Chapter Text
The first time you wanted to leave home and become an adventurer was when you began spending time during school reading books of famous warriors and adventurers from other lands. Famous people who died for glory, or heroes who saved entire kingdoms… You had grown up in a city where you were raised to be a wife and that was it, though that was never your dream. It would be your goal at some point, but you wanted to wield a Nail. Feel the wind of battle and the cheering of crowds as they shouted your name.
"Y/n… Y/n… Y/n…"
"Y/N!" You felt someone grab your arm forcefully as you let out a sharp yelp. When you looked at the person who did this, you were met with familiar eyes. Your fiance Yirel looked down at you with cold eyes, all you could do was shrink back on fear. "Don't walk off again, stop daydreaming you'll get your foolish self lost here already." He groaned and all you could do was give a small,
"I'm sorry." That was all you could say. Every action you did that Yirel didn't like made him treat you like you were nothing but the girl who had her head in the clouds her entire life. Your parents got along well, and Yirel's family found your voice incredibly stunning and lyrical along with your beauty. The offer of marriage came onto the table when you turned into an adult, and there were no questions about it. The only luck you seemed to have was that Yirel didn't want to get married yet, he wanted to establish a business and find a good place to settle down which you now had to do so with him.
You both never got along, Yirel was a grasshopper with little patience and was treated highly his entire life. He was spoiled basically, and you hated his personality since the moment you both met. He had such a look of disappointment from that moment, but no one else seemed to see what you saw in his expression. Your parents thought he was a well kept young man, a gentleman who would be successful. They didn't treat you poorly, they loved you though they couldn't see Yirel's true colors and you couldn't blame them.
Yirel looked around the small town you had entered when coming to this new land. It was your passing point, and layover before heading for your true destination. The map he had gotten read: Hollownest. Currently, you had both stopped at the land's first town, Dirtmouth. It was small but lively. You had gotten to take in some of the atmospheres already before Yirel inevitably dragged you away. You had already heard music and met townsfolk. Hollownest felt so much different than your homeland, though Yirel seemed to have a distaste for it all.
"Such chaos, why did we even choose this place?" He mumbled. It was his decision, you only agreed. Though reading up on Hollownest brought you pure joy. It was a land filled with warriors from past to present. It had a deeply rich history for thousands of years.
It was a prosperous land until the Pale King had stepped into power. A bit after that a horrible illness ravaged the land and killed many of the citizens. Many believed this was the work of a higher deity who was unhappy with the people and the king's rule. This infection raged on for many long years, all attempts to stop it failed until a vessel made from the darkest matter in Hollownest rose to light. Defeating the goddess of dreams, Radiance, and freeing the land from its destruction. The hero died in battle, but Hollownest continued to thrive once more. The daughter of the Pale King and Queen Herra helped lead many reconstruction processes and unite the land under one kingdom. She was known as Queen Hornet before mysteriously disappearing, and she never returned. The land is now ruled by a council, located at the far end of the land and all areas continue to thrive in unity.
You saw it all as beauty and excitement. Kings and Queens, bugs of all varieties, and so much to explore. One look at the map in Yirel's hands and you were struck with awe. There was so much to it all.
"So now that we're here. It seems we just need to take a Stagway to the City of Tears. Supposedly it always rains due to it being built under a lake? What! That's just… Wow. How stupid of a leader do you have to build a city under a lake?" Yirel insulted as he made his way to the Stagway station, you followed soon behind.
"I'm sure it's beautiful there! The atmosphere must be lovely, rain can be romantic." You tried to lighten the topic and Yirel glared down at you.
"Of course you would say that. Always about the atmosphere…" He rolled his eyes and you pursed your lips at his comment. You both entered the busy station and the chaos had toned down a bit. Luckily the next Stagway coming in was set to head for the City of Tears. Making your way to it and on it, you looked to Yirel.
"Aren't you at all happy by being in a new area?" You asked your bitter fiance before the Stagway took off. His only response was a scoff then,
"The only thing I am happy about is that we got approved a shop in town. This land has a rich history, and any items found from that time we can buy from others and sell to make a profit." That was his plan overall. To run an antique thrift shop he saw success in… You knew he was doing it only for money. With that, you let out a sigh of disappointment as the Stag way began moving quickly.
