Page 59 of Gilded Crown

As they ate a simple dinner at Este’s table, Aurelius scowled at his plate. “I wonder if he thought of that himself.”

“If he or anyone was suspicious of you, they might have sent scouts out.”

“It’s pretty hard to hide an army,” added Jari. A lone scout wouldn’t have to get close to see their massive group from afar.

“And we’re taking the most logical route to get to Nova, so it wouldn't be much trouble to send a flier to see,” said Este. “How do you think Zylem will do on tactics?”

“He’ll likely let the guards of Morning Glory take care of that,” said Aurelius. “They all have training on what to do in case of an invasion. Perhaps Gullveig is advising him or will if it's really needed. The youngest has always been rather dull, and he’s a follower, but he’s not entirely stupid. I can tell you this: if it seems we’re winning, neither will stick around to face defeat like a man.”

“I highly doubt they'll fight either,” said Jari. “Especially Zylem.”

“He’s that type?” asked Este.

“Yeah,” said Aurelius. “He’s tougher when the other is weaker or if he can be swift and sneaky. If Zylem runs, Gullveig will too.”

“There’s no word about Zora yet, so we can focus on one issue at a time,” said Este. “That’s something good, and if your brothers are gone, they lose all power.”

Jari was almost jealous of her for a moment. Este wore a necklace with a bronze square, and something was inscribed on the front. It caught his eye as he thought. Once Nova was reclaimed, she could go home, and she’d have her family. She’d never see her family slowly go insane or have that urge that Aurelius said lurked in the back of his head and occasionally whispered.

“Oh, do you like this?” She plucked at her necklace.

“Uh-yeah, it’s pretty,” he hastily said. Dear Elira, hopefully Este didn’t think he’d been blatantly checking out her chest. “What do those two words mean?”

“Mon cherieis French.”

“What’s French?”

It’s a human language from a place on Earth called France.” She held up the bronze square and flicked the little catch on the side so it swung open. “It means “my dear,” and Mother loves the way it sounds. She got one for me and Calytrix.”

Inside was a tiny portrait of her Mother from the waist up. The artist must have used a brush made from one hair since the detail was astounding. Even sitting, she had the grace of a woman who could say a thousand words with a few movements.

Este moved it so Aurelius who was on her other side could see it. “Even though we're adults now and doing our own thing, Mother is always with us and close to our hearts.”

Something in Aurelius’s face closed off as his cheek started twitching. Maybe he was thinking of his lost Mother. Jari quickly cast around for something to say to distract Este so she didn’t notice.

“Was it hard splitting your home life between two places with your parents?” Instantly, he wanted to kick himself in the ass for blurting that out. That wasn’t his business.

“No, not it all,” she said. “We loved it. Father told me that he never wanted to marry, and he’s not much into romantic stuff. He also likes his space, but he wanted a person in his life who was special, and not only did he need heirs, he wanted kids. Mother’s that way too, and since he went to a show at Wind’s Kiss, he had a front seat and was allowed to meet the dancers afterward. Mother danced in all of the shows back then, and they started talking, became friends, and things went from there. It works because Mother never wanted to permanently move and leave her business. Acting and dancing are her life.”

“Besides you and your sister.” Aurelius’s face had eased a bit.

“Well, of course, but we didn’t exist yet back then.” Este chuckled. “Calytrix and I loved traveling back and forth. We got to meet new people at court and spend time with Father. When we stayed with Mother, we got to watch the shows for free, and being behind the stage was fun too. When my parents visited each other, then we were all together.”

“That does sound like fun.”

She put on a conspiratory look. “Acting and dancing nearly every night at times can be stressful. Backstage was where we learned every cuss word known to fairykind. You’d think those women would be all prim and proper, but hide a woman’s makeup case and watch her turn into a foul-mouthed sailor.”

Jari laughed, and the corner of Aurelius’s twitched before he spoke. “Who hid the case?”

She lifted her chin and smirked. “I’ll never tell.”

***

Aurelius had a tent to sleep in, and Jari slept in front of the entrance. Despite only ten feet between their bedrolls, he didn’tdare ask if they could bridge that space. The tension hadn’t quite left the Prince while they were with Este, and he assumed the talk of her Mother had done it.

He’d never gotten to say goodbye to his. Jari wanted to crawl over there and hug him. Instead, he listened to the noises in the camp as men prepared for bed or sat around fires to smoke, talk, or drink. Excessive alcohol was strictly forbidden, so hopefully, no brawls broke out.

“Jari.” Aurelius’s voice hitched.

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