Sumon
Nathan gave one last push and then walked away from her body, panting, his body sweating. He lay next to her and put his arm over his eyes, trying to catch his breath.
Sumon took a deep breath as she turned her head away from her husband, looking at the wooden cabinet next to the bed. On the surface was a necklace with a cord of black cloth, to which was tied a small blue stone that seemed to light up when the dim light of the torch hung on the wall hit it.
Nathan took it off before he got naked and went to bed with her. Since they were married and spent the nights together, Nathan always took it off, but he never kept it away from himself. He never separated from that object.
Sumon wasn’t sure if that gesture was out of respect for Sumon or his old lover. Even though he never said it, Sumon knew that object belonged to her. Sumon saw it from how he carried it and protected it as if th
Sumon“Lady Castel invites you this afternoon for tea with other ladies,” a maid said, standing at the door of her chambers.Sumon rolled her eyes while Claire, her servant, tied her dress laces behind her back. The last thing she needed was to deal with the lady of the fortress. She had neither the time nor the desire.Claire finished with the laces and smoothed her blue skirt. Sumon turned to allow her to place the rigid band under her breasts, raising it slightly and making it look bigger than it was. Claire turned around and tied it behind her back. When she finished fixing it, Sumon sat down so Claire could fix her hair.“Thanks, Lady Castel, for the kind invitation, but unfortunately, I am forced to decline for today.”And forever, she thought.“There are urgent matters that require my presence,” she smiled.The maid nodded and bowed, then left the room. Sumo
TarynShe opened the window, and the morning frost hit her face, making her shiver pleasantly. The sun was already shining in the sky, peeping out from the snowy mountains. After almost a week, the storm had stopped, and the days had finally brightened, allowing people to leave the castle walls. Taryn breathed deeply, letting that cold air into her lungs, filling her and giving her chills all over her body. The landscape around the castle was completely snowy, she did not know how high the snow was after such a storm, but she could see part of the trunks of the trees buried by the white winter mantle. Even the bare branches were covered. From the window of her quarters, she saw the walls of the small town, outside of them, there was a small river that flowed all around, heading west towards the mountains and glaciers.Taryn observed the landscape calmly, that would be the last time she would see the snow. That
Taryn“Do you know the story of how I took my father’s place when I was only five?” Taryn shook her head. “Your uncle, the usurper, had surrounded our castle and taken one of my older sisters. He had given terms to my father, Lord of Sneaf, before me. Kneel down and proclaim me the only king of Elder and I will spare your daughter’s life, he had told him.” Taront shook his head and turned to look toward the open window. “My father was forced to obey him, my older sister was Sneaf’s heir. In our family, there has always been the custom that the firstborn, man or woman, would take command of our house. My sister, Tamara, was my father’s heir, and he wanted to save her at all costs.”He smiled sadly and looked back at her.“So one night, he took most of his strength and met with the usurper,
TarynShe went down the stairs that led to the garden outside, wearing black leather gloves. As she went down, she felt the cold touch her skin, and her breath condensed when it came out of her mouth. Some servants were lighting torches attached to the wall of the stairs, and when she passed did not pay the slightest attention. The sky was darkening, and it was time for Taryn to leave.She tied the laces of the red cloak as soon as she touched the last step. The doors leading to the outside were wide open to allow the cold to enter the castle.The people of the north had this custom. The night before a departure they left the doors wide open. The frost was a good omen for a departure, and it didn’t matter much if someone ended up frozen. The castle was pervaded by a light winter breeze that almost led to the walls freezing. Taryn did not understand those old customs, but she had allowed the lords
NathanFive years beforeThe carriage stopped, and Nathan could hear the noise of people outside screaming for happiness. His head was resting on the back of his seat, and he watched his father, sitting in front of him, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. Lately, he had become increasingly tired, and that long journey would have proved him a lot. On his head, he wore a gold crown with red streaks and diamonds.The coachman told them they had reached their destination, and his father opened his eyes. Like Nathan's, large dark circles surrounded the blue eyes, reddened by fatigue. They shouldn’t have gone that far, it wasn’t worth it. His hair, now white and long, was combed and pulled back, which gave him clean air and a little more severe than it already was. He wore a tunic of heavy cloth with their family's royal coat of arms embroidered on i
PresentNathanHe opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He was in his room that was completely immersed in darkness, illuminated only by the dim moonlight filtering through the large window. Beside her, Sumon slept blissfully between the covers, lying on her belly. The red hair looked like an immobile waterfall that fell on the white sheets, the back was naked and was illuminated by moonlight.He put his hands on his face, trying to put everything in its place. Suddenly he had a flash. The old man. She sat up suddenly and turned to her wife who didn’t seem to be bothered by her awakening. It was that damn old man! From the moment he saw that body, Nathan was sure he’d met him somewhere else before, but he couldn’t get anything out of his mind.He had never had such intense and vivid dreams of the past, he seemed to have ret
AthelstanAthelstan watched as the small boat left the harbor again to emerge in that blanket of debris and dead animals. He passed a hand over his forehead, wiping away the sweat and avoiding getting his face dirty with his dirty hands.On the mainland, the guards were helping some men to empty the fishing net that had just been pulled out of the small boat and was now docked at the wooden pier.The guards, along with other men, hoisted the net up to carry it over the wooden wagon that was waiting there near the port and deposited the contents until the net was completely empty.A farmer made the wagon available, like all the other carts and boats. The city's people had greatly surprised him in those last five days. As soon as the incident had occurred, Athelstan had organized teams to clear the bay’s surface as quickly as possible, also asking for help from fishermen who had fortunately survived.By the time word h
AthelstanA light knock woke him up from his relaxing sleep. From the window came a glimmer of light that partially illuminated the room. Athelstan’s eyes took a while to focus exactly where he was.He sat down, passing a hand over his face. The sun had just risen, and the faint light seeped through the glass. Athelstan felt very rested and hadn’t been for days. Although the bed was hard and uncomfortable, the prince had slept like a child.He stood looking around. The room was much smaller than he had thought the night before. The bed on which he had slept was placed in a corner attached to the wall, between the window and the wall. Under the window was a small wooden table and a chair with a clean tunic. In addition to the few useful pieces of furniture, the room was completely empty.The boots he had thrown to the ground that night had been picked up and placed beside the table; the dirty tunic had disappeared, and on the table, there was a tub with clean and fresh water inside; ne