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Talking about Kaye was so much better than not talking at all or exchanging pleasantries about the weather or – the starts prevent – compare drinking habits! Yassia didn’t waste much thought on if Kaye would like to be the subject of their conversation. She doubted he even would care much, she wasn’t badmouthing him after all, in fact, she was trying to make him appear a little more caring than he actually was. Kaye was a difficult character by any means, he had been formed by events that had been none of his doing, and somehow Yassia had an odd feeling that it was a little her fault as well. That was ridiculous of course, since Yassia was only her mother’s daughter and had been a child still when she had been killed. She had not known her mother had kept no contact to her brother, had never let him know she was still alive, but somehow it still made her feel bad, especially for Kaye’s sake. Had he known his sister was alive and well, even higher in her status that she ever could have become in Camelot, as the beloved Queen of Ailantha… it might have made him a very different man, less bitter, less unforgiving and distant.He was getting out of his shell more often than he had been, with Yassia around, and they had formed a bond that needed not many words, but there were things that could never be made up for again. Kaye would never be a different man, he could not make a complete turn into the charming and life-loving man he had once been.

It only occurred to Yassia now how little Kaye must have made known of himself in the last few years, if people didn’t even know he had never married! But then, this was Rouland de Archer, and she knew from Caitrin that he kept to himself a lot as well, so it might be not such a great surprise he had no idea about some of the fellow lords and how their lives looked like.
“No, he never married”, she answered softly, the thought of Kaye having illegitimate children never even occurring to her. That was just another side of her proper and sheltered upbringing. In Ailantha, illegitimate children amongst nobility and royalty were a taboo, and frowned upon. It went against every rule in the book to have intercourse with a man or woman you were not lawfully married to. The stars didn’t look down in favor on such children, even though that was a clear matter of cause and effect if you thought about it. Just that Yassia never had. In her eyes, it was clear that Kaye could not have any children, because he had never married. It didn’t even occur to her Lord Rouland might find her matter-of-fact tone amusing.

To say that Yassia was surprised by Rouland’s positive view on things was an understatement. In the middle of taking the goblet of water to her lips, she halted the movement and instead leaned forward, as if to assure herself she had understood him right.
“He’ll be back.” “But not for some time I think.”
Yes, that had been his words. And they had not been sounded evasively, as if he was trying to convince himself with them, he WAS convinced, so much was evident in his voice. How could he be so sure? Did he really know Griff so much better? Caitrin didn’t seem to share this optimism, that was obvious. So where did Lord Rouland take it from?
“What makes you think such?” she asked curiously, for once completely into this conversation, not only with her mind, but also with her heart. She wished so dearly for Caitrin to be happy again, and if there was the slightest chance of Griff coming back – which she hoped, but could not say for sure no matter what she had claimed – she would take that chance for Caitrin’s sake, and she wanted to know more about it. “And does Caitrin know you’re thinking that way? I think it would console her if she knew you’re so sure about this. Then she could really see it as an unfortunate, but temporal episode.”

The thought of leaving again hadn’t very much occurred on Yassia’s mind in the last few days, even though she of course knew her visit only to be temporal. First, there needed to be that planned pre-wedding celebration for Caitrin and Griff, and then they would see. It hadn’t occurred to Yassia yet that she might be leaving on a different date than her friends, because the decision whether or not Mercia would help her out would not yet have been made. Edmund had tried to assure her that he would do everything in his power, and so all she could do was wait, she guessed. But one thing was clear: even if the decision was positive and preparations were being made, Yassia would have to return to Camelot eventually, if only to say goodbye to her uncle and gather her belongings. Leaving… now that she had been in Camelot for such a long time, she had to admit, she had been growing quite attached to the place and its people. There had been many events she would have wished to pass up, but all in all, she knew she would miss Camelot. Leaving meant probably never returning again, as the distance was just too much. This was a journey one only did twice in a lifetime: there and back again. And leaving, she realized… also meant leaving a few certain people behind. Suddenly leaving didn’t sound very appealing at all…“Well, he’ll have to sit through our party first”, she replied with a wink, chasing the dark thoughts away. “Dancing keeps you quite warm I have heard, so be sure to drag him to the dancefloor all night!” Dancing in Caitrin’s company was always a pleasure, and Yassia already looked forward to it.

