a moment whilst you managed to glance up at Vera, feeling weaker than you ever had before, as well as quite faint.

“V, I-.. I’m okay, don’t-.. don’t worry about me,” you mustered, your voice close to a whisper, and she would hastily shake her head; she wouldn’t leave you alone out here, “just-.. just go back before he comes out, and beats you, too-”

“No,” she whined, “k-kitty, I-.. I can’t-”

“Please,” you pleaded with her, “V, you-.. you have to - do it for me; I’ll be okay, I swear - you’ll see.”

She would hesitate, not sure; she hated the thought of leaving you to suffer like she would be, if she ended up going back inside whilst the gardeners who had previously restrained you would drag you back to the maid’s quarters, and lock the doors before you could slip out, and join her within her own bedroom like you usually had been doing ever since you both were quite small.

“Just-.. promise me you’ll be okay,” she requested, her voice briefly trembling, and you would nod, before managing a faint smile up at her whilst you managed to sit up a little bit more, allowing the gardeners to help you up off of the ground, “o-or I’m not going back - not willingly, at least.”

“I’ll be okay, I promise,” you insisted, and she would express relief, before nodding head head slightly, and looking over at the gardeners who were currently holding you up; you were evidently still struggling to keep yourself up due to the deep cut you’d managed to get as a result of tripping up before you’d both been caught.

“You - You better be careful with her, o-or I swear I’ll-..” She would then fall quiet, noticing you hastily shaking your head; you were afraid of them hurting her if she threatened them, but they understood how you both must be feeling, unlike your father, and so would give in to Vera, nodding their heads to reassure her that they would be careful with you, no intention of worsening the wound and bruises you were currently sporting. “Good - g-goodnight, Y/n,” she replied, glad, and a little more relaxed to know that you would be safe, now, before she returned her attention to you, a pained expression on her face; she dreaded what the night ahead might be like, knowing that you wouldn’t be by her side, this time, and you would smile sadly over at her; you could tell that this must be what she was currently thinking about, alongside you, and she would manage to reflect your smile for a brief moment, before she mouthed the three words ‘I love you’, and you wouldn’t hesitate to return them, as well as a faint ‘goodnight’ whilst the gardeners began to lead you both back toward the house, and to usher you into your bedrooms so they could lock the doors, and ensure that you both wouldn’t be able to get out, and to sleep within one another’s arms again, unwillingly determined - alongside the other workers - to keep you both apart this time.

🜸🜚🜸

Ever since you’d been beaten by her father, Vera couldn’t stop being reminded of that night, even after a few days had passed; she felt awful, and wished she’d done more to try and help you, when really there was nothing she could have done - she had struggled in an attempt to escape the hold the gardeners had on her, only to fail as there were too many of them, by which point he had already been pulled off of you by her mother, and the other set of gardeners who had been holding you before you’d escaped them, and made to fight her father in an attempt to protect her, another fact that also made her feel guilty for not being able to try and protect you after you had made to protect her without hesitation.

With the reminder of that night, and her guilt plaguing her mind, she would find herself not speaking as much as she used to to both Violet, and you whenever you managed to find yourselves in the same room together, except you found it was a lot harder to be alone with her, like her father had made clear it would be the night you’d been discovered to be together by Elizabeth, Vera’s youngest sister. Whenever you did manage to interact with her, she always seemed to be quite distant, and relatively quite dismissive of you, and though it was painful, you found you couldn’t blame her; you, too, felt as if you were to blame for that night, even more so when she decided to approach you one day, only to tell you that she thought it would be better for you both to go back to being friends so she could instead focus on her fiancé, General Maxwell, and though she longed to tell you that she was doing it to protect you upon noticing the crestfallen expression on your face, as if you had just lost everything, and your heart was shattering, she knew that maybe she would still end up hurting you if you kept trying to convince her that she’d never hurt you before; that the events of that night were your fault, and not her’s, to which she knew she’d never be able to corroborate without being in even more excruciating pain, herself, when it was already painful enough to be doing this to you.

“I’m sorry,” Vera concluded in a strained manner, “I-.. I just think it would be the best thing to do for the both of us, but-.. at least we’ll remain to be best friends, right?”

“Right,” you managed, your voice close to a whisper whilst you mustered up a weak smile back at her, “I should-.. c-continue with my work, I guess - see you around, V.”

You would then meander around her, walking hastily toward the library door; you’d recently finished cleaning it, and surprisingly when you had managed to, that was when she’d entered the room upon convincing herself that the only way for her to truly protect you from the wrath of her father, and most likely the law, would be to end her romantic involvement with you, no matter how much it pained her excruciatingly to do so.

“See you around,” she returned faintly, trying to stop her voice from trembling by biting down a little on her tongue; she hated every second of what she was doing, and wished she could take it back as soon as she had allowed the suggestion to slip from her lips, but she would instead try and fight back her emotions to the best of her ability, until you left the room, and closed the door behind you, and once she’d heard that it had closed, and sensed that you were no longer close to her - another excruciating feeling to be aware of as she hated being away from you, and had even begun to feel lost again once the deed had been done, and you were gone - she would allow herself to break down, sinking down onto the sofa you both used to cuddle up upon together whilst she cried, and sobbed uncontrollably into her hands, wishing there was another way to protect you, but she couldn’t think of any that didn’t present any possible threats toward the both of you being hurt again, and she was terrified that maybe she would soon lose you again, somehow. It was strange, but she could feel that something bad would soon occur, as if things hadn’t been bad enough recently, but she wouldn’t realise what the feeling might mean, until a couple more darker days had passed, and the wedding between her and General Maxwell was even faster approaching.

🜸🜚🜸

Though she had been trying to hide that she still had feelings for you, Vera found herself often wishing - whenever you were in the same room (sadly never alone) - that she could wrap her arms around you, and coo sweet nothings to you whilst she left delicate kisses along the soft skin of your neck, and right shoulder; she missed the feeling, and even more so missed the feeling of her lips blissfully fitting together with your’s in the best way possible; it was hard not to kiss you, especially when you were close to her, and not to hold you as she felt warm and fuzzy and more relaxed than she had ever been whenever she was holding you, or being held by you, as if nothing could hurt her, or perturb her whilst she was within your embrace, or holding you as if you were one of the teddy bears her mother had got her when she was smaller. It was painful for her even to imagine how these were feelings she might never experience again, after she’d suggested it would be better for you both to just remain best friends in an attempt to protect you from being hurt anymore than you already had by her father a week or so ago, now.

However, it wasn’t long before she realised that she’d never be able to truly protect you without you getting scathed somehow; her father was making sure to - whenever he got the chance - regularly beat you outside in the garden, as if what he had already done to you wasn’t enough, no matter how much she begged him to stop - he wouldn’t even listen to her mother, Gertrude, whenever she witnessed him beating you, and suggested that you’d had enough, now, and reminded him that you needed to be in good condition to go on working, but that only encouraged him to beat you before you could retire dejectedly to your room within the maids’ quarters, leaving her unsure of what to suggest in an attempt to help you any further than she had tried to - he’d never stop hurting you, believing you had made Vera the way that she was; inverted, like you, when she knew she’d been born this way, and was proud of it - always would be, no matter what they thought of her, and you.

