She was still not entirely used to the image in the mirror that stared back at her; Dani Bracken had never seen herself as others did. This was truer than ever with her once dull, slate grey eyes now bright and alert as they looked back at her from the mirror, and the smile upon her full lips reached them. Formerly gaunt features and pallid skin had since fleshed out into a healthy complexion which now complimented her high cheekbones. She turned her head left and right marvelling at the familiar yet entirely alien landscape of her face. There was no vanity to this exercise, the looking glass was merely a reminder of how much progress Dani had made. With her smile still on her face, and the furnishings of the cottage around her – which was as grand as any manor to Dani - the looking glass became a door into a world she had never known before; a door, that the master of the house had seen fit to open as well as his arms and welcome her to a life she would have never dared dream of again.
She reached for the comb that lay upon the worn wooden dresser and dragged it through her long dark hair. It snagged on numerous tangles. Brow furrowing at the resistance, she exchanged the comb for the polished wooden hair brush that proved kinder, turning the unruly tresses into a soft and silky curtain which shone in such a way that you could tell each strand apart.
Dani ran her finger around the neckline of her bonny red dress that had not a tear nor a patch upon it. Her smile returned readily remembering the day Eordion had bought it for her not long before Yule and how the hem had twirled as he spun her around on the dance floor at her very first civilised dance. The previous Yule had been the most miserable she could remember, abandoned by one she had placed so much trust in. It was not the first time he had broken his promise that he'd never desert her again and yet he had and she still did not know why. She shook her head, flicking away the memories. Eordion was different, she needed to believe that.
She smiled again at the life she had now, lightly chastising herself for she should have left for Bree some time ago.
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She lit a candle by the mirror upon her return. In one shattered moment her heart stopped, the face that looked back at her now was more recognisable. The shadows of purple and blue decorated her left cheek and chin. Her tongue snuck out of the corner of her mouth to dab at the dried blood that clung there and recoiling at the taste. She wrapped her arms around herself as if her guts would spill. Her beautiful, beautiful dress was torn and muddied.
The knowledge that her own brother could do such a thing was no revelation to Dani. However, again he had broken something inside of her that would remain long after her skin and bones were healed. There was a sadness in the eyes that looked back at her, a heaviness that robbed her of her once easy smile.
She raised her right hand to pull her hair over over the battered side of her face to cover up her shame, her left arm still cradled her ribs gingerly, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to remember. The candle flickered under the puff of her breath casting it's light more brightly drawing her attention to her right hand. Moving it closer to the flame she turned her shaking hand to face the light, her swollen knuckles tinged with hues of purple and red protesting when she splayed her fingers to examine them and her crimson tipped fingernails.
Dani lifted her head slowly to peer at her reflection again. There were no mirrors in the alley, she usually relied upon the broken image that stared back at her on the water in the boar fountain to survey any damage inflicted.
This time the image was at odds with the one seen so often amidst the statues of the boars that spat water from overhead distorting her reflection. She lit another candle, the flame flickered in that vulnerable way that fire does, illuminating the many books upon the shelves in the room. A rivulet of wax broke free and slid down the shaft of the candle keeping pace with the pearl shaped tear that rolled down her cheek.
Dani flicked the unwelcome tear away with a sweep of her thumb dismissing her instinct to leave and free Eordion of the baggage her former life brought with it. No! This time it would be different, this time it was different; this time she had something worth fighting for...
