.・。.・゜✭・.

The dining room was bathed in golden light, the low-hanging chandelier sending flickers of amber and buttery yellow bouncing from the heavy-set gold goblets and delicate cutlery laid out.

Elina breezed around the table, settling down at Lucien's left, placing a kiss on his cheek and patting his hand softly. The autumn male glanced at her, a tight smile twisted on his full lips, but his russet eye softened beneath his mask, a hint of relief glimmering there.

"Before you ask again: the food is safe for you to eat," Tamlin said to Feyre, who remained frozen halfway into the lavish room, her eyes flickering hungrily across the table piled high with rich, decadent plates of food. 'You're hardly more than skin and bones', Alis had told Feyre only minutes before, and yet even now with the opportunity to indulge, the mortal still fought against her need for food. What kind of life had Feyre faced before she came here? "What do you want then?" The High Lord bit out.

Feyre remained silent, but her posture softened slightly.

"I told you so, Tamlin," Lucien drawled, looking over at his friend. "Your skills with females have definitely become rusty in recent decades." Tamlin glowered over at Lucien, but other than that, he said nothing.

"Because yours are something to be sought over?" Elina asked with a small grin that had Lucien gasping in offence, clutching his chest as he faced the younger fae.

"You wound me, Lina," He pouted before turning his attention back to Feyre. "You don't look half as bad now. A relief, I suppose, since you're to live with us. Though the tunic isn't as pretty as a dress."

"I'd prefer not to wear that dress," Feyre said, her voice low and tight.

"And why not?" Lucien crooned.

"Because killing us is easier in pants," Tamlin cut in, emerald eyes glittering.

"Now that I'm here, what... what do you plan to do with me?" The mortal girl guesioned, eliciting a snort from Lucien, who lounged lazily in his chair, taking another large sip from his goblet, crimson liquid staining his lower lip.

"Just sit down." Tamlin snarled.

"We're not going to bite," Lucien grinned, and Elina held in a sigh of annoyance.

"Please, Feyre, I promise it's safe," The pink haired fae said, giving Feyre a soft smile, "Have I been wrong yet?" At this Feyre pursed her lips but said nothing else, instead she slowly slipped into her seat. Tamlin rose from his seat, stalking to Feyre's side and beginning to pile food onto her plate.

"I can serve myself," Feyre murmured.

"It's an honour for a human to be served by a High Fae," The High Lord said roughly, finishing filling Feyre's plate and topping her goblet up with fizzing faerie wine before heading back to his seat. Elina also served herself beneath the watchful eye of Lucien, spooning a side of nettle salad dressed in zesty lemon dressing and sprinkled with honeyed figs, along with some potatoes marinated in wild garlic and spring onions and parsley, and finally finishing with a slice of asparagus and sweet potato quiche.

"You should try the figs. The honey they are glazed with is made of dandelions." Elina commented to Feyre, taking a bite herself, nodding in thanks when Lucien topped her goblet up with a pitcher of violet lemonade.

"You look... better than before," Tamlin commented, watching Feyre closely. "And your hair is... clean." Elina held back a sigh, if the fate of their world was left in the hands of Tamlin they were surly damned.

"You're High Fae - faerie nobility?" Feyre asked.

"You can take that questioned," Lucien coughed.

"Yes," Tamlin frowned, "We are."

"What do you plan to do with me now that I'm here?"

Elina tuned out of the unpleasant dinner time conversation, instead focusing on the food before her, taking small bites of her meal as she thought back to the dress she had been making upstairs before Lucien had come and gotten her. The green would look pretty on Feyre's pale skin, highlighting the gold in her hair, but would she ever feel comfortable in dresses? The Spring Court had always been much more conservative than the other courts; Elina herself had grown up in the Day Court, a place of light and love. Men and women roamed freely, unrestricted by gender; instead, people were more focused on talent and resilience than outdated ideas of what is expected from one or the other.

"One more bite and you'll hurl your guts up," Tamlin commented, the food on the table vanishing, including Elina's half-eaten plate. She could feel Lucien's gaze on her but refused to look up, instead swirling the ring on her pointer finger. It was a simple silver band with a pink stone the colour of her hair, set in the middle.

"Thank you for the meal," Feyre murmured.

"Won't you stay for wine?" Lucien drawled lazily. Elina didn't have to look at him to know he was flashing his dazzling smile at the mortal.

"I'm tired," Feyre replied quietly. "I'd like to sleep."

"It's been a few decades since I last saw one of you," Lucien drawled, "but you humans never change, so I don't think I'm wrong in asking why you find our company to be so unpleasant when, surely the men back home aren't much to look at."

