Considering the mix of people in the room, the conversations never delved too deeply into anything serious or political. Remaining on the surface level wasn’t such a bad thing because Irene was in a quiet mood and sipping on wine to pass the ti, feeling a bit more comfortable after the Commander had excused himself first.
Admittedly, guilt was eating away at her insides. The look he had given her seed to silently convey that he wished she would go with him. Perhaps the conversation he wanted to have wasn’t one he could have in front of the others.
Even more likely, she felt it was all in her head. While his look did an sothing perhaps she was simply reading too much into it. All the hopefulness she unwillingly carried around was going to make her sick eventually.
However, his departure also made it okay for others to begin to depart. It made it so Felix, Arthur, and Irene were the last three in the room before they would also leave themselves.
More subtly, Felix had been observing Irene all evening. A conversation he had with the Commander before made him wonder what was going on between the two knights. While he had certainly chased away the thought that it could be sothing romantic, Irene had supposedly closed off the Commander and Henry was upset by it.
Supposedly nothing had happened that should have made her behave in such a way, but Felix couldn’t help wonder. She was accepting of all and not very judgntal, but perhaps he could have missed sothing he should have picked up on earlier.
Yet he knew it wasn’t entirely his business. He hoped if it was really bad, Irene would co to him first.
"I will leave next," Felix decided. "The alcohol is getting to my head and making feel heavy."
"Goodnight, Felix," Irene bid her friend easily.
"Rest well," Arthur stated. "We will be shortly behind you, I’m sure."
And it was true. Irene and Arthur both stood up from their chairs and they took towards the door that Irene had arrived through before. However, before they could fully exit, Arthur turned to his daughter.
Irene was ahead of him and pushed open the door. She only paused at his questioning.
"Is sothing the matter?" he asked. "You seed awfully quiet this evening. Has sothing happened?"
Seeing her father’s brown eyes looking down at her with concern, Irene had the urge to dump out her heart for her most trusted person. He had taken the news of her prophetic dream so easily. She knew that if there was soone she could talk to, it was him, but this was a matter of the heart. It was sothing she had never delved into before. Her father was protective of her and would most definitely assu the Commander had done sothing to elicit such a response from her.
He would never believe it was all her own doing. This pedestal she had placed the Commander on wasn’t of his own creation. In fact, he was hurting because of her and her unwillingness to be honest. Her desire to put space between soone who wanted her as a friend was really ruining things.
"Winter just gets a bit down," Irene admitted. "All I can do is sit around half the ti and wish there was more I could be doing."
It wasn’t entirely a lie. She yearned for spring when she could leave the Duke’s Tower and focus purely on duties. Feeling the sun on her skin also did make her happier. There was no work for her in the snow so it was better not to risk herself out there beyond the practice yard.
However, as the two redheads walked down the hall, they missed that Felix hadn’t made it far and had heard the conversation between father and daughter even if it wasn’t intentional. It only drove his curiosity more. He didn’t think that entirely explained how hot and cold she had been to their Commander, but he could only guess on his own.
"We will get you out while we’re at ho," Arthur assured his daughter, gently patting her head despite how tall she had grown. "There’s much to do."
She accepted it with a nod. That was exactly what she was hoping for.
When Irene and her father returned to the guest wing that gave her parents a room of their own and one she had by herself, she was relieved to have a while alone. It was ti to brush off all of these frustrating thoughts and focus on what lay ahead.
It turned out, what lay ahead was a late morning practice that combined the Earl’s private knights with the Knights of Chemois.
As expected of the Auden family, who were in charge of the mine that produced much of the gems in the kingdom as well as the crown jewels the King often boasted, even the practice yard was beyond Irene’s imagination.
She had to remove her helt to truly enjoy the sight of it.
The mont the knight stepped onto a perfectly manicured yard, surrounded on all sides by walls, it felt like she wasn’t outside. Torches lined the wall and despite the space being open to the sky, there wasn’t a bit of snow present. The servants must have worked so hard to achieve such a thing.
It was later than they normally practiced and felt quite warm. The apprentices who would warm up with them were there and Irene walked to them.
"Are you enjoying your ti here?" she asked them.
There was a barrage of statents about how the barracks of the Earl were better. Many said their stables were better in the west. Bren tried to be neutral but even he wasn’t immune to the luxuries present and Irene could see a sparkle in his eye despite his loyalty. She could still smile despite her tumultuous thoughts having to do with the night before and the hug she shouldn’t have given.
That was the anxiety she was facing that day. Each ti her mind wandered, she knew that it was inevitable to face her Commander.
"In the anti, let us warm up," Irene told the apprentices. "We are here to show them just how sharp we are even down to our smallest apprentice. As I’ve said to you before, size ans nothing after all."
"Yes, Lady Irene!"
The apprentices were easy to lead since they were insistent on proving themselves. Each strike, feint, or thrust Irene called for was t with determined teenagers and a lot of energy. It made her proud at how seriously they were taking her instruction.
As they got into a pattern, she was able to have them call the warm ups for themselves and she slowly walked around their rectangular formation. It brought her eyes to higher levels where she saw that there were layers of walkways that looked over the practice yard. Already, there were a few nobles coming out to see the spectacle of knights and apprentices warming up.
Even in tis of peace, it was important to show the people why knights were important. They were kept in tip top shape for unpredictable ergencies.
However, Irene’s trek towards the back of the apprentices also gave her a good view of the entrance to the practice yard and she saw the object of her ever unreturned feelings walking through the door looking as regal as ever with an embroidered tunic as well as armor over his shoulders that held on a dark red cape with his ducal seal sewn into it.
Felix walked forward to greet him first.
"That’s enough for now," Irene ordered the apprentices. "Line up behind the Earl’s knights. We will listen to the Commander from this point forward."
Irene rejoined the knights and placed her helt on the ground so that she could tie her hair up in a braid, hoping that it wouldn’t co loose.
She angled herself away, but she felt soone’s gaze burning into her—ever determined was she to ignore it because she knew who it was. It was like he was searching for an answer to her behavior the night before. She would like to assure him that it would never happen again she just had to keep her distance.
"Are you ready to begin?" the Earl asked from the second level.
"Knights, get into your helts," the Commander ordered. "Let’s give Earl Auden a show of good footwork and sharp strikes. The Knights of Chemois are more prepared than they have ever been before."
"Yes, Commander!" the knights shouted in response.
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