"Honey, are you going to eat all that?"

Thia looked at the heap of food piled onto her husband's plate, certain that he wouldn't finish it all.

"Nah, nah I'll be fine." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and pushed the food towards his wife, who had a mostly empty plate. "You should tuck in too- don't worry about leaving any, there's enough for all of us."

Nimue and Thia, (along with the latter's rather chatty husband), had arrived a few days previously and were staying at Eirene's house. Although she now knew the truth about Dot and Digorn, the anxious mother had made no comments about them as of yet, choosing instead to allow her daughter to relax and enjoy her time off.

"Alfie, pass the peas over would you?" Nimue spoke and Alfie complied, handing over the bowl with a flourish of 'for m'lady'. He was a bit of an idiotic man, but all three of them loved him nonetheless. For all his jokes, he was genuinely a very caring and loving person- exactly the sort of relationship Thia needed after leaving Digorn. They had been married for best part of a decade now, and all was well.

The older sister eyed the younger as she scooped the peas onto her plate, looking more carefree than she'd seen her be in... years, probably. It bothered her that Nimue was still involved with Digorn- romantically or not- and she feared for her safely. That man could be unhinged at times, and it wasn't good for her to constantly be worried about the younger woman.

Being able to keep a closer eye on her sister was most of the reasons she had moved closer to her, but it hadn't worked out very well; since she soon discovered that Nimue got next to no time off and tended to spend her free days with Dot in the lab anyway. Not letting her have any contact with the outside world was all a ploy by Digorn to control her, Thia was sure: but dared not say a word for fear of destroying the smiles that graced all their faces.

"Well, this is nice." Once everyone was plated up and they were ready to eat, Eirene raised her glass and proposed a toast.

"To Nimue, for working so hard just to make sure her family can live right. Even though there may be some aspects I'm not happy with... I'm still proud of you. To her!"

As the glasses clinked together, Thia could feel Nimue's eyes boring into her and was sure this night would end in a fight. Why did Eirene have to go and say that? Now Nimue knew that she knew, and if she knew, than that meant Thia had told her. Her mother could be very dense at times, she swore.

...

"You told her?!"

After dinner, Nimue had cornered her in her room and started whisper-yelling at her.

"How could you?! I thought it was obvious I didn't want her knowing!" She held her head in her hands and squeezed as if she was trying to crack it. "You know how she is. She'll worry, and she'll worry, and she'll worry, and she'll insist on coning over- and, oh lord she won't let me leave, and-"

"Nimue, you're being ridiculous. She didn't say anything explicitly during dinner and she hasn't even mentioned it once the whole time you've been here. Give her credit where it's due, she's not as senseless as you think."

"I know she's not, and it's not the fact that I don't want to talk about it that I'm mad about... I just don't want her to worry. There's nothing she can do to fix this- it's all my fault. And now I've left him there with Dot and Tiro, and he'll do whatever he wants to them. Should I have come here? Was it worth it?" She held back tears and accepted a hug from Thia, despite being in the middle of an argument. "I don't know right from wrong anymore." Nimue sniffed and tucked her face into Thia's neck.

"It's alright. You're going to have to talk to her about this at some point. Sooner rather than later, right? The longer you leave it, the more she'll worry. You and I have lied to her about Dot for too many years now, and it's past time she learnt the truth."

"He's more yours than mine..." She offered weakly, refusing to break the hug which meant her voice was all muffled from speaking into Thia's shoulder.

"Nonsense. You raised him. Who cares which one of us had the bigger share in making him? But I've left that job behind now, and you should too."

Nimue nodded and wiped her eyes. "I want to. But I can't. You know what I've done. If Digorn won't back me anymore, my life is over. He'll kill Dot, Tiro, Felix... anyone that he doesn't see as useful anymore will get it. I need to stay there, for their sake."

"I know, I know." Thia rubbed her back and hugged her tight, wishing she could protect her from the horrors the world had to offer. But that wasn't possible. As much as she wanted to whisk her away from the lab, and the man that ran it, there was no way she'd be able to win against him. He was too rich, too powerful... and if he got his hands on her and her sister like he had a few years ago, she didn't even want to think about what the results of that would be.

They stayed hugging for as long as they could, until Eirene walked in with an anxious frown and a desire to understand. "Nimue. I know the truth from Thia. Why did you keep it from me for so long?"