Yassia returned the squeeze affectionately and gave Caitrin a hopefully reassuring nod. Maybe the time was soon upon them when Arthur took over, and then a new generation would dawn on Camelot. There was no saying how much Arthur was really willing to change, but as he had been seen openly kissing a servant girl after his glorious return after Morgana’s fall, there were a few things possible in any way. Yassia had never been much for gossip, but even she could not have closed her ears to the buzz that action had caused for a while.
“I’m sure there will!” she assured Caitrin and nodded again. “Maybe a new generation has to come for that, who don’t remember the traumatic happenings of the purge. As long as magic is kept alive through people like you, I’d say there is still hope.”

She waited with pent-up breath for Caitrin’s reaction and released it slowly, once her friend had given her – albeit hesitant – consent. To be completely honest, Yassia dreaded this as well, as she wished so badly for Caitrin to be happy, to have children, and as long as there was no true knowledge there was still hope. But it also could be false hope, and in her eyes there was nothing worse in the end. It might console you at first, but the cut it caused was deeper and festering instead of the clean, sharp cut the truth could cause.
“We can do it now, or we can do it whenever you like”, she proposed softly, raising her hands in the gesture of ‘I’m fine with whatever’. “Just tell me what you’d be most comfortable with, and we’ll take it from there.”
You always had to be careful with people when you treated them, that’s what her mother had always said. Like walking in tip-toes, examining the ground first, because some things were truly delicate. She just hadn’t known how much harder it would be with friends.

Act first, then think later. Somehow Yassia couldn’t help but finding this way of going through life very familiar. There was not only Caitrin often enough acting that way, she had seen it on Oliver on countless occasions. The incident by the river had been just another example of that, how he had taken a joke far too far, because he had not thought of the consequences. Judging by his reaction, the kiss had been spontaneous and not planned all along. He probably had just meant to scare her a little, in revenge for the teases she had given him earlier. But he had acted irresponsible in any way, and then things had turned out of proportion for a moment. They both had forgotten how things were and were supposed to be. Inexcusable really, but understandable at least on Yassia’s part. But what had been his motivation? Had he really not thought anything at all?In reminiscence of all he had put them through with his thoughtlessness, Yassia grimaced. “That’s not a common Mercian trait by any chance?” she asked with a slightly pained smile. “It seems I’ve met a few Mercian men who sport a certain amount of thoughtlessness and since I haven’t met any of your brothers yet, I can hardly speak of them.” Would she one day be introduced to other parts of Caitrin’s family, perhaps? The thought held a certain thrill, even though Caitrin wasn’t too fond of her family apart from Rouland. It just might be interesting to compare and see where Caitrin was a chip off the old block and where she was unique. Yassia had no doubt however the uniquity would win out any day.

Yassia smiled and took in a deep breath of the fresh, slightly humid air around her. It had rained last night and some of the humidity hadn’t vanished from the air yet. Maybe it never would, maybe Mercia was supposed to feel that way. It wouldn’t surprise her. Patting her horse’s neck absentmindly, she listened to Caitrin’s comment and gave a chuckle. “I bet he might regret that soon enough”, she teased, “giving you under your uncle’s care I mean. Rouland consents to your marriage and your father can spew fire all he wants. If that is what he will do of course.” What would have happened if her own father had lived a little longer? He had never pressured her into chosing a husband while still living, even though it had been an occasional topic. Since the desaster with Vortigern, he had abstained from presenting her with wishful candidates, only had probed her once in a while, if any of the young earls or lords that came to the castle occasionally, had sparked any interest in her.

There was still no telling what Caitrin really thought about the incident Yassia just started to tell her about, and slowly, Yassia became uneasy. Was Caitrin maybe mad at her? Had she done something wrong? Well, of course, it had not been the most proper thing on earth to do, not sending Oliver away straight after he had revealed himself, but then whatever had followed she couldn’t have foreseen, right?
”Of course he shouldn’t have!” Yassia agreed a little defensively. “And I was quite mad at him once I found it out he had played a prank on me. It might have been a harmless joke, but he should have stopped once I started panicking.” Though, could she really put all blame on Oliver? What had followed then, still made her cheeks flush in embarrassment. But then, she wasn’t really embarrassed about the kiss itself… she was embarrassed about her own reaction to it.

“I checked his breathing and there was none – of course, as he held his breath”, she scoffed. “So I propped him up on the riverbank to revive him…” Yassia blushed even more and she cast down her eyes. “I gave him the Kiss of Life… and that’s when he dropped the dead man act. He kissed me.” Again she swallowed, feeling the need to come clean. “And for a moment, I have to admit, I responded. I was just not able to think straight.”

