TW: Assault, S@, racism, homophobia

The days passed in a slow crawl. The royals lounged about the house, growing more and more antsy. Roche heard them floating the idea of sneaking out, but Roche always shut them down, the crushing vise of fear choking her instantly.

"It would just be for a second," Tigris whined, hanging upside down over the edge of the cot. Her emerald eyes were wide and pleading, "We're going crazy in here, Roche. Your mom won't notice-"

"My mother is currently bartering for supplies. To save us. And you want to disobey her kindness for a little fresh air." Roche pointed out simply. At night, she'd been testing another healing incantation from Verita's book that she remembered. It seemed to speed up the healing process, so she'd been permitted to walk around a bit more. Currently, she was sweeping the floor, trying to keep her broom from snagging on a rather lifted floorboard.

Tigris sighed, "Yes, but-"

"Princess, please." Roche cut in sternly, "We shouldn't even be here. We can't risk being seen." Her cheek prickled as if in memory of her mother's slap.

Tigris' eyes shuttered, like the words triggered a thought of some kind. "So... is this how you lived before coming to the city?"

"Yeah," Roche grumbled, "Isn't it just the best?"

Roche focused her attention on the withered broom between her palms. Her eyes darted to Aodh and Finn, who were playing with her mother's cooking knives. She gritted her teeth. Okay, yeah. Maybe they'd been holed up in here for a little too long.

"Okay, fine. Let's head out to the creek to get some water for ten minutes." Roche sighed. Tigris leapt to her feet with a very unregal whoop. Aodh and Finn cheered as they jumped up too.

A headache pulsed behind Roche's eyes.

There was no way they weren't going to be caught, but she couldn't deny them much longer. Plus, Roche would be lying if she said she wasn't going stir crazy.

Roche grabbed her makeshift crutch, shoving it under her healing arm. She peered out the window. It didn't seem like anyone was out on the dirt road right now. She quickly shoved open the wooden door.

"Quick, run straight for those trees." she hissed to the royals. The nobles seemed too elated to care about the fact that she was giving orders. They raced out of the house and straight for the forest. Roche quickly hobbled after them.

After a moment, the sounds of the farming village began to fade and a tension that Roche hadn't known had tightened her shoulders was loosening. She flexed the fingers of her good hand, sighing as the crisp forest air stung her nostrils. They walked for a few moments until they reached the creek, at which point Roche sagged against a tree.

"We should be safe here. Not many people come by the creek midday." she explained. Aodh and Finn seemed intent on continuing their earlier games, except this time they'd replaced the kitchen knives with sticks, and the target was some rock in the river.

Roche watched them for a moment before wandering towards a familiar tree. She gazed fondly at the worn branches she couldn't climb with her healing limbs. Thankfully, the most important part of the tree was safe. Roche managed to awkwardly lower herself to the mulchy ground and brush away a thick layer of dirt.

"What's that?"

Roche yelped, handfuls of dirt thrown in the air. It rained back down on her as Tigris watched her with a bemused smile. Roche's cheeks heated.

"This is where I used to sneak out and read." she explained sheepishly, brushing away dirt to reveal a stack of books tucked in a dry knoll of wood. The sounds of the rushing river soothed her anxiety. "This is where I spent the times when I wasn't holed up in the house."

Tigris hummed thoughtfully, drawing near. Roche's breath lodged in her throat as the princess bent over her well loved stack of books. What if these books were considered treasonous? Sweat began to bead up on her forehead. Was a villager having books uncommon?

Gods, she should have never brought the royals here! She'd endangered her mother, and now they'd all burn-

"Really? You read books about unicorns?" Tigris snorted, holding up a picture books.

The question was so unexpected that Roche laughed. "I haven't read that one in years! I think I last read it when I was six."

"Really?" Tigris teased, "I didn't think you were smart enough to graduate from picture books."

Roche bit back a smile. "I'll have you know, I was reading high fantasy when I was twelve."

