After convincing his fussing valet that he would surely go and change into presentable clothes at once, River Verlice immediately went back to crouching behind his desk the minute poor servant left.
He was adding his final touches to the gift he had prepared for his precious niece.
River Verlice was an artificer. He spent all his time in his workroom, designing and constructing artifacts and weapons. He had created countless daggers, crossbows, arrows, and even swords. Still, all those projects combined didn't require the time and effort it took him to finish this single piece of jewelry.
He held the pendant against the candlelight and watched it sparkle. The chain was made of the finest gold, and the pendent was the shape of an Azize blossom, with five dazzling pieces of Rose Sanbelite embedded in the place of each petal.
He had chanted the necklace to ward off diseases and to bring her easy and quality sleep. Finding material and making the piece after learning the craft by himself took him 6 months. But his niece deserved nothing less.
The last time he saw his niece was a year ago, when Valour brought her over to the Shrine of Vorine for her naming ceremony. She had been a tiny baby then, only a few days old.
River still doesn't know how Valour managed to convince the Queen to let him bring the new born princess to the East Wing back then. But River was glad he did, because it would kill him if he had missed the chance to meet his adorable niece.
It was the first time River had ever held a baby. She was softer than the flower she was named after, with cheeks as pink as its petals. She smelled just as pleasant too. The baby smell - as Ayla called it.She had been fast asleep when Valour gently laid her in River's waiting arms.
"Fuuko," Valour had grinned, tears glistening in his eyes. "I wanted you to meet my daughter."
The baby had held her uncle's heart in her tiny hands ever since.
He rubbed the chain one last time on his sleeve to get rid of any non-existent dust and pocketed it before leaving the workroom.
Time had flown while he was distracted with his work, and now he had about four minutes to bathe and put on a decent outfit. River's heart raced in excitement at the thought of seeing his brother and his family again. His pace quickened, his gait bouncy in exhilaration.
He had barely taken ten steps in the direction of his chambers when he heard someone calling.
"Fuuko!"
River turned around, greatly alarmed to find his big brother rapidly approaching him with outstretched arms and a stupid smile on his face.
Before he could make a run for it, the jovial tonardo engulfed him,pulling him into a bone-crushing embrace.
"God, Fuuko! You stink."
Despite the complaint, his brother only tightened his hold on him. River patted him on the back awkwardly, until Valour eventually released him.
"Have you lost weight? Have you grown any taller? What happened while I was away? Did you miss me?"
River completely ignored the deluge of questions and took a few minutes to drink in the visage of his brother.
Since he last saw Valour a year ago, the man had grown a few shades darker from living in the East Boarders, where the sun was merciless. His black hair was chopped really short too. Is that a new scar above his brow?
But there was a familiar sparkle in his deep black eyes, just the way he remembered from his childhood. And his smile, as stupid as it was, seemed to light up his entire miserable living quarters.
River felt a rush of warmth fill his heart. Valour's dumb smile was dangerously contagious, and he
found himself wearing a matching grin.
"Val," he called, the name sounding foreign on his lips after not being called for so long. "Where's my niece?"
Valour pouted, like a wronged child, "Are you happy not to see me?"
River stared at him in silence.
"She is with her mother," Valour replied, sounding defeated. "You can see her tonight."
River Verlice had no mother and no father. He only had his brother.
In his whole life ,only Valour had treated him like a person. River was infinitely grateful to have him . Life in East Wing would be a whole lot more unbearable without him.
Later, when he got married to Ayla Yearwood and moved to Queensend, River felt as if he had lost the only soul who cared about him in this world.
But he had found two more to love instead.
Looking at him now, River couldn't believe his stupid brother had become a dad.
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Author is an only child and never had a sibling . So if sibling dyanamics are not accurate to real life, Author apologizes.
Author feels like the entire sibling situation can be summed up as -
Ill give you my kidney ,but not my charger.
So Author is going to write on that principle. Comment about your siblings (so Author can feel superior about being the only child)
Valour Verlice