Rise of the Blood Empress

V: The Storm Part I

"It's your turn," Jude nodded to Aeras.

Simone glanced over the top of the cards fanned in her hand. The two men seated at the small round table with her each had at least twice as many as her, and had yet to best her in a game. Beau had taught her and Jude to play Crowns as soon as they were old enough to hold their cards properly. She had honed her skills while in the academy, while Jude had lost most of his. Aeras just seemed to have terrible luck.

It had rained for two days straight since they arrived at the manor. The back yard and gardens were a muddy swamp, and the stones leading up to the front of the house were treacherously slick. No one felt the need to leave the house. Had they wanted to, Simone suspected it would have been an arduous trek down into town. They passed the time reminiscing, reading, and playing games.

He made his play, putting down a pair of aces, and Simone smirked, looking over at her brother as she laid down her card.

With a groan, Jude discarded everything, and redrew his entire hand, "Well...this could be worse," his brows arched as he studied what he had to work with.

They heard the door in the foyer open and close. Shortly after, Beau appeared in the doorway of the sitting room, his long oil coat dripping rainwater onto the floorboards. Their father would have had a fit.

"How's Gwynn?" Simone asked.

"Fine for now," Beau lowered his hood, "But the sky is dark. It looks to me like a big storm is coming. He will not enjoy that."

"At this rate, all of the roads will be completely washed out, and we'll have to swim to J'Tarace," Jude grumbled.

"I'll need help shuttering the windows," it wasn't a question, and Beau looked to his brother expectantly, waiting for him to get up.

Jude laid his cards face down on the table with a huff and stood, "Let's make this quick," he eyed the other two players suspiciously, "No cheating while I'm gone."

They both placed their hands down on the table.

"Have fun!" Simone sang with a soft laugh. She stood and began taking care of the row of windows along the long wall of the rectangular room. Lifting the sash, she quickly yanked the shutters closed before closing the window again. She and Aeras met in the middle of the room, securing the last two windows together. As they clattered closed, they were cast into dark shadows. Wiping her hands on her dark brown skirt, she moved to sit before the fire at one end of the room to dry her damp gloves. The light drumming of rain on the roof was already picking up, growing to a loud, rapid staccato.

As the room brightened, she turned to see Aeras adjusting the lamps on either side of the door, "That's better," he came to sit beside her, long legs folded beneath him on the thick rug.

Water glistened in his dark curls, and she considered offering to get him a towel. She could have probably used one herself. Simone shuddered as a cold droplet of water followed the curve of her skull to drip down the back of her neck and between her shoulder blades.

"I'm not usually this bad," Aeras said, warming his hands close to the flames.

"What?" Simone frowned. She was suddenly acutely aware that this was the first time they had been alone together since meeting.

"At Crowns, I mean."

"Oh," she nodded, "Well, at least you can't be worse than Jude."

Aeras laughed at that. He shook his head, "No, your brother is terrible. I don't usually play with him, not much of a gambler."