Alongside his beatings of you, he would often invite General Maxwell over whenever he was available to further hurt you, especially by making it so that you had to clean the living room whilst they were all in the room together talking so you had to listen, and absorb painfully every word regarding his and Vera’s wedding day. You didn’t think it could get any worse than this, until he ensured Vera be included within the talks about their future together, only making the pain you were now constantly in even harder to bear than it was, before, leaving you on the verge of breaking down in front of them each time, so you would try and make sure that you were faced away from the group, not wanting to give Vera’s father the satisfaction of seeing you broken, the way he’d been intending to make you ever since he had discovered through Elizabeth, his youngest daughter, that you and Vera had been having a most likely illegal affair.

On one of these occasions, you felt more lost, hopeless, and terrified than you ever had before, prompting you to grow desperate to try and fix things between you and Vera, especially after you had caught her staring guiltily over at you whilst her fiancé and father was talking about their plans to have children in the future - apparently they had discussed it, and she hadn’t told you, when really this came as a surprise to her as he’d never mentioned it to her before, or even asked her if she wanted to have children with him, and that was why - after you’d looked over at her, and briefly locked eyes with her blissfully, prompting your hearts to skip a beat alongside one another - Vera would break the eye contact you were making so unexpectedly to look up fearfully at General Maxwell, prompting you to falter, a pained expression on your face, before you begrudgingly returned your attention to the fireplace you were currently in the process of cleaning whilst they talked, only pushing you even closer to the edge, and making you feel as if you no longer had anything to live for anymore like you had, before you felt as if you had lost Vera again.

“The wedding’s in what-? A couple of weeks, now?” Vera’s father spoke up whilst they began to wrap up the conversation, getting up off of the sofa whilst Vera awkwardly looked on at them, occasionally looking between them both, and you, whenever she got the chance to steal a glance at you, finding herself wishing she could be alone with you - she could tell this was hurting you as excruciatingly as it was hurting her, and she longed to try and provide comfort to you to the best of her ability, terrified that maybe you’d run away, if she didn’t, or would try and hurt yourself, somehow, or even take your life, and all of these possibilities would panic her even more, prompting her to silently beg them to go, knowing maybe she’d have enough time to pass you, and delicately squeeze your hand a little to remind you that she was still there for you, no matter what, before being suspected by her father of trying to do anything more with you, like talk to you, hug you, or kiss you, something he had forbidden her to do now by threatening your health if he ever caught her and you together making contact of any kind. “Me and Gertrude can’t wait,” he continued, “we’re ecstatic; we’ve been waiting to get Vera married off for a while, now - haven’t we, darling girl?”

“That’s because you kept letting in the - bad ones,” Vera uttered, subconsciously grimacing over at General Maxwell in secret; she hated that she wasn’t able to call him all the names she could think of for him in his presence, knowing her father would most likely beat her, too, if she tried, but she wasn’t afraid of him glaring at her subtly the way he was, now; he could tell that she was including General Maxwell within that list, and evidently was silently seething upon being reminded of your and her affair, “you can’t take anyone having certain - expectations, or ideals, can you?”

“Well I’m flattered to hear that I meet your expectations, Miss Alfrey,” General Maxwell remarked, and she would force a smile over at him, “though I already knew I would because I’m immensely popular with ladies like yourself-”

“Immensely popular?” Vera mused subconsciously, and the general would appear taken aback by her interruption, suggesting that she was doubting his statement, something that evidently displeased him as he awkwardly cleared his throat, before clenching his right fist a little; he knew he couldn’t hit her, not yet; it was something he was used to doing, and that’s why he had many ex-wives - some of them had fled from him, and divorced him, whilst others had sadly not been so lucky to escape the beatings he’d administered to them for disagreeing with him, or refusing to tend to some of his certain requirements.

“Vera,” her father warned, and she would begrudgingly give in, though she was pleased to see she had achieved a reaction from the both of them, whilst you appeared nervous, trying to secretly watch them as you were worried about her getting hurt, somehow - you would have however been amused by her remark, if you hadn’t seen her father hit her the way he did the night he beat you. “Anyway - it was nice having you round, General, and I hope you soon find time to come around again someday, either before, or after the wedding would be a good time for all of us, I hope,” he suggested, and General Maxwell would nod, before walking up to the door, and waiting for her father to open it for him, which he did hastily to remain in his good graces.

“I’m sure I could fit in one more day before the wedding,” he answered, and her father would appear glad, excited to hurt you even more, no doubt; he could tell that him having both the general and Vera in the same room as you had had the desired effect he wanted due to how you’d been trying to hide your face from them, and had been making sure to keep your head low - at one point he’d even heard you sniffling quietly, suggesting you had been crying whilst they were talking, “I’ll send you a telegram of the days in question and you can send one back to me of the best day for you and Miss Alfrey.”

“Sounds like a good plan, general,” her father replied, “let me escort you to the front door with Vera.”

“Thank you,” the general responded simply, before stepping out of the room accompanied by her father, and she would then make to follow them whilst you silently found yourself begging her to stay with you; begging her to hold you close to her whilst you cried into the crook of her neck, kissed her, and hugged her tightly - you’d missed having moments like those with her in which you were both blissfully intertwined with one another as if nothing else mattered; only you and her existed, and were the last people to be alive on earth, loving each other as if you were ruling the world together, and only had eyes for one another, and nobody, or nothing else; you could only revel in each other’s presence, and you wished this could be the case; being stuck to her side as her lover was all you could ever want, but it seemed to be impossible, now, and it was excruciating to be constantly reminded of how you both used to be together - so in love, and addicted to one another, but you doubted she’d ever want, or love you again the way you still wanted, and loved her, and knew you always would.

However, when you felt the fingers of her left hand briefly intertwine with the fingers of your currently slightly trembling right one, you would begin to feel hopeless again, and would break down as soon as you lost physical contact with her, shakily mustering out the word ‘wait’ before she could leave the room, prompting her to falter, a pained expression on her face whilst she stood at the door, before glancing back at you whilst her heart ached excruciatingly alongside your’s; you had begun to cry again, and she couldn’t bear to see you like this, wishing she’d never let any of this happen; never let herself accept General Maxwell’s hand; she longed to remain loyal to you, and you only, but it was hard now that her fear of you being hurt anymore than you had been already had been heightened by her father beating you the way he had after he’d found out about your and her affair a few days ago, now.

“V, please-.. don’t-.. don’t do this,” you begged her, and she would feel even worse, her eyes darkening a little whilst she bowed her head to try and hide that tears had begun to cloud her vision again, “you know I still love you, and I know you still love me-”

“I don’t still love you,” she contradicted, prompting you to fall quiet for a moment, a hurt look on your face whilst she tried to recompose herself as if what she was saying wasn’t hurting her, too, “and even if I did, what business is it of your’s?”

“How would it not be my business?” You questioned, and she would frown, before trying to think of an answer, not sure, now, but before she could stammer out a response, you would continue, desperate to fix all that had recently been broken before you could truly lose her, knowing you’d never be able to go on living if you did. “V, I - I need you; I can’t do this without you; I can’t live without you-”

“Why would you even think I still have feelings for you, Y/n? We’re best friends, and that’s all we can be, now-”

“I could feel it,” you stated, surprising her as she glanced up at you, and you would falter upon noticing that she had begun to cry alongside you, prompting your heart to sink even further than it already had, somehow, “w-when you looked at me, and when you held my hand.” You then couldn’t help, but smile softly subconsciously whilst you recalled how blissful both moments had briefly been, and felt, before they’d sadly passed. “I loved it, V; I loved it when you touched me with your eyes, and felt me with mine,” you mused, before timidly inching closer to her, and she found she couldn’t move, glancing down at your lips longingly whilst you both began to feel warm and fuzzy, revelling in the feeling of being so close to one another again, “I love you, Vera Alfrey, a-and-.. I always will, I promise, even if you do decide to marry the general; I will never stop waiting for you, as long as-.. as long as you tell me you still love me, l-like - like I love you.”