"Of course," Tigris rolled her eyes good naturedly, "You and Finn would have gotten along great. At that age, though, he was less into fantasy and more... sciencey. What a nerd."

Tigris lowered herself to the ground beside Roche. A pleasant warmth radiated off the princess' skin, warming Roche. They watched Finn and Aodh peel off their shirts to take turns doing cannonballs into the river.

"So... this is all you did here? Just read and stay in that tiny house?" Tigris asked, almost hesitant. Roche struggled to keep the emotion off her face.

"Not much else to do." she shrugged casually, "I farmed. Cooked. Helped my mother make salves to sell in the market."

"Did you ever go with her?"

Roche shook her head. "You know why."

Tigris bit her lip delicately. "The other villagers didn't like you very much."

"Correct," Roche kept her voice factual, it helped ease the sting of the words, "They never have."

"Never?" Tigris repeated, "Kai said you came here when you were a little girl."

"A little Irulian girl." Roche amended bitterly before she realised who she was talking to. She softened her voice. "I've never belonged here, princess. The villagers knew that."

Tigris pressed her lips together. "And yet your mother still stayed here?"

It was a question Roche had pondered many times and had raged over. She couldn't stop the weariness from seeping into her gaze when she locked eyes with the princess. "She was a single, unwed Irulian woman with a child who staunchly refused to fit in. There wasn't anywhere that would be more accepting. It didn't help that I was rather mouthy as a child." Roche chuckled softly, "Oh, I was a menace. I couldn't stop regurgitating the stories I'd read to everyone I'd met. But a well read Irulian is a dangerous Irulian in these parts."

She fell silent before any more ire could leak into her voice.

Tigris bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. When she spoke, the words were uncharacteristically soft. "Your mother's a brave woman."

Roche paused. Her mother had been called a lot of things. Kind. Quiet. Benevolent. But never brave.

"Especially if she put up with you all that time." Tigris continued wryly, but her eyes looked wistful. Roche bit her lip. It wasn't a secret that the princess' mother had died birthing Finn. Roche wasn't exactly sure what to say. Thankfully, there was a deafening splash from the river followed by a shriek from Finn.

"You just splashed my shirt!"

"Sorry," Aodh shouted once he broke through the water's surface. Roche winced. Could they be any louder? "Roche, can you go and dry it?"

Roche groaned, heaving herself to her feet. Tigris chuckled, leaning back to watch her brothers. Roche grabbed Finn's drenched doublet, trudging up through the forest. There was a patch of large, flat rocks that were great for drying if there weren't any snakes sunning themselves.

Roche laid out the prince's white shirt, stretching the fabric so it wouldn't wrinkle.

"I didn't believe the rumours that you'd come back. Thought you were smarter than that." a voice rang out.

Roche's blood froze in her veins. She swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in her throat before she turned to greet the slender, hawklike brunette.

"Hello, Mal."

"Don't call me that." the girl snapped, her crystalline brown eyes glaring at her. Roche winced. Once, she'd thought those eyes were the most beautiful on the planet, liquid pools as dark as the earth, bottomless and infinite.

Now, Roche couldn't feel anything but dread when she looked into them, as sharp as the hunting knives slung around her thin waist.

"Right," Roche's tongue felt heavy in her mouth, "Mallory."

Mallory sneered, lifting a perfect brow. Her knives gleamed. She sidled closer. Roche held herself perfectly still as Mallory circled her, as muscled as a tomcat.

"I thought you learned your lesson the last time you were here."

Roche swallowed, fixing her gaze amongst the trees. "I'm not here for you."

"You never were." Mallory replied breezily. The words were like a dagger to Roche's chest.

"That's not true," she muttered, "You know I would have done anything for you."

Mallory clicked her tongue, stoking the embers of a long forgotten pain. "Months. It's been months and you still cling to the same old excuses."

