“What do you mean you are engaged?” Eres nearly launched the book he was holding across the room with the speed at which he turned around. Ellsa stood behind him, leaning against the back wall of the study, a pained look on her face.

She had wandered in over an hour before, chatting to both him and Freya quietly, but something had clearly seemed off. Eres had prodded gently at the issue with no result, and he had figured she would tell him whenever she was ready. Obviously, now she was ready.

“Yeah,” Ellsa murmured, “Father sent a missive to tell me this morning. I am now engaged to the first son of the Hillcost Barony. Once I come of age I will go live there until we get married after a courting period, the usual process. I just… Didn’t expect it to happen this early? Does that make sense? Now I have this hanging over me, no surprises are left, and I already know where I’m going to end up.

“Of course, I’m not complaining,” she sputtered, her slumped posture straightening, “I will do my duty for our household, I know how important it is. It was just unexpected.”

Eres stared at her for a long moment, turning to study her face. She was standing stoically, but he could see the slight tremor in her hands, one knotting and twisting a lock of her silver hair, a nervous habit she had never been able to break. Freya was looking on from the side, and hidden from Ellsa’s gaze, she seemed sad. Even as a servant of the household, Freya was older than Ellsa by a few years, and to see another girl's life signed away… clearly hurt her.

“Sister…” Eres started and then bit his tongue. This was the norm for noble families. He knew the disgust he was feeling mostly stemmed from Adrien and all the memories he carried. Yet still, some of it was from the previous Eres. It wasn’t that arranged marriages were wrong or hurtful, it was just that he didn’t like seeing his sister sad. Eres almost felt the memories of Adrien slip further in with his own. It had been happening more and more often recently, and he was finding it hard to work out where one personality started and the other began. For now, though, that was good, as it made up his mind on what to say.

“That is such horseshit, Sister.” Eres spoke flatly, standing up to hug her. She might have only been a year and some change older than him, but she had always towered over him growing up. Seeing that in the last few months, he had nearly caught up to her height was a sobering thought. She was meant to be his big sister, looking out for him, but all he could think about was helping her. Bloody past life memories.

“I know you want to do what is right for the Family but you are your own person,” he continued, giving her a tight squeeze before holding her at arm's length so that he could study her face, “and to me, you look like someone has handed you a death sentence. You don’t want this, Ellsa. You barely even want to learn from Bruna, let alone manage a household. We both know it isn’t you.

“And before you leap down my throat, I also know you would be bloody good at it. God’s only know how good you would be at something you both dedicated yourself to and actually enjoyed. I also know this is pointless, Sister. I know you have made your mind up, and the decision is yours. Even if I wanted to, what could I do? We both know the answer to that is flatly nothing. But there is one important thing.

“You don’t have to pretend. You can bitch and moan and complain. You can rage against the unfairness of it, of lost opportunities and planned endings. You can do whatever you want, and it won’t leave this room. You are the only person in this godforsaken family who ever gave me the time of day, who played with me or taught me or even gave a shit, Ellsa. You are my sister, and I love you, and if all I can do is listen to your complaints, then I am damn sure going to do that, okay?”

Ellsa looked down at him, her face scrunched up. She looked angry, and for a moment Eres was worried he had pushed too far, had said something that upset her. He worried that the person he was with his memories meant that he had hurt someone he really didn’t want to.

“It just… it just hurts, Eres. Why don’t we get to choose?” Ellsa muttered, resting her head on his.

And then she started to cry. It wasn’t a quiet, ladylike kind of crying. No, these were deep, wracking sobs and they hurt his heart to hear. He held her against his shoulder and spoke about how everything would be okay, but even he didn’t know if it was true.

* * *

It had taken nearly an hour for Ellsa to get all the tears out. Now she sat quietly on the floor, a blanket around her shoulders and steaming teacup clasped in her hands. Her ruby eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, her cheeks stained and blotchy, but the tension seemed to have eased out of her a little. They spoke about little things, and Eres entertained her with minor feats of magic, showers of sparks or an umbrella of purple force. He even surprised her with a few incantation-less casts, which at least brought a smile to her face.

By the time the knock at the door came, she was almost back to her usual self. She went to jump to her feet, trying to straighten her rumpled clothes, but Eres caught her shoulder with a hand and pushed her back into her nest of blankets.

“I’ve got it, Sister. Just drink your tea, alright? If it is for you, then they can wait a few minutes.” Eres smiled at her as he moved over to the door, Freya walking a step and a half behind him and off to his right. It was a surprisingly nice feeling, having someone always at your back and looking out for you. He really should tell Freya how much he appreciated her more often.

“Can I help you?” Eres opened the door with a smile that he hoped looked natural and pleasant on his face. The young servant at the door seemed surprised to see him there rather than a servant, and his eyes went over Eres’ shoulder to where Freya stood. He paused for only a second, but Eres saw it and sighed internally. Another social stumble he was sure, but he was tired of it. Once they kicked him out at 18 he wasn’t going to be a noble any more, so no point getting too caught up in their ways.