Vera would hesitate, though it was taking everything within her to stop her from admitting to you her feelings for you, longing to make you happy again by reassuring you that she did still love you, and knew she always would, and she might have gone through with it, until she was reminded of her father’s threat when she heard him shouting for her to follow him and the general, prompting her heart to sink, and her eyes to darken again whilst she shook her head gravely, and would step back; she couldn’t let you get hurt anymore than you already had, knowing that you most likely would if she got back together with you. Of course her reaction disheartened you, prompting a strained sob to escape your lips whilst you shook your head hastily, and would try and get closer to her only to have her move away once more, prompting you to falter whilst you began to feel empty, and lost again, as if everything within you was collapsing, and your heart was failing you; you couldn’t believe - after everything you had both been through together - that you were losing her like you could excruciatingly see you were, but at the same time you couldn’t blame her, believing you only had yourself to blame for supposedly driving her away from you being the way that you were, when it had been her father’s abusive, and threatening tendencies that had been dissuading her from you; she couldn’t let him do anything more to you, and so was determined to try and protect you from him doing so to the best of her ability, no matter how much it pained you both following her attempting to do so.

“I’m sorry, Y/n, but-.. you should move on, now,” she advised, trying not to allow her voice to tremble by biting down on her tongue for a brief moment whilst she lowered her gaze again to hide that more tears had invaded her stunning icy blue eyes, “I did, a-and you won’t regret it, I promise - will you try and do that, for me?”

“Of course, Miss Alfrey,” you murmured, before returning to your work, and she would frown, not wanting you to think you couldn’t call her ‘V’ anymore, but before she could reassure you that you could, her father would impatiently call for her again, and she could hear his footsteps fast approaching, prompting her to wince, and grow worried that he would hurt you again, but at the same time she found it felt wrong to leave you like this, “you-.. you should go, before-.. before he hurts you; he sounds mad, a-and-.. your fiancé’s probably waiting to say goodbye; don’t leave him hanging, or he’ll start fretting that maybe a nobody like me means something to you-”

“Y/n,” Vera whined; she hated hearing you putting yourself down like you just had, and wished she could do more for you, somehow; wished she could take back the time, and fix all that had gone wrong between you both recently to try and make both you and her happy again, “d-don’t say stuff like that; you’re not a nobody-”

“I’m a nobody to everyone,” you uttered, “I always have been - I don’t know why I ever thought things could be different, after my parents chose death over me-”

“That’s not true; you mean everything to me, and your parents had no choice; they were sick, Y/n, and Auntie Isabella said nobody had developed a cure yet for an illness like the one they had,” she reminded you, and you would scoff, evidently not believing her, before you got up, and poured the dust, as well as Teddy’s fur into the bin bag you had been using to collect up the remnants of fur and dust within the room, “it’s true - kitty, please, don’t go like this, t-thinking such things about yourself, and your parents, because nothing of what you think right now is true-”

“Except for one thing,” you managed feebly, your voice briefly trembling whilst you did, before you stopped by the door of the living room to glance back at her dejectedly, “I love you, Vera Alfrey, and that’s all I truly know now - I’m sorry I wasted your time.” You then pushed yourself to leave the room, hastily walking toward the dining room to set up the table ready for them to be served their dinner whilst tears streamed down your cheeks, and you would try and fight back the remaining sobs fighting to escape your lips; you’d told a lie - your love for her wasn’t the only thing you knew, now. The other fact you were certain of was that by the end of the day, you would no longer exist, not without her.

🜚

After Vera had finally managed to get her father off her case for the day following her being forced, and refusing to eat dinner whilst she awkwardly sat at the dinner table - knowing she wouldn’t be allowed to dismiss herself to go and look for you, no matter how much she longed to do so, getting a bad feeling again, as if something was wrong, concerning you - she would hastily rush around the house, desperate to find you, and make sure that you were okay to quiet her panicked mind, but despite her efforts, you were nowhere to be found within it, further terrifying her, and fuelling her suspicions that you’d run away, or had done something to yourself.

It wasn’t long after she’d failed to find you that she began to find herself on the verge of breaking down again, tears clouding her vision whilst she hopelessly looked back through the rooms she had already searched, not sure what else to do, until she was reminded of the lake you both often liked to sit together by whenever you got the chance to during the night, finding it was relaxing, and a nice place to be to forget about her family, and her fast approaching marriage to General Maxwell, allowing you to focus on one another, and the love you held, and knew you always would hold, for each other, and the reminder of the location would prompt her instantly to rush down the stairs, only to be stopped by Violet, bumping into her in the hallway; she looked as if she were preparing to go to bed, already, but Vera found herself too worried about you to wonder why Violet would want to retire upstairs so early - little did she know, Violet couldn’t take anymore of their mother and father bickering about how he was treating Vera and you; it was tiring to listen to considering the fact she knew that her father would always win the argument, no matter what her mother might come up with, her arguments making more sense than his ever could whenever he was in a state of rage and frustration whenever the subject of your and Vera’s affair was brought up the way it had been not too long ago, now, in the living room whilst Vera had desperately been searching for you around the house, only to fail, and conclude that you must be outside somewhere - most likely by the lake.

“V-? Where have you been?” Violet questioned sleepily, and Vera would wince, trying to recompose herself for a moment, before she managed to stammer out a response a little shakily; she was terrified of getting to the lake, and finding you not there, and couldn’t imagine what her life might be like without you in it, if you had decided to run away somewhere without her.

“I - I can’t find Y/n,” she answered, and Violet would realise, before frowning whilst she, too, began to appear worried about you; it wasn’t like you to just disappear like you evidently had, “can - can you help me?”

Violet would then nervously look toward the living room - either their mother, or father had coughed - before she expressed relief, and would nod hastily; she couldn’t not help look for you; you were her friend, too, and she knew you and Vera meant a lot to one another, so naturally didn’t want to see either of you getting hurt anymore than you already had by losing each other, somehow, knowing the happiest you both had ever been was during the moments you spent together as she’d never seen you both happier outside of those moments.

“Of course I can, come on - we’re going to find her together, I promise,” she answered, and Vera would express relief, before she exasperatedly replied ‘thank you’, and would follow closely behind her out the back door so they could both sneak around the cornfield, and rush toward the lake quite low to remain unseen, until they had successfully made it off of the property, and therefore had reached the lake after running a few more paces only to be stopped in their tracks by the blurry sight of a figure in a white night gown at the bottom of it, and small traces of blood lingering by the edge of it - someone had tried to drown themselves, and Vera couldn’t shake her suspicions; the blood was fresh, and the night gown reminded her of your own: it had to be you.

🜚

Violet would gasp beside her upon the both of them finding the body in the lake, not sure how to react, until Vera had convinced herself there might still be time for her to try and bring you back to her, and without hesitation she would then dive into the water, and push herself to swim down to the body, allowing her to see that it was your’s, now, prompting her heart to begin pounding whilst she grew even more desperate to get you out, and Violet would watch anxiously, not sure what to do; she even couldn’t help, but begin to cry quietly whilst she begged Vera silently to come back, terrified of what might happen to her if she stayed under the water for too long, but she was determined to save you, and vowed to not emerge from the lake without you in her arms.

