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It starts out to be a great day.
The morning greets Corrin with fingers threading through her hair and Silas staring down at her, smiling, eyes tracing the features of her face. He presses kisses along her forehead and down her jaw before he gently urges her sore body out of bed. His thoughtfulness makes her heart flutter in her chest. It’s enough to make it so she leaves their quarters with a grin that doesn’t falter throughout the duration of her tactical meetings.
“You seem in a good mood,” Azura comments when they pass each other on Corrin’s way to the weaponry. The songstress peers at her, a glint in her eyes. “My, my. Someone seems absolutely smitten. Can I assume that your husband is treating you well?”
“Of course,” Corrin replies, returning her smile. “It’s Silas, after all.”
Silas is considerate, loving, and hers. All of him. The fact still seems a little surreal to her, but she figures that’s what being “newlyweds” means. Spending her everything with anyone else hasn’t crossed her mind since Silas turned up in her life. Although their childhood memories are still continuing to return to her, the memories she’s created with him now is enough for Corrin to know that he’s the only one for her.
He’s too good to me, Corrin thinks while bidding goodbye to Azura. She makes her way back to her room, staring up at the sky, watching as the sun begins to set. He spoils me rotten. He’s even worse than Jakob at times.
She knows Silas is already in her quarters. It’s dark enough for her to see the lights on so she doesn’t bother taking out the key to the door – not that she locks it anyway – and she expects to see her husband lounging on the bed, reading a book as usual.
However, what greets her is entirely the opposite.
Silas is in front of her the minute she steps into the room, arms crossed over his chest. The rigidness in his posture makes Corrin outwardly wince. The expression he wears is even worse in comparison to the heavy atmosphere suddenly circulating them. He’s frowning and his eyebrows are pushed together.
“Where have you been?”
She responds immediately. “Meeting, inventory – the usual. Why?”
“Were you busy?” he continues, following closely behind her as Corrin gravitates towards her desk. She’s feeling a little overwhelmed with his sudden intrusive behavior.
“I’m always busy.”
“Busy enough to skip three entire meals, Corrin?”
Oh.
The gnawing feeling in her stomach is suddenly too painful to ignore. The realization finally dawns on her. Silas never says anything about the schedule she insists on keeping unless it starts to impact herself – her health in particular. Of course he’s angry. She hasn’t been to the dining hall all day.
“That’s… I forgot.”
She hears him sigh behind her.
“Honestly, you…”
She pauses, waiting.
“Whether or not you forgot doesn’t change the fact that you haven’t eaten all day.”
“Stop treating me like a little kid.”
The remark slips out before Corrin realizes. It’s the same thing she’s always telling Jakob when he tells her off about the same sort of things. Silas doesn’t notice – or if he does, he definitely doesn’t comment on it – but he does wince.
“I’m not,” he says. “I’m just trying to make you realize how serious this is starting to get.”
Something inside her suddenly begins to burn in that moment, and it definitely isn’t her hunger that’s the cause. Spinning around on her heels, she faces Silas with a frown, arms crossed over her chest defensively.
“It’s not like I did it on purpose!”
Silas doesn’t show any reaction at the rise of her tone of voice. “I never said you did, Cor.” He glances behind her, eyebrows furrowing. “But there comes a point when you need to think about your own wellbeing for a change. It wouldn’t benefit anyone if you collapsed because you weren’t taking care of yourself.”
Deep down, Corrin knows he’s right. However, it doesn’t make the burning feeling any less painful. She hates it when he lectures her. It’s like he’s somehow disappointed in her. It unnerves her, and it hurts.
And all she can think about is not wanting to think about it at all.
“Get out,” she finds herself saying.
Shock flashes across Silas’s face. “What?”
“There’s the door,” Corrin continues, pointing somewhere behind him. Her eyes don’t leave his face. “If that’s all you are going to talk about, then leave.”
In the back of her mind, she has this scenario all played out. Silas will drop the subject, they’ll go back to their usual routine – her working at her desk and him reading until he drags her forcibly to bed – and everything will be fine. Tomorrow will roll around, her mood will be lifted, she’ll eat, and they will forget about this.
Except, that doesn’t happen. In fact, Silas simply nods, turns his back on her, and leaves.
He actually leaves.
Corrin hears the door shut behind him, but doesn’t actually see it happen, doesn’t register in her brain that it has happened. Her eyes burn – her whole body, actually, feels like it’s on fire – and she scrubs at her face in frustration. Tears are forming at the corner of her eyes. It’s been so long; she can’t remember the last time she cried.
Not even trying to sit down at her desk in hope of getting more work done, Corrin escapes to her bed, throwing herself onto the mattress, burrowing her face into the pillow and forces herself to sleep.
***
Later that night, she dreams. She dreams of death, blood, and fire. It’s consuming her, clinging to her like a second layer of skin until Corrin can no longer recognize herself. It’s frightening and all she can do is scream.
However, the dreams turn to black nothingness with her mind feeling a buzz. She feels something cool brush across her forehead. She even swears someone is talking. But now her body has relaxed, and all she wants to do is get lost in the feeling.
Before Corrin knows it, she’s dreaming of lush, green fields and of a little boy holding her hand.