what doesn't kill me better run ;;

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Adira wanted to rush over to Atalia and wipe her tears away, hold her close, talk some damn sense into her. Atalia Nott was, and had always been, a fierce and formidable woman. Part of the heiress’s fear of joining the Nott family had stemmed from Atalia being so openly enraged by the sight of the older blonde. That fear, the fear of her almost-sister, had grown into more of a respect for the Hell and the near-Heaven that resided within the broken girl in front of her. Perhaps they were both broken. “Hey, don’t talk about yourself like that.” Her words were sharper than she’d intended. The older blonde paused, taking a breath to calm herself. “It’s different when it’s your father. They’re supposed to love you, to protect you, and when they don’t–” Adira couldn’t quite finish her sentence, her own words dripping with the knowledge that she knew what it was like to feel helpless in that way. To be let down by someone who was supposed to help you. 

Atalia was closing the distance between them, and Adira felt a breath hitch in her throat as she did so. The moment was so raw between them, so vulnerable in a way the two hadn’t been before. It was terrifying; it was relieving. Without the older blonde’s usual heels on, she could see that her almost-sister towered above her, but she didn’t mind. There was something comforting about the fact that this tall, reckless, goddess of a woman needed help as badly as she did. “I–Atalia, I’m trapped by a lot more than a mark on my arm.” It was her own mind, this damn house, circumstance. All of those felt like prisons to the older girl.

The former Ravenclaw reached for Atalia’s hand, her own grip trembling, but strong. How long had it been since someone had touched her? Hannifan was over frequently, but they usually kept their distance until they were too drunk to care. Andrew, while the most doting friend she’d had in a long time, wasn’t the most physical person with her. She felt tears burn in her eyes again, threatening to spill over. “You should leave, you know. You’re strong, and you’re better than you know.” But was Adira? It was a question she’d tinkered with for the longest time, but hearing her almost-sister say aloud that she should leave left an ache in her heart. Maybe, if she left, some of the loathing she’d forced in on herself would dissipate. But one thought struck her, as it always did. “I–I don’t know if I can leave him behind.” Xander. One of the biggest reasons had always been Xander. Were she to leave the Death Eaters, she would most surely end up in his path, against him. He was her longest, dearest friend, and the thought of losing him broke her heart. But she was losing herself by the day.

She could hear the anger and the pain in Adira’s voice and, for the first time, she wondered if her father hadn’t been the only one with a hot-temper and a penchant for violence. Atalia tensed slightly, reverting back to the strong-willed girl she was supposed to be in front of others, someone who could shoulder anything. She swallowed the tears and the hurt and set her jaw. Maybe she would break down by herself later, or she could go home and ask Levi to just hold her for a few minutes, but right now? Right now Adira needed her and that’s all she needed to focus on.

“I may not know what’s going on,” she said softly, “but whatever it is, we can help you.” A bit shocked that Adira had actually reached for her hand, she looked down, but quickly reached for her other hand, squeezing both in encouragement. “I think we both know it’s a lot harder than just leaving...and telling someone they’re good is even harder, because they don’t always believe it.” Atalia wasn’t sure who she was talking about--if he was her brother, or Xander, or one of the many boys the two of them had been raised around. “Dira...life is not black and white. I’m not saying you should completely abandon your entire life. Merlin knows I can’t either...all I’m asking is that you let me or Chrys help you. You are more than welcome to come stay with Levi and me in our apartment, though there isn’t much room. Maybe once I can convince Chrys to move out of that war-zone of house we can be of more help.”

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Listening to Atalia was heartbreaking, but Adira understood how taboo abuse became, especially in Pureblood circles, far more than Atalia could know. She wished, if only for a moment, that she, too, had scars riddling her body. Proof that her parents had hurt her, had tormented her, had shaped her into their own image and left her to rot the second she stepped slightly out of line. But she didn’t, and the mental scars were far harder to explain. “You’re not weak, Atalia,” she said, worrying her bottom lip as she thought up something to say. What on Earth could she say that would be worth it? “You’re one of the strongest women I know, regardless what he did to you.” It’d been a while since she’d heard genuine malice in her own voice, but Theodore Nott was doing that to her. Merlin, if she ever got her hands on that man…

Adira stayed silent as Atalia processed her confession, watching her with anxious eyes. She nodded softly as Atalia questioned if she’d been holding onto the secret for that long. “Chryson and I never spoke about it once the night was over, but he saved my life that night. I would have–” She cut herself off abruptly, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She would have kept going. Would have let her blood spill out onto the floor and hoped for death. “I couldn’t even see a healer about it, so I did some quick research on healing charms. Obviously not my strong suit, but it didn’t get infected.” It was the only blessing of that night. Had it been infected, she would have maybe lost her entire forearm. “I joined the Death Eaters out of a deal with my parents, a deal to earn some freedom, and look at me. I’m trapped.”

“Atalia, you have the mark yourself.” It was a trembling acknowledgement, and the former Ravenclaw averted her gaze from the woman she’d nearly called sister. “And you’d always acted so proud of it, despite your feelings. I didn’t want to risk losing you, or worse, put you in danger with the knowledge.” The blonde looked down at the offensive mark, grimacing. “It’s treasonous. I hid it from everyone.” Including Xander Pucey, a man she’d known her entire life and had once offered to marry her to help her escape the Nott family’s clutches. How different things were now. She dared a glance back up at her. “Please don’t hate me.”

She could feel the tears stinging her eyes again, a sob getting stuck in the back of her throat. Her was a woman she’d looked up to before, telling her that she was strong, but she didn’t feel it. Atalia swallowed her pain and looked up at the older girl. “Then why do I feel so weak? I’ve learned spells and charms and potions until I was nearly top of my class...and yet? I can’t protect myself from one person?” She shook her head, more mad at herself than anything. Atalia had always put on the air of strength, wanting people to look at her as if she had no weaknesses, but then she turned around and had Chryson protecting her.

“You’re not trapped anymore, Dira.” She finally stepped close enough to touch her, but she kept her hands to herself, fiddling with her clothes to try and cover the scars. It was a ridiculous action, considering they were already covered, but now that Adira knew the truth, it was as if there was a giant arrow pointing to them. “If that’s treasonous, then everything we’re doing is. Go big or go home, right?” Even trying to make light of it, she knew it wouldn’t help much. “Dira...I could never hate you.” Tentatively, Atalia held her hand out, offering it to her. “Yeah, I was misled. And a scorned young girl wanted revenge on people who expected so little of her, but the Death Eaters? I learned how wrong I was. I can’t change anything I did, but I can I live my life differently now--and so can you. We can’t let them control our lives anymore.”

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Adira Selwyn wasn’t the type to cry often, but hearing Atalia’s story and seeing her so moved to tears brought forth the same feeling in her. The whole Nott family, all of the siblings she’d grown to love, the very man she was still in love with… they were all tormented by this man. Tears stung at her eyes as she thought about Chryson taking the fall for her almost-sister. She could see it, knew in her heart that he was that kind of man. Her heart went out to him, to her sister before her, to the two boys she hadn’t seen in so long. She wanted to move forward, to take Atalia in her arms and console her, but the timing felt wrong. So she let her say her piece, waiting and watching and crying with her. She let out a sigh of relief when Atalia admitted she and Levi were out, living in their small apartment. Chryson might still be stuck there, but at least Atalia was out. “Merlin, ‘Talia, you could have told me. You could have stayed here until you two found a place.” The words were soft, and an idea swam though her head that she would have to save for later.

