[P] castles glitter

[Elena]

It's always a matter, isn't it, of waiting for the world to come unraveled? When things hold together, it's always only temporary

A

s the edge of the forest looms before her, as she can see her home—her first home—through the trees, she feels her throat tighten. Her vision swims a little bit and she struggles to breathe.

She imagines being a little girl and running up those hills next to her father.

She imagines her mother dancing in the waters of the lake. Droplet catching in the sun like stained glass.

She imagines her grandmother tucking her in with a story.

She blinks and it is gone. Elena shakes her head, today was a day for memories. They keep coming to her, it is the guilt, she knows it is the guilt. 

Her secrets are a constant, boiling thing beneath the surface of her.

She fears them. Knows that one day they will be the ruin of her, but she cannot bring herself to face them—not yet. She cannot shove them into the light of day because then it may boil beneath the sun and she is not sure that they will ever recover. That she will ever recover, if she is being honest. Because how will he ever look at her the same when he knows what she has kept hidden beneath her tongue, behind her teeth?

She remembers. 
She remembers the way her mouth had lilted into a smile
She remembers how she had said “I’ll tell you.”

“But only after you dance with me.”

“We’re only strangers.”

She is standing in Dusk Court, before Marisol’s estate. She is expecting Aeneas, Marisol’s son. The Champion of Community waves off one of the servants, they would have no need for that today. When the boy comes to her, Elena cannot help the smile that springs to her face. “Aeneas, it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” she says looking at him. He reminds her, in an instant, of her nephew, Kildare, and she is suddenly full of warmth and cherry blossoms. “I am your Champion of Community, Elena,” she introduces herself, wondering how much he already knows. “Are you ready to collect some flowers to be taken to the Hospital?” She asks him before moving off. She watches him with blue eyes, curious to how he will respond. Will he think this charity work a waste of time? Will he be excited? What type of boy is Aeneas, and are there any hints of what type of man he will grow into? She leans her golden head closer to him as they approach the garden. “My daughter has not stopped talking about you, Aeneas, you know her, don’t you? Elli?”

@Aeneas
Code by rallidae
picture by cannon