“Your worry about who we are going to meet... I confess I don’t exactly know what I’ll find, but I’ll try my best to make the encounter concise and painless.”
Nina didn’t have to guide Ayla through the corners they had to take, nor inform her of which doors were open and which were not, like the one they were standing in front of. Ayla’s steps were usually confident and decisive, and so was her straight posture, but in this House—in her House—she moved as if she owned it.
The sharp, brief knock on the door was mere courtesy towards her parents, because as the heir of this House, there was no doubt Ayla could access any room she wished to.
There was almost a five-second wait until the door opened magically, revealing a wide room with dark wooden furniture with Cardinal-red details. Jasper Brachyan occupied the biggest, most notorious chair in the center.
His golden eyes were narrowed, his arms crossed over his chest. Veronica Brachyan stood next to him, her green eyes inquisitive under a fire-red fringe that covered her eyebrows. They didn’t seem the most welcoming panoms on Terrha.
Based on what she had guessed of the relationship between Ayla and her parents lately, Nina wasn’t expecting massive hugs or loving words of welcome, but she definitely was not expecting the first question the North Ruler asked his daughter after not seeing her in months.
“What happened to you?”
The longer Jasper Brachyan stared at Ayla, the deeper his top lip curled. He didn’t seem able to move his sole focus from the new eyes of his daughter. That was until his eyes pierced Nina’sand his mouth dropped open, his eyebrows merging into one as his brow furrowed.
As if the tension in the room were tangible and she could feel every emotion of her father, Ayla clenched her jaw. “Life and purpose happened to me, Father.”
His focus was back on Ayla, yet his brutal words weren’t directed at her this time.
“One of our daughters went mad rebelling and is a lost cause; the other can't even see.” Jasper Brachyan and his very furrowed brow turned to his wife. “Where did we go wrong, Veronica? What have we done to deserve such a miserable fate from the Cardinals?”
Nina’s blood froze, swallowing bile as a feeling she wasn’t used to settled into her veins. She side-stepped closer to Ayla, and held her shaky hand discreetly but firmly. Ayla’s fingers interlaced with hers, exerting a pressure Nina didn’t expect but also didn’t surprise her.
After their unexpected and still unexplained disappearance years ago, Nina had missed and still missed the caring, supportive figures of her mother and father every single day of her life. She had looked for them endlessly; she had missed their guidance and their presence. She had learned to live without their love, not to take the existence of beings she loved for granted.
It was difficult if not impossible to comprehend why any parent would harm their children in any way, intentionally or unintentionally, let alone understand speaking in such a derogatory and disrespectful manner about said children in their own presence.
Veronica Brachyan didn’t look at her husband or reply, and he didn’t seem to expect or care for her answer. Ayla’s mother simply shook her head extremely slowly, her eyes fixed on Ayla and Nina’s hands linked together.
“And you, with this unnatural white hair...” The North Ruler narrowed his eyes further as his stare pierced Nina. “Your hair is not normal, and I tend to remember worrying things when they pose a threat to my House. Have I seen you before?”
Nina inhaled deeply before speaking, squeezing Ayla’s still shaky hand between hers as she gathered as much courage as she had ever needed. "I washed your underwear for many years, sir. And the underwear your companions left tangled with yours sometimes." Ayla's father widened his amber eyes, an angry red blush trailing up his neck. Nina waved her spare hand dismissively, even if the blood rushing inside her was screaming. "It was no big issue, sir, no need to blush. Even if lacy, their undergarments were always so minuscule, it didn't feel like extra workload at all."
Ayla turned her face to Nina’s, her hand immediately squeezing back at hers. A firm hand that wasn’t shaking anymore. Veronica’s chest, however, expanded a couple of inches from the slow inhale she took, her jaw clenching so tightly Nina feared she would break a tooth or two.
Ayla’s father blinked, mottled crimson overtaking the lower part of his face and his ears now. He avoided his wife's gaze so intentionally there wasn't any doubt Nina's words spoke a very well hidden truth.
“Why is the heir to the North House holding the hand of a mere servant who lies more than breathes, daughter?” If his tone was a blade, Nina would now be bleeding to death, and she was aware of it.
“Why wouldn't I?” Ayla tilted her chin upwards, holding Nina's hand tighter. “I am a free woman, Father. I can do what I want.”
“Cardinals guide lost souls,” he muttered. “Even when we don’t see her, that girl causes us trouble. Have you spent time with that lunatic sister of yours? You sound like her.”
If Nina hadn’t been so close to Ayla, she wouldn’t have heard her small gasp. “Do you even care if Lenna is dead or alive?” Ayla snapped.
“Not as long as she doesn’t give me more work. She cannot give me more disappointment.” He pursed his lips as he interlaced his fingers over his chest. “These questions… This attitude… Ayla Brachyan, have you lost your mind as well as your eyes?” His voice was forced between his clenched teeth.
Ayla's nostrils flared, a tight smile lifting the corners of her tense lips. The grip on Nina’s hand was even stronger, as if she was using all the restraint she could muster.
He was either too blind with anger and shock, or he wasn’t the cleverest, because he continued.
“Let me tell you something, my dear daughter, and pay close attention, for the voice of centuries of experience should never be ignored. The Cardinals sometimes throw unexpected...thingsin your path, but that doesn't mean you have to keep whatever—whoever—they offer.” His eyes stared directly at Nina with such hatred she could almost physically feel it slicing her face. “You can pick and choose who you let into your life, who you allow between your sheets. That you're disabled,blind,doesn't mean you're fully useless. As the future Ruler of the North, you must always be selective. You shouldn't pick from the wastage and scraps of society. As my heir, I expect you to do better than that.” He spat the last word, his upper lip deeply curled as if he was smelling the most rotten of corpses, and it was the white-and-black-haired one holding the hand of his daughter.
Ayla let go of Nina's hand. A wicked grin was on her face Nina had never seen before, and she wasn’t sure how to interpret.
Then Ayla opened her hands, and silver sparks, the color of her eyeballs, flew towards Jasper Brachyan. Before he could react, she Gave him silver manacles, pinning him to his chair,and immediately after, she Gave two silver spears piercing the palms of his hands, removing his ability to use his panom magic.
“What are you doing?” His blood dropped loudly on the marble floor as Ayla approached him, her feet not faltering despite his outraged roar filling the room, the sound bouncing against the walls.
