It was probably a lie wrapped in a small truth. Brielle had more bad days than good, though she would try to convince anyone who asked differently. Most people would have lost themselves beneath the pain she endured every moment, but not Brielle. She was the epitome of grace and dignity. When the powers that be designed her, they had placed an angel in her frail body. It was the only explanation for how she was.
A small hand slid into Luci’s. “You know what Mrs. Blakesley always says-”
“Too many sweets will make your teeth fall out,” Luci said, soberly.
Brielle snorted. “No, the other thing she says.”
“Young ladies should not snort.”
Her laugh was a balm to Luci’s worries.
“The one about frowning.”
Luci sat up straight and thinned her lips, attempting her most severe and disapproving countenance. “A young woman who frowns too often will find herself with a face full of wrinkles before her time.”
Squinting her eyes, Brielle leaned forward, studying Luci before pointing at her. “Look, I can see one forming right there.”
Luci gently swatted away her hand and settled in close to her, resting her head on Brielle’s shoulder. Breathing in the smell of elderberry and ginger, Luci let herself soak in the moment. As far as days went, today was better than most. Winter had been hard. The cold seeped into Brielle’s joints and made her bones ache. Her tonics took most of the pain, but they also made her sleepy, which was more of a hardship to her than the pain. That was the thing about pain. It made Brielle’s thirst for life insatiable. She was desperate to enjoy the moments that weren’t wrapped in swollen joints and painful movements.
“Spring is finally here. It’ll get better,” Brielle said, echoing Luci’s thoughts as she so often did.
The breath Luci took was from deep in her soul. One that resonated with every fear she ever had, but tempered by the gentle rise and fall of Brielle’s chest. The winter had been hard. Even though they never left Blythe Manor and Mrs. Blakesley made sure to quarantine any servants who showed a hint of ailment, Brielle had gotten sick twice. The second time, the body aches and fevers had been bad enough that Luci’s fear had swallowed her whole. It was an experience that she wished she could rip from her mind instead of falling back into the memories over and over.
“Read to me?” Brielle asked quietly.
It was an attempt to pull Luci back from her thoughts, but an effective one. Luci hadn’t been able to say no to her friend since they were five years old and found each other. Reaching for the leather-bound book on the light blue nightstand, she settled back into Brielle. A fresh spring breeze wrapped around the open room they shared, a rush of trees outside settling over them. Some days, the walls of magnolias surrounded by navy blue were too confining, scratching at Luci’s mind, but today, with the promise of spring, it was a comfort.
“Where were we?” she asked, gently brushing Brielle’s thin blond hair to the side. “Oh, yes, the beast just saved her from the wolves.”
“It was very romantic.” Brielle hummed.
A snort that Mrs. Blakesley would wholeheartedly disapprove of broke from Luci. “Except for the part where she wouldn’t have needed to be saved if he hadn’t held her hostage and scared her.”
The smell of fresh strawberries blew in with the breeze, and Brielle hummed softly next to her. It was as if the winter hardships were forgotten amidst the promise of spring. Blythe Manor, among its heritage as a noble house, was also the foremost strawberry producer in Meridia. It was early for the strawberries to bloom, but it also felt like a well-deserved boon.
“Maybe we can convince Archie to make a strawberry shortcake?” Brielle asked, clearly drinking in the familiar smell as well.
Luci rolled her eyes, fighting back amusement. “You could convince Archie to give you his firstborn son if you wanted.”
Brielle’s lips thinned, eyes drifting to the open window. “He feels sorry for me.”
Guilt, strong and oppressive, coursed through Luci. After twenty years at Brielle’s side, she should have known better. Should have known the way her mind would run with the simple jest. Pity was an emotion that Brielle was well acquainted withand despised. Her body may have failed her in many ways, but she was strong of mind.
“Archie would do anything for you because he loves you, Bri. There isn’t a soul who has met you who wouldn’t do anything for you. Not because of this,” Luci gently placed her hand over Brielle’s swollen knee before placing it over her heart, “but because of this. You are everything good and kind in this world. That’s why.”
Silver lined Brielle’s eyes as she blinked rapidly. The emotion clogging Luci’s own throat was making her vision blurry. She wished more than anything that she could show Brielle the way she saw her. She has shown her strength and resilience in the face of adversity. There was no one who deserved happiness more.
“Sometimes it’s hard not to wonder what I would be if I hadn’t been born this way. Would I be dancing at court every night? Would I be in love? A family?” Brielle said, tears streaming freely.
The lines of Luci’s jaw ached with the heaviness that she fought against. It was hard to hear Brielle ask the questions that plagued her. Not because they weren’t valid, but because Luci’s only wish was to see Brielle happy, but there were some things not even fairy godmothers could do. Even a happy life surrounded by love would struggle to find peace.
“I know.” Luci wrapped her arms around Brielle and snuggled in closer to her. “I’m sorry, Bri.”
There were so many words that fought to escape her. To tell her she didn’t need those things or that Luci would never leave her, but that they would only comfort her, not her friend. Luci knew Brielle better than she knew herself. Sometimes Brielle needed to feel the unfairness of it all. Luci could only be there for it, for her. It was a helpless sort of feeling that carved away at her insides till her stomach hurt. That was the thing about love. Lovemade you want to do the impossible, but there were some things not even a fairytale could fix.
“It’s fine.” Brielle lay after a few moments. “Court is horrendous anyway. Do you remember the last time we went?”
As well as she remembered her own name. Unwelcome memories washed over Luci, and she shivered dramatically.
