Chapter two
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news
It was memories like these that had jumped out at Aerial more and more over the past months. Memories of a time when her world had been carefree, times when the world seemed so dark. But she knew better now.
Just a week after her conversation with Lucid in the forest, Aerial had left Calcine to attend school at Lord Docent's castle in Shelp Upalong. The journey would take at least a week to traverse and would be extremely tiring, so Aerial's parents decided to have her cousin, Aurolea Crux, who was the granddaughter of Halcyona's favorite aunt, the Lady Arduosa Crux, go with her since they would be attending the school at the same time.
Aerial was thrilled with this idea because she and Aurolea were as thick as thieves when together. They had been friends ever since her father, the late Lord Panace Crux, had fallen ill with a fatal disease and died two years back. Since then her mother had gone into a kind of eternal mourning and never left her home of Nexua Manor on the edge of Chardae Forest. Aurolea was basically alone in her home except for her servants so Aerial felt that she would enjoy traveling with her as apposed to her ladies in waiting.
The two girls set out together on the seventeenth of August at ten o' clock in the morning for the home of Lord Docent. On the way there Aerial asked "So how are things at Nexua? I hear that your mother is still mourning."
"She is and to be completely honest it's getting quite annoying." Aurolea said with a sigh, as she swept her long strawberry blond hair out of her face. "She won't get rid of any of my father's things but every time she looks at one of them she starts bawling her eyes out."
"Well she's suffered a loss and needs time to move on." Aerial said politely.
"Yes but you would think that two years would be more than enough time." Aurolea replied.
"You would think that but eventually she will move on with her life." Aerial said hopefully.
"I think that the problem is that she has nothing else to occupy her time," Aurolea said wonderingly. "I mean you and I have school and other activities that keep us busy but all she has is that nigh empty house."
Aerial sat and pondered this for a while. It was true that she enjoyed participating in many activities such as riding, swimming, polo, bad-mitten, and sewing. As far as she knew, however, her Aunt Sarah had not partaken in any of these things since Lord Panace's untimely death. While Aurolea had tried to persuade her mother to join her in many outdoor activities they all ended the same way: with Sarah running from the place bawling her eyes out because something reminded her of Panace.
Aurolea's voice broke the silence like a knife cutting butter, "She is just so sad and depressed that the maids have taken to checking upon her every five minutes to make sure that she is still alive."
"Why?" Aerial asked with an astonished gasp.
"Well you see, the Lady Cora, who lives not a half a day's ride from us, is rumored to have killed herself after the death of her son, Cornin, even though the doctor's say that is was but a stopping of her heart that struck the deathly blow." Aurolea explained to a stunned Aerial.
She always knew that Lady Cora had been most distraught when her beloved and only son, Cornin, had died of a misplaced arrow at the local archery club in Smyte, but she never knew the complete extent of her grief, seeing as no one had seen her since the tragic event.
"I did not know," Aerial said in a shaky voice.
"Not many did, but now you know why I am worried about my mother." Aurolea replied.