#lowkey kind of sad ngl but marina is back into the society that treated her poorly so...but she gets her lick back!

[sukibenders]

RANDOM WIP

A small snippet from a random chapter that I have in mind for my Marina fic. No idea when I'll even publish it, but I think my girl deserves better, so this idea was birthed! A work in progress.

Time for some was nothing but a memory, coming and going whether steady as a river flows or erratic like the breeze during a storm. Some took no note of it, filled with relative ease about the progress of their lives and saw little to worry for. A blessing. A privilege that it was. Others, however, were not so lucky as time could bring a great series of dread, a collection of omens gathering overhead: How will I pay for this expense? Will this be enough for even a meager meal? Who will take me in when there is nowhere to turn?

Those thoughts had been something akin with familiarity to Marina. From the moment she was old enough to understand whilst living on the farm with her parents, to the moment she entered society, it had been a common worry. It only grew tenfold when she realized that she hadn't experienced her monthly and the weeks that followed proved her suspicions to be true. With the weight of a great shame and it's progression nearing impossible to hide, options had become smaller and smaller by the days.

Who will take me in when there is nowhere to turn? Marina shivered at the thought, as she often would whenever her mind began to venture farther than reach. She no longer had to worry about that now, she had told herself over and over. Phillip's arrival and his courteous actions had proven that when he arrived at the Featherington's doorstep (even after she sent him away) with the promise to care for her and her child (children). And he had, adorning her with the title of "Lady Crane" and a well-established home in the country that Marina could have only dreamed of living in when she was a little girl.

Back when she hadn't realized how cruel the world could be.

But Phillip had shown the opposite, albeit awkwardly during the first year that the two spent together. It was clear that her love and grief for George had been shared, and would always remain as she watched the slight sheen of wetness overtake the youngest Crane's eyes whenever he saw the twins, Amanda and Oliver, a small tremor shaking his lips as he forced a smile even through his pain.

But, perhaps with security came healing as with the passage of time, that ache that had been left by George had, slowly, began its own form of healing. Not completely, not that Marina was sure that it ever would, but enough that it had long been since she found herself in tears at the mere thought of him.

Marina often found herself doing the same.

Maybe time could heal some wounds, but this one currently proved more troublesome. Following the disastrous affair of Lady Whistledown's expositions and what they had reaped, visitors and even friends had been very far and far in between to find regarding her. As, who would ever want to be in association with the woman who had found herself with a child and no partner nor sign of marriage in sight? Who had tried to marry into a well-known and respected family while concealing such a secret? Marina had...made her peace with it (no matter the sting), but that had not meant that Phillip faired the same way.

As awkward as the scholarly man was, he had a boyish charm about him that only grew whenever he found himself in discussion about his plants (something which she still didn't fully understand). To her surprise, however, others had shared his similar interests and, within a few days, an invitation had been sent their way. Lord Jerald Belmont, an older gentleman with a generous fortune had been hosting alongside his wife, Lady Regina, a sickly woman who brightened at the view of flowers and any plant there was. It appeared that Lord Jerald had been attempting to bring back his wife's good spirits and Phillip had shown his value in that regard.

How? Marina wasn't entirely sure but plastered a small smile onto her face as Philip recanted his joy, scrambling to gather as many journal entries as he could, unaware of the troubles that brewed in Marina's mind. Troubles that followed throughout the night at Belmont residence as stares and whispers circled her, upturned noses and cutting scoffs at every corner. What more had she ever expected from the Ton? Under the safety of her new home, it had been easy to ignore. Hardly any issue of Lady Whitlesdown entered their abode and nearly none had swept past her gaze, so she had little knowledge of what went on outside of the country besides that out of the mouths of maids and others who worked within the Crane household.

But now? Even as she tried to ignore it, to watch from afar as Phillip conversed with Lord Jerald and witnessed him nearly trip over himself, that option proved difficult. When she still lived on the farm with her parents, even when in attendance at the Featherington home, she had never been one to back down from a fight. Standing tall and proud in the face of trial, Marina pushed on because it was needed of her. To survive she had to fight. But she no longer needed to fight as she was now married and well cared for, her twins were healthy and loved and she no longer had to fear the what if. She was...surviving. So what need was there to fight?