There was something about Oliver’s words that could have been insulting or unsettling, had Yassia not known him better. From their first meeting on, he had spoken of her as a witch, a player and all other kinds of unpleasantries to find any reason for the hold she had on him. However, Yassia wasn’t even sure she DID have a hold on him at all, she rather felt it was the other way around, but there was no convincing him. During their fallout, these insults had become painfully real, but now she knew them to be as just what they were: A token of his overwhelming love and gratitude towards her. It might sound peculiar, and for any outsider it might be, but Yassia had long since learned that this was Oliver’s way of showing affection, and she found nothing wrong with it. Too much direct praise or gushing would only make her horribly uncomfortable. It was easier to play along to this game and act the heartless evil thing he made her out to be, the muderess if that was what they were steering towards at the moment, instead of squirming under different shows of affection.”Well, then let’s just hope it’ll be a sweet death”, she murmured, adopting the role of the heart-stealing witch like she so often had. Yassia had never been one for such games, really, but around Oliver she found it surprisingly easy. He could tease out sides in her she had never known she possessed. She guessed that was one of the perks of having found your other half in life, for that was undoubtedly what he was. “Though really, I might just as well go downt with you. It’d be boring without you around.”

The more she thought about the idea with the seeds, the more Yassia started to like it. She only could hope Caitrin and Griff woulf appreciate the gesture as well. It was more a symbolical than a material gift, something that showed the appreciation they had for being chosen godparents even when living so far away. The seeds contained the wishes that the two little souls would grow and prosper like the trees would, and the trees itself would almost be like guardians, watching over the children where Oliver and Yassia couldn’t. It might be pathetic to load a few simple seeds with so much meaning, but then, it might catch their fancy nevertheless.
“We send the seeds, so they may plant them in their garden somewhere”, she explained the idea to Oliver. “So the trees will grow along with the kids. They will be THEIR trees. I helped caring for mine when I was younger, it was a big deal for me.” Yassia smiled in reminiscence. “And when it grew tall enough to have cherries, no one was allowed to eat them without my permission.” A wistful shadow crossed her face for a moment. “And when my father died, it was like he was still watching out for me… not only from the stars, but closer, through the cherry tree he had planted for me with his own hands.”

A fair fight?! Since when had anything between Oliver and her been a fair fight? He knew as well as she did that he could twist her around ever single one of his fingers without her being able to do much about it! And Oliver just proved that again by starting his teasing exploration up her arm. When had been the first time he had found out her arm was one of her weak spots? Yassia had forgotten, but she knew he used it to his advantage ever since. She was just too ticklish there and his pecks didn’t help with that. When she couldn’t bear it any longer, Yassia gently put her right hand under Oliver’s chin and directed his head away, while leaning in herself and slowly starting to trace his jawline with her lips, until she reached the delicate skin under and behind his ear. Two could play at this game, and the euphoric news of this day had put her in a rather playful mood. Inwardly she suppressed a chuckle. If only Caitrin could see her now. Oliver surely had changed the slightlx demure Yassia in many ways.

“You were right to listen to your instincts, my dear,”
Oh, Yassia knew she had never been more right than when she had decided against Edmund. Though, back then, it hadn’t been much of a decision really, or it would have been a much harder one had Edmund not been who he was, the Crown Prince. Had Oliver been in his place, had her heart not settled on the second son by a twist of incredibly generous fates, she probably would have torn herself apart over the choice between her kingdom and her heart. And in the end the kingdom would have won out. She had been born to make that decision once, so she would not have failed her people for her own personal gain. But it would have killed her inside, and instead of a thriving queen that practically lit up her kingdom with her personal happiness like she was now, they would have been ruled by an empty shell. A dutiful shell, yes, but a shell still.
”Even though I felt so ashamed of myself for running off, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made”, she agreed.

