Chapter 9: Archerons

Once the morning sun slipped through the windows, Nesta and Cassian were still fast asleep before getting startled. Nesta jolted awake. "Huh? Where am I?" She asked more to herself when she heard the knock again. "What time is it?" She scattered to her bag in search of a watch or anything to tell her the time. "What time is it?" She asked again. "Oh, God." She was about to get up when she heard a familiar voice.

Mor's voice was heard from the other side of the door. "Room service.~" She heard. "Breakfast for the happy couple.~" Nesta crawled hurriedly to the end of the bed.

She whispered sharply. "Cassian! Cassian!" Nesta yanked a pillow and threw it to his face. He groaned but woke up. "Cassian! Cassan, your brother's at the door. Get up!" As she said that, Cassian jolted from the floor and hurriedly threw the pillow back at her, which she placed back where it was. She gestured her hand to hurry him up. "Get up here!" She whispered before replying to whoever was at the door. "Just a second!"

"Oh, God." Cassian ran to the lingerie on the floor and threw it at her face. "Put this on." He whispered as he took off his shirt.

"Not the baby-" Nesta tried to object but got the idea. "Ok, all right." She quickly crawled out of bed, stripped down from her pjs and quickly tried to put the lingerie on but got a bit stuck with the zipper on her back. "How do you put this on!?" She hissed as he quickly walked to her silently and tried to zip her zipper up. "Zip it, zip it, zip it." She whispered hysterically as he successfully zipped up the zipper.

Cassian grunted victoriously. "OK, all right." He whispered as the two now tried to position themselves on the bed. Cassian then stared at her face, to the point he thought it was neater than usual. "Wait a second. Hold on."

Nesta exhaled. "What? What?" she asked.

"Are you wearing makeup?" Cassian asked in response.

Nesta shook her head quickly. "What? No. Of course not." She said as the two were now settled on the bed.

Cassian quickly asked. "OK, what do we do?"

Nesta yerked her chin to his bicep. "Just spoon me, spoon me-" Just as she said that, Cassian was already wrapping his arm around her waist. The weight of it made her think how much he had to accomplish to have the body he has right now. She didn't even try to delve deeper into an unnecessary thought when he pressed her against his torso and something poked her thighs. She really hoped it was not what she thought it was as her face flushed. "Oh, my God! What is that?" She asked a bit panicked.

Cassian winced. "I'm sorry. It's morning." Wasn't really an answer as her blush grew deeper.

Nesta snapped her head at him angrily. "What do you mean, "It's morning?"" She asked as he jaw tense when he shrugged, confirming what she thought it was. Another knock on the door.

"Are you OK?" Asked Mor's voice.

Cassian replied, now throwing his other arm around Nesta's shoulders. "Coming. One second. Yep. Come on in. Everything's fine." He said.

Nesta grumbled in disgust. "Disgusting." She said but then felt a tug of pain from her head. "You're on my hair!" She said and Cassian shifted, placing his calloused hand on her head, gently caressing her hair. "OK, just-" Before she could say something, the door opened. Cassian laid his cheek near her temple and Nesta tried her best to not feel the warmth of his body and the gentle touch of his hand on her head. Mor walked in smiling from ear to ear with a tray of food in hand. "Oh, wow."

"Smells good." Cassian took in the aroma. "Hm, Cinnamon rolls." He forced a gentle smile.

"Oh, you shouldn't have gone to that trouble." Nesta tried to object but Mor shook her head, placing the tray on the nightstand.

"Oh, you're family now. It's no trouble." Mor replied just in time before Rhysand and Emerie knocked on the door.

"Hey, you have room for two more?" Emerie asked as they walked in.

"Wow. Could we not do the Brady family meeting right now?" Cassian joked a little.

Nesta nodded while faking a yawn. "We just got up if you don't mind."

"Yeah." Cassian nodded, still caressing Nesta's hair. She had to admit that the gentle touch was soothing, but she feels like she's slowly approaching the edge to a free fall.

Emerie chuckled. "Well, Mor and I have come up with a proposition and we happen to think it's a terrific idea-" Before she could finish the sentence, Mor blurted excitedly.

"We want you to get married here tomorrow!" Mor smiled.

