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CHAPTER ONE. ✷ the calm before.
VEGA BARREGAIN BEGAN TEACHING AT BASGIATH TWO YEARS AFTER THE TYRRISH REBELLION. SINCE THEN, SHE IS RARLEY SEEN IN ELSUM. ONCE EVERY MONTH AT THE VERY MOST.
— THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NAVARRIAN NOBLES, BY COLONEL LEWIS MARKHAM
The brisk chill of the summer breeze cuts through the air, pushing Niamh's hair simultaneously in and out of her face. Some of the stray white strands stick to the glossy finish coating her lips, while the majority fly behind her. She stands on the second-floor balcony of the Barregain House, arms crossed over her red, satin dress as she awaits the return of her mother. Her father, face stern and cold as ever, stands beside her in a similar manner. Although, his hands grip the marble railing some feet below them. Niamh, despite the knitted brows she wears, at least looks somewhat excited about her mother coming home. Her father, on the other hand, could not look any more disinterested.
It has been nearly four months since Vera last visited from Basgiath, which means it has been four months since either of the two have seen her. It's been even longer since Niamh last saw her brothers. Her eldest brother, Cyprus graduated two years ago and was shipped off the western border soon after that. Rian, her other brother, has been at Basgiath for the past two years. Neither of them write very often, though Cyprus seems to find more time than Rian. Sometimes it shocks her when she gets a letter from the latter, but what shocks her even more is that Cyprus has the time to reach out to her more. Then again, perhaps it's not a matter of time, but a matter of will.
While she loves both of her brother's very dearly, there is an unmistakably stronger bond between the eldest and the youngest. Throughout her childhood, Cyprus acted as both her bodyguard and her worst enemy. One minute he was defending her from any harm that might come her way, the next he was the harm, flinging daggers at her just to see if she could dodge them. Rian would throw daggers at her for the hell of it. They both trained her defense in different ways; Cyprus intended to, and Rian forced her to. If she didn't throw up her arms when Rian threw a punch, he'd knock her out without any sort of remorse. Always the aggressor. He once pulled her arm out of its socket because she took the last pastry from the dessert table...she was ten.
The sound of loud drums is heard above her. She tilts her head to the sky to see the silhouette of a large dragon on the horizon. Aelrin, her mother's orange club tail, approaches rapidly, causing a hitch in her breath. Throughout her life. Niamh has seen countless dragons whether her mother's, her father's, or one bonded with one of her father's friends or council members. Yet, their beauty takes her breath away every single time. She doesn't think she'll ever get used to the sight of their scales glistening in the sunlight.
