Heir of Cinders [FADING EMBERS #1] - ON HOLD

24.1 - Loiterers

Aidan had a newfound love for loitering in dark palace hallways. He'd found that the silence that accompanied the corridors, usually teeming with servants darting to and fro in the daylight, provided him an opportunity to gather his thoughts. The thoughts had grown increasingly pervasive with every passing of the night, that he no longer felt staring at the ceiling as he laid on the bed would suffice. He felt a growing itch to get out and let the blood flow into his legs.

There was something comforting about hearing his own footsteps echo through the vacant hallways. It gave him an ample distraction from his thoughts, but not so much that he would be overwhelmed with thinking of how to properly interact with fellow thierans on top of his nation's problems.

And so, he almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a sudden voice pipe up behind him.

"Your Highness, what are you doing up so late?"

When Aidan turned around to see a woman in a loose, white nightgown and locks of black hair fluttering in the cool night draft, he almost thought the yildeans' Radiant Lady of the stars had descended from the heavens and decided to pay him a visit.

Upon registering that the pale lady was none other than Faisuri, he breathed a sigh. Of relief or disappointment, he did not know.

"I could ask you the same," he replied. And why you thought almost giving me a seizure on top of my thoughts was a splendid idea.

"Sleep eludes me," she said, being casually cryptic as she always was. "I thought the fresh night air could help me shut out the vexing war my mind is waging on itself."

In other words, she was loitering in dark palace hallways for the exact same reason Aidan was.

"I assume it's the same for you, Your Highness?" Faisuri asked, drawing nearer.

The moonlight shining through the window illuminated her features, glimmering against her slender dark eyes. A coy smile played upon her pale lips. It felt jarring to see the Raine lady in anything other than her elegant dresses, without accessory nor make up. Her black hair was pressed in messy waves from all the hours she had worn it in braids. Although she lacked the almost-divine beauty of Meara Friell, his betrothed, her eastern blood gave her youthful features, shaping her face with soft lines.

But, perhaps, her charm did not lie in her face and physique, but her attitude. As the king of Althewyn, Aidan had familiarized himself with the reputation of the noble houses of the nation. As the Faolahns were the brooding vargs, the Ahlonns were the spirited fire mantises with just as bad of a luck with spouses, the Raines were known to be... the rain in its various forms.

On good days, the Raines were known to be like a refreshing rain, lightening the mood with their charm, wit, and humor. This was the reason why members of the House Raine were often called upon for help with diplomacy with other countries. On bad days, they were like the raging storm. On occasion, they were like the annoying droplets of a light drizzle that incessantly dripped onto one's head – too little and inconsequential to cause any harm, yet so persistent that one could not help but feel peeved.

Aidan had always taken these stereotypes as a way to get to know the houses, but not as a fixed law regarding all its members. Many of the individual members, he knew, broke the mold (Lady Catriona Faolahn being one such example). Then, there were also the houses with no "mold" whatsoever, like the First Runemaster's (whose members only consisted of two people, Duchess Jennifer and Lord Jonathan the Hound, Shield of the King).

Faisuri, however, was exactly the image of a Raine. He had not seen her on the so-called 'bad days' (fortunately), but the 'occasional days' were not occasional in her case. It was always either a 'good day' or an 'occasional day' for her.