Once she had finally managed to get down to you, she would hastily wrap her arms around you, surprised to find that you were heavier than you usually were, and that was when she noticed the pockets of your night gown - they were full of something, but she wasn’t worried about that right now, focused only on saving you as she pushed herself to swim back up to the surface whilst still holding you close to her, allowing herself to breathe, and splutter a little once she had broke the surface of the lake. Upon noticing her, Violet would express relief, before she encouraged for her sister to move closer so she could help her and you back onto the ground.

Vera would - though she was beginning to tire at this point - push herself to continue swimming back toward her sister, and would be relieved once she felt that she was back on the grass, you still within her arms. As soon as Violet noticed you, she would appear shocked, wondering how this had happened to you, until Vera laid you down on your back, and would tearfully lift her left hand up to your right cheek whilst she begged you shakily to wake up, feeling more lost, and scared than she ever had before upon finding that you were in the state you currently were - unconscious, and barely breathing, except whenever you did breathe she could hear it sounded wheezy, further worrying her as she realised that your lungs must have been invaded by the water making up the lake.

“We should try and get help for her,” Violet mused, “I could, if you want to stay?”

“No, d-don’t,” she answered hastily whilst she protectively cradled your body close to her again, “they’ll only try and take her away from me-”

“Yeah, but-.. if we don’t-.. Y/n could die, you know that, right?” Violet reminded her, and Vera would falter, before shaking her head; she was determined to save you herself, somehow, and Violet would frown, before deciding to respect her decision, and crouch down beside you both whilst Vera laid you back down again carefully, and would try and listen to hear if your heart was still beating, but she couldn’t hear much over her own heart pounding, overwhelming her.

“I - I need to try and get her heart to beat again,” she mused shakily, “I can’t hear it-”

“Try doing the chest compressions we saw mum do on Auntie Isabella,” Violet suggested, “it sounds like she’s still breathing, so it could work-”

“Y-Yeah, but - Auntie Isabella died that day anyway-”

“That was different,” she insisted, “hurry, V, or else we’ll lose Y/n, too.”

“Okay, e-erm,” she responded, “I’ll try.” Vera would then try and calm herself down, before she began to perform the chest compressions on you, silently begging at the same time for you to return to her whilst Violet tried to listen for your heart beat, hoping against hope alongside her that you would soon wake up so they could both try and make you happy again after all that had recently happened between you and Vera. “C-Can you hear anything?” She inquired, her voice briefly trembling whilst she was finding herself trying not to break down again, terrified that today might truly be the day she ended up losing you, as well as herself, and this thought would prompt her heart to begin overwhelmingly pounding again, making her feel sick, but she found she couldn’t worry about whether she was about to be sick, or not, especially not whilst you were in the state you currently were.

“I’m not sure; it’s - it’s so quiet; I’m scared, V-”

“I’m not losing her again,” she interjected feebly, before continuing with the compressions to the best of her ability, determined to bring you back to her, somehow.

“I can’t even tell if she’s breathing anymore,” Violet murmured dejectedly, “Vera, maybe-.. maybe it’s too late; maybe she’s already-..”

“She’s not dying, Violet!” Vera cried, and then couldn’t hold it back any longer as a strained sob would escape her lips, before she doubled over, and would try and get you to start breathing again, though it was a struggle for her to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation after she had begun to break down. “I’m not-.. I can’t lose her,” she added shakily in a voice close to a whisper whilst she buried her face into the crook of your neck, and would cry quietly into it, not sure what else to do as she began to feel lost, and numb all of a sudden, as if she was being hollowed out by the possibility of you dying on her, “please come back, kitty - I’m so sorry, I-.. I should never have let any of this happen, I know, I-.. I love you so much; I could never stop, n-no matter what. Y-You know what? I’d even-..” She then affectionately connected her forehead to your’s whilst she lifted her right hand up to your left cheek, and Violet would watch you both with a pained expression on her face. “I’d even follow you to the ends of the universe if you asked me to,” she expressed, “just-.. please come back, and I swear I’ll try and do things differently this time; I’ll try and fix everything, b-because-.. you’re more important to me than life itself, and I’m not ready to lose you; I’ll never be ready to lose you, so please don’t go when we have so many more memories to make together - please, Y/n.”

“V,” Violet began again gently, but Vera wouldn’t dare acknowledge her, focusing instead on you whilst she began to try and get your heart beating again, “V, stop, she’s-”

You then began to splutter out the water that had invaded your lungs whilst you coughed, and occasionally choked on it, crying quietly whilst Vera’s eyes began to glint, and heart would skip a beat whilst she held you close to her, and would smile lovingly down at you, elated to find that she hadn’t lost you like she had previously feared she would.

“Hey,” she cooed whilst you sobbed quietly, and weakly into her right shoulder, trembling within her embrace; you were evidently in shock after what you’d just experienced, “hey, it’s okay now, kitty; you’re okay - I’ve got you, a-and I’m never letting you go again, I-.. I love you so much, a-and I always will, no matter what, I promise-”

“V?” You mustered in a voice weak, barely audible, and quite raspy voice; you didn’t think she’d come looking for you after all that had happened between you both recently, prompting your heart to sink upon remembering it, and your eyes to darken a little. “V, why-.. why did you-? I thought-..” You then winced; your voice was failing you again, and it was evidently straining your lungs to try and continue, worrying Vera as she shook her head, and would delicately connect her lips to your’s for a moment to prompt you to fall quiet, and instantly melt into the kiss whilst you began to feel warm and fuzzy, your heart blissfully racing alongside her’s in the best way possible the way you’d missed to feel it do recently.

“You need to rest, now,” she advised, “you’ve already been through enough tonight, a-and-.. I won’t-.. ask you yet if-.. if this was an accident, I-..”

“I thought I lost you earlier, V,” you admitted dejectedly, prompting her heart to sink whilst she nodded gravely, wishing she’d never been so distant with you, now; she doubted this would have happened if she’d told you the truth earlier; told you that she still loved you, and was just trying to protect you from her father to the best of her ability after she’d seen you getting beaten by him a few times now, and it was excruciating to know that she couldn’t do anything more about it, knowing her father would never stop, until he’d beaten you to death, or until you couldn’t work anymore, and he’d have to then throw you back out onto the streets, but she was determined to find a way to stop him, somehow; determined to not let him hurt you anymore - she was certain she could, and couldn’t bear to even think about the possibility of you getting hurt anymore than you already had after today. “I didn’t know what to do anymore,” you mustered feebly whilst small tears managed to leak from your eyes again, and she wouldn’t hesitate to delicately brush them away using the thumb of her right hand, whilst finding herself fighting back her own tears again; she couldn’t believe she’d driven you to try and take your life like that, “I’m so sorry-”

“No,” she interjected, not wanting you to feel as if you had to apologise when she blamed herself for not telling you the truth earlier, “Y/n, don’t-.. don’t apologise, it’s my fault-”

“That’s not true,” you whined; you believed you were to blame for it, being the way that you were, and deciding to try and take your life the way you had - you could have stopped yourself from leaving cuts along your arms; you could have stopped yourself from filling the pockets of your nightgown with the stones, and you could have stopped yourself from then throwing yourself into the lake to sink to the bottom of it. “V, I was the one who tried to take my life, in the first place; you-.. you had nothing to do with it, I swear-”

“You would never have done it if I’d told you the truth, earlier,” she contradicted, a hurt look on her face whilst the tears would manage to escape her stunning icy blue eyes, prompting you to falter, not sure what to say, but you still shook your head subconsciously, not wanting her to think that she had been the one to make you do something like this to yourself, “I should never have treated you like that, I-.. I should have just been honest, and told you that I still wanted you, a-and could only ever want you; I was just acting as if I no longer felt the same way because I thought that I’d be protecting you if I did; I never thought-.. thought that I’d make you want to-.. do this to yourself.. I guess I should have thought about that before-.. before I said all that I did to you earlier. W-Where did the blood come from?”