“No, Atalia, you don’t.” It wasn’t as strong as Adira wanted to be, her own tears still falling down her cheek. She wiped them away. “Because you didn’t have a choice. In the scars on your body, that is.” Hearing her almost-sister admit that she, too, hated the mark on her arm made her feel safer, more secure. The moment was still tense, and Adira hated revealing it. “I did it. The scars, I did it. The night of that dinner at Nott Manor, when the engagement with Chryson was moved up.” Oh, Merlin, the thought of Chryson that night pulled more tears to her eyes. Even then, she could still feel his arms holding her back as she tried her best to keep digging deeper into her arm. “And Chryson, Merlin, he found me. Held me back and stopped me, because I would’ve gone farther with it.” She still wanted to, some nights. Adira brought her hidden forearm up to the light, looking at it. It was hideous, and it had never quite healed right. It was as monstrous as the mark on her arm beneath it. “There was so much blood, Atalia. I’ll never forgive myself for what he saw.”

“I couldn’t tell anyone,” she said quietly, shaking her head. Atalia took a moment to compose herself--straighten her collar, pull her skirt back down over her scar and wipe her tears away. She could almost pretend that the scars didn’t exist. Unfortunately, it didn’t work that ways, and she couldn’t just forget it all. “Levi knows, of course, but everyone else just thinks these scars are ones that silly little kids get from falling from trees or whatever. No one would take me seriously if they thought I was this weak.”

When Adira started talking, she felt her heart drop to her stomach again. This strong girl that she’d looked up to had a moment of weakness too. No, she thought, cursing herself. It wasn’t weakness. That’s how her father would have seen it, but no. Adira had made those scars herself, but that didn’t make her weak. “The dinner...” She took a step forward, her eyes moving down to her forearm as she tried to process it all. “You’ve been holding this all in for that long?” Finally, her voice sounded strong. It didn’t waver when she dealt with someone else’s experiences, which she was thankful for. Something told her that Adira needed the support now. “Chryson?” Atalia could almost curse the boy--he carried too many people’s secrets--here he was helping both of the blondes. “You and I both know that Chrys would’ve been beside himself if he hadn’t stopped you.” Looking back up at Adira, she shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

All Adira could do was watch in horror as Atalia removed her jacket, pointing to each offending mark with an explanation. Her father. Theodore. Chryson’s father. Was he hurting him as well? Thoughts swam through her head, as her eyes followed each mark, her face unreadable. How was she supposed to process this? “’Talia,” she murmured, her voice unrecognizable to her own ears. It was calmer now, steadier, as if Atalia bearing her troubles to her was all it took to send her courage straight back into her. If someone so bold and brave could be so vulnerable, then Adira dared to think that someone like her, a lonely liar, could be open, too.

“I didn’t know.”

Adira wondered how many times Chryson had been hurt while they were still together, if the reason he’d looked so cold to her as a child was because his father was beating his very soul out of him. But she pushed those thoughts away. She could deal with them later. Now, she was worried about Atalia, her almost-sister, someone who was nearly family to her. To see her hurt in this way brought something out of Adira herself. A rage deep set within her. “Please tell me you’re out of that house,” she begged, her voice much steadier than her own fury of emotions. How dare that man hurt the people she cared so deeply about. Had she no sense, she would have left for Nott Manor that instant and dragged Chryson out, since neither of the other boys were there. Darius. It suddenly made sense, the youngest Nott. He had just been a scared boy the whole time.

“Please tell me you left with Levi like you said you were going to in our letters. Please tell me he can’t touch you anymore.”

She wanted to break when she heard her name, and she nearly did. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she forced herself to look at Adira. If it was anyone else, she would’ve looked away, she would’ve shrugged it off and said it was fine, but that wasn’t what Adira needed to hear. As much as Atalia hated it, she needed to hear the truth. “Of course you didn’t know, we don’t tell anyone! But all those times we got called home because we did something unworthy of a pureblood? All those times we didn’t do what we were supposed to?” Her voice wavered for the second time that night and, this time, she didn’t try to compose herself. “All those times I stupidly tried to stand up to him and Chryson took the blame—“

