A Secret Between Sisters

TW: Domestic Violence

THE NEXT DAY was just as busy, yet unproductive in the long run, as the last. I ran my regular errands back and forth from the dancer house, using the in-between time to think of what I could do to get Seralind and I away from Madame Whispet.

But I came up with nothing. All my plans involved me at least growing up a bit to make a real impact on our situation, but I didn’t want to assume I had years before the Prince found Seralind and I.

Even if we did, it would fall too close to our original timeline for comfort. What’s worse, I didn’t have a solid back-up plan to keep us alive within the palace yet either.

As the day descended into the evening, I was mostly going around and offering wine to our patrons as they enjoyed the company of the ladies. Eventually, I was fetched to get some for the patron Seralind was entertaining.

I’d trained myself not to linger around my sister, or else Madame Whispet would punish me. I tried to pour wine and polish the seats around her as fast as possible before going off to complete another task, but I found myself listening in on their interaction.

The patron was awfully close to my sister, both of them holding a glass of wine. Seralind’s amount had remained unchanged, but I recalled bringing the patron at least two glasses thus far. And it was almost empty already.

Seralind giggled at what he said to her, but it was forced and unpleasant. However, the patron didn’t seem to notice.

“You’re here all the time, you know. You must be very busy!” He says to her, putting an arm around her, his meaty hand gripping her shoulders.

“Y-Yes, it’s a busy time.” She says, physically tensing at his touch.

I didn’t think Seralind ever got uncomfortable around patrons, or perhaps she has always hidden it well. I wanted to leave her to her business, but the uneasiness in my chest made the situation impossible to ignore.

“I’m sure you are, looking as pretty as you do,” He praises her, glancing over Seralind’s body.

She laughs again, but this time a lot more unconvincingly than the first.

“Do you think you could squeeze an open spot for me~?” The man says to her, his face right next to hers. His face was close to hers, like he was going to take a long sniff of her hair.

It seemed that moment was the last straw, as she abruptly pushed him away.

The action even made Marionne, who had been conversing with another patron nearby, look at her in surprise.

“Stay away from me!” She cried out, standing up.

I’ve rarely seen Seralind angry, especially at a patron.

“Who do you think you are?!” The man sneered after recovering from the shock. He grabs her arm, and she winced painfully.

I gasp at the sight, my face paling. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.

I felt a hand wrap around me, and it was Thalina. She pulled me into her skirt, turning me away from the scene. But I still craned my neck to watch, terrified for my sister.

“What do I pay you for, then? Huh?!” The patron roars. He pushes her away, and she hits the wall with a grimaced expression.

The patron raises his hand to hit her, but two of the hired men who work for Madame Whisper grab him by the shoulder.

Without a word, they drag him away from her towards the door, as he had broken Madame Whispet’s policy and disturbed the peace.

He kicks and screams the entire way, demanding his money back in a rage. Thankfully, he’s booted out the door, and the altercation ends just as quickly as it started.

Marionne and Lorelei rush to her side, helping her up off the ground. Seralind didn’t look rattled at all, even though I couldn’t see her face because of her now-frazzled hair.

“What a jerk! Are you okay?” Marionne grumbled, holding on to Seralind’s arms.

“We’ll make sure he doesn’t come back, alright?” Lorelei assures her.

Seralind’s head remains bowed, not saying a word.

“What’s the meaning of this?!” Madame Whispet asked, approaching the women.

“The man attacked Seralind.” Lorelei speaks up for her.

“I wasn’t asking you.” The Madame says coolly. She points her fan at Seralind, who has yet to lift her head.

“Well?”

“I…I angered him.” She replies simply. The women exchange concerned glances.

She’s never upset a customer before, as usually Seralind is the most gentle and compliant out of all the dancers here. Her record of content customers is squeaky clean, even though it’s fewer than Madame Whispet would like.

“You can’t afford to anger my customers, can you?” Madame Whispet says coolly, clicking her fan open.