“I just-.. accidentally tripped over again, a-and-.. I’m fine, now,” you tried to reassure her, but you could tell that she knew you were lying to her when you noticed the crestfallen expression on her face; she couldn’t believe she’d driven you to hurt yourself so much, “don’t worry about me.”

“Just-.. promise me something,” she requested, and you would nod hastily; you’d do anything for her, “promise me you’ll never-.. never try and do this to yourself again - I can’t live without you, a-and - I really thought that maybe I’d lost you back there; it was painful, Y/n, a-and I honestly don’t think I can take it again-”

“You’ll never have to, I promise,” you tried to reassure her, “I’ll never do it again, I swear, n-not now that I know that you do still want me, t-though I can’t imagine why-”

“Hey,” she interrupted gently, “of course I still want you; you’re everything to me, kitty, a-and that’s never going to change, I promise, n-no matter what - you mean so much more to me than you think you do, and I swear I’m going to try and prove my feelings for you from now on; I’m gonna get rid of the General for us, and we’ll run away together, h-how does that sound?”

“T-That sounds - amazing,” you answered whilst you appeared flustered for a moment; you didn’t think she’d still want to run away with you after what had happened the time you had both tried to run away before, “I’d love that, V; I love you so much, y-you know that, right?”

“You guys are putting me to sleep, stop,” Violet teased, prompting you both to giggle softly together, before you smiled lovingly up at one another, easily getting yourselves lost within each other’s eyes, “get a room, seriously; you look like you need one-”

“Violet,” Vera replied, evidently also growing to be flustered alongside you, prompting her sister to begin giggling alongside you, too, amused by her reaction, “haven’t you got that birthday ball to get to tomorrow? You must need some sleep for it, surely.”

“I guess you’re right, but - I’m not going to bed, until you both do,” she decided, prompting Vera to grin, before she shook her head, and would glance back down at you whilst Violet would appear smug, “besides - you have to go with me to it, remember? I may as well go to bed when you do.”

Vera would then wince upon remembering how she’d agreed - reluctantly - to attend the ball tomorrow; it was only because her sister had practically begged her, not wanting to go without her as she didn’t often tend to get along with Elizabeth, their younger sister, that well, especially after she’d ratted her and you out to their father upon walking in on you both kissing.

“I forgot I agreed to that,” she admitted, and you couldn’t help, but grin when you noticed the look on her face, finding it adorable, like you believed her entire being to be, “I’m so sorry - kitty, do - do you think you’d be able to come, too, or-?”

“I guess I could try and sneak in,” you mused, before shrugging, and smiling sheepishly up at her upon noticing her eyes glinting again, and that she was silently begging you with them to keep you both company, “I’d love to; I - I’d do anything for you, V.”

Vera would appear flustered, wondering what she had done to deserve someone as good as you, before she smiled warmly down at you, and would timidly lean down to delicately connect her lips to your’s again, prompting you to instantly melt into the kiss whilst you wrapped your arms around her waist blissfully, and she would return the hug, soothing you as you melted into her embrace, wondering the same thing; you never thought someone as perfect as her would ever love a supposed nobody like you, until the night you had both first properly kissed, and made love following you both finally confessing to having feelings for one another.

Once the kiss had sadly ended, you would wear a dazed expression on your face; it would always amaze you to feel how much every kiss you both shared always seemed to be as perfect, or even more perfect than the first had been.

“I’d do anything for you, too,” she returned whilst she affectionately connected her forehead to your’s, lifting her right hand up to your left cheek against whilst you both admired one another’s eyes, and found yourselves longing to kiss again, though you knew it was most likely awkward for Violet to be watching the way she currently was, not sure what to do with herself whilst you both couldn’t help, but be all over each other the way you were, now, addicted to one another, and revelling within each other’s presence, “a-and I’m going to do more to prove that to you, I promise-”

“No, V,” you interjected gently, “you don’t have to; I - I already know you would; you have nothing to prove to me, so please don’t ever worry that maybe I’m doubting your feelings for me, b-because-.. because I could never do that to you - I guess I just have these moments sometimes when I think you deserve better than me; t-that I’m not enough for you, and I wish I could stop, but-.. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” she cooed, soothing you instantly, and making you feel warm and fuzzy again, “s-soon you’ll never have to worry about having doubts like that again, I promise, because even if you don’t want me to prove my feelings for you, I’m never going to stop, but you probably knew that already, knowing me.”

“I thought you’d say that,” you agreed, before smirking up at her, “and you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I’m never going to stop trying to prove my feelings for you, either.”

“I’m glad,” she remarked, before longingly brushing her lips against your’s, until she remembered Violet, and begrudgingly would force herself to pull away, and smile over at her sister whilst you would wince, before doing the same; you both often easily seemed to get lost, and absorbed within one another in the best way possible to the point that it often felt as if you were the only two people left on earth, “well - I guess we should get back inside before anyone starts wondering where we are, and we don’t want to be tired tomorrow, do we? Especially not when we have some dancing to do.”

You would appear surprised, as well as a little nervous as you weren’t used to dancing, but you would try and hide this from her, worried about what she might think of you if you admitted to this, so instead you would agree alongside Violet, before beaming up at Vera again.

“I can’t wait,” you chimed, when really you were terrified; you knew you’d only embarrass yourself in front of her if you tried to dance with them both, though you couldn’t imagine why as you knew she wouldn’t be upset with you for not telling you something like that, “I - I love dancing.”

“Good, because that means you’ll love the ball,” she replied, “come on - let me carry you back; I want you to get some rest for tomorrow; you need it-”

“No, V, you - you don’t need to do that for me; I think I can walk-”

“Too bad,” she remarked, before picking you up carefully off of the ground, prompting you to squeak, before you clung to her shoulders, and would bury your face into the crook of her neck whilst she giggled in response to your reaction, “I’m not making you walk back; you’ve been through enough today - come, Violet; you need sleep too.”

“I’d love some,” Violet stated, before getting up off of the ground, and following Vera back toward the house so you could sneak back inside through the back door, before rushing up to your rooms; the maids’ quarters would already be locked, so you could join Vera within her own bedroom to cuddle up with her, and fall asleep blissfully within her arms like you both used to, before her father had beat you the night you’d both tried to run away together, despite you both still being in your damp clothes, but you wouldn’t get any sleep that night, silently worrying about how she might react when she finds out at the ball tomorrow how terrible a dancer you really are, and always have been.

~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed it! ❤️

2 notes · View notes

pshamer · 2 years

Text

The Snow Fort - A Witcher Short Story

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 5037

The Witcher babies have some fun in the snow after Vesemir kicks them out of the keep for some exercise and training.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Witcher or the characters. Just the story.

Vesemir had told them that cold winter morning they were all going to be doing training outside in the snow for the entirety of the day. Much to Lambert's chagrin, they were not allowed back inside the keep until night had fallen. Of course, to the older two's delight, they were allowed to choose whichever form of training they wanted, as Vesemir was going to be busy in the laboratory and simply wanted them out of his hair.

Eskel and Geralt started off the morning with sword duelling each other while Lambert sat sulkily on a snow-covered crate nearby shivering and sniffling in the cold. The two older boys had tried to engage him in their mock battle, but Lambert, being stubborn and froward, refused and continued to pout.