As if she would ever doubt Oliver’s good intentions! Sometimes he was almost ridiculous, but nevertheless cute, in his frantic attempts to make up for mistakes he might have or might not have made. Of course he would never want to hurt her, he didn’t even need to say that, it was written all over his face and burning in his eyes whenever he looked at her. This exuberant love that still could overwhelm her day by day and leave her even a little helpless, because she wondered if she deserved it all. But she knew better than to harbor such doubts for long, as she knew the stars might hear it. They were fickle creatures in granting favors. If they thought you didn’t appreciate something the right way, the could take it away from you in the blink of an eye! ”You’re on the best way imagineable to that anyway”, she assured him fondly, searching his gaze. “We’ve battled stormy seas, mosquitos, evil uncles and stubborn subjects, don’t you think we’re now seasoned enough to master everything that’s thrown our way – even by each other?” Before he could get that wrong, Yassia gave a little chuckle and leaned closer yet again, tapping his nose. “Not that you ever would.”
It was another sign of his care that he felt the need to inquire deeper, and for him as well as for herself, Yassia was glad she could deny this question. To this day she still didn’t know what it had been, but Morgana had never handled her as roughly as she might have others. Yassia could have lost her tongue on many occasions, as she just hadn’t been able to keep her mouth shut, but it had not happened. She didn’t dare to think her opposition might have impressed the evil queen, but at least she had been able to stand her ground for longer than she would have dreamed herself. Maybe being manhandled by different monarchs or wannabe-monarchs who all lacked in the courtesy department turned you into some sort of expert after a while? Well, it would probably stay a mystery never to be fully uncovered.
”No”, she answered therefore truthfully, and still a little thoughtfully. ”I was lucky, I guess. Others had it far worse.” The abrupt change of subject didn’t surprise her that much. After all, thinking of what-might-have-beens in such circumstances was always an affair to make your skin crawl. Yassia wanted to chase the shadows away as well!

“A gift sounds wonderful yes!” she agreed, then cocked her head in thinking. “We could let it travel by messenger, so it might take longer, but it would be more than could fit to a dove’s neck. Oor…” suddenly a smile broke out on her lips, as she remembered something from her own childhood.
“I don’t know if that custom is known outside Ailantha, I never asked my mother about it, but when I was born, my father planted the seed of a tree into the ground, somewhere in our garden. My brother has one too, but it’s different from mine, an oak, because he was the crown prince. Mine’s a cherry tree.” Yassia furrowed her brows and then looked at Oliver. “What would you say would be two good trees for Arthur and Esmae. Or do you have any other good idea? We don’t have to go with this!”

A sly grin flickered over Yassia’s face at Oliver’s words. Was that only her imagination or had there be a hint of suggestion in Oliver’s tone? Well, seeing in what state she was right now, to declare Oliver completely innocent and incapable of such things would be foolish indeed.
”Right noow?!” she asked, chuckling and leaning in to give him a lingering, teasing kiss. “In this room? How, pray tell, would THAT look like? You don’t even have anything here to fight!” Just his bare hands of course, but Yassia knew well enough that they would suffice. Oliver might not look brawny, but he had surprised many a man already with the strength that was hidden inside him.

Yassia couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the mental image of a powdered Edmund. She laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth and doubled over. Had she not been alone with Oliver in this room, she might have swallowed it all down, forced herself to remain nonchalant, but this attack on her imagination had been too sudden, soo unexpected. Of course, she had never been in Prince Edmund’s room, as that would have been far from proper, and so she had no way of telling if Oliver was right. He probably wasn’t, but that was completely beside the point.
”Alright, you win”, she gasped between two laugh attacks and fanned her face. “Sweet stars… I could have beared so much… but NOT a whitewashed husband. Maybe I senses something, that’s why I ran off when I had the chance!”

Now Morgana was clearly being nothing but ridiculous, but it still enraged Yassia to be viewed at as something she clearly wasn’t. She and having made eyes at Arthur?! When and where please?! There had never been such a thought in her heart, so where did Morgana get her notions from? As if she had ever looked at Arthur with anything but friendship in mind! In truth, he was a handsome young man, and he was surely to be admired, but then Yassia knew a few other people that were so as well. Her heart was shielded by a firm wall that kept away all sentiments like that even if she should have felt them towards someone. She was soon to be queen, she could not lose her heart randomly like that, if she one day married it had to be for the good of her kingdom. This wall had crumbled only once, in the Forest of Balor, but ever since she had worked on rebuilding it even stronger. This could not happen again, and as far as she was concerned, it WOULD not happen again.”It enrages me, because your accusations are pointless!” she snarled at Morgana. “When would you have EVER seen me making eyes at Arthur? How could you ever compare me to Gwen?! I told you before that you were being ridiculous, but now… have you ever considered becoming a jester, Morgana? You tell tales like one!”

The sty of her people… oh no she could not let this pass! But she had to… the enraged part of a conversation was the inferior part, and she had lost enough ground already through Morgana’s outrageous insults. Her pride in her people would have to stand back, so they would have a queen to return to them still. But it was hard, oh so hard! Had there ever been a greater try of her countenance? Yassia could almost feel her muscles sizzling with the tension it cost her to keep them still, and she bit on the inside of her cheek to not say something unguarded and rash. Morgana would pay for this, oh yes she would pay. But not yet.

