At Hero's Bay

Cloudburst

𝐀 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

𓄹 𝐘/𝐍 𓄼

Time moves slower within the White Hollow woods than in the palace. The Skaraeith siblings who danced and sang in that rain savored every moment of the fact that they won. They finally won against Y/N!

"We won," Morok breathed, his mouth gaping, "We won! By the gods, we finally won!"

The eldest prince was flaming again, jumping and stomping hard in the mud and under the pelting rain. He danced as if he won the game by himself, gallantly spinning his sisters who shrieked and laughed. Cyran, on the other hand, savored the moment in his own way, already out of breath and tired—leaning against a tree whilst glaring at Morok.

"Easy, brother," Cyran hissed, swiping a hand at his cheek, "You're making us more filthy than we already are."

"We won! We won! We won! We won!"

The gleeful prince all but ignored his brother, continuing to twirl his merrily with a hysterical and sudden strength. The girls, too, had been completely lost in the moment. Without prior notice, they eventually spun their way to Cyran and danced with him, too—despite his sputtering protests.

Wisp would have joined them, too, had it not been for the fact that Y/N was still warm even despite all this cold rain. Wisp enjoyed being coddled by Y/N who only watched as her siblings danced and looked like fools. If he had left her to go join them, admittedly, Y/N would feel rather flustered and awkward—gladly accepting Wisp's presence and embrace.

"Oh! Oh! There she goes! Back on her feet and with mud on her clothes! Oh! Oh! Here she comes! Tell us, dear sister, why so horribly glum~?"

Y/N was not at all impressed by the song.

"How long have you all had this planned out?" Y/N asked Wisp, hearing the grated playful growl in her voice.

"A long while," Wisp's bubbly giggled, "I think this is the first time we've actually won anything."

"Oh, come on now. Don't say that. Remember when we were by the Nanrane rivers that one flowerblight? I let you all beat me with a stick and a pouch full of candles. I'd say I lost. Painfully."

Wisp remembered that day well; the sun was warm and garish. The effervescent breeze carried stray petals from the gardens that left an aromatic impression in the air during that day. The river waters were cool and refreshing as the siblings splashed each other. They played, Y/N remembered, they played all day until the night came.

Where did those days go?

"Alright, you mongrels! Wrap it up! We've gotta be back in time for supper or your mother will have my head on a spike!"

What unfolded before Y/N's eyes was the makings of precious childhood memories. They were still growing, despite how much they proved otherwise through these physical excursions. To deny them these kinds of moments—full of happiness, joy, and utter bliss—Y/N merely sighs and thinks the better of it.

She desperately wished, from the bottom of her heart, for her siblings to keep making memories like this for as long as they lived.

The gods know she tried.

As Y/N gathered the discarded training swords that were left in the mud, she watched as the rest of her siblings went ahead back towards the palace. Surely, their father could forgive them for their late arrival, Y/N hopes with a chuckle, beginning to make her own way back towards the palace. Turning, Y/N peered into the fog of the woods, where the laughter of her siblings was behind her. There was nothing dark that contrasted with these ashen trees, nothing particularly out of the ordinary.