Eventually, Eskel, after getting whacked across the back of his hand before he had a chance to call a truce, bent and formed a snowball as best he could with the kicked up snow. It was too cold to form a proper snowball, but he managed to form a decent sized lump of snow. He gave Geralt a playful grin then hurled the lump of snow.

It soared across the short distance between him and the moping Lambert and completely missed him, landing pathetically in clumps at the bottom of the crate.

Lambert gave him a look, his thin brow raised. He huffed and swatted a second snow lump out of the air when Eskel made another attempt. He swatted away a third, this one from Geralt, who'd joined in on trying to hit the littlest witcher with a snowball.

"Stop it!" Lambert whined in his young, high-pitched, annoying voice.

"Or what?" Geralt replied with a teasing grin as he made another snowball.

"I'll tell Vesemir."

Eskel snorted and turned to the side to hide his smile. He shook his head when Geralt gave him a mischievous little smirk as he wedged a shard of ice into the snowball in his hand. "Don't be an ass." He hissed.

Geralt shrugged and dropped the ball of snow. He stood and grabbed his sword, which he'd tucked under his arm so his hands were free to make and throw snowballs. "He's the one being a whiny little snot."

Eskel gripped his own wooden training sword. "Hey, Lambert!" He called instead of responding to Geralt's statement.

"What?" Lambert snapped back, sounding very much like he was about to throw one of his temper tantrums he was famous for.

Eskel gave Geralt a pointed look, which earned him an exaggerated eye roll and a quiet groan. He motioned to the smallest of their trio and when Geralt didn't say anything, he turned to Lambert. "Want to build a snow fort with us?"

Lambert's little red nose crinkled up into what could have been mistaken for a squashed dinner roll if not for the colour of it. He made one of the most unpleasant expressions either of the two older boys had ever seen and shook his head. His dark curls flopped around cutely, despite his efforts not to look like an adorable little boy. "I'm not a baby. Building snow forts is for babies."

Eskel shrugged and tossed his sword to the side, aiming for the snow that had piled at Lambert's feet. "All right then. Geralt and I'll just build one by ourselves." He grabbed Geralt's arm and the two of them scampered off to the other side of the grounds to a big pile of snow they'd been adding to almost every day since the first snowfall. They made a quick detour to grab shovels before they were back on course.

The pile of snow was taller than Vesemir, a full grown man, and wider than if all three of them lay with their feet to each other's shoulders. If they dug it all out, they'd be able to fit comfortably inside with plenty of room to spare. It was about to be the biggest quinzhee Kaer Morhen had ever seen.

The two boys eagerly got to work on digging out the inside of the huge pile of snow. Geralt shovelled out the snow while Eskel threw it back on top of the pile to make it even bigger. When Geralt's knees got too cold, Eskel replaced him and started working on digging out the interior.

All the while, Lambert was sitting on top of his crate under his thick winter cloak watching them with a steadily running nose. He sniffled unpleasantly and kept glancing nervously at the keep, waiting for Vesemir to come out and scold them for neglecting their training. He perked up when he heard one of the older boys laugh loudly and gleefully. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard true, genuine laughter. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he slid off the crate and padded over the snow-covered grounds to see what had caused one of the older boys to laugh so hard. He was surprised to find that Geralt was the one who had been laughing while Eskel knelt half in the partially dug out front entrance of the snow fort and snickered.

“What’s so funny?” Lambert demanded, his tone less snappish now that he’d had a little while to calm down.

Geralt shook his head and waved his hand vaguely while Eskel continued to snicker, though he was trying in vain to stop himself with a gloved hand pressed to his mouth.

“Are you here to help, brat?” Geralt asked after a moment of Lambert scowling at him while he came down from his laughing fit. “Or are you just going to stand there like a lump on a log?”

Lambert’s lips curled back from his teeth as he sneered at Geralt. “Don’t call me a brat. I’m not a brat.”

“All right then. Are you here to help, Master Lambert?” Eskel asked, twisting from where he was kneeling to smile up at him impishly, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Lambert wanted to stomp his foot and scream at them for mocking him, but he wasn’t a child. He was a big boy and Geralt said that big boys didn’t stamp their feet and throw tantrums. Eskel agreed and said big boys settled things like men. Either with their swords or their words, and right now he didn’t have a sword, so words it was.

“No.” He turned up his nose and scowled down it at the two older boys before him.

“Why not? It’ll help you warm up. Or would you rather stand there and freeze? Here.” Geralt grabbed Eskel’s shovel and tossed it to him, forcing Lambert to catch it, otherwise it would smack him in the face. “Help me get rid of the snow so Eskel can keep digging.”

Still frowning and sulking at being forced to help them dig out their silly snow fort, Lambert got to work shovelling the snow away from the entrance as Eskel dug it out with his hands and a spade one of them had retrieved at some point. He mostly used his hands, and they were bigger than Lambert’s, so he was sending out a steady stream of snow the other two had to shovel.

As they worked, Lambert found that Geralt had been right. He was getting warmer. His nose and cheeks still burned from the cold, but at least he wasn’t shivering anymore. He was finally warm after sitting on the crate and shivering for the past hour or however long they’d been out in the wretched cold.

Geralt had tossed his cloak aside at some point and was now left in his padded training doublet and his hat and gloves. His cheeks and nose were a bright, healthy red and he was puffing out great clouds of steam as he worked tirelessly to get rid of the snow that Eskel was faithfully flinging out to them.

Lambert soon followed suit, leaving him in his hat and gloves. Before too long he wanted to get rid of those too, but he knew better than to do that in the frigid air of the northern mountains Kaer Morhen was located in. Besides, his ears weren’t cold anymore and he didn’t want to change that by taking his hat off.

When Eskel’s knees grew stiff, he changed places with Geralt. He gave Lambert a beaming smile before he got to work shovelling the snow Geralt was kicking out to them.

“It’s getting bigger in there.” He panted as he shovelled an especially large mound of snow Geralt had shoved out to them. “You’ll see when it’s your turn to dig.”

Lambert nodded. He was no longer so against the prospect of building this snow fort. It was almost exciting and he couldn’t wait for his turn to dig out the inside to see just how much had been done. At this point, Geralt was almost completely hidden from them with only his feet sticking out, which must mean that there was a fair amount of room inside.

“Wonder what Vesemir will say when he sees this.” Eskel commented as he threw a mound of snow up onto the top of the pile.

Lambert shrugged. He could care less what Vesemir had to say about this. After all, the old man probably wouldn’t care. They were outside, out of the keep, and working up a sweat. What was there to get upset about? Besides, he was the one who’d said to do whatever training they wanted so long as they were outside.

At first it had seemed like a punishment, but now Lambert realised that it was almost like a treat. They weren’t getting their heads knocked, they weren’t running the trail, they weren’t getting bruises and cuts and scrapes, and they weren’t in pain. They were outside and digging a snow fort while the old man was inside working in his creepy laboratory.

They were having fun and no one was there to tell them to knock it off and get back to training.

Eskel cast his eyes to Lambert briefly to watch him as he dutifully shovelled snow. He smiled at the look on Lambert’s young, red face. There was almost a smile on his lips as he shovelled mound after mound of snow onto the top of the pile or simply to the side and out of their way. It was nice that he seemed to be enjoying himself. It was also nice that he wasn’t complaining viciously about the cold and hard work.

He paused his shovelling to kneel at the entrance of the snow fort. He opened his mouth to ask Geralt if he wanted to switch with Lambert yet, but instead got a faceful of snow. He spluttered and fell back on his rear as he hurriedly slapped at his face to get the snow off as it started to melt against his flushed cheeks.