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“The Lady of the House has called for you, Young Master,” the servant's voice cracked a little as he spoke. Ah, puberty. Eres really wasn’t looking forward to going through that again.

“Very well, lead on,” Eres said, motioning to the hallway, “Freya, would you be able to deal with the books and that other thing? Maybe some more tea when I return.” Eres nodded towards Ellsa as he spoke, letting Freya know to look after her.

“Of course, Master Eres. I hope your meeting goes well.”

With that, he stepped out into the corridor and followed the young servant, eyes once again searching along the walls, getting lost in the varied and interesting decor. Well-cultivated plants in huge pots, suits of shined and engraved armour and finely painted landscapes dotted various corners and walls, and they were so interesting it took Eres longer than it should have to realise he wasn’t being led to the gardens, he was heading to his mother's personal rooms.

Interesting, Eres thought, I wonder if she is just busy, or she has another reason for breaking from pattern.

It didn’t take long, even in a manor the size of this one, to get to their destination. The servant went to knock on the door, but Eres waved him away, his previous conviction returning. If he was going to be a normal person sooner rather than later, then perhaps he could use that to get a little leeway in his actions.

As the servant retreated down the corridor, Eres rapped his knuckles against the door smartly. A moment later the voice called for him to enter from the other side, so Eres pushed the handle and walked straight in.

The room he walked into was empty, and it surprised him. This was his mother's sitting room, various settees and chairs in blues and greens, arranged around ornate wooden tables perfect for tea and snacks. This had been where he had met her the few times he had come to her rooms.

“Through here, Eres.” The voice floated in from his left.

Her study? Curiouser and curiouser, he thought. He walked through the heavy wooden doors and almost laughed aloud. Her study was nearly three times the size of the one he had commandeered as his own, but other than that it was nearly identical, mostly because of the mess.

Piles of books lay scattered over nearly every available surface, only a section in the centre of the desk cleared for writing and reading. Bookshelves covered the majority of the wall space and they were stuffed full, books even lay on top of each other in an attempt to fit more of them on each shelf.

“Apologies, I am deep into researching something, and I didn’t want to leave so I thought we could talk here?” Adalia looked slightly embarrassed at the mess, but Eres gave her a genuine smile. She didn’t have that cold smile on her face right now, and he found it preferable.

“My study looks much the same, mother. Perhaps it is a trait we share, getting lost in research. What can I do for you?” He stood in front of her desk, hands clasped lightly behind his back. Even if he was taking some liberties, he knew better than to act familiar with his mother.

“I just wished to speak to you, Eres. To see how you had been, and if your training was going well,” Adalia stood from her desk and gestured to two chairs that were pushed against a small table, also overflowing with books, placed near the door.

“Ah, well. My training is going well, Master Brom is a good teacher and I am progressing quickly. Honestly, I am keen to learn as much from him as I can before… well,” Eres settled into the chair, but as he remembered Ellsa and everything that had happened before he came here, he felt his stomach twist a little, and a piece of him wanted to be petty, “before the family is done with me and I have to make my own way,” he finished, looking up at his mother. The slight flash of pain in her eyes surprised him and made him feel a little bad, just a little.

“Yes well… I am sure you will learn a lot in that time,” Adalia recovered quickly sitting in the chair opposite him. The mask he was used to had settled back onto her face, the impersonal smile and cold eyes, “and that it will serve you well in whatever you decide to do.”

Silence hung in the air between them for longer than a moment, and Eres let it hang. He quickly realised that he was angry with his mother. Not just angry, but furious. The last time they had spoken she had shown a kinder side to her, but now knowing she must have signed off on Ellsa’s engagement, with every small slight over the years, he felt the rage bubble in his chest and felt his Core respond. He quieted it with a thought, but it was still concerning.

“Are you well, Eres?” His mother finally asked, quietly, the cold, impassive look on her face just barely cracking, worry around her eyes.

“I was speaking to Ellsa before I came here, Mother, perhaps I am out of sorts from that.”

“Ah, I see. The engagement. Is she okay?” The mask didn’t slip this time. Eres thought he knew what she was asking, so he just decided to answer the implied question.

“Don’t worry, she will do her duty, you don’t need to worry about her making trouble or anything like that,” He kept his tone as light as he could, but when he looked up it didn’t seem to have mattered.

His mother looked like someone had slapped her. Eres had never seen that look on her before, and suddenly he felt like shit.

She was just genuinely asking how she was handling it, and I just told her that I thought she saw her children as some sort of trade commodity, Eres thought glumly, I know she hasn’t been the best to me, but she didn’t deserve that. Shit.

“I apologise, Mother,” He spoke before she could, the hurt still plain on her face, “That was… rude of me. I am reeling from the knowledge and struggling with it. Please forgive me for any insult.”

Silence stretched out again, as Eres bowed his head in apology. He looked up tentatively, expecting to see anger or upset or even the mask settling back into place. He wasn’t even slightly ready for what he saw instead.

“I thought I told you, son, that you don’t need to bow your head or apologise to me,” his mother spoke softly, tears rolling down her cheeks.