That’s what broke her. More tears spilled over and she didn’t try to hold them back. The physical scars seemed to ache as she cried, but the mental ones were worse, and the scars Chryson took for her were immeasurable. Atalia turned away from her and tried to force the memories back down, but she was blanketed in a mix of rage and fear. “I took the mark because I wanted to prove him wrong,” she said once she found her voice again. How fucked up was that? She’s been hurt and all she had wanted was to make her dad proud. “But I quickly learned that wasn’t going to happen...Do you know how many times I’ve wished I could go back and change it? The first night my father—after the mark—“ She took an uneasy breath, unable to fully form the rest of that sentence. “I scrubbed my arm raw trying to get rid of it.” Her tears finally stopped coming so quickly and she focused on Adira’s question, on Levi. Her hand pressed against her chest, feeling the ring on her necklace press into her skin. “Why do you think we got such a small apartment? We needed to get away, but we couldn’t use our parent’s money. I’ve stopped going to the meetings...the next time my father sees me—“ Atalia quickly shook her head, not wanting to even think about what her father would do. “So, whatever happened,” she motioned to Adira’s arm, “I know that pain.”

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Atalia’s soft, wavering voice was a shock to Adira, a side to her almost-sister than she hadn’t seen before. The former Slytherin seemed so worried, so careful, and it only served to make the sole heiress feel inadequate. What on Earth could she give Atalia in return for this kindness she was showing? Not the truth, certainly not that, because what if she lost Atalia in the end? What if she was still as loyal to the Death Eaters as she liked to present, and she hated Adira for this? The young heiress looked down at her hands, unable to look her almost-sister in the eye. 

“I don’t want to lose you, Atalia.” It was the easiest thing she could admit at the moment. That this secret was bad, horrific. That she placed her relationship with Atalia in such high regard that it wasn’t something she wanted to lose. It was a plea, a desperate, last-ditch effort to get the girl who thought of her as family to keep quiet. Not to push this. Adira quieted her trembling hand, the tremor reaching her voice instead. “Please.” She’d lied to friends before, lied for years. Why was it so hard to maintain some sense of composure in this moment? Was it just that she knew she’d been caught, or was it that she just didn’t have it in her to lie anymore?

She hated sounding weak. Of course, she knew that she wasn’t being weak, but it was difficult to separate from what she was taught and what she knew. Atalia stared at the older girl for just a moment, shocked at the vulnerable look. She tensed for a moment before shaking her head. “You’re not gonna lose me, Dira...” Quickly realizing that just talking wasn’t going to solve anything, her heart dropped to her stomach. If talking made her feel weak, then how was she supposed to feel baring everything.

“No,” she said, shaking her head as she took her jacket off. “If you think some scars are gonna push me away, you’re wrong.” Pulling the collar of her shirt to the side, she showed off the scar running perpendicular to her clavicle. “Here I got hit for talking back to my father.” Atalia let go of her shirt before pulling the hem of her skirt up just a few inches, where a shattered scar was raised on her thigh. “Here dear old dad threw a broken drinking glass at me for some rumor he heard about me at a party.” Tears were stinging her eyes as she remembered it all, but it was easier to share this all willingly than to have someone stumble upon it like she had. “Somewhere on the back of my head is a scar from being pushed into a dresser...Scars and pain are nothing new to me, so don’t even try to tell me that you think you would lose me!”

[nxttatty]

chrysons‌:.

Chryson’s jaw dropped; he tried to pick it up quickly, but there was no use. Atalia had surely already seen his shock. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for them—he couldn’t have asked for someone better than Levi for his sister—his mind had just completely emptied and any capability of forming a sentence seemed to have left along with all his thoughts. It was such a reversal, Atalia getting married. It should have been him and Adira, and yet… It was funny and cruel how fate worked. He’d meant to say congratulations, say anything rather that just mutely stare. Gathering all his scattered brain cells, he opened his mouth to congratulate her. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

Her mouth dropped open a bit as she stared at him. “Are you fucking kidding me, Chrys?” Atalia’s tone wasn’t angry, more shocked than anything, but she just shook her head and fastened the now empty necklace chain around her neck. “No, I’m not pregnant, you little shit--Levi proposed a while back.” Nervously, she spun her ring around her finger and looked over at him. “Now is that all you’re going to say or can I tell you about how we’re planning on eloping soon?”

