*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･The Mandrays*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･

Isabella

Mrs Mandray was quietly humming away to herself as the pair began peeling potatoes for dinner. It had been nice having the older woman back. She had come home with a few sweet tarts for Oliver and a glowing disposition. Isabella had tried to pry but the older woman had just waved her off with a soft smile, claiming that the time away with her husband had done them some good.

It was hard to begrudge the woman's happiness, not when she deserved it so much.

The Mandrays didn't celebrate the Winter Solstice on the day of since they would be spending the next day and Winter Solstice building the great pyres for the village. That had left Isabella and Mrs Mandray to prepare a feast for the family today.

Oliver had been fluttering around them, helping to shape the shortbread and half heartedly laying out mats and the good silverware. He had seemed happier since seeing Cassian and the rest of the fae. She hoped that it would mean a smoother transition for the boy when they moved.

"You seem pensive, my dear. Is there something on your mind?" Mrs Mandray's smile was sweet and concerned which only brought a twang of guilt to Isabella's heart.

"Just worried about Ollie." She confessed honestly, trying not to lie to the woman who had taken care of her. "Do you think he is lonely?"

They peered around the kitchen table, watching Oliver play with his toy soldiers and Bat-bat. It was a lovely sight, the warm tones of his skin against the warmth of the fire trapped behind the metal guard. Yet Isabella only found herself focusing on his isolation. On the way he would trott the little wooden horse into the rays of sunlight dancing across the floor.

"I won't lie and say he doesn't need friends, dear." Her gaze was sympathetic and Isabella felt her shoulders curve in. "but you needn't feel guilty about that. He plays with the village children at the market and you've done all you can to try for a family."

Isabella closed her eyes, holding back the tears that threatened to rise. She didn't need another reminder of her failures.

"Oh my dear, I didn't mean to upset you." Mrs Mandray rubbed her hands up the sides of Isabella's arms, warming her up in a mockery of embrace. "The Winter months are always harsh, Tomas knows this. You can't expect your body to support a babe when it's trying to survive winter."

Isabella swallowed, bobbing her head in agreement as she grazed her hand across her stomach. The thick ridges of her scar were present through the material, a bitter reminder of the fae's strength. It was easier to separate the beast that caused her miscarriage from her Cassian. The physical differences made their different breeds so obvious yet she can't deny the ludicrous - or would be ludicrous - fear that once she entered the Fae world she would lose Oliver.

Whether that be to violence or love. Her son would fall in love with the magic and beauty of it all, she knew he would, and a small part of her feared losing him to the allure of the fae realm.

"I know how much you and Tomas want a family," Mrs Mandray prattled on, a warmth in her eyes at the thought of having more grandchildren to dote on. "But you must have patience, my dear, good things come to those who wait."

She smiled, agreeing with the woman if only to get her to stop talking as they finished chopping up the last of the veg. She didn't want any children from Tomas. Part of her wondered if he could even have them but it didn't really matter to her either way. He was still content to try with her though. Sliding his meaty hands along her body at night, making no effort to muffle his groans despite their close proximity to the rest of the family.

Isabella had found it shameful at first, humiliating to have the whole Mandray clan know their business. She was used to it now. Everyone knew everyones' problems, finances and relationships whether you liked it or not. Except Isabella liked sharing her thoughts with Cassian, debating her ideas with Rhys while Azriel offered sage advice.

It would be nice to have a family like theirs. One where secrets and problems were treated with respect and met with offers of help and kindness. They would jest about it of course, but when Isabella watched Feyre take Cassian's jests on the chin she realised there was no shame there, there were no jokes or jabs made with the intention of causing pain.

"Besides," Mrs Mandray murmured, lifting one of the table clothes to inspect a stain. "I think it would be best if we stop taking Oliver to the village." She pauses, taking in Isabella's surprise with a wince. "Just until he's older, Isabella."

"Why." She croaked, worry coating her voice.

"There have been... rumours," Her voice was placating, eyes begging for Isabella to understand. "You know as well as I do that there have been questions about Oliver's... parentage." Isabella swallows down her fear. "The tan skin, the eyes-"

"He has my eyes."

"Does he?" She whispers, searching Isabella's face for the truth. "Because in some lights I swear his eyes are more green than blue."

"Why are you bringing this up now?" She mutters, roughly folding up one of the dish cloths.

Mrs Mandray sighs, "The village is restless, with the reports of fae crossing the wall and... when we went to town it was like we were in a different era." Isabella felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. "It was the witch trials reborn, the markets were beautiful and bountiful but once dark descended..." She shakes her head. "You could smell the fear in the air."

