This was why she never engaged in arguments with her mother if she could help it, Nastya thought as Alyona’s piercing voice registered in her now hurting ears. It was just so much easier to do as she was told and be pushed around. But it was too late now, she had to follow through. “Well, no, but…†Nastya passively replied, her head turning to look at her sister and sighing at how awful she looked.
The only good thing that had come out of the invasion by her mother (other than her ankle being fixed) was that Aglaya finally smiled at her in response to the little half-hug she had given. Nastya timidly smiled in return, eager for anything that would show that there were no hard feelings for what had occurred on the open day.
As she pleaded for their father to take their side, Aglayka lying back down with her, pushing the covers off and whimpering, did not escape Nastya’s notice and she glanced down at her elder sister with a frown, figuring that if something was really wrong that her mother would do something about it.
Anton sheepishly shrugged at his wife as she kindly glared at him for siding with his daughters before shooting a little smile at Nastenka as he stepped aside to let the healer past, knowing that they would most definitely be exchanging some harsh words later. He breathed in deeply, wondering if he could go back to the shop and hide away with the brooms so she couldn’t find him. He watched Alyona feel Aglayechka’s forehead and tried to keep a level expression on his face, though it looked more like a grimace in reality.
Nastya didn’t miss her father’s smile at her, and she nodded gratefully back at him, pleased that for once, someone else in the family was on her side too. A little paranoid at first that her mother was going to grab Aglayka and apparate her away, Nastya’s hand shot out to slap her mother’s hand away, but stopped just in time and quickly retracted as she realised that her mother was just checking on her sister. “Oh, sorry,†she whispered to her mother, settling back into the bed properly again.
As Alyona admitted that Aglayka shouldn’t be moved now, Nastya wanted to pump her fist in the air in victory but merely smiled instead, still too tired to make such a movement that would hardly be well received by anyone else in the room. She narrowed her eyes as she watched her mother glare at her father, and she felt sorry that he had been dragged into the situation, and that she had manipulated him to side with her. Nastya felt guilty that she was disrupting her parents from their work, as Alyona complained that she didn’t have the time to spend all day there, and the artistic flyer had genuinely forgotten that her parents actually did things other than yell at her.
As soon as the salve was mentioned, Anastasiya smiled meekly up at her mother, pleased that Aglayka would be getting a potion to cool her down as Nastya vaguely noticed the heat radiating from her sister’s direction. She realised though, that meant her mother would come back and probably wake them up again which was very inconvenient and irritating. The younger artistic flyer figured that neither of them had more than perhaps two or three hours sleep, and considering how little she had had for the previous part of the week, Nastya desperately wanted a little more than that. She had, by now, noticed that she had slept soundly while she was with Aglaya and was eager to get as much good sleep with her sister beside as possible, knowing her mother would send her away at some point, and no doubt, the nightmares would return without the physical evidence of her sister still being alive right next to her.
Nastya nodded to show her approval as she began wiggling back underneath the covers, though her bad ankle remained outside the covers, and plumping up the pillow on her side. "Yes, mother. I promise I will." She obediently replied, worried whether that meant she couldn't go back to sleep. Surely, she'd wake up though if Aglaya grew worse. The warmth of her sister's fever and the cover on top of her made her yawn as she curled up again, her eyelids growing heavy as she desperately tried to keep them open to hear what else was said before her parents left the room.
Anton turned to his wife in confusion as she mentioned a salve for his youngest daughter’s ankle, completely unaware that Nastenka had been injured until he saw the bruised foot she was sporting. “Nastenka?†He muttered under his breath to Alyona, hoping that in between the verbal attack he was going to endure that she would explain what had happened to her. He hadn’t spoken to his youngest child in a few days, and was concerned as to what had happened to put her in such a state. Surely, one ailing daughter was more than enough. He watched Nastenka carefully as she responded to his wife’s instructions, pleased that she was compliant. It almost made all the glares he was receiving on her behalf worth it. Almost.
Alyona turned towards him and addressed him directly, and he nodded once in acknowledgement. He was sensing a perfect escape, as he couldn't really bare looking at either one of his daughters, especially Aglayechka who was already asleep again, for any longer. She had said that she'd return first, so that gave him a few hours of respite to be with the wooden brooms at least. "Alright," Anton added, in concurrence with his gestures, "I'll be in my workroom when you need me. Send an owl or come get me whenever I need to switch with you, my dear." He hoped that would placate her enough so that he could leave. There was nothing else he could do right at that moment anyway, Alyona seemed to have it covered. He glanced over at his two girls, frowning as he noticed the younger of the sisters struggling to stay awake. Anton really wanted a good explanation from his wife for this. "Let Nastenka stay for the night." He said quietly, as he gestured to the witch whose eyes fluttered open upon the mention of her name but soon slipped shut before he even finished his sentence. "It looks like she needs it. Come on," Anton turned around, heading for the door. "Let's leave them to it for now." Together they walked out of the room as Anton silently shut the door behind him, and they nodded tersely to each other before apparating their separate ways; Alyona to retrieve her supplies, and Anton to his sanctuary.
[out]