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Adira stepped back away from Atalia, her mind swimming with the different options. She could hex the girl before her, force her out, but she’d lose one of the dearest people in her life in the process. She could open up, confess what she’d done to her own body and hope for the best, but she’d break her own heart if Atalia took it poorly. She could run, hide somewhere in her large house until Atalia left, but that could take a while and would just anger her friend. Her friend. She was in danger of using her friend.

“I–” Adira tried, scoured her mind for the easiest lie, but it didn’t come. She couldn’t focus, the arm that held her scar hidden behind her. Her hands were trembling. “You weren’t supposed to see that.” She heard her own voice, defeated and quivering, and wondered just how she must look to the bold woman before her. A mouse in the presence of a rare and beautiful snake. If the other woman found out Adira’s true alliances, she could be as sure as dead. She could be safe. She just didn’t know. “Please, just go.”

She quickly became ashamed of her own mark and pulled her sleeve down, covering the ink. Atalia felt her face warming withe embarrassment, though she wondered why this was effecting her so much. Hesitantly, she stepped forward, clutching her own forearm to her chest. “Maybe I wasn’t suppose to see it, but I did.” The softness of her voice surprised her. “Talk to me, Adira. What happened?”

Atalia wasn’t sure what to say, though her mind whirled with the possibilities of what could’ve caused this. Her first thought were her parents, though she quickly waved that thought away. She had her fair share of bruises and scars, but something told her this was different. “I understand wanting to keep pain to yourself and wanting to hide these kinds of things, but you need to talk to someone--keeping everything bottled is only going to make things worse.” She could hear her voice wavering, so she took a deep breath. “So talk to me...”

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Though Atalia made a compelling case for the joy of a found family, it wasn’t enough for Adira. She had a found family–Falon, Dominique, and Andrew. Ophelia, too, when she had been alive. But a found family couldn’t always be there. A found family had obligations of their own to attend to. The young heiress wanted something more, something she nearly got with the Notts. Something she was sure wouldn’t crumble around her the second she got too comfortable. “You don’t get it, Atalia.” 

“Leave Andrew out of this.” For the first time in a long time for the young Selwyn, this wasn’t a request. Andrew Davies was a dear friend, one who was kind enough to help her out when he was over. He lived with her for half the time. And imagining him as one of those people… it made her sick. He was so much better than the scum that stole her own sanity from her. “He’s none of your concern.” There was a distinct tone in her voice. Drop it. “And I wasn’t friends with everyone at Hogwarts. I lied to everyone at Hogwarts. Everyone I met. And I just have to hope it was a convincing lie.” Something about Atalia’s nerves rubbed her the wrong way. Like she was making something out of nothing, when Adira clearly had a reason. “I’m not some neurotic child, Atalia. We’re all in danger. It’s naive to think otherwise.” 

Adira yanked her arm away from Atalia in horror, stumbling out of her chair to stand away from the other girl. She had seen. Oh, Merlin, she had seen. It was like a scene from one of the young Ravenclaw’s nightmares, having someone new see that mark. Her heart began racing, her hands quickly bringing her shirt right back down to cover the mark. She should have been using a charm to cover it. Incensed by their current conversation and the dramatic change of events, she glared down at the other girl. “Get out of my house,” she demanded, eager to have some time alone to process. Eager to not have this conversation with Atalia, a known Death Eater. No matter how loyal Death Eaters were to their friends and family, Adira had seen how the cause could turn people against each other. But, like a cornered animal, she was too scared and frightened to do anything but lash out. “Get out!” 

Atalia didn’t understand the severity with which Adira defended Andrew, but she wasn’t one to judge. She’d done more than her fair share of defending people that others may not believed deserved it. Something in Adira’s tone caused her to realize that arguing about Davies wouldn’t get them anywhere, so she dropped the topic. “Lie or not, people believed it and I doubt they would betray you like that.” Atalia’s voice was soft, though she didn’t add anything else.