Roche swallowed down her rising pain. She turned back to Finn's shirt, peeling it off the rock. She should have known better than to leave the house. Roche squared her shoulder, looping the damp fabric between her arms. She began to walk back towards the royals.

"Where are you going?" Mallory called. Roche kept moving, anything to get away from her. "We were just getting started."

Roche gritted her teeth hard enough that she heard one of them crack. Her inkblood thrummed in her veins. Still, she didn't rise to the bait. Footsteps trailed her.

"I didn't say you could go," Mallory's raspy voice trickled through her ears.

Roche couldn't bite her tongue fast enough. "I have some nobles to serve."

"Sure you do." Mallory replied airily, like she didn't believe Roche. Mallory easily kept pace with her. Roche wished she could hobble faster. Mallory's fingers reached out, and Roche froze before she could stop herself. Mallory's fingers trailed her cheek before coming to a stop at Roche's short hair. She toyed with the bottoms of the strands, tangling her fingers in the strands, as sticky as honey. Her breath brushed Roche's cheek almost tenderly, making her shudder.

Roche closed her eyes against the sensation. She couldn't pull away. "Don't touch me."

"Why?" Mallory's smile was all teeth, "You begged me to last time. You were as much of a whore as your mother."

Rage mixed with her agony. Roche swung her crutch like a bat. Mallory cried out, barely dodging a blow to the shins. Roche stumbled, her bad leg twinging beneath her. She braced herself against a tree.

"You know I gave up everything for you to keep that lie going." Roche hissed, trying to gather her bearings as Mallory gazed up at her from the ground with those damned wide eyes. "I left this place to save your ass."

"You did nothing for me, you Irulian swine." Mallory spat, her eyes as dark as the coldest night, "You've gone mad."

"Mad?" Roche repeated, numbness falling over her, "You let your father ruin my name to hide the fact that you kissed an Irulian girl, and I'm the mad one?"

Mallory's hair streamed behind her broad shoulders. A tempest raged behind her eyes. "Liar. I would never sully myself that way."

Roche laughed darkly, carefully wrapping Finn's shirt in her hands. "I never thought of you that way. I never asked you to do that. But you did. All you did was take."

Mallory straightened to her full height. Roche's inkblood stirred as her panic rose.

"Just as I expected. Your months in the city did nothing to dampen your dishonest tongue." Mallory hissed. Roche stepped back, flinching as Mallory advanced. She cursed her injured limbs.

"Mal-"

"And your hair's grown back out too!" Mallory grinned cruelly. Terror rolled through Roche in a wave. Mallory's hand seized Roche's injured shoulder roughly. "Looks like you need another reminder to hold your tongue."

Roche struggled, pain lancing through. Mallory wrenched away her crutch, throwing it against the rocks. It splintered easily.

Numb horror exploded in Roche's chest. Her inkblood roared but Roche's mind was racing too quickly to think of a word to use as Mallory's fingers threaded close to her scalp, grabbing fistfuls of Roche's inky hair. She yanked, and a pained yelp escaped her lips.

"Mal, please!" she begged breathlessly. Memories flashed by her eyes vividly. The village watched as she bent her head, shearing it like one would a lamb. She howled and thrashed as long, thick clumps of hair fell to the ground. "Please..."

"Always the same with you, Roche." Mallory shoved her down, pinning her with her body. Roche's chin scraped against the ground. Stars exploded in her vision. "Let this remind you that if you even breathe another word of your lies to anyone, I'll cut more than your hair."

Roche shouted, inkblood surging as Mallory drew one of her hunting knives. She struggled futilely, tried to scream, but pale fingers clamped around her lips.

"If anyone hears, your lovely little mother will be next." Mallory hissed. Roche's inkblood froze in her veins. Roche went perfectly still.

Her knees dug into Roche's back. She combed Roche's hair over her eyes almost tenderly. "Good. Now hold still."

