At the vampire's words, Mariella's eyes grew wide just at the thought of her parents finding out. "Oh God, no!" she gasped, ironically enough invoking the very god who had cleared Connlaoth of magic in the first place. "They'd... I can't even imagine what they'd do, they'd have to give me up to the Church, I could be killed if they ever found out." The words tumbled out like a river in spate, snapping her out of the disoriented haze of pain she'd been occupying. Just the thought gave her shivers, incongruous with the thought of dancing flames swallowing her feet.
"And no. I, uh, I've left it kind of late to marry, so they'll think I'm sneaking out to meet someone, and if they think that they'll just kick me out like my sister." She shrugged as if to say, sure, she was the favorite, but what was the point when you were just a girl? She'd need a husband or her brother's goodwill to carry her after her parents left her - at least, if she intended to stay in Connlaoth. And even though the thought of traveling had often crossed her mind, it scared her to think of leaving her home behind.
"I haven't got the coin for a doctor," she refuted, shaking her head. "No way I could afford it. I won't even be able to hold an embroidery frame for a few weeks at this rate. I'm lucky you broke this arm, and not the other. I'd be useless." Well, she already was useless now. What could her parents do? How could they afford to feed her if she wasn't working to bring in income? Her father's shoes did alright, and her mother mended some of the gentlewomens' clothes sometimes, but income had been tight recently. They were already stretched to the breaking point. "What do you mean, set up a scene?" She cocked her head to the side, bright amber eyes quizzical.