Both Nesta and Cassian fought the urge to drop their jaws. Nesta was the one who stumbled on her words. "W-W-What?"

Cassian tried to object. "No-"

Mor added. "Well, you're gonna get married anyway, so why don't you get married here where we can be all together, and that way Rhys can be a part of it!"

Nesta's eyes shot wide open. "Oh. Oh, we're... No. No."

"No, it's Rhisie's birthday tomorrow." Cassian shot at Mor. "Big day for him."

Nesta nodded in agreement. "We don't want to ruin it. That's, you know-" Before she could continue, Rhysand shot at them.

"I've had 34 birthday parties, I don't need another one!" He said and crossed his arms with a smug.

Cassian almost rolled his eyes. "Rhys-"

Rhysand added. "It would be a dream come true for me to see one of my brothers' weddings. A dream come true!" He looked at them expectantly, along with Emerie and Mor

before asking. "So you'll do it?" When their silence told him enough he added with a somewhat sad tone. "Before my risky heart surgery?"

This sends both Nesta and Cassian off, obviously not expecting the news. The two quickly replied. "Ok. Ok." They both gave a thumbs up with exasperated expressions.

Emerie chuckled again. "OK, we will do everything."

"And you can get married like we did, in the barn." Mor hugged Emerie with a wide smile.

Rhysand looked at Nesta and nodded with a reply. "It's a Paxton family tradition."

"Oh, wow." Nesta tried not to cringe.

Rhysand replied reassuringly. "Yup."

Nesta's throat bobbed and tried not to stumble on her words. "Wow! I've always wanted to get married in a... in a barn." She forced a smile.

Mor almost shouted cheerfully. "It's a sign." She said before adding. A sign from the universe that you're meant to be together." She then held Rhysand's sleeve from his purple sweater. "We must give thanks, I tell you." She then dragged him out of the room. "Come, come. We must give thanks!"

Emerie smiled at them. "Ok, I know I should leave you alone now." She said and almost squealed. "But we're just so excited!"

Rhysand came back to drag her cousin's significant other out of the room. "I know you're excited, too." He said smiling.

"It's the craziest. Really excited." Emerie said lastly before leaving

"Yeah! Go. Go." Cassian forced a smile as he watched them leave. "Go…" He said one last time before they closed the door. "...Oh, my God." He pulled away his arms and covered his face. Nesta felt the heat and heaviness of his body and arms abandon her. "When Mor finds out that this whole thing is a sham she's gonna…" He stumbled a little. "She's gonna be crushed, and my brother's gonna die." He was now rambling in exasperation.

Nesta quickly held his shoulders to try and calm him down. "Mor's not gonna find out-" Se tried to say but he kept rambling throwing a hand to the door.

"And what's with that? The wedding thing? Where'd that come from?" Cassian almost snapped and Nesta, about to snap herself, grabbed his jaw with both of her hands and forced him to look at her. Nesta could feel how small her hands were on his face but she shook away the thought.

"Hey! She probably got them worked up into it. It's fine. She's not gonna find out." She said. "They're not going to find out." She repeated but he pulled away from her hands. Nesta felt a sting on her chest when he did that.

Cassian covered his face again. "God. Nesta!" Nesta realized he was taken aback by the idea that his brother may not survive his heart surgery.

Nesta's hands were now shaking and she tried to shake the feeling off. "Cassian, they're not gonna find out, ok? Just relax." She said but he glared at her. Nesta flinched as she held his

shoulders again, giving him a small squeeze before running her hands up and down. "It's gonna be ok." She reassured him before adding. "It's not like we're gonna be married forever." Every word she said stung her chest deeper. "We'll be happily divorced before you know it." The sting grew into something more painful, more suffocating. "It will be fine." A lie. "It will be fine." She stopped the movement of her hands and caressed his biceps with her thumbs while she rested her chin on his shoulder. "You ok?" She asked softly.

Cassian didn't know what to feel. Shocked by the fact of his brother's news, or surprised by how Nesta was trying to comfort him. Although he didn't pay any mind about getting the divorce, he felt a strong pain in his chest. He shook the thought away and said. "Yeah." A complete lie.

They stayed like that for a while longer before realizing how close they were. She was even touching him. Nesta was the first to pull away and cleared her voice. "Get us some coffee."