"You're High Fae," Feyre said tightly. "I'd ask why you'd even bother inviting me here at all... or dining with me."

"True. But indulge me: you're a human woman, and yet you'd rather eat hot coals than sit here longer than necessary. Ignoring this," Lucien waved his hand to his metal eye and the scar that surrounded it. "Surely we're not so miserable to look at. Unless you have someone back home. Unless there's a line of suitors out the door of your hovel that makes us seem like worms in comparison."

"Lucien!" Elina hissed, shaking her head in annoyance at the male's words.

"I was close with a man back in my village," Feyre said casually.

"Are you in love with this man?" Tamlin then asked.

"No," Feyre shrugged.

"And do you... love anyone else?" The High Lord questioned through clenched teeth.

"No," Feyre laughed in disbelief, "Is this really what you care to know about me? If I find you more handsome than human men, and if I have a man back home? Why bother to ask at all when I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life?" White hot anger flared in her voice.

"We wanted to learn more about you since you'll be here for a good while," Tamlin said, his lips a thin line. "But Lucien's pride tends to get in the way of his manners." He sighed tiredly, "Go rest. We're both busy most days, so if you need anything, ask the staff. They'll help you."

"Why?" Feyre asked, "Why be so generous?" She sounded so genuine it made Elina's heart ache. How deprived of simple pleasures in life was Feyre, deprived from that she would wonder why Tamlin would allow her this life? This freedom?

"I kill too often as it is," Tamlin said finally, shrugging his broad shoulders. "And you're insignificant enough to not ruffle this estate. Unless you decide to start killing us." Heat bloomed on Feyre's cheeks. She looked pretty like that.

"Well... thank you," Feyre said softly.

"I'll walk you up," Elina offered, already standing from her chair and brushing down the fabric of her dress, running her fingers through Lucien's thick red hair and planting a kiss on his temple before walking over to Feyre, linking her arm with the mortal and leading her away.

From behind them, Elina heard Lucien's loud laugh followed by a snarl from Tamlin.

"You're not like them," Feyre said as the girls approached the stairs, her voice hushed. Elina looked over, her lips pursed curiously, catching sight of another wonderful flush across the girl's cheeks.

"What do you mean?" Elina asked, their footsteps pattering against the marble staircase.

"You seem kind," Was all Feyre said, but she didn't look at the fae.

"There are monsters in this world, Feyre. I hope you soon realise that we aren't the villains in your story." Elina replied as they drew close to the mortal's new room.

"I don't have a story," Feyre said, her voice impossibly soft.

"We all have a story, sweet mortal. It's just up to you how you decide to fill it," The fae said, opening the door, watching as Feyre stepped over the threshold before pausing and turning back to face Elina. Her lips parted as though wanting to speak, but nothing came out. "Good night, darling," Elina said, smiling before turning away and walking to her room.

.・。.・゜✭・.

Daybreak crested over the manor, bathing Elina's room in pale rosy light. A small sigh escaped her lips as she rolled over, her head resting against a warm chest. Lucien chuckled, looping his arms around the sleeping fae.

"Good morning, sweetheart," He hummed, eliciting another sigh from the girl who buried her face deeper into the Autumn male's chest, hands reaching up and twining around his neck, playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. "Still tired? You are usually up by now," Lucien commented, running his fingers along her forearm.

"Couldn't sleep," Elina whispered, her voice husky with sleep.

"This reminds me of when you were a babe," Lucien chuckled. "You used to climb into bed with me and your mother and refuse to get up, just like you are now." Elina smiled slightly at the memory before curling deeper into Lucien's embrace.

"I miss her," She said sadly.

"So do I, sweetheart," Lucien said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "If it weren't for you..." He trailed off for a moment. "You are the best gift she could have ever given me. Even if I'm not your father,"

"You are," Elina replied without a second thought. "You always will be; blood does not always bind us." Lucien didn't reply, he didn't need to. Simply enjoying these moments he had before the rest of the world woke up.

.・。.・゜✭・.

🌸  second chapter yay !! honestly i find writing the actual dialogue from the book so boring like tamlin stfu no one cares. i just wanna see elina and feyre bond <3

🌸  also i am gonna be so fr rn,,, i do not remember half the stuff that i originally wrote in this book 😭 so if anyone remembers anything that they wanna see included pls let me know because my memory is so so bad and i wrote all of this in a blur over the summer 😮‍💨

🌸  also if you are new,,, lucien is elina's father figure/basically her dad so NO SHIPPING

🌸  anyways thank you so much for reading and i hope you all enjoyed ! see you in the next one ! mwah !