When Adira reared back, she felt her eyebrows pinch together, still processing the sight she had seen. She was staring at the sleeve, now covering the other girl’s skin when she heard her demand. “Adira...” Flinching as she yelled, she took a step back, but didn’t move toward the door. “No--” Her voice was soft as she said it, her head shaking as she built the confidence back up. “No! I don’t know what you expect my reaction to be, but I’m not going leave. What happened, Adira? How did you get hurt?”

[nxttatty]

bloodtraitoryaxley‌:.

“You should know me well enough by now to know that I never suggest something if I don’t want to.” Levi’s hands settled on Atalia’s waist as he backed up until his back hit a wall, pulling her with him.

“I suppose I’m being pessimistic,” she said with a small smile, leaning against him. “Sometimes you are too good to be true, Levi. And surely you know I have to invite Chrys and Adira. If we do anything right, it has to be that.”

[nxttatty]

chrysons‌:.

Raising an eyebrow, Chryson calmly let Atalia boss him around, curious what had her in such a commanding mood. It was nice to see her like this, to be able to pretend for a while that everything was normal. “Demanding.” He joked as he set his coffee down on the table and slipped his own jacket off, draping it over the back of his chair. Settling down, he leaned back in the chair and took a long sip of bitter coffee. “I’m all yours.”

She smirked as he sat down, drawing her own cup toward her. Atalia was in good spirits, however nervous she was about telling her brother the news. Finally, she sat back and took her necklace off, sliding the ring off the chain and placing it on her finger. “Levi and I are engaged,” she said with a small smile. “Actually, we have been for a while, but we’ve kind of been keeping it under wraps.”

[thexfiles]

“holding grudges isn’t good for you” yeah well neither is people hurting me and getting away w/ it so here we are

[nxttatty]

missselwyn‌:.

Adira could hardly take in what Atalia was saying, her own mind too preoccupied with fear and loathing to completely grasp all of what was going on. The conversation had gotten serious very, very quickly. And far more personal than the former Ravenclaw was comfortable with at the moment. Perhaps being as blunt as Atalia was better served for those much more emotional there than her. Stronger people who could handle streamlining their way through petty small talk before getting to the real meat of the issue. But it wasn’t as if Adira could stave the conversation off much longer, blunt or not. She knew she looked unwell and knew she wasn’t acting herself. Normally, she was good at keeping up facades and making things seem like they were much better than they are. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe it was just the overwhelming fear of everything, but she was far too tired to pretend like she was fine. Beyond that, Atalia wasn’t one to put off a hard conversation like that. The former Slytherin was better than her at that.

The young heiress looked up at Atalia, someone who’d once nearly been her real sister. As much as they could argue about semantics and feelings, the facts were that the Notts were no longer about to be her real family. Had her parents not died or her and Chryson’s relationship found out, the pair of them would have been married by this point. Forcibly, sure, but at least they weren’t alone in their gilded cages when they were together. Atalia, Darius, and Charlus would’ve been her legal siblings-in-law, and Adira would’ve been lying if she said she wasn’t heartbroken about that. “We both know family isn’t that simple.” Everything was spoiled. The former Ravenclaw had flown right from one cage with Chryson and into another one she’d locked herself in. And she couldn’t get out.

“I hardly knew my parents, Atalia. I could be just like them,” she murmured, before giving a dark chuckle and looking away. The other girl’s bright blue eyes had burned a little too much into her own. “Besides, they were murdered for being suspected Death Eaters. Most people know how pureblood loyalty works; it’s taught through the family. They’d be well within their right to assume I was a Death Eater as well.” Adira hated that the Blood Thieves would’ve been right in their assumptions, too. Her arm still held the mark, though it was in tatters. Is that how she would be remembered if they murdered her? A coward hiding among men?

“Fuck what other people’s definitions of family are.” With her eyebrows pinched together , she shook her head. Atalia had never liked what was tied to the word family--how there were these people who may or may not care about you, and you were supposed to love them unconditionally? She never bought into it. But the idea of a family you create, that was something she preferred. “My parents? They aren’t my family--there just people the fucking brought me into the world--You, Chrys, Levi, you are my family, okay? So don’t tell me that family isn’t that simple, Dira, because it is. I know you’re my family, so fuck what anyone else says!”