Cassian felt the pain grow stronger when she pulled away but he nodded. "Yeah."

Nesta went to the nightstand and filled a cup of coffee for him. She then tried to lighten up the mood. "So, would you like a cinnamon soy latte?" She joked and it seemed to have worked because Cassian chuckled.

He then glanced at her and his eyes ran from head to toe, Inspecting every line, every inch of her body. Obviously, his excuse would be to blame it on the revealing lingerie but he couldn't deny that her body was outrageously gorgeous. The body of a woman who is a fighter. Yet again, even if he did want it, he couldn't be with her. She made it very clear so he said in agreement. "You're right, you know… Get a quickie divorce, we'll be fine."

Nesta nodded. "Absolutely. Gonna be fine." She held his mug and the plate of cinnamon rolls. "Everything is going to be great." She carefully walked to the bed and gave him his coffee. She then joked again. "But this little missus better learn how to cook, so she can take care of her husband." She inspected the giant size of the treats. "Keep my man happy. I don't want him leaving me for another woman." She chuckled and was about to hand him the plate.

Cassian snorted and held the other side of the plate and replied. "Come on. Haven't left you yet, Nesta." He said. Yet… he hasn't left her… yet… That's right, they were supposed to get divorced once she had her renewed VISA but… at what cost? What will happen when everything is over? Will he move on? Will he be with a woman he can truly love? Was Balthazar right? Will she be alone for the rest of her life till she's on her deathbed? "Um..I got it." Nesta snapped out of her and realized she was clenching and pulling the plate of cinnamon rolls from Cassian, who was tugging the plate in order to put the food down. "Let go." He said as she un-clenched her hand. Cassian placed the plate down on his own nightstand and looked at her a bit worried. "You all right?"

"Yeah…" Nesta lied. She looked at what she was wearing before getting off the bed. "You know what? I'm gonna go." She said and covered herself with the blanket, not that she really mind his eyes on her body. The idea made her gut twist.

Cassian tilted his head. "Where?" He asked.

Nesta didn't know where she was going so she replied. "I just kinda feel like reading…" She started walking.

Cassian shrugged. "All right." He then cleared his throat when she went the wrong way. "That's the bathroom."

Nesta flinched and turned to face him. "Oh, yeah. I know. I'm just…" She couldn't concentrate. She couldn't keep her eyes from staring at his chest, especially the tattoos. She realized now that it was on both of his arms, slightly stopping just on top of each of his nipples. They were identical in a mirrored way. She snapped out of it. "I'm gonna go to go to the bathroom, and then I'm gonna go to the library." She couldn't help the heat to pool on her core. "All right?"

Cassians narrowed in suspicion but shrugged, shaking his head. "All right." He took a bite from a cinnamon roll.

Outside, Rhysand was just in the woods, trying to practice the bow and arrows. He had to admit he had lost practice over the years and Mor insisted that he should try and get his mind off his work for once. For once, he took her advice, notching the arrow and aiming and slightly hitting off target.

He was about to notch another arrow when. "You're dropping your elbow." A familiar voice said from behind him and turned to see who it was. "And your posture is slightly off center." It was Feyre.

Rhysand shot his glace from her to the target then back at her again. "No I'm not.."

"Yes you are, and you're lying. Just like how you tricked my sister and her fiance that you were having a risky heart surgery." She smirked.

Rhysand scoffed with a smirk "Touché." He said and handed her the bow. "Show me how you do it then.~"

Feyre gave a smirk of her own and snatched the bow. She took the arrow from his hand and notched it, eyes focused on the target and shot the arrow. Right on target. "Bulls eye."

Rhysand makes a long whistle. "Impressive. Where did you learn how to do that?"

Feyre gives him back the bow. "I learned from experience on… a difficult phase" She shrugged. Rhysand kept quiet for a moment.

"How about this? A thought for a thought in each arrow we notch." He proposed as Feyre looked at him like he was bluffing. "We already notched and shot our arrows so it seems fair." He said while rubbing the edge of the bow. "I'm thinking.." He glanced at her and continued. "I'm thinking that I never met someone with the guts to tell me that my posture was off." He smirked when she huffed a laugh. "Your turn Feyre, Darling.~"

Feyre was silent for a moment. "I'm thinking… that you've been too busy to try something new." She said. Rhysand made a dramatic gasp, as if hurt.

