The Princess of Terrasen

Ch 27

Aiyra woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Nova knocked on the door a few minutes later, not entering until Aiyra let her in. 

"Where's the wolf?" she asked, peeking over Aiyra's shoulder

"The wolf has a name," Aiyra said dryly, letting her in. "he's hunting with Salkhi."

She visibly relaxed, then walked towards the bed, dusting off the bedsheets and plumping the pillows. 

"I'm glad your fever's gone down." she said briskly "although for some reason you're still wearing yesterday's clothes."

"Lighten up, darling." Aiyra drawled, "they're just clothes."

Nova looked up, frowning 

"Are you feeling alright, Your Highness?"

"Of course," Aiyra said, "can you find me a new pair of leathers?"

Nova ducked into the closet, and Aiyra shook her hair out, brushing it carefully before tying it loosely at the nape of her neck. 

"Do you think you could cut my hair?" she mused, pulling at a thick strand of silver as she examined it. 

Right now, it fell to mid back, and she raised it up, scrunching it so the tips hovered just above her collarbone.

"Of course, I was trained well to do it. Are you sure you want to get rid of a whole foot?"

"Yes. It's getting scraggly."

Nova shrugs, 

"I'll do it now if you wish."

Aiyra nodded, allowing Nova to pick up the brush and carefully brush through it, and then pick up a pair of scissors. She settled her hands over her belly, closing her eyes and staying still as sheets of smooth silver fell onto the floor around her. Her head felt lighter, and she could feel the ends of her hair brushing lightly against her neck, she could scent the roses in the air and the warmth of the sunshine on her face. 

She heard the sound of Aecis's claws on the stone and she called out to him, letting him push his head onto her legs and nose at her hand, searching for pats. She obliged, scratching him under the ears, as he stared up at her. She tried not to grunt under his weight. His head alone felt like three maces on her legs, but Nova was nearly done, so she bore with it. 

She stared at herself in the mirror, and tried to smile. She couldn't quite do that, but she did notice that the blue in her eyes was a bit brighter. 

"Done," Nova ruffled her hair a bit, giving it volume and nodded to herself, satisfied. 

Aiyra caught her wrist as she turned to leave and their eyes caught in the mirror.

"Thank you, Nova. Truly."

She stared for a second, then dropped to curtsy.

"It is my pleasure, Your Highness."

Aiyra used her wind to get rid of the loose strands of hair on her neck and tapped Aecis's head lightly, and he let her get up, following her to the door before she paused. She caught sight of a book lying on the floor next to her bed. As her heart hammered in her throat, she asked Nova to give it to her. It was a book of fairytales and the ice in her veins made her hands shake slightly as she opened it to the first page. She struggled to read the strange mix of cursive and print, but once she read it, the ice thawed. 

To Aiyra and Eirel with all the love in the world

- Sebastian, Kamien, Waylay, Jaena

She clapped a hand over her mouth, but found that she could't bring herself to cry. She had cried quite enough. All she felt was relief so profound, her knees almost buckled. The didn't hate her. They loved her. They forgave her.