Well, in all honesty, Yassia had considered doing this for Morgana, because she was sure it would never work. She had only promised her to TRY it, if her uncle was so stubborn to refuse – like she knew he would – it was not her problem. The only thing now was to ensure that Morgana would not catch on to that little trick. So much depended from her being brought to her uncle. She would be able to check on him, she could ask him then who else was still down there, held captive by Morgana, and maybe she would even catch a glimpse of Caitrin. She only had to play her part well now.
”Because I do not believe in more bloodshed and suffering”, she explained, holding her head high. “Neither for me, not for any of them. If there is a way to solve this by talking rather than torture, it should at least be tried, no?” That, and of course her ever-growing fear of complete darkness, were Yassia’s motivation.

There were so many things Yassia didn’t understand about magic, and she realized that now might be one of the few moments she could actually quench her curiosity, as she knew no one else within all the people she knew who possessed magic. Well, apart from Morgana of course, but the little time they had spent together hadn’t exactly be filled with casual talk about the perks and downsides of magic. Oh dear, no, they had had so many other things to discuss – like who was the superior in their conversation, and stars, that had taken some time and fight! Had Morgana’s reign lasted any longer, Yassia might have regretted her boldness and her refusal to yield even more than she had already had. But this was neither the time nor the place to let Morgana back into her thoughts, she didn’t deserve such attention. Morgan had ruined too much already, she didn’t need to ruin this evening as well with even the faintest hint of her presence.


“Well, for the sake of us both, maybe I should just forget about it, but then I love watching you doing it. I wonder… can you only enhance what is already there, or can you even evoke elements out of thin air? Like…” she puckered up her nose in thinking. “Could you make it rain inside this room? Oh sweet stars, now I’m giving you ideas”, she stopped herself with a sheephish laugh and a similar expression. Had Caitrin been in a better mood altogether, they might have gone crazy on such things about now, but somehow Yassia felt that this was not the case on this evening. The talk about magic might have brought them away from the initial subject a little maybe, but in the end it was too strong to be covered up for long. There was something seriously wrong with Caitrin, and in all honesty, Yassia didn’t have the heart for too much joking either, if she felt that Caitrin’s heart was not in it.

But what on earth WAS wrong?! They weren’t much closer in discovering that yet and trying to talk it out, but Yassia knew that Caitrin might need her time. Maybe it was something she couldn’t even define herself? Yassia had had such moments when she had felt incredibly sad, but couldn’t have named the reason for it at first. Her mother had called such phases ‘world-weariness’, but in looking back now, Yassia often thought if her mother had simply tried to cover up her homesickness she must have sometimes felt.
All Yassia could do right now was holding Caitrin tight and showing her in just so many words that she was there for here, that it would be alright somehow. But whatever had been on Yassia’s mind, she surely hadn’t foreseen what really was to come.
“I lost a child, mine and Griff’s child.”
For a moment, Yassia’s mind went completely blank, and for the next, crazy moment, she thought: “What?! Here?! Now?!” Until it occurred to her that this could simply not be the case. No one could cover up a recent miscarriage so well. But then, when had it happened? Sweet stars, how long had Caitrin been carrying that around with her, without saying a single word?! No wonder she seemed so distraught!

“Sweet stars…” she whispered, “when?!” Then she couldn’t hold herself back any longer and pulled Caitrin again into an even tigher hug. “My poor dear! I’m so sorry! That must have been horrible!” Perhaps only those who had suffered it for themselves could understand the fathomless agony of a mother losing her child, even more so when it hadn’t even had the chance to be born. Miscarriages were even more dangerous than the actual births, and for a moment Yassia felt extremely glad beneath all the sorrow and commiseration that her friend was still with her.

While she was turning towards her friend, Yassia just caught the treacherous and telling movement of Caitrin towards her eyes and her brows knit together even more in concern. Had Caitrin been crying?! What on earth was going on here?! Inwardly, Yassia’s thoughts started to race, while she still kept smiling outwardly, as she approached her friend. What could have possibly happened that upset Caitrin so much? Was it a thing of past or present? If it was present, did it have something to do with Griff? Where was he? Had they had an argument?! But no, after nearly losing him once, Yassia doubted Caitrin would just sit here and do nothing had he ran off again. She would bind him to the next pillar and talk it out if that was what it did take. So if it wasn’t about Griff, what could it be then? Had she maybe spoken with her family, and the reception had even been worse than expected? Ire rised up inside Yassia at the thought of anyone hurting Caitrin like that. How dare they all! But then, she could not just readily assume, she had to find out what happened first, hear it from Caitrin herself.