“No, ma’am.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Seralind, but snuff it out.”

The Madame looks down at her from over her fan, scrutinizing the woman, before turning on her heels and leaving them be to sweetly address the disturbed patrons.

It looked like Madame Whispet had let her off the hook, but everyone knew Seralind would pay for this later.

“Seralind?” Marionne asked quietly, leaning over to her.

I finally approached my sister and touched her arm, wanting nothing but to comfort her.

“Seralind?” I ask, hoping she’ll at least speak to me, of all people.

She immediately wiggles her body out of my grasp and storms off to our shared bedroom, slamming the door behind her. All three of us watched her go, completely shocked at her behavior.

I walk towards her because there was nowhere else I wanted to be right now, but Lorelei stops me.

“Why don’t we let her have some time by herself, sweetie?” She suggests.

She smiled to comfort me, but I could tell she was worried.

The last thing I wanted to do was to leave my sister alone, but maybe it was for the best.

I didn’t fully understand what had happened, and it irritated me. Why do bad things happen to us, and yet no one will tell me why?

I’m stuck, left trying to make sense of a world that has decided it’s better to put wool over my eyes than help me navigate the truth.

But in this moment, I caught a glimpse.

I’d always thought Seralind loved dancing, as in her demonstration she would smile and look so free. I had thought that the only problem was that it was tiring, and Madame Whispet was horrible and exploited her for it.

But now, I think she’s always hated it.

***

I overheard Lorelei begging Madame Whispet on Seralind’s behalf. The Madame had been complaining about Seralind not working and being cooped up in her room, but Lorelei had brought up Seralind’s spotless record and asked to let her recover from the incident.

Her actions had been worrying me as well, as I couldn’t stop thinking about the empty smiles and locked chamber doors from my past life.

So I gathered the courage to go see her for myself.

I slowly creaked the door open, and I found Seralind hunched over our bed.

She was sobbing quietly, her shoulders shaking. The sight of her so devastated made me run up to her, wrapping my little arms over her legs.

Seralind hiccuped and wiped the tears from her face.

“I’m sorry, Esmeline, I’m just…not in the right mood as of now. I’ll be okay.” She says to me, rubbing my back.

It takes a lot within me not to burst into tears, as I didn’t want to upset her any further. So I simply cling to her. I wanted to share my own joy with her to make Seralind feel better, as she’s done for me countless times.

“Did the Madame do something to you?” She asks, running her hand over my head.

I shake it back and forth. She sighs with relief.

Seralind lays her head on her pillow. It was late now, as the sun had set behind the city buildings. The sky was a mixture of purple and blue, with streaks of orange clouds from the last glow of the sun.

I crawled onto the bed next to her, watching her face closely. Her eyes were glassy from crying, but upon seeing my face, her body relaxed.

“Do you want to know what happened at the ball, Esme?” Seralind whispered to me.

“Yeah,” I whispered back. If talking about it would lift her spirits, I would gladly listen.

She smiles at me. Well, not at me, but at the memories forming in her head.

“I met someone wonderful,” she says. “We waltzed and laughed and talked together all night. I think you’d like him a lot.”

“Who?” I asked, my interest piqued. This person seemed important to her, and if he was a nobleman, maybe he could help us.

“You must keep this a secret, and I mean it. You cannot tell anyone. Do you understand?”

My sister studied me for a moment, as if debating whether she wanted to tell me at all. I wished Seralind would trust me enough to tell me all her secrets, the ones she keeps from me to protect me.

I wanted to let her know I can handle it, that she wasn’t alone.

I nod quickly, sensing the importance of her words.

I won’t betray her trust.

Seralind seemed satisfied with my answer, because she turned over on her back and gazed up at the ceiling. She let out a wistful sigh, and a smile appeared that made the redness in her cheeks from crying look like a dreamy blush.

“Prince Cassian.”

…What?