Her heart broke slightly at Adira comparing herself to her parents and, for a moment, all she could do was shake her head. “No,” was all she could say at first. How could someone as sweet as Adira think she could be so horrible and evil? If she thought she had no hope, then what did she think of Atalia’s odds? “Adira,” she started softly. “You know those people, hell I’d bet Davies is one of them. Do they seem like the kind of people to hurt someone if they truly don’t know where their loyalties lie? Harp on yourself all you want, but you know deep down that you aren’t in danger--you were friends with everyone at Hogwarts, so who exactly would suspect you were a Death Eater?”

She could feel a bit of anger bubbling up at the thought of Adira thinking so lowly of themselves. How long had she been feeling like this without her knowing? Did Chryson know? Atalia clutched her own wrist again, showing her mark more forcibly. “The people who have these marks--our parents, didn’t exactly hide where their loyalties are, and if you truly believed in the Death Eaters, then, yeah, maybe they’d have a basis to be suspicious of you, but you don’t so this--” She reached forward, grabbing Adira’s arm and pushing up the sleeve, but she didn’t find the pristine mark she was expecting. It didn’t mirror her own. “Adira...what--what happened?”

[nxttatty]

bloodtraitoryaxley‌:.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Atalia. What reason do we have to wait? I say we gather Chryson and go to the Ministry and do it. We’ll be free and we’ll be together.”

Originally posted by kolanddavinaotp

“Really, you want to?” Her eyes traveled his face, trying to see if he was serious. Biting her lip, she curled her fingers into his belt loops and pulled him into the closest alley, completely out of view from others. “Yeah...Yes, let’s do it!” Pushing up on her tip toes, Atalia framed his face with her hands and kissed him deeply.

[nxttatty]

bloodtraitoryaxley‌:.

Levi chuckled against her lips. “I’m not that stupid. Besides, I haven’t seen, spoken to, or written to my father since the day I moved out of that hell-forsaken house.”He smirked, pulling back slightly to look at Atalia. “Of course, there’s no risk of me doing anything stupid if we don’t delay things.”

“Good. I couldn’t marry you if you did something that stupid.” Letting her right hand rest on his cheek, she shook her head. “What are you saying, Levi? That we throw caution to the wind and just do it?”

[nxttatty]

bloodtraitoryaxley‌:.

Levi smiled and slid the ring off of her hand, pressing another kiss to it before placing it down by Atalia’s side. With his now free hand, he lifted her left hand and slide the black ring onto her ring finger. “It looks much better this way, don’t you think?”

She was smiling impossibly wide as he slipped the ring on her finger. “I have to say, it feels much better.” Atalia took a moment to study her hand before pressing a kiss to his lips. “Every time I think it’s impossible, I love you more. Just promise me you won’t try to do anything stupid, like tell your father about our engagement, until we’re officially married and they can no longer do anything about it?”

[nxttatty]

bloodtraitoryaxley‌:.

“That we will.” Levi squeezed her hands, bringing her right hand up so that he could press his lips against the ring. “Why wait? The specters of our families are always going to be lingering over our heads. Why should we let that stop us from living?”

Her eyes followed his lips as he leaned down to kiss the ring, though it took her a few moments to process what he was saying. “You’re not wrong. It’s not like we’d could honestly do anything worse in our parents’ eyes.” Staring at the red stone, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Would you like the honor of putting this beautiful ring on the correct finger?”

[nxttatty]

bloodtraitoryaxley‌:.

“Start a family with you.” The words left his mouth before Levi even realized they were in his mind. But the more he though about it, the truer the words rang. “I’d be able to stop looking over my shoulder, relax. What about you? What’s the first thing you would do?”

Atalia couldn’t help the wide smile that pulled at her lips. “I’m not saying it’ll happen soon, but we can always have fun trying.” Once she stopped walking, she took his other hand in her, smirking. “There’s plenty of things I’d do...wear my ring on the right hand, marry you, start celebrating.”