And this proved to be the tricky part. She resumed control over her countenance almost at the speed of lightning and she deflected the actual, concerned question Yassia had asked already. Now, what was the best tactic? Insist on not changing the subject and giving Caitrin the time to harden her defenses even more, until her usual stubbornness made the wall to her soul impregnable, or… should she answer the questions first, and then hope to catch Caitrin unawares. It might work, but it might also fail… Yassia usually wasn’t one for such treachery, but she felt that there was something big afoot, and she longed to be let in to Caitrin’s heart like that. Yassia had shared so many sorrows with her friend, it felt like she owed Caitirn so much. If there was any chance to ever repay her that kindness, it would probably be now. Though this wasn’t about paying dues at all, it was about wanting to show Caitrin that she didn’t always have to fight these battles on her own. She needed to at least know that, if nothing else.

“Don’t you dare apologize”, she monished Caitrin softly and chuckled. “I’ve been so caught up in various activities I hardly find time to breathe. I haven’t been this popular since leaving Ailanth behind, and I am not yet sure what to make of it all. If Edmund doesn’t demand my attention it is his mother or Oliver. And before we’re both stooping so low in our friendship that we discuss the weather so that anything is said at all, you could as well tell me why you are in need of company.” She tried to make it sound casual, practically sneak it up on Caitrin from behind. But now the breach was hopefully blown, she prompted on right away.
”A blind man can see that you are troubled, dear. Did something happen? You know you can always tell me, however insignificant it might seem to you.” There was something far from insignificant afoot, Yassia thought. A strong woman like Caitrin didn’t cry over inanities. There must be a deep trouble in her soul to give her a sleepless night and tears, so much was for sure, and Yassia was determined in finding it out. Maybe she could help, but maybe she couldn’t. That would have to be seen.

There was a restless air around Yassia this night, and she just couldn’t seem to lie down and go to sleep. The dy had given her so much to think of again, and slowly she began to ask herself if her head could even take any more. And her heart. Instead of forcing herself away from Oliver she felt drawn closer to him with every day or even every hour that passed. And that was wrong. It was not only wrong, it was self-destructive, like she was being pulled deeper and deeper into a maelstrom and partly even was so gladly. She could be torn apart limb by limb, and yet she continously put herself in situations where she was alone with him. Or fate did, and she simply had not the strength to stay away from the temptation.There was no thinking of sleep just yet, and Yassia had sent away the maid twice who had been told to wait upon her and help her with undressing and preparing for bed. She felt like she wouldn’t be able to sleep for a long while, so what was the point in even trying?

It was not so much the need of advice or guidance that made her think of going to see if Caitrin was still awake. No, this time she didn’t want to burden her friend with her troubles, she had done so often enough already, she simply wanted to offer her a chance of her company. It was almost an insult to their friendship how little they seemed to see each other even though they were lodging under the same roof. Yassia didn’t have much experience with close friendship whatsoever, but she knew that is was a tender flower who needed to be nurtured with greatest care. Too much attention could let it die as readily as too little, but right now they were seriously neglecting each other’s company, and not even willingly. Their days just had been filled with so many different activities that especially Yassia had hardly found time to breathe. Today’s riding session had been a start, and it had turned into such an amusing and exciting event, when they had sneaked up on Oliver and Jeffrey’s hunting party that Yassia was sure she would remember this for a lifetime.

Slinging a warm dark green dressing gown around her shoulders against the chilly air out in the corridor, Yassia sneaked the short distance over the corridor and around the corner towards Caitrin’s guest chambers. There was a little light floating from under the door, but that could also come from the dying flames in the hearth. She would knock softly, Yassia decided, a knock that would only alert those still awake and not rouse the sleeping. She didn’t want Caitrin to feel obliged to talk to her after all, when she had gone to bed already. Or maybe her and Griff were – otherwise occupied. Yassia felt heat rising up her cheeks at this thought, but she could not help it. It was perfectly natural after all, these two were soon to be married.
Only a heartbeat after the knock, she was greeted with Caitrin’s voice from inside, and Yassia could feel a smile tugging at her lips.

“Am I disturbing you?” she whispered as she slipped through the door. “I just wanted to see how you were!”
Was it the light or did Caitrin’s features seem… troubled somehow? Yassia’s eyebrows drew closer together at the sheer thought and she took a few steps towards her friend, though not yet saying anything. She would never press Caitrin to confide in her.