A Garden of Flowers and Bones [Lloyd Garmadon x Reader]

Chapter 5: An Iron Ring

Outside, the cold wind cut through the trees, shaking the very foundation they dug their roots in, and an owl hooted somewhere else. Rain battered against windows and sounded hollowly on the roof. The candlelight flickered, sending shadows dancing across the walls, tauntingly. The wooden floor was cold beneath the bare backs of her legs. And metal became slick under her hot and nervous palms.

Dwyn's soft breathing echoed in her ears.

Leaning the back of her head against the mattress, she heaved a tired sigh. A hefty pressure crushed her chest. Though her eyelids drooped and threatened to close, the paranoia made them snap open again and again. The flighty night gown clung and stuck to her sweat layered skin. Her feet tingled. Phantom pains.

Heart was pulsing in her chest, her rib cage almost seemed to bend and creak with every bit of the ramming force. Eyelashes brushed against her cheeks as her eyes slid closed again and then reopened with a harsh inhale. The air was soothing against the back of her throat.

With a final scrub to the corner of her eye, Y/N pulled the musket back into firing position at the door.

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Reading wasn't easy. 

Most of Y/N's reading ability was self-taught as a result of her father being unable to teach her. And, of course, Cedric's knowledge of reading was incomplete, too, by that point, so he wasn't of much help. Y/N was in a very similar predicament to him at this moment. Dwyn was a growing girl and reading skills would surely help her in the future.

The problem was that she couldn't teach Dwyn everything, she could only teach her the few things she understood herself.

Of course, most of the village was illiterate. They didn't have much reason to learn to read when they lived in their own sort of bubble. Beathán wasn't originally from Summerville and had a job in which reading was required, so if Y/N had any questions she would always go to him. As such, she felt she had a good grasp on most of the English language. Enough to teach Dwyn? Well... reasonably so. But even then, Dwyn's knowledge would probably remain incomplete, too.

"Ah, you forgot the flick on the end of the 'a'."

Dwyn pouted so cutely that the youthful apples of her cheeks squished in a little. She was going to be such a heartbreaker when she grew up. Maybe she'd even be the centre of all that love drama, like Ellowyn. Y/N pinched her cheek, lovingly, much to her dismay.

"Stoooopp!" Her voice filled the hollow part of her mouth, sounding different as she whacked her older sister's hand away.

Y/N laughed.

"Then put a flick on the end, silly goose."

Dwyn huffed but followed Y/N's finger tapping against the page and did so with her thick, cracked charcoal pencil.

"'Ah' and 'oh' sound the same. Does it even, umm, really matter if they aren't spelled the same? People'll know what I mean..."

"Yeah, but some people are nitpickers like that."

"Like you?" Dwyn narrowed her bright, blue eyes up at her and Y/N placed a hand against her chest, faking an affronted noise.

She prodded Dwyn's forehead, pushing it back to face the paper.

"I'm only nitpickin you in preparation for the nitpickers you shall face in the future," She declared, sagely.

"Where am I gunna meet them? We're always staying here..."

Y/N paused at that, fumbling, uncomfortable as Dwyn continued copying down her lines. An squirming sensation settled in the bottom of her chest.

"Do you... wanna go to town or somethin...?"