Delphine
Delphine nodded, sighing quietly. "Alder was... ten years older, so when our parents died he was eighteen. But... my mother and father spoiled me, and he felt left out. When it was just me and him..." She chewed her lip, shifting in his grasp. "...If I wasn't perfect, he'd hit me or squeeze my arm too tightly. And if I didn't have dinner ready for him, he might lock me in my room, or not let me eat." It hurt to recall such things, because while they were true, Delphine had thought that was how families were.
After all, she was a burden to her brother. "He taught me that... it was okay, because I was a burden that he had not wanted. So I didn't know any better." She sniffled softly, she'd not thought about Alder in years.
"He never let me date, either... my attention had to be on him at all times." She shrugged, fingers pulling at his shirt.
"And... my husband, we met when I was eighteen, I think. Maybe nineteen. He was... really a powerful man, in magic and position, so my brother couldn't stop him from courting me. When we met, he was married, and..." Bellamy was hard to talk about, because her feelings were mixed.
"...his wife helped him pick out his second wife. Someone who wouldn't get between them, someone he'd not love like he loved her, but someone who could be taught to keep house, make meals, care for their children..." She smiled sadly, and whispered, "Some part of me loved him, though. He... he had my brother killed, so that nobody would ever hit me again. He provided my favorite drugs, as long as I was a good pet... but he limited my friendships, and the use of my powers, and... he never loved me, not like he loved his first wife." Her fingers pulled more at his shirt, little plucks at the fabric.
"Zariah warned me, because she had been engaged to Bellamy first, before he met Iris." Not exactly the true story, but it was easier than explaining the large group of women who had presented themselves to Bellamy Rowan. "He met Iris and... he liked her. He wanted to marry them both, but Zariah refused to be second-best. And she was right too. She was against me marrying him, and she tried to tell me... he just wanted a trophy, to be the first person with a second wife, to prove polygamy worked."
So the Rowans had picked someone who could be easily manipulated into what they needed. "And it helped that... back home, I was a healer, I could bring the dead back if I was able to get to them quickly enough. Drag their souls into their bodies, at the cost of my own... I could heal anything, but it always cost me bits of myself. I loved doing it, though. Loved helping others... He didn't like that, though... I was to heal him, or Iris, or any children they had..."
Falling quiet for a moment, she whispered under her breath, "I hated the children for being his... Constantly reminding me that I was there to protect the shadow man and his dark queen, and nothing more."
After all, she was a burden to her brother. "He taught me that... it was okay, because I was a burden that he had not wanted. So I didn't know any better." She sniffled softly, she'd not thought about Alder in years.
"He never let me date, either... my attention had to be on him at all times." She shrugged, fingers pulling at his shirt.
"And... my husband, we met when I was eighteen, I think. Maybe nineteen. He was... really a powerful man, in magic and position, so my brother couldn't stop him from courting me. When we met, he was married, and..." Bellamy was hard to talk about, because her feelings were mixed.
"...his wife helped him pick out his second wife. Someone who wouldn't get between them, someone he'd not love like he loved her, but someone who could be taught to keep house, make meals, care for their children..." She smiled sadly, and whispered, "Some part of me loved him, though. He... he had my brother killed, so that nobody would ever hit me again. He provided my favorite drugs, as long as I was a good pet... but he limited my friendships, and the use of my powers, and... he never loved me, not like he loved his first wife." Her fingers pulled more at his shirt, little plucks at the fabric.
"Zariah warned me, because she had been engaged to Bellamy first, before he met Iris." Not exactly the true story, but it was easier than explaining the large group of women who had presented themselves to Bellamy Rowan. "He met Iris and... he liked her. He wanted to marry them both, but Zariah refused to be second-best. And she was right too. She was against me marrying him, and she tried to tell me... he just wanted a trophy, to be the first person with a second wife, to prove polygamy worked."
So the Rowans had picked someone who could be easily manipulated into what they needed. "And it helped that... back home, I was a healer, I could bring the dead back if I was able to get to them quickly enough. Drag their souls into their bodies, at the cost of my own... I could heal anything, but it always cost me bits of myself. I loved doing it, though. Loved helping others... He didn't like that, though... I was to heal him, or Iris, or any children they had..."
Falling quiet for a moment, she whispered under her breath, "I hated the children for being his... Constantly reminding me that I was there to protect the shadow man and his dark queen, and nothing more."
How can I begin again?
How can I try to love someone new,
someone who isn’t you?
How can I try to love someone new,
someone who isn’t you?
