“Papa,” said Anice, not caring for the current conversation. “My earrings…they really belonged to Mama, right?”
“Of course they did, my girl. They’re the exact pair of limiters she used after she first came into her energies.” Looking ponderous for a moment, he added, “You said the air around you heated up once you took them off?”
She nodded.
“Then it seems it’s her affinity that you’ve inherited, not mine.”
Anice blushed as her father pulled her in for an affectionate hug. “My darling daughter,” he said, cupping her face in a fond manner. “You’ve grown to look so much like her. I wish she were here to see how beautiful her child has become.”
“Did she really look like me?” Her mother had died shortly after giving birth to her, so Anice had never met the woman in person. She had only seen her in portraits, like the one her father kept in his chambers, as well as the miniature copy of said picture that he had kept in her auntie’s locket before he’d gifted it to Alistar.
“Let’s see…you’ll be thirteen in about half a year, yes? Her and I were a little older than that when we first met, so I can honestly say that the only difference between you now and her then is that you’ve got the eyes of a Silverkin, while she had the eyes of a Halburn.”
House Halburn was a small family of minor nobles that was native to the kingdom of Civus, though they were quite well-known as a clan that had produced several reputable magi. From what Anice knew, her parents had met at the arcannia in Valay, which was the only academy in the kingdom for studying magic.
“Tell me more about Mama,” said Anice, who hopped up onto her father’s lap and tugged at his sleeve in an encouraging manner. “You never talk about her anymore.”
Alistar grabbed a sweet roll off of the table and then turned to go. “I’m off to continue my training. I’ll see you both at dinner.”
He ran off in a hurry, returning to the central courtyard in a matter of moments. Tracking his aura all the while, Anice hid a smile of appreciation. She knew him well enough at this point to see that he’d worded his farewell in a way that told her father that the two of them would expect his company at dinnertime. It had become a regular thing for Caedmon to be absent for most meals, something that had been weighing down on Anice’s heart for many, many months. She was happiest in her father’s company, after all, yet the older she became the less they found themselves together.
Caedmon began to comb his fingers through her hair, appearing a bit guilty as if he had been able to read her thoughts. “Let’s see… Back at the arcannia, she was quite the anomaly. Where most ladies would handle insults or affronts with measured tempers, she had a habit of solving her problems with her magic.” Staring her in the eyes, his voice gained a sudden authority. “I’m not telling you this so that you mimic her actions, do you understand?”
Anice nodded, though she didn’t take his words to heart. Her mother had clearly been an impressive person.
Chuckling at an old memory, her father looked ten years younger as he shared a story with her. “She was a very beautiful girl, so it was only natural that she attracted a lot of attention. I remember one time—before I knew her, mind you—I’d heard of a big commotion at the practice grounds, and was dragged there by Alder and Jin—and Mr. Albeck. You’d imagine my surprise at finding your uncle Daniel at the centre of attention, his head still smoking where all of his hair had been burned away. Now, who do you think did that to your dear old uncle?”
Anice didn’t like her uncle Daniel, or any of his children for that matter. The man was selfish and almost always angry. She didn’t have a single memory of him showing her or her father the slightest bit of kindness. On the contrary, he talked down to him as if Caedmon were his personal servant and almost always abused the workers whenever he visited the estate. His children were no better, and it was because of Daniel that her father saw it necessary to dismiss the female house servants whenever that side of the family came for a visit, lest they be ‘confiscated’ like one of the previous ladies had been. Last she had heard, the woman had given birth to another bastard Silverkin just a short while after she had been taken back to Calis, the duchy that her uncle Daniel was in charge of, both the mother and child cast aside like broken tools.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“That…it was Mama?”
Caedmon let out a satisfied laugh. “Of course. Your uncle was so angry at being publicly shamed by a girl several years his junior that he tried to have our father intervene, but after hearing of what he’d tried to do to her, I quickly spoke up on her behalf.”
“What did Uncle Daniel try to do?”
“Bad things,” said her father, his face darkening momentarily. “But he hadn’t expected her to hit him with a conflagration spell the moment that he made to hurt her. You know how your uncle is, thinking he can do whatever he pleases because he’s the son of the king.”
“What happened next?” She was well aware of what type of person her uncle was, and had a difficult time believing that the man had simply left things as they were and moved on with his life.
“Your grandfather was terribly angry—not at your uncle being burned, but at the shame he’d brought upon the family. Your uncle must have been flogged and healed and then flogged again at least a dozen times.”
“And they left Mama alone?”
That didn’t sound like the family she knew.
“They did after I told them that we were to be wed.”
“But I thought you didn’t know her?”
“I didn’t. But I couldn’t just let her be imprisoned. Especially after she did to your uncle what I had only dreamt of up until that point.”
“What did Mama say when she found out what had happened?”
“She laughed, and then thanked me with a kiss.” Wearing a rare blush, Caedmon cleared his throat and then continued. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t known as being anything close to brave, but after hearing what I’d done for her, she actually made it a point to marry me. She was a very interesting woman. Even at the end, there was so much about her that I never got to learn.”
Seeing a sudden sadness in Caedmon’s eyes, which were now glossy and wet with emotion, Anice had a rare moment of weakness and began to tear up. Her father had had a very difficult time growing up as a part of House Silverkin and had lived a life full of hardships in comparison to the lives of the other nobles that she knew. Even now, her grandfather was constantly demanding a yearly tribute from Distan County that she suspected was more than her father could afford, which left Caedmon with no choice but to work so tirelessly.
Suddenly, Anice found that she didn’t blame him for spending so much time away from her over the past year, and she also began to understand why he never talked about her mother. Doing so only served to make him even sadder than he usually was, as it hadn’t been long since he’d experienced losing his beloved sister for a second time.
“Papa, you don’t have to come to dinner tonight if you don’t want to.” She hugged him tightly. “I know that you’re busy.”
“I think a nice meal with my daughter will do me some good.” Appearing as his usual, tired self, Caedmon smothered a complicated look and gave her a loving pat on the head. “Hmm. Alistar said that he’ll be taking lunch with Mr. Herst from now on, so why don’t we make it a habit to lunch together as well?”
“Do you mean it?” She perked up, wiping her eyes dry as she stared at him expectantly.
“Of course, my dear. Who knows, maybe I can tell you more about your mother while we eat?”
Anice hadn’t felt so happy in a long while. After agreeing to her father’s proposal, she retreated to her room with the intention of changing into another dress, though once she had done so she did a double take at the old, dust-covered desk that sat in the corner of her quarters. She had thrown some of her study notes on top of it a few days back and had completely forgotten about them since, much to Mrs. Dawn’s agitation.
Thinking of the praise that the house servants and estate workers had piled onto Alistar just a short while ago, she became quite self-conscious. Closing her eyes, she was aware of her cousin’s aura where it moved to and fro in the gardens of the central courtyard, which was currently awash in a downpour of rain. If Alistar could train in such turbulent weather, then why couldn’t she take a crack at reviewing her notes?
Pulling up a chair that was covered in a similar blanket of dust as the desk, she picked up the topmost piece of parchment and began to read over its contents.
She woke up a few hours later with the same sheet of parchment stuck to her face, slightly misshapen and partially glued to her mouth where a large amount of drool had dribbled out. She had only read a couple of paragraphs before she had succumbed to her boredom, though that didn’t deter her from giving her head a shake and then resuming as if nothing had happened, a determined look on her delicate face as she did so.
So long as she worked hard enough, there would come a day when the servants and workers of the estate spoke highly of her as well, not just her cousin.