Lambert began to laugh and Geralt, startled by the sudden strange noise Eskel had made, poked his head out of the fort to see what was going on then began to laugh as well.

Eskel shook his head to dislodge the last of the snow from his face and hair. When he’d gotten it all off, he gave Geralt a halfhearted glare. “You done in there, you big oaf?”

Geralt smirked and crawled out of the low entrance they’d made and stood up. He shook out his limbs and then offered his hand to Eskel. He gripped his hand tightly and hauled him back to his feet. “Sure. Hey, Lambert. Your turn.”

Lambert eagerly passed him the shovel then knelt and scrambled into the dug-out portion of their fort. They faintly heard him exclaim at the amount that had already been cleared. He popped his head out and grinned up at them. “There’s so much room! Do you think all three of us can fit in here?”

Geralt shrugged and knelt to crawl in with Lambert and Eskel followed. Geralt managed to wedge himself up against the side with Lambert tucking his knees up to his chest beside him as Eskel just managed to squeeze himself in.

Geralt snorted. “Fatass.”

Eskel grabbed a handful of snow and smashed it in Geralt’s face. “We’re the same size, dumbass.”

Lambert put a hand over his mouth to suppress his snicker. Eskel was scary when he was mad and he didn’t want to get a handful of snow in his face like Geralt. Best to stay as quiet as possible to avoid the poison glare Eskel was known for.

Eskel crawled out of the fort to get back to shovelling snow and Geralt quickly followed. Lambert was left alone in the fort so he could get to work on digging out the interior.

Outside, Eskel got the brilliant idea to start packing snow around the entrance of the fort, making a sort of windshield, even though they were in the inner grounds of the keep and there wasn’t much wind to speak of that quiet morning.

He started setting aside snow to make the wind shields once they were finished digging out the interior of their fort. The shields would just get in their way at this point, so they’d work on them later.

When it was his turn to dig out the interior, he passed the shovel to Lambert when he emerged and then crawled in to get to work. Lambert had dug out a lot and he’d dug upwards instead of deeper, so Eskel was almost able to stand upright. Soon enough, once he had finished his turn, he and Geralt would be able to stand upright and shoulder to shoulder with Lambert.

The three of them worked tirelessly on the fort for what was hours in their young minds, but in reality was only under two hours. By the time they’d finished, all three of them could stand straight and lie down side by side with plenty of room to spare.

They then worked on the wind shields Eskel wanted to build and completed those within that same timeframe as the rest of the fort.

Now that everything had been completed, they were free to do whatever they wanted. Eskel had the brilliant idea to use a shot of Igni to melt the interior of their snow fort a bit then let it freeze again so it would be even sturdier.

Doing just that, he knelt and formed the Sign with his hand. However, as he was still young and still working on controlling his Signs, he overdid it a little bit and singed the tip of his nose and nearly burnt off his eyebrows.

He shrieked in surprise and scrambled out of the fort to plunge his face into the snow to combat the slight singe he’d received.

Geralt and Lambert laughed at him until they both saw the perfect imprint of Eskel’s face in the snow and decided to do the same themselves. One by one they pressed their faces into the snow then sat up, leaving behind near perfect impressions of their features.

Lambert started a snowball fight, to the great surprise of the other two, but they were both quick to join in. They practised swatting snowballs out of the air with their hands and small bursts of Aard while Lambert made the snowballs.

Laughter and shouts of glee rang out through the inner grounds of the keep that morning as the three boys played and had fun for the first time in a very long time. It had been so long in fact, they’d almost forgotten what it was like to have a little fun and laugh.

Geralt suggested, when his stomach growled loudly, that they should sneak into the keep to get some cheese and bread for lunch. It would be stealth training, they’d explain to Vesemir if they were caught.

They weren’t caught, however, and the three of them were able to sneak into the keep and to the kitchen then back outside with their spoils without being seen. They’d even managed to snag a pitcher of mead to enjoy, though they still weren’t too fond of the taste, though it was sweeter than ale.

Once they’d finished off their meager lunch, they were ready to get back to playing in the snow and “training”. Eskel was the first one to suggest they run a mock obstacle course through the grounds of the keep after they’d taken a few minutes to digest.

Eskel told Lambert to run it first while he and Geralt set up obstacles with snow and some of the other things lying around the keep grounds. The prize would be an extra mug of mead for whoever ran it the fastest without falling or tripping.

They took turns running the course over and over again until they were sweaty and panting heavily. They argued over who had been the fastest until they decided they’d tied and each of them got a small mug of mead as a prize.

Next, Geralt suggested they have a mock battle. Lambert was to be the enemy while he and Eskel defended their snow fort. After a fit from Lambert about how it wasn’t fair that he was by himself, Eskel volunteered to be the enemy.

Eskel played a convincing villain and he was a force to be reckoned with once he got started. He was, after all, more powerful with Signs than Geralt, though he wasn’t as fast or as strong. Nevertheless, he made up for that with his intimidating performance.

They switched after the first battle, after a stunning win by the two defending, so Geralt was to be the attacking white-haired villain. He got into position across the grounds while Eskel and Lambert prepared for his attack by piling more snow onto the low wall that had been constructed for the obstacle course.

Just as Geralt was launching his first attack, which was a combination of bursts of Aard and snowballs, Vesemir came storming out of the keep.

“What are you three brats doing?” He was wearing a rather fearsome expression with his face scrunched up into a sneer.

Eskel quickly dropped the snowball he was holding and shot to his feet. He gripped his wooden sword tightly in his hands and began stringing an apology together mixed with an explanation as to what they were doing. He only got about two words out before he was nailed in the side of the face by a snowball from Geralt. He swatted away the second one as it came at him.

“Stop it!” He cried as he batted away a third snowball.

“No, no. Keep going, Geralt.” Vesemir waved a hand then crossed his arms. “I want to see how much Eskel’s improved his deflection.”

Geralt was more than happy to keep throwing snowballs at his friend. Lambert was quick to join in and ran over to kneel in the snow beside him to make snowballs and throw them at Eskel as well.

Vesemir looked on with his arms crossed over his broad chest and a tiny hint of a smile on his lips. He watched every move all three of the boys made carefully, judging their capabilities and skills. So far he was rather unimpressed, but they were having fun and he’d allow them this one moment of youthful excitement.

When he decided they’d had enough, he called them all to him. He waited patiently for them to scramble over to him, each panting and flushed from exertion and the cold air.

“Head inside after you’ve put everything away. It’s time to eat.” He motioned with his hand to the shovels and swords left scattered across the grounds. He would scold them for being so careless later. For now they needed to rest and eat.

He waited beside the doors for them to collect all the tools they’d used throughout the day, then he followed them into the warm keep to start preparing supper for them all.

“Do your stretches then go get your things. You’re all sleeping in your little snow fort tonight.” He smiled only once his back was to them when they each started to protest.

“It’s too cold, Vesemir!” Geralt moaned.

“I’ll freeze!” Lambert whined.

“Is this part of our training?” Eskel questioned.

Vesemir nodded and motioned for them to run along. “It is. Now go. Before I make you go find your own supper in the forest.”

Three smaller pairs of feet quickly scampered off to do their stretches then to fetch their things they’d need for their night outside in their quinzhee. They would no doubt bring all the blankets they had and as many bedrolls as they could find in order to keep warm. But they wouldn’t need all of that. They would be perfectly warm and cozy once all three of them were packed inside.

