Light the Way

CHAPTER 16. sand dunes and broken glass

SAMIRA

Samira stood in the courtyard of Hightower, the salty breeze from the Whispering Sound brushing against her cheeks. The ship bound for Dorne bobbed gently in the harbour below, its white sails snapping in the wind. She glanced back at her mother, Lady Rhonda, who smiled warmly, though her eyes were tinged with sadness.

"My children are leaving me, one by one," Lady Rhonda joked, though her voice carried a wistful note. "First Gerold, now you and Alina. What will I do with an empty home?"

Samira smiled faintly, but the weight of the words sat heavy on her. It was true - Gerold was busy with his new wife, Desmera, and Alina... Alina had left so suddenly, whisked away to Lys with barely a word. She couldn't shake the hollow feeling that had settled in since that morning when she found her sister had gone.

"She'll come back," Samira reassured herself under her breath, though she wasn't sure if she believed it. Alina had been different after the news of Robb Stark's death - quiet, distant, broken in ways Samira couldn't quite understand. But she had always been strong, resilient. She had to come back.

"Dorne will be an adventure," her mother said, reaching out to straighten the collar of Samira's travelling cloak. "You'll love it there, I'm sure of it. Starfall is not so far from Oldtown. You'll visit, see the world, and return to me before I even have time to miss you."

Samira's lips quirked in a small smile. Her mother's optimism was contagious, but the gnawing uncertainty about Alina's hasty departure clung to her.

"Do you think Alina is... alright?" Samira asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice.

Lady Rhonda paused, her hand resting on Samira's shoulder. "She's strong, your sister. It's been difficult, what she's gone through, but she'll find her way back."

Samira nodded but didn't speak. Strong. That's what everyone said about Alina, but strength only went so far when someone was broken. She wished she could have done more for her sister, been there when Alina had needed her most. Instead, she had watched her fade away into grief, and now she was gone, far from Oldtown and far from her family.

"Come, let's not linger," her mother said, pressing a soft kiss to Samira's forehead, just as Alina had. "The ship won't wait for us."

As they made their way down the steep paths leading to the harbour, Samira felt a pang of guilt. She was excited to see Starfall, to walk the sun-baked sands of Dorne, and see the famous tower where the Sword of the Morning was forged, but the thought of Alina lingered in her mind. She couldn't help but feel like she was abandoning her sister, even if Alina had left first.

The ship was waiting, its sails high and proud. Samira boarded, glancing back one last time at her mother standing on the dock.

"Write to me when you reach Starfall," Lady Rhonda called, waving a handkerchief in farewell.

"I will," Samira promised, though her thoughts were far away.

As the ship began to pull away from the harbour, the waves lapping against the sides, Samira found herself staring at the horizon, lost in thought. She could still feel Alina's absence like a shadow. It had been weeks, but the memory of that night lingered - Alina slipping out of Hightower under the cover of darkness, her departure too sudden to process.

"Why did she leave so quickly?" Samira wondered.

She had asked their father, but he only muttered about safety and dangerous rumours, his expression clouded with worry. The truth was, Samira didn't fully understand why Alina had been sent away. Something felt off about the whole situation. It gnawed at her, the unanswered questions about her sister's sudden journey and the cryptic news that had followed. She missed Alina terribly, and the distance between them felt like an ocean.