of copper and blades

CHAPTER FOUR,

"TOLD YOU HE would not come," Justine smirked. "Does he seem like the kind of person who'd come stargazing with us two? If it was Dalton and Dumont, maybe. Us? No way in hell."

"Hmm, disappointing," Cass murmured. "God wonders why the other three are still downstairs."

"It's bloody cold, Cass," Justine shot back.

"I have had worse. I have been in Engleraine. The climate there? That is cold, Justine. This is barely a breeze."

"Most people would beg to differ."

It wasn't freezing by any means, but even to Justine, who considered herself quite resilient to the cold, it was chilly. But Cass didn't feel a thing. Ciri had taken one glance outside the window of the drawing room and declared that it was unfit weather. Marcus had been too lazy. Laurence just wanted to stick with Ciri. That left the two of them.

"The stars are pretty tonight," Cass murmured, changing the topic.

"Yes, Cass," Justine replied matter-of-factly. "That is why we're here." And the stars were pretty, twinkling in the night sky. There were thousands of them, all over. But it wasn't anything that special. She'd seen stars before, similar to this. On the battlefield, on other journeys, even some days in the Palace.

"It feels strange, does it not? The stars are so far away. Yet we see them still."

"The smallest of things can have a massive impact on the world," Justine shrugged. "I see no point being overly philosophical about this."

"You are the one being philosophical about this," Cass huffed. "Oblige me for a moment, Justine Lan. Just be quiet."

"I was being quiet until you started jabbering about the beauty of the stars."

"Well, be quiet now," Cass said with a shake of her head. "It's been a long time since I've had any real peace. Life has been so busy."

"Really."

"Yes," Cass said. "Have you not felt it? Between the wedding and everything that happened then and the mess left behind afterwards... It's been so chaotic."

"It's been quiet for the last two weeks or so. With everyone gone."

"No, it was still busy." Cass rubbed her forehead. "I think it's about time I retire."

"Wait what?" Justine asked, head snapping to her friend. "You're not even thirty."

"Not... completely, but I'm starting to get so tired, Justine."

"That doesn't mean you need to retire. You just need a break."

"How?" Cassalyn asked, shaking her head. "I've tried. I don't know how to. As long as I'm still doing this, I'll never allow myself to relax. But I need it. Desperately."

"Maybe you should go somewhere else. Somewhere new."

"I've travelled to most travel-worthy places in the world," Cass said wryly. "Not much else there is to go."

"It doesn't have to be someone you've never travelled to precisely... how about somewhere you've never been outside of work?"

"Maybe," Cass murmured. "I'll think about it. Thank you."

"You're welcome. We're friends, after all. And if you do need it, I have a small estate outside Hong Cheng. In Guting. I don't live there often, but I have a few members of staff there. If you want to go, you can tell me. It's really quiet."