#the ghost leopard

The two worst things Arobynn Hamel ever did (which says a lot as a “King of Assassins”). Two of the children he kidnapped, turned in, groomed, abused, assaulted, tortured, sold, manipulated, dehumanized, and did just about every terrible thing a person can do to anyone; all the while making them believe that was ‘love’ & deserved, that they are nothing without him, & all that matters is being something to him, no-matter the cost. — Pitted against each-other (as long as they could remember), growing up side by side but completely blind to the other that was right there with them. — Yet, as adults all of this goes out the window. They meet once and instead of re-starting a teenage drama born of trauma they decide to be the ones who decide. They quickly realize how alike they are, how revitalizing it is to have someone that understands, the trauma they share (and healthy trauma-bond it becomes) they choose to be friends, find themselves as sisters. —

"That fast--that easily--the offer of friendship was tossed her way. Rowan might have been her dearest friend, her carranam, but... she missed female companionship. Deeply."

And become something built on trust, justice, love, and one they would both die and live for.

— "We were both young and stupid, and should have seen each other as allies. But there's nothing to prevent us from seeing each other that way now." Lysandra gave her a grin that was more wolfish than refined. "If you're in, l'm in." —

(Defying both a ‘mean girls’ cat-fight trope, being rid of lies planted by controlling men who were afraid of what they could do or should have been when it came to their power when working together & against their oppressors, & being oddly realistic to how revisited friendships can be reborn & my personal favorite plot of Maas stories; sisterhood).

Within the subject of that, I want to highlight an ongoing note that’s both interesting, powerful, & lovely:

“Guarding each-others back”

"There is no one who deserves it more," Aelin said, grabbing her friend's hand and putting the ring on her finger. "There is no one else l'd want guarding my back. If my people cannot see the worth of a woman who sold herself into slavery for the sake of a child, who defended my court with no thought for her own life, then they are not my people. And they can burn in hell."

"He'd somehow grown accustomed to having the shifter guard Aelin's back—had found the idea mighty appealing. Rowan at her right, Aedion at her left, Lysandra at her back: nothing and no one would get to their queen."

We go from them being children taught to trust in nothing & no-one (themselves included), that to expose any vulnerability is to die, or be betrayed, or both. Teenager who loathed each-other with blind rage; that led to a thrown dagger and clawed marks, enhancing the others torture & isolation, and promised threats of “if they meet again” — "Celaena froze and slowly turned. Lysandra smirked at her. Fast as lightning, Celaena hurled a dagger. The blade imbedded itself into the wooden railing a hair's breadth from Lysandra's head." — after some of those very same (planted & ‘warned’) items occur; who would & do attack if they turned for a split-second, if/when given the chance, dredged in betrayal (that was a betrayal itself as it was not their own but instead their manipulator). Two young women who carried the scars of such things from being stabbed in the back to quite literally stabbed (scars marring them, Aelin’s spine covered in the marks of what’s left); only now when they do meet again they are remaking promises; even if initially shrouded in threats made of fear & old aches of “if you betray me” — "It's all for Sam, whatever you have planned for Arobynn. Besides, if you betray me, there's little that can hurt me more than what l've already endured." — yet this time they carry a known response, not of fear but of “you’ll kill me if I do… but I won’t” — "I know, I know," the courtesan said, taking in the cold gleam in Aelin's eyes. "You needn't remind me that you'll skin me alive if I betray you." — of “I am not afraid of you” — "Oh, I know what your real name is, Aelin? Shit. "You understand why I had to keep it a secret." "Of course I do," Lysandra said, pursing her lips. "You don't know me, and more lives than yours are at stake." — less afraid of the other seeing and turning away — "Somehow, she doubted Lysandra would call her a monster for it" — "This changes nothing between us, you know. Nothing." — instead “let’s face it together” to the point of “I’ll face it so you won’t have to” or in Aelin’s case I will give this up so you don’t have to — "Because more than me, more than you or Aedion, Lysandra deserves to be the one who ends him." — when she lets Lysandra kill Arobynn, knowing she deserves the freedom of it, needs to reclaim herself, gives up on her revenge and instead picks Lysandra’s freedom. They go exposed & vulnerable, they go behind Arobynn’s back to betray him instead — "The other night, you didn't just come to warn me about Arobynn." When Lysandra raised her head, her eyes were frozen. "No," she said with soft savagery. "I came to help you destroy him." "You must trust me a great deal to have said that."

They have the others back; knowing damn well how exposed it makes them to care about someone; knowing how terribly it could ruin them if it ended again — "We will get her back. We will save her. Together." Chaol just held Aelin's gaze, his shoulders squaring as he said, "Never again." — the grief & love bonding them yet together they are unbound. — "You loved Sam as much as I loved Wesley." Her chest hollowed out, but she nodded. Yes, she’d loved Sam—more than she’d ever loved anyone. Even Chaol. And reading in Wesley’s letter exactly what Arobynn had ordered Rourke Farran to do to Sam had left a raging wound in the core of her. Sam’s clothes were still in the two bottom drawers of her dresser, where Arobynn had indeed unpacked them. She’d worn one of his shirts to bed these past two nights. — go around the others back to make sure they are unwounded — "I went too long without demanding retribution. I have no interest in forgiveness." — "a death for every day in hell, a death for the childhood taken from her and from Evangeline. She was fury, she was wrath, she was vengeance." — to go so far as to take the wound themselves (Aelin sending her & Evangeline out of Rifthold even if she needed the numbers she did not want her on the line as a soldier — "But she was no longer in a cage. For Evangeline, she could stay in this carriage, and she could leave this city. Even if it meant leaving her friends behind." — "For Evangeline. For her future. For her freedom. For the friends who had come for her." Lysandra the dragon left bruised bleeding and scarred for her queen because she trusted her and would follow her into war; and because she would not lose her, she would go to war for her) — "But I do not think my brother and sister in this room would allow me to live for very long if they suspected 1 meant their queen ill—or their kingdom." Aedion gave a grim nod, but beside him, Lysandra straightened-not in anger or surprise, but pride. It broke Aelin's heart as much as it lightened it.— and to do not only what it takes to survive & ensure the others survival, but also what was not asked knowing what was truly needed (guarding their hearts; Rowan, Evangeline, the things the other loves more; risking their freedom, building their kingdoms, seeing the other for the magic they hold beyond power or title but soul). —

"If my people cannot see the worth of a woman who sold herself into slavery for the sake of a child, who defended my court with no thought for her own life, then they are not my people."