There was a whistle of air, and Roche braced for the gentle whisper of falling hair. But it never came.

Mallory cried out, a high airy sound. She stumbled back, grabbing her head. An angry red bruise bloomed beneath her pale fingers.

"Get away from her!" a regal voice ordered. Roche peeled her head up from the ground, scrambling back.

Tigris stood between two of the trees, a rock gripped tightly in her hands like a sword. Her eyes were slitted, more furious than an adder. Mallory aimed her hunting knife.

"So is this who you're fucking nowadays?" Mallory asked, her voice cutting through the air as cleanly as any blade. Shame rolled over Roche like a wave as Tigris' eyes widened.

"No," another voice cut through the tension. Aodh stalked up behind the princess, followed by a shirtless Finn. His eyes were dark with malice, leaving no room for doubt. He shook his sopping wet hair out of his eyes, casting a spray of droplets. "She's the heir to the throne. Roche is her maid."

"Mallory, meet Princess Tigris." Roche murmured, easing herself to her feet. Tigris hoisted her rock higher.

"Mallory," she purred, her eyes sparkling with promises that made Roche shiver, "Step away from my maid now unless you wish to find yourself in an... unfortunate position."

Mallory gaped, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. She curtsied instantly. "My lady-"

"Get. Out. Of. Here." Tigris growled, throwing her rock to punctuate the words. It landed at Mallory's feet hard enough to send grass flying. Mallory scrambled away, her eyes brimming with a mix of terror and fury. She glanced once at Roche, a singular promise.

Then she fled.

Roche stared at the place the girl had been as her footsteps echoed in the forest. She let out a breath, a flood of emotions tightening her chest. She turned to the royals, her hand darting to her hair.

"Did she cut it?"

Tigris blinked like she was coming out of a dream. "No."

Roche sighed in relief. "Thank the gods." She reached for her crutch before remembering what had happened to it. She looked to the rocks where it now was a splintery mess. She used her good arm to haul herself up.

"It wasn't true, what she said!" Roche blurted out when the silence became stifling, dragging three pairs of eyes towards her, "I didn't do that! I've never bedded her."

"Well that much is obvious," Tigris snorted, and Roche's chest loosened. She sagged back against the tree, cloth balled up in her hands. She straightened, holding it out.

"Oh!" she held out the shirt to Finn, "Sorry, my lord. This is somewhat dry."

Finn wordlessly took it, slipping it over his chest. Roche tested her leg, relieved when she could hobble forward with only a small amount of pain.

"We need to get out of this village." she muttered. Tigris raised a brow.

"Because of her?"

"Her father's the chief of the village," Roche explained, stumbling back towards the river. "When I left, he made me promise to never return. If he gets word that I'm here and that I've turned you three against his daughter, there'll be hell to pay for my mother."

"So what?" Tigris growled, "We're the fucking heirs to the throne. If he thinks he can chase us out of here, he's got another thing coming."

Roche's mind whirred. "We need supplies. He'll seize them-"

"Roche," Tigris waited for her to meet her eyes. Her arms were suddenly looping around Roche's shoulders, holding her shaking body up. "We'll be fine. Let's just get back to your mother's house and we can figure everything out."

Roche nodded, the adrenaline draining from her body in a rush. Suddenly, the world was trembling, and her injured leg was too weak to hold her. Tigris shifted her grip as Roche turned into a dead weight, choking back a sob.

Roche's lips wobbled as she stared at the ground. She waited for some tease to come, but Tigris merely drew Roche closer into half an embrace.

"Come on," Tigris repeated, her eyes sparkling with concern, "Let's go home."

Roche wanted nothing more.

A/N: This chapter was definitely a heavy one. We also got a bit of a soft Tigris moment at the end which was nice tho.

So... what do you think about Roche's past? It's a lot, that's for sure. Are there any gaps you want answered in Roche's story so far? As always, lmk in the comments! Happy reading :D