"Why does that affect us? Hmmm. Oliver is turning five in the Summer, he's only just learning his numbers, he couldn't have committed any crime." Isabella snarled, feeling herself begin to shake.

Mrs Mandray placed a steadying hand on her arm. "They are scared, hateful sheep. They need an enemy and a cause. You cannot give them one. Quash down on these rumours or get rid of the problem."

The world goes still, "Excuse me." She whispers, voice low as everything seems to sharpen around her. Mrs Mandray doesn;t back down from her glare, only tightens her grip on Isabella's arm.

"You have your Aunt do you not? The one Feyre went to stay with. Send the boy to her, take him out of this village and let the world forget about him."

"I won't abandon my son."

"And if you want any chance of having a family, of having more children, you have to think about their safety as well." Mrs Mandray states, voice firm and Isabella begins to see the cunning cruelty of her mind. "It wouldn't be forever and you could visit him. But if Oliver stays here and the rumours grow you are putting his life at risk. Our lives are at risk."

Isabella snorts, "Is that what this about? Saving your own skin from baseless rumours."

"But they're not baseless, are they?" Mrs Mandray hisses, getting close to her face. "Do you think that I am stupid, girl. Do you think I didn't see you sneaking out all those years ago." Isabella expects herself to cower, to break in the face of her sin. She doesn't. "I had thought you smart enough not to dally with a fucking fae, let alone bear it's child."

"How dare you." She whispers, trembling with rage. "How dare you throw these accusations at me. I have been nothing but kind to you and this family, I have been devoted to your son-"

"And we both know that he bows to his father's will." She snaps, voice raised and they shoot fearful glances at a blissfully unaware Oliver. Mrs Mandray takes a breath, composing herself. "I was happy and content to dote on your boy, but his... oddities cannot be blatantly flaunted, Isabella." She scolds and Isabella raises her chin in defiance. "I care for him, I truly do, but not even I can stop my husband's wrath should he find out."

"Is that a threat?" She doesn't recognise her own voice. Nor the way her eyes find the chopping knife.

"It's a warning, and a plea." Mrs Mandray states, scanning her face for any sign of agreement. Isabella finds she no longer cares. All she has to do is hold out long enough to make it to Prythian. To get Oliver into Cassian's care.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*

Dinner is underlined by tension that the men are content to ignore despite the fact they are the original causes of it all. Grandfather Mandray– Edward – is seated at the head of the table, facing his son at the other end who is flanked by Mrs Mandray and Isabella herself. Oliver has been placed next to Isabella, opposite Tomas, and she tries not to bristle at the fact her son is next Edward.

Knowing his name makes her feel giddy. As if she has some invisible power over him, as if he's no longer a Mandray now she knows his name.

"The dinner is lovely my darling." The Elder Mandray coos, beaming down at his wife as she smiles at his praise. Isabella thinks she mutters some kind of obsolete humble phrase but she's soon captured in a possessive kiss. It's disturbing to see and Isabella looks away. Tomas is still engaged in conversation with his grandfather, caring little about his parents interactions even as his mother's giggles grow in hysterical glee. "Did Isabella help you?"

The stares burn into her skin and she ducks her head down to avoid their gaze. "She did." Mrs Mandray coos before continuing on with a note of pride, "she got rather good at making those honey glazed carrots. A treat I would say."

"They were delicious, my love." Tomas praises, joining the conversation and Isabella accepts his praise with a gracious smile.

"She could have cooked them a little more." Grandfather Madray grumbles to himself and her smile waves. "It was like crunching on rocks."

"Grandfather." Tomas murmurs quietly but there's too much respect and deference in his voice for it to come off as a reprimand.

"How can the girl improve if she gets no feedback, eh?" He waves a hand at me, bringing it down against the table hard enough to have Oliver's cup rattling. She quickly steadies it, using the moment as an opportunity to check on her son who is dutifully munching through his carrots and mushy peas. "Oh leave the boy be, child. He can eat well enough on his own."

"Father." Mr Mandray reprimands, voice firm and the old man huffs, settling back into his seat. Isabella feels herself slowly unstiffen, every muscle had gone tense and she realised her knuckles had gone white from how tightly she was gripping the back of Oliver's chair.

In the silence that followed she slowly gathered herself. Gratefully swallowing down a few mouthfuls of waterdown wine. Tomas stares at his grandfather for a moment longer until his grandfather glared at him. Mr Mandray continued to stare his father down, waiting for the eldest to return to his meal before that piercing gaze turns on Isabella.

"You are truly a doting mother." He murmurs as what she thinks is supposed to be a compliment. Mrs Mandray looks up in surprise, meeting Isabella's gaze. "It's a shame you haven't got a brood of your own to be caring for."

Brood. Like she was some kind of fucking livestock.

"Will I be getting a brother?" Oliver beams, excited as he grins up at his mother.

"If everything works out you will." Grandfather Mandray matches the little boy's excited energy but there was a leering look in his eyes when he clasped a hand on her son's shoulder. Isabella felt herself pale.

"Darling-" Mrs Mandray places a hand on her husband's arm but his glare has it falling away.

"The last Tomas and I spoke I was under the impression that you were moving on from..." He mulls over his words, taking power from our silence. "Past mistakes."

Mrs Mandray had gone pale but Tomas wouldn't meet her gaze when she looked at him. Whatever happened to being a team. To this being their responsibility and their family. When did this all become her burden?

Mr Mandray's eyes light up and he enunciates every word clearly, "I'm sure this spring will bring new life, so you needn't worry yourself. I'm sure you will have another child by the time Lord Nolan announces his Census."

Isabella is so frozen by words that she hardly registers the last part of his statement, not until Tomas straightens up and turns to his father.

"What Census?" He demands, frowning.

Mr Mandray is all too gleeful to explain. "He must have been inspired by the work in the village. Every person, family and their assets are listed on the census. As a way to keep track of lineage, wealth and any... untoward business."

Why did he mention it? He would only ever mention it if it was cause for her to be concerned. What would it matter if she had a child before or after this little roll call?

"What with fae threats and the hunts for their ilk it will be good to know who they've had dalliances with. Blood lines will be tracked you see, fae bane used to check their human status."

No.

No, no, no.

The world seems to close in on her and it's like she is listening to their voices from underneath water.

"Of course anyone consorting with Fae, and those ridiculous children of the blessed, will be dealt with accordingly." He leered down at her, Mrs Mandray would no longer meet her gaze but it was Tomas who now stared down Oliver. She wanted to wrap him up in her arms and run for the hills. "We have all the members of our family listed of course, I took care of it in town, we just need to wait for them to visit the village to get everything clarified."

She was going to be sick.

He hadn't lied for them, no he wouldn't offer Isabella and Oliver his protection. No. He just wants his wife to convince her to either have a child in time for it to be tested in Oliver's stead or to get rid of her son all together. Replace her child or get rid of him.

No.

No she would not leave her son. She was not going to stay with this godforsaken family.

Isabella smiled and nodded, accepting his words as she began to plan. They needed to leave and they needed to leave soon. Silently she continued eating her food, encouraging Oliver to do the same when he had fallen still in the mists of tense conversation. Cassian had planned to come after the Solstice, to give her time to get used to the idea.

She didn't have the luxury of time.

Isabella would visit Prythian tomorrow. While Oliver was kept busy with the village children and the Mandrays with the festivities preparations. She would leave then, just for the day and pray that Cassian already had a plan in place to show her.

Otherwise she would have to wing it.

For a moment she thought of staying with her sisters, of placating Elain and trusting her to keep them safe. But the lord's men would come for them as well. They would raid the house looking for her once they caught wind of her disappearance. It wouldn't be safe for Oliver and it would be fair to her sisters.

Isabella steeled her resolve as the night wore on the men retired. Oliver had long been in bed, bundled in that fae quilt Cassian had brought with him. Mrs Mandray and her stood in silence, the elder woman washing the dishes while Isabella dried them.

"I think I'm going to stay here tomorrow." She began, praying that the woman would help her despite everything. "Would you be able to look after Oliver in the village?"

Mrs Mandray's gaze snapped towards her, inquisitive and doubtful. Isabella kept her face blank before filling it with a smile that she prayed was reassuring.

"I thought we had agreed Oliver wouldn't be joining us anymore." Isabella swallowed nervously. Fuck. fuck, she had forgotten all about that petty little conversation. She needed her to look after Oliver. She couldn't take him to Prythian, not yet, not until she was sure it was safe.

"I thought it would be one last trip. He can't go tomorrow to see the festivities, there would be too many eyes but I don't want him to miss out."

Mrs Mandray scans her face, no doubt waiting for her to break or show any sign of dishonesty. She doesn't and the older woman nods.

"Okay."

A/N: So the last chapter was bribery for this.

But I think this is a very key chapter and I'm interested to hear what you think Oliver's reaction and relationship is like with his family (it will be relevant in the next couple of chapters)