Hate

Archer stiffened for a moment before he opened his eyes. 

He glanced above his shoulder and saw her sitting behind him, her back faced towards him, ''How did you know?" he leaned back on the tree and shifted to a comfortable position as he folded one of his legs that felt slightly numb after staying in the same position for quite some time. 

''It runs in your family, I guess,'' Elvina muttered, thinking about the time when Lily was pretending to sleep inside the hospital room because she did not want to face her brother. 

Archer glanced at the sky, ''When did you discover that I wasn't unconscious?" 

''When the topic of me marrying a duke or someone of his caliber came up and you almost bit my neck."

Archer pursed his lips, "I didn't bite you."

It was quiet again, "You almost did."

Unlike the comfortable silences they used to share, the current silence was tense and distant. 

''It was not a dream,'' Elvina said.