While the three young witchers were off doing their tasks, Vesemir ordered them to do, he busied himself preparing supper. He’d heard all the racket the three of them had been making throughout the day and he knew they hadn’t gotten much training done, but they’d at least been active. He’d seen them running a simple obstacle course, so he wasn’t too angry with them for not doing much training.

And their fort. He was impressed by it. He’d have to take a look at it later to see how well they’d dug it out. Nevertheless, he was still rather impressed by their ingenuity to utilise the snow pile already there and dig it out to create a place for them to use.

Maybe he’d make them sleep out there for the rest of the week. It would be good training for them. Especially if he ordered them to hunt their own food and prepare it as well.

When they had all returned to the main room of the keep where Vesemir was making supper, they had bundles of cloth and bedding under their arms. They were also all dressed up and ready to go as if they were setting off for a hike through the mountains. They were red in the face from their warm clothes, but none as flushed as Eskel.

“Eskel.” Vesemir flicked his fingers, motioning the boy over. He reached out when he was before him and gripped his narrow chin in his big hand. He slowly turned the boy’s face, eyeing the redness of it. “What happened to your face?”

The redness in his cheeks grew more prominent and expanded to his ears and down what small bit of his neck was still visible over his scarf. “I burned it a little.”

“Burned it? How did you do that?”

“With Igni. It was an accident.” Eskel’s eyes dropped and he avoided meeting Vesemir’s gaze sheepishly. “I need to practice it more.”

“Then you know what your training will be tomorrow.”

Eskel nodded as best he could with his chin still grasped firmly in Vesemir’s strong grip. “Yes, sir.”

Vesemir released him. “Take off all that gear. You’re not going on a trek through the mountains. You’re eating supper.” He waved his hand. “And leave all that here. You won’t need it.”

“But we’ll freeze!” Lambert complained noisily and irritatingly.

“Don’t make me repeat myself, boy.” Vesemir barked, leaving no room for argument in his tone. “Or I’ll show you what it feels like to really freeze.”

The three quickly shucked their heavy outer layers then ran to return them to their places back in their rooms. They were back within a few minutes and by that time Vesemir had finished heating the broth. He directed Eskel to fetch bread and cheese from the kitchen along with Geralt to get bowls and platters.

Soon enough all four of them were seated and tucking into their meagre meal of broth, bread, and cheese. There was no talking during the meal, everyone too worn out from a long day to bother with conversation until the end.

“Tomorrow, you will all be working on your weakest skills. Eskel, you’ll work on your Signs. I know you’re powerful, but you need more practice. Lambert, you’ll work on sword combat with Geralt. The two of you could use a few hours of proper swordplay. And after that you’ll all go hunt your own food. You’ll spend the week entirely outside. You’ll sleep in your snow den and prepare the meat you’ve hunted. You’ll not set foot inside this keep for any reason until the week is done.”

Before any of them could argue, Vesemir shook his head and rose. “I’ll not have any complaining or whining. You’ll do as I say, or I’ll have you run the trail until your legs give out. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir.” They chorused with varying levels of resignation and resentment. Nevertheless, none of them complained anymore about having to sleep outside.

One by one they all collected their dishes and took them away to wash them and put them away. Once that was done, they collected their things and trooped obediently outside into the cold night air.

A light dusting of snow had started to fall while they were inside. It drifted down lazily from the dark sky above, slowly covering their hair and shoulders in its fine powder. At the rate it was falling, there would only be a thin layer of it covering the ground come morning.

“Are we really going to sleep out here tonight?” Lambert stopped abruptly and sneered down at the dark hole of their snow fort.

His sudden halt caused Geralt to run into him. “Do you want Vesemir to make us run the trail?” He snapped, giving Lambert a rough shove in the direction of the entrance. “Get your ass moving. It’s cold out here.”

Eskel sighed behind him and shook his head. “Let’s just get inside. I’m sure it’ll be warmer once we’re out of the snow.”

“We’ll be in a pile of snow, dumbass.” Lambert huffed irritatedly, but he nevertheless got down on his hands and knees and crawled into the fort.

“Did you bring a candle?” Geralt asked, twisting to peer over his shoulder at Eskel.

Eskel, being the ever prepared one that he was, nodded and smiled. “Of course I did. I’m not an animal.”

Geralt’s lips twitched then he knelt and crawled into the fort after Lambert and Eskel followed.

Once everyone was inside, they started getting their bedding set up for the night. They lay down their bedrolls and placed blankets on top of those to keep themselves as far away from the icy ground as possible.

Eskel had set up a few candles on a ledge he’d had the foresight to make earlier in the wall of the fort and lit them with a tiny burst of Igni. Thankfully he managed not to singe off the rest of his eyebrows this time.

They finished setting up their bedding for the night then they lay down and tried to get comfortable under the last few layers of blankets they’d brought out. Lambert shivered violently between the two bigger boys and Geralt sighed loudly.

Eskel sat up and took one of the blankets off of Lambert and crawled back outside. He covered most of the entrance to their fort so they would keep most of the cold out, but with a big enough gap that they would still get fresh air so they wouldn’t suffocate. He crawled back inside and lay down beside Lambert, who was still shivering.

“Would you stop? Lie still!” Geralt snapped when Lambert continued to shiver.

“I’m cold.” The littlest of them complained noisily.

Eskel held out his hands and formed the Igni sign. “Hold still for a minute. I’ll warm you up.”

“No!” Lambert squealed and grabbed Eskel’s wrist, yanking it back down.

Geralt began to laugh and Eskel quickly joined in. Lambert turned his head back and forth, scowling at both of them before he too began to giggle, unable to help it. Within seconds all three of them were laughing.

During their laughing fit, one by one, they realised they were no longer cold and subsequently kicked off the layers of blankets. Then they began to strip off their heavier outer layers, leaving them in their bottom most clothes.

“Are you still cold, Lambert?” Geralt asked with a snicker.

Lambert shook his head and settled back down against the soft bedding. “Not anymore.”

“Good.”

Eskel sat up and snapped his fingers. The three candles sitting on the ledge beside Geralt went out and he made a proud sounding huff. “I’m getting better.”

“You still suck at controlling your Signs.” Geralt spoke up in the dark.

“I do not. I just said I’m getting better.”

“Sure.”

Eskel sighed and lay back down. “Asshole.” He murmured under his breath.

Geralt snickered and rolled onto his side so his back was to the two of them. “Go to sleep, dumbass. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

Eskel rolled over as well and said nothing more. He wouldn’t give Geralt the satisfaction of a response.

~*~*~*~

Vesemir was surprised to find that none of the boys were up and doing their morning stretches when he emerged from the keep the next morning. He searched the grounds, but he couldn’t find any hint that they were hiding somewhere. Frowning, he went to check their snow fort.

He squatted down and lifted the blanket covering most of the entrance to see inside. He found two pairs of socked feet first, and when he looked for the third, about to chew them out, he found them tucked up and half buried under Eskel.

The three boys were curled up half on top of each other, making Vesemir think of a pile of sleeping puppies. Lambert was nestled snugly under Eskel and Geralt, as he was the smallest, with the two bigger ones half crushing him into the blankets under their weight. To top it all off, Lambert had his mouth wide open and Eskel was snoring into Geralt’s forearm.

Unable to control himself, Vesemir smiled. It was simply too cute of a sight for his old heart to handle and he let himself soften for a brief moment.

#Eskel #Geralt #Lambert #Vesemir #Family Feels #Family Bonding #having fun in the snow #Baby Witchers #Soft Papa Vesemir #Lambert is an Annoying Little Kid #Eskel Just Wants to Have Fun #Geralt Likes to Tease Lambert #Cute Ending

8 notes · View notes