The morning breeze slipped softly through the slightly opened window.
Aire stood beside it quietly.
The castle grounds stretched far beneath her chambers, touched gently by pale sunlight. Wolves moved through the courtyards already. Guards rotated positions, servants crossed pathways carrying baskets and linens, and sowhere farther away, horses moved through the lower gates.
Aire rested one hand lightly against the window fra. For several seconds, she simply watched the world continue without caring.
A movent caught her attention below.
An Oga woman crossed the lower courtyard carrying a woven basket beneath one arm while a little boy chased after her loudly.
"No!" the child squealed through laughter. "Mama, wait!"
The woman laughed imdiately.
It was not the usual graceful laughter Aire has almost gotten used to around the castle walls. Her laugh was loud, warm, exhausted, and real.
She pretended to flee from him despite the basket weighing heavily against her side.
The little boy could not have been older than five.
His tiny legs moved quickly beneath him while excitent lit his entire face. His curls bounced wildly every ti he laughed.
Aire found herself staring.
The woman suddenly spun around and caught him around the waist before he could escape past her.
The little boy shrieked happily.
Aire’s lips twitched faintly before she could stop herself. She smiled at them.
The sound of his laughter drifted upward. Sothing painful tightened quietly inside her chest.
The Oga woman kissed the child’s forehead quickly before setting him back down again. The boy imdiately took off running once more.
This ti, he ran straight toward a loose stone resting unevenly along the courtyard path.
Aire noticed it instantly.
So did the mother.
"Murton!" the woman called quickly.
The little boy turned around while still running. His foot caught dangerously near the stone.
Aire reacted before thinking. She lifted her eyes, and the stone shifted sharply sideways across the ground.
The momvet was silent and the boy ran past safely without stumbling at all.
The Oga woman froze faintly.
Her eyes flickered briefly toward the moved stone in confusion before her son grabbed her skirts again demanding attention.
Aire stood motionless beside the window.
Then slowly, she smiled softly.
The little boy laughed again below, completely unaware that disaster had almost found him. He would have healed imdiately, but that stone would have hurt.
Aire lowered her gaze faintly afterward. Her smile faded slower this ti. The mont pulled painfully at an old mory buried deep inside her chest.
FLASHBACK:
Years ago.
The pond water reached just beneath little Aire’s knees as she carefully stepped through the shallow edges with both hands lifted slightly for balance.
"Slowly, darling." Her father said behind her. His voice carried warmth across the water.
Young Aire turned imdiately toward him.
"I am being slow!" she protested.
Her father laughed softly from where he sat near the edge of the pond with a fishing rod resting loosely between his fingers.
"You said that five seconds before falling yesterday."
Little Aire gasped dramatically. "I only slipped because the mud attacked ."
"That poor innocent mud."
Aire narrowed her tiny eyes suspiciously at him while he smiled openly.
Her father always smiled openly around her.
The sunlight reflected beautifully across the pond water around them while tall reeds swayed gently nearby beneath the breeze.
Young Aire held up the tiny bucket she carried proudly. "I found another shