10th Bell, Fall 90th, 519
Dear Lhelie Dawn
I have admired you from afar for a long time. I have no business even speaking to a Dawn woman, much less expressing my admiration for her, so I have kept silent. I know my place. But before I move on, can I ask a favour from you? A simple conversation, that would be enough. Then I can move on knowing you know my name.
"And what have you been scribbling away at?", Chiona asked from across the classroom, putting down her book with a yawn. Her tawny eyes were bright with sunshine and curiosity as she turned her gaze to Madeira. "Finally writing a letter home?"
It was a hot, dry morning, and class was about to start. The tall windows of Madeira's classroom high atop the Dusk Tower were open in an attempt to coax in a breeze that wouldn't come. But even sweaty and uncomfortable the Dusk heir was resplendent in her summer gown and draped saree. Madeira looked up from her letter, her eyes greedily following the long line of her legs that the thin dress did nothing to conceal.
"This is my home", Madeira smiled, surprised to realize she meant it. It wasn't Alvadas, but it was home. It just needed a few tweaks to make it worth raising her family in. She blew on the drying ink and folded the letter as the Dusk heir came to join her. Chiona lifted herself to sit on the edge of the desk, her slippered feet dangling above the stone floor.
"I seem to remember a girl a year ago who would disagree."
Madeira laughed, the sound bright and airy, while in her heart there was a spark of something much darker. "That girl didn't know what she was getting into. But I have a hundred and more reasons to make this place my home."
"So it's a love letter, then?"
"Wow, you are nosy."
"So it is!"
"Says the woman who has not even looked at a suitor's letter since I arrived."
Chiona tossed her mane of chestnut curls behind her head with a dramatic haughtiness she couldn't quite pull off. "I would, if a single one was worth looking at. Honestly, Madeira, when you get to be my age they expect a women to be so ready to settle down she'll take anyone willing to get on his knees. I have no interest in any of it."
Liar, Madeira's mind purred. She knew exactly why she hadn't had any interest in her many suitors, why she was unmarried and seemed determined to stay that way. She already had a lover and a secret, scandalous affair.
Madeira had known of this forbidden affair for a long, long time. Lhelie Dawn and Chiona Dusk, two heirs from rival families. Two female heirs. Not only was their love doomed under the social pressure, it would be unfruitful. Chiona had a laundry list of suitors vying for her attention, but she had to choose the only one she couldn't have.
WC: 549
I have admired you from afar for a long time. I have no business even speaking to a Dawn woman, much less expressing my admiration for her, so I have kept silent. I know my place. But before I move on, can I ask a favour from you? A simple conversation, that would be enough. Then I can move on knowing you know my name.
"And what have you been scribbling away at?", Chiona asked from across the classroom, putting down her book with a yawn. Her tawny eyes were bright with sunshine and curiosity as she turned her gaze to Madeira. "Finally writing a letter home?"
It was a hot, dry morning, and class was about to start. The tall windows of Madeira's classroom high atop the Dusk Tower were open in an attempt to coax in a breeze that wouldn't come. But even sweaty and uncomfortable the Dusk heir was resplendent in her summer gown and draped saree. Madeira looked up from her letter, her eyes greedily following the long line of her legs that the thin dress did nothing to conceal.
"This is my home", Madeira smiled, surprised to realize she meant it. It wasn't Alvadas, but it was home. It just needed a few tweaks to make it worth raising her family in. She blew on the drying ink and folded the letter as the Dusk heir came to join her. Chiona lifted herself to sit on the edge of the desk, her slippered feet dangling above the stone floor.
"I seem to remember a girl a year ago who would disagree."
Madeira laughed, the sound bright and airy, while in her heart there was a spark of something much darker. "That girl didn't know what she was getting into. But I have a hundred and more reasons to make this place my home."
"So it's a love letter, then?"
"Wow, you are nosy."
"So it is!"
"Says the woman who has not even looked at a suitor's letter since I arrived."
Chiona tossed her mane of chestnut curls behind her head with a dramatic haughtiness she couldn't quite pull off. "I would, if a single one was worth looking at. Honestly, Madeira, when you get to be my age they expect a women to be so ready to settle down she'll take anyone willing to get on his knees. I have no interest in any of it."
Liar, Madeira's mind purred. She knew exactly why she hadn't had any interest in her many suitors, why she was unmarried and seemed determined to stay that way. She already had a lover and a secret, scandalous affair.
Madeira had known of this forbidden affair for a long, long time. Lhelie Dawn and Chiona Dusk, two heirs from rival families. Two female heirs. Not only was their love doomed under the social pressure, it would be unfruitful. Chiona had a laundry list of suitors vying for her attention, but she had to choose the only one she couldn't have.
WC: 549
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