Along the Streets of Virtue ✓

PART ONE

The House of Seamstresses was one of the more well respected within the realm; however rarely associated with a status of Royalty. There were countless Houses in the Streets of Virtue. Usually, the ones in power rotated between a selected few; the Blacksmiths, Linguists and Medics.

Each had their designated strengths gifted by their respected House. The craft of weaponry, the skill of conversation or the power of exceptional bodily and mental perseverance. All dominated by men, as history so blatantly predicted. The Seamstresses weren't exclusively women, though the House was considered one of the more feminine, being delegated centuries ago.

A Cycle lasts twenty-five years, at the start of every one a Revelation finds place. New Royalty are chosen; but what happens if a mistake is made?

          _ _ _

'Be careful. I don't want you to get blood all over this place - the hassle of cleaning that up is all yours if you do.'

'Bossy, much?' Acker let out a puff of air as she pulled his arm closer over the well.

'I'd say careful, rather.' Aspen finished the cleaning of his fresh cut, following across the longest line of his palm. 'Unlike you, it seems,' she chose to add.

'Ah, you're worse than Cedar,' he grunted with a smile across his big mouth.

Their eldest brother, Cedar, was undoubtedly the most talented within their family. All across the realm, praised for his meticulousness and utterly flawless services. He'd taken it upon himself to attempt and teach his younger brother the secrets within the craft - causing much frustration of both parties involved.

'Speaking of, we need to find him. The Revelation will happen at sundown. You know how anxious he gets.' Aspen calmly stated as she tied the black piece of fabric firmly around his hand.

'Should stop the bleeding for now, but I'll have to change it a few times before it can properly heal.'

'You should've been a Medic,' he joked as he roughly dragged his hand through her ash white hair. She swatted him away, which he clearly expected by how effortlessly he dodged her counter attack.

'Jerk.'

'Quite a hypocritical statement to come from you but fair, nonetheless,' her older brother mumbled, his body towering over her even as he bowed over the stone wall to secure the bucket once more.

'Guess what?' He leaned against the edge, his large hands scratching the white stubble on his chin.

'What now?'

'You're last again.' He shot forward and hit her shoulder as he jumped across the large grey stepping stones.

'You're an actual child!' As she - well aware of the reoccurring hypocrisy of her words - chased after him to beat him to the building they called "home".

'I hope you two babies didn't cause a ruckus out there', Cedar's voice sounded rough as he greeted them. He slept a lot. Days seemed longer for him than for the other members of his family. They moved to the bottom floor of the House recently; which was highly unusual for their status within the community. Acker had to pull many strings for this arrangement to sort out. Once Cedar had recovered from the physical strain it took to move their belongings, this would considerably improve his quality of life.

'It's all good, brother,' Aspen assured him, passing him his cup of tea as she spotted him reaching for it. He sent her a grateful smile which she returned, accompanied by a single nod.

'What's the time?' her other brother asked. He'd taken two chairs from the kitchen to take place next to Cedar's usual spot in the living room. The other couch was reserved for their parents, who would be arriving any minute now. The dimmed light graced the still slightly empty living room with a calm atmosphere. The majority of the remaining boxes found storage in the small hallway for the time being; this was the smallest level of the House of Seamstresses since it included the entrance. It took some adjusting as it had only been two weeks since the move. Aspen preferred the colours of their other home; the grey appeared depressing compared to the warm orange from before. At least their red and brown furniture gave the place a bit of colour; reminding her of the breezy autumn nights here in Larkin.