PRIDE & GUILT, cregan stark

003

THE VELARYON DEFENCE

— chapter three

The morning had come quicker with the peaceful sleep, the boys still hearing the soft tune of their Mother's voice guiding them to better dreams. Jace had gotten out of bed, jumping over to where his brother's play of knights rested near his desk, and began pulling them out to set up after witnessing Monterys' nod of permission.

Luke grinned, sitting upright at the sight of Monterys' toy knights. He used to beg and beg to play with them, and the older Monterys' got, the more he kept them locked away protectively. Laenor had given his first-born the set as a name-day present, and perhaps that's why it meant much and more to him with everyday that passed.

"Should we see Mother?" Luke asks first however.

Monterys pulled himself across the bed, before his legs came up and he tucked his chin atop of his knees, watching Jace. "She'll be tending to Joffrey first, Luke." He answers, and Luke nods, accepting it.

"May I play with them as well?"

Looking to the childlike desperation in Luke's face, Monterys grins. "Go on." And Luke need not be told twice, leaping from the sheets and toward where Jace was, causing the second eldest of the bunch to huff.

He didn't follow them, just kept his arms around his legs and watched. He hadn't played with them for a while now, but days he grew unwell, he spent setting them up only to put them away again.

The toys made him feel like a child, and though that's what he was, Monterys did not feel like one on an ordinary day. He was to always watch out for his younger brothers — they were his responsibility when their Mother was not there — and take root in his Mother's footsteps, so he may follow.

She was his example and he was theirs.

"Monty?" Luke looked up toward him from where he was knelt on the ground, body lingering over a castle. When he had his oldest brother's attention, he asked what had been on his mind since the previous day, "What does being a bastard mean?"

His legs shot forward, hands falling against his thighs as Monterys stared at Luke for a moment, taken-back by the ask.

Had his Mother felt this panic yesterday? He'd seen her face, felt her hold, but only now did he understand what she may of truly felt inside. And that was enough to make him realise he needed to apologise to her.

Pushing off the bed, the bareness of his feet touch the coldness of the ground, and a small hiss leaves his lips. Both Jace and Luke's feet were covered, unbothered by the floor's freeze. Luke continued to stare with curiosity, and Jace did not hide his interest in the conversation, also staring.

"Be more quiet," He asks of his brother, fearing their Mother would hear. And if it came from Luke, he knew she'd be more upset than she had been to him and Jace. With a glance toward his chamber door, he then moved to his siblings, "Has somebody insulted you with this, Luke?"

Luke had nodded at the first instruction, his eyes flying to Jace for a moment before back to Monterys. "I heard it yesterday. . . when Jace asked, and. . . I heard it in whispers before," He explains himself, not understanding the seriousness of what he says. He only notices the growing eyes of Monterys and worries. "Did I do something wrong?"