Amber returned to the room she was to share with Sofia that night. The dinner served by the inn hadn't been as bad as she thought it was going to be. It had actually been better than most food from inns that she'd had in the past.
As Amber closed the door, she realized that Sofia wasn't in the bedroom anymore. For a moment, the blonde panicked. She hadn't seen her sister in the dining area so it didn't seem likely that she decided she was ready for dinner.
A paper on the bed caught her attention and Amber grabbed it.
.
Dear Amber,
You're not wrong. I don't want to go back to Cantata Hall. I don't want to return to Cantare Valley in general just yet. Everything is changing around me and I don't know how I feel about it. Everything I thought was true about me and what I deserve has been challenged. Admittedly, I'm a little scared about all these changes. I don't know how to feel. I don't know what to do.
Winnifred once told me that we all have bad days but what we do about them is what's important. What about the hard days when we don't know what to do?
I feel so torn. I know what I want to do, where I want to go. But I don't know if I'm brave enough to see if I would truly continue to be welcome there like Winnifred said.
I've gone for a quick ride. I need time to sort through things by myself. I'll be back soon.
Love Sofia
.
As she read the note, Amber couldn't help but worry. She didn't get the feeling that Sofia would be back soon. Especially since she was so torn.
oOo
"Cedric."
Cedric looked up at his mother. At her insistence, he had gotten something to eat. Although, he took the meal in the study. While forcing himself to swallow the food, he looked over his work from that day, hoping he could correct some of the errors he had made and finish some of what he never got to.
"Yes Mummy?"
"Your father is awake. He wants to talk to you."
Cedric gulped. This was it, he decided. Father knew how distracted he had been all day long and how badly it had affected his work. He was going to get scolded for sure.
Nervous as he was, Cedric stood up and went to his parents' bedroom. Inside, the sight of his father once again made him anxious. His father was not supposed to be bedbound. He was supposed to be strong and unbreakable.
Instead, Goodwyn's face was ashen. The injured lord seemed to have aged a few decades overnight. A grimace on his face told the tale of how painful he was.
"Cedric, come sit by me."
Cedric nodded mutely and did as told. His father's voice was unnerving. He sounded frail and weak, nothing at all like the powerful man he was supposed to be.
"How are you feeling, Father?" Cedric asked.
"I didn't call you here to talk about me," Goodwyn weakly said. "Nothing's going to change the fact that I'm stuck in bed and in pain. So let's talk about you."
Cedric immediately panicked. "I tried to get everything done today that needed to be done," he said quickly. "I tried but I failed."
"Cedric, did you think I was going to scold you?"
"I'd deserve it for not accomplishing everything I was supposed to."
"Cedric, all things considered, I'd be very surprised if you did manage to get anything taken care of. I didn't want to discuss that anyways."
Cedric felt some measure of relief but at the same time, he was still just a bit nervous.
"What is it, Father?"
"There's something you need to do."
"What's that?"
Cedric was immediately curious.