#i've seen it worn by influencers and models online a lot

[butterflyintochains]

Her Sanctum

TW: angst, self-esteem issues, mentions of cheating, social media trolls.

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One of the perks about growing up living in a manor house passed down the family is growing up knowing where to hide. Joanna has three hiding spots on the Blackwood Estate: a small room off the library, a nook in what was the servants' hall in the 1930s, and, her favourite, The Cove. A small clearing in the grove of trees just beyond the gardens. It's easy enough to find, she closes the back door behind herself, and makes her way down the slab path, where a retaining wall a century and three quarters old sits. She expertly climbs and vaults it, and follows the well worn dirt path to her spot. It's a grey November day in 2019, and she is just so... tired. The Cove welcomes her into its safety, still decked out from her childhood, when she, her girl friends, sisters, and female cousins would play fairies and princes against her male friends, brothers, and male cousins. The bench swing, the throne of The Cove, still in perfect condition from when Grandpa James put it up. Still crowned Fairy Queen from the last time they played, she sits down on it. The flower crown is long withered, but she doesn't dare crunch it up.

Realistically, she knows she shouldn't let the comments of some faceless strangers online get to her, but, they do. It took her almost a year to rebuild herself after Brandon cheated on her, and she's still delicate now. And, maybe they're right? Maybe Elias does deserve someone better? Maybe he should find a model or influencer to date instead? Maybe she's too tall, or not blonde enough, or too intense for a hockey player? The football player certainly thought as much, didn't he? She'd heal, right? She's done it once, she can do it again. Joanna listens to the nature around her, the birds, the breeze in the trees, the small animals roaming around, the swing creaking as she rocks. She's loved being out here alone since she can remember, especially at night. A small squirrel hops around, looking at her as if they're kindred spirits. ''I'm sorry, friend, I don't have anything this time.'' It chirps, and moves along.

A cracking noise from her left alerts her. Maybe her mom? Kate? Tessa? It's neither, it's Elias. ''Sweetheart, how did you find me?'' She asks him. Elias smiles, and says. ''I asked your mom, alskling. Room on that swing for two?'' Joanna nods, and moves aside to let him sit with her.

They sit together in a comfortable silence, but with the thing bothering Joanna hanging in the cold air like something malignant. Elias finally asks her, after what must be five minutes. ''What's been going on, alskling? And, don't say 'nothing' because I know you. It's okay, I'm your boyfriend, you can tell me.''

Joanna rubs her gloved hands together, and says. ''Have you seen social media lately? There's a lot of people who really want you to be with someone else.'' She pulls up the screenshots on her phone, the same screenshots she's been crying over for two weeks now, and hands it to him. ''I'm too intense, not good looking enough. You'd be better with someone more traditional, I'm a social climber, a distraction. I've tried to block them all, but there's just too much.''

Elias scrolls through the litany of messages from strangers, his heart shattering at every single one of them. His blood boils, he wants to hunt every single one of these idiots down. This is his girlfriend they're insulting, he wouldn't have won the Calder without her. ''Joanna, this is...''

Joanna sniffles. ''Maybe they're right, maybe you'd be better off with someone else, someone who will fall in line with the other hockey ladies?''

Elias gently cups her perfect face, drying her beautiful emerald eyes with his thumbs, he says to her. ''I don't want that, Anna. I don't want someone who falls in line, I want this, I want us, I want you. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You are: beautiful, ambitious, intelligent, loyal, and special. I love you, all of you.'' Joanna, still in tears, says. ''I love you too, so much it hurts, I just... after him, I can't help but feel like I don't deserve this. I love what we have, I never knew I could love someone like this again.''

Elias promises her. ''I'm not him, alskling, I'd never do to you what he did. That was on him, not you. He didn't deserve you. You gave him three years, he repayed you with abuse.''

Joanna places her hands on his chest, calming down a bit more. ''Promise me?'' Elias nods, kissing her forehead. ''With every goal I score.'' He brings her in for a kiss, his kiss is her assurance, he's not going anywhere, neither is she.

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They take some time together in The Cove, relaxing on the swing. Elias deletes the evil screenshots, and asks his girlfriend. ''What is this place? Your mom said you spend a lot of time here.'' Joanna smiles, and says. ''We call it 'The Cove'. Myself, my siblings, cousins, and friends would play games here as kids, the girls would be fairies, the boys were our princes. This swing was the throne, only the Fairy Queen and her Prince could sit here.''

Elias asks her, winding some of her caramel hair around his fingers. ''Where you ever Fairy Queen?''

Joanna nods, smiling back on the memories she made here. ''Yeah, I was the fairy of plants, and this,'' She carefully picks up the withered wreath. ''was the crown, it's long dead, but was made of my mom's flowers.'' She looks up at him, and asks. ''Any similar memories from your childhood, sweetheart?''

Elias thinks for a bit, and says. ''My dad used to take me, Emil, and our friends down to the lake in Agne every summer. We'd play 'Jaws' he'd let us all swim, and come to tag us. If we got caught, we'd become sharks, and have to help him hunt the others. Last left, won the game.'' Joanna laughs, she instantly liked Torbjorn and Irene when they met back in January. The mental image of Torbjorn trying to wrangle his sons and their friends is quite funny to her. ''Did you ever win?''

Elias nods, and kisses her head. ''Yeah, it helps being a small kid.'' Joanna hums, and adds. ''Also helps being a stubborn kid.''

It starts getting darker, So, grudgingly, Joanna stands up. ''We should get inside, once it gets dark there's no light out here.'' Elias nods, and rises. They walk down the path hand in hand, and climb the wall. Once at the backdoor, they head inside. Victoria Blackwood engulfs her second daughter in a massive hug. ''My darling girl, you had me worried, are you okay?''

Joanna nods, squeezing her boyfriend's hand. ''I am now.'' Her mom says. ''Good, because dinner is ready.''

They head up to Joanna's room to ditch their shoes, coats, and gloves. Then, they join Joanna's parents and younger sister at the table. ''Anna, alskling, do you want me to put a tweet out for you?'' Joanna ponders it, she hates asking for help like this, but this is her boyfriend. ''If you don't mind, sweetheart.''

Elias says, finishing eating. ''Got it.''

He tweets as they snuggle after dinner. He lets her see it before it's published. It's not angry, but assertive.

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@_eliaspettersson: tweeted 14th november 2019.

Just dropping in to say one simple thing. Any harassment of my girlfriend, any rude comments about her, anything negative said about her. Affects an innocent 20 year old woman, she's human, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Without her, there's no me. You are no true Canucks fan if you disrespect the girlfriend of their first center. End of story.

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He asks her. ''How does that sound?'' Joanna reads it over, they've always had such similar tone in text, something weird to her at first. ''Sounds great.'' He hits send, and shuts his phone off to be able to properly wrap his arms around her. ''I hope I can have what you two do one day.'' Katherine says.

Joanna assures her little sister, the real romantic of the family. ''You will, I'm sure of it, sis. Bit of advice, though, don't go searching, it'll find you. Elias and I found each other. Searching is how you end up like I did before Elias.''

Elias comments, playing with his girlfriend's hair. ''And no one deserves that.''

Joanna hopes her sister heeds this advice, because every girl needs a guy like Elias, or one similar, because she's got the real deal all to herself. Still so surreal to her, but, she'd never give this up for anything.