Feyre huffed with a smug. Rhyand then took another arrow, notched it and shot it. It barely hit the center. "I'm thinking… That I could be more enthusiastic to try and do something new and spend time with my family, rather than work on the family business all the time."

Feyre could hear a bit of disappointment in his voice and she bit her lip. "I'm thinking…" She could feel his eyes on her. "That I could have what you have… I'm thinking that I may be a bit jealous because you have people to be with and who you can trust. I'm thinking that… I want that kind of bond with my sisters… probably more now after facing the world on our own." She said. When she looked up at him, she could have sworn something like sympathy glowed in his eyes. His eyes… Feyre never thought his eyes could be beautiful.. enough to see the stars glowing and shining to her.

Rhysand gave a small smile and laid the bow near a three. "I guess I owe you three thoughts." He said and somehow, she smiled. He turned to face her with a grin. "I know that feeling." And with that, she felt her heart about to combust. Feyre then saw him about to leave and quickly blurted before he could be out of her line of sight.

"Is it ok if you join me for coffee!?" She shouted. Rhysand halted, almost tripping before turning to her with a surprised expression. She found her voice and said again. "Would you… Would you like to join me for coffee?" Feyre could stop the heat from pooling on her cheeks. She saw him smirk.

"Are you asking me out on a date?~" He asked deviously. Feyre was not backing down so she replied, not without a smirk of her own.

"Probably.~" She said. Feyre knew he wasn't that because his face flushed red. She couldn't help but chuckle. "So you coming or not?"

Rhysand was silent for a moment before chuckling. "Of course'. But I'll be paying.~"

Feyre quickly jogged to his side. "You really don't have to-" She tried to object.

"Too late. I'm already willing to do so. Especially if it's for a beautiful person like yourself~" Rhysand smirked. Feyre lets out an exasperated groan.

Feyre blushed harder. "Prick." He laughed.

Back at the house, Lucien was in the kitchen just reading while making himself something to eat before heading to do some errands. Just as he turned the fridge to get some milk, he almost stumbled onto Elain. "Oh!" He took a step back, keeping a safe distance. "Sorry Lady"

Elain shook her head. "It's alright. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here." Lucien gave a nod in understanding. He saw her looking around the kitchen and checking the shelves and cabinets.

"Need anything?" Lucien asked and she glanced at him for a moment before looking away. He tried not to shift as she kept searching. It took a few minutes and he was about to keep on getting the milk out of the fridge when she answered.

"Nothing really. Just recipe books. Wanted to learn a few more tricks in the arts of culinary." Elain shrugged. Lucien thought for a moment and could feel she was hiding something. Yet, he walked around her."There's three on the right top shelf." He said and grabbed the three books and placed them on the counter. "Are you into cooking?" He glanced at her as she bit her lip. Lucien found that adorable somehow.

Elain grabbed the books and held them close. "Well that and gardening." She saw him glance at her in surprise. "I like to grow my own ingredients. Most of the time I grow flowers mostly but… You get the idea." She smiled nervously. She didn't share this info with anyone unless asked and hoped she didn't bore him with what she said. Still, he saw him smile at her in surprise.

"It is quite impressive actually." Lucien gave her a small smile and added. "I can't even do that to be honest." He said. The room fell into an awkward silence. Lucien broke the silence

by asking. "So… what are you gonna do with the books?" Elain couldnt be thankfull for him breaking the silence.

"Well, Rhysand asked me to prepare a wedding cake for tomorrow and well… it was an unexpected request but I'm willing to do it for my sister." She smiled. "I was hoping to get any ideas from these books so thank you." Lucien gave her a nod and resumed making his meal. The two spend a long, long while talking in the kitchen. At last, she asked him. "Say, what are you doing this afternoon?"

Lucien was surprised at this but replied. "If I finish my errands early… Probably just take a walk." He said before adding. "But maybe I can help you in the kitchen and show me a few tricks up your sleeve?" He joked. Elain laughed at this. Lucien was taken aback by how beautiful her laugh was. She then clapped her hands with a smile.

"Of course." Was all she said. Her enthusiasm told him enough that she was willing to show him. Lucien wasn't sure what to think but he was sure he had made an excellent choice.