****
You got there quickly, using underground paths that made it all good by quicker. When you got off at the station, there seemed to be even more people here than there was in Dirtmouth. People talking, laughing, travelers moving, it was all you had dreamed of. There were so many bugs, all with their own lifestyle and customs. Oh, how you wanted to bathe in it all and take in every new thing.
Yirel literally dragged you back into reality, pulling you by the arm out of the station and to the streets. With that, he looked to the map again and did his best to figure out where you needed to go. You barely had time to look around and take in the view, but one thing you could take in was the sound and smell of the rain. It left an earthy smell and made you feel at peace despite never being in this place before in your entire existence. Living here wouldn’t be bad, you could still find the most interesting things in this new home. Your only worry was Yirel and his smothering and abrasive personality, how would you ever fully live with him? Him dragging you around and mocking your every word and action… Even now he muttered to himself and showed nothing but anger and agitation since nothing was his way. He grabbed your arm again, and you began walking in the rain and through the busy streets of the City of Tears. Merchants with small carts haggled and bugs walked in pairs, groups, or even alone as they all had someplace to be. Everything worked so well together, and now you would be able to be apart of something new and invigorating.
You walked down a few streets before reaching a closed building that Yirel unlocked with a key he had on him. The two of you entered and the smell of dust took over as being indoors now quieted the sound of the rain outside. It was dark as of now, and the floor was empty since there was nothing to be put out yet.
“Here’s the place, it sounded better when talking to the seller. Nevertheless, this place needs work.”
“We should get to work on it then, a bit of sweeping and dusting wouldn’t kill it. The lanterns seem empty we need to find some lumaflies to fill them..” You went on as you took in the new place.
“Oh yes, you can do all that if you’d like.” Yirel hummed as he moved towards a set of stairs near the back that lead upstairs, most likely your living area.
“Wait, just me? You aren’t going to help me?” You clicked together and he just ignored you, walking up the stairs. You heard the sound of an old door opening, before swiftly being shut. You could only look at where he had gone in shock and disbelief. “Ugh, that man.” You spat softly to yourself as you went to start cleaning. You had found a small closet left with a broom and duster, using those to start the cleaning process. In a sense, you weren’t surprised that Yirel didn’t help you. He believed that all actually hard and manual labor should be left for the woman to do, without you he would be lost you knew that for a fact. Though it didn’t help you when he insulted you for every task you still did.
It was an endless loop, do a chore or task asked by Yirel, get yelled at by him for being stupid and doing it wrong, and usually having to do it again. Your mother was never treated like that by your father, and if Yirel learned that from his own father you felt immense pity for his mother. Part of you wished you could just run away, run to the farthest part of this new land where Yirel couldn’t keep you in this horrid cycle. You dreaded the day you would finally marry him, then you would be set in chains forever!
You wanted glory, you wanted your own success not just some poorly run pyramid scheme like this would be. You had a dream to be so much more than what you were being given if only you could follow that dream… Running away would be dangerous. Where everything was new and exciting it could still be scary and dangerous, it was still a risky deal to make when you would be alone. This all ran through your head with no end in sight, and as you cleaned you tried taking your mind off of it by singing.
Your voice filled the dusty stale air, resonating in the walls and making the room feel less empty. You had no training to tune your voice, but many had always told you your voice was enchanting when you sang. It was funny how you had so much potential to be great, yet you were tuck with a label you wished to change. You didn’t want to be just a wife or just a mother, you wanted freedom. You wanted a title with such a strong promise. Freedom… Your voice begged for it and sang to the heavens for it, maybe someone would answer your plea.
“SHUT UP DOWN THERE!” You heard Yirel command and you bit your lip and silenced yourself, your heart beating loudly as that was your only answer to your plea. You shut your eyes and gripped the broom tightly, feeling close to tears already. Why did this have to be your fate and when would it ever change? Would it ever change at all? With no real answer, you continued to clean in silence and solitude as tears slipped down your cheeks. It really made you realize how your dreams were useless if you did not have the will to even take your first step and leave the toxic lifestyle that you were locked in. You were trapped, and there seemed like there was nothing you could physically do about it.