28. the library

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𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖆 • the grand palace━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖆 • the grand palace
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

When they got back, the first thing Elara did was take a bath and then a nap, so Aurora took the opportunity to see Dawn—except she hadn't been in her chambers when she knocked there.

     She waited, and when she supposed she might have been asleep, too, she silently and carefully crept in. Changing was never a bother between the two, so it didn't matter if she was changing. Except she wasn't there at all.

She heard Dusk and Cassius' distant chattering a few feet away and immediately spun on her heel, waiting for them to approach. They didn't for what stretched on and felt like an eternity, and with a huff, she frowned and folded her arms across her chest, waiting patiently. They were lucky she had enough of that to go on.

"There you are!" she exclaimed as she threw her hands up in exasperation when they finally rounded the hallway's left corner, startled and jumping at her sudden comment with wide eyes. "Have either of you seen Dawn?"

     Asking either was stupid.

     Cassius would (falsely) refuse having any knowledge about her.

     Everyone knew that was a lie and they both secretly kept tabs on the other. They could claim all they wanted that all love between them was gone, but they were the ones with blurred perspective that was biased by whatever had happened between them.

     "I know she sleeps like a corpse at times but she isn't answering the door, and I can't think of where else she could have gone."

"Oh, she is in the courtyard," Dusk answered. "The last time I saw her, I mean. She is practising her sword skills. Apparently a spot on the Royal Guard is opening up soon." He tapped Cassius' arm. "I don't see you preparing."

He shrugged, fiddling with his tunic. "I don't need to. I was already guaranteed a spot two weeks ago." That news certainly took them by surprise to say the least.

They narrowed their eyes, crossing their arms. "By who?"

"Your father," he answered.

"And what about Dawn?" they questioned.

"He said she was guaranteed a spot long ago. She just likes to practice," he mumbled, eyes glued to the floor.

That made more sense.

     While Aurora and Dusk turned to arts to take a moment for themselves and/or calm down, Dawn—and at times, albeit less frequently, Cassius—turned to practising their fighting skills. They found the pair in the training rooms numerous times on separate occasions, prepared to practice until they were close to having had passed out.

     It was their method, though, so after expressing concern at the overexertion and telling them to take a break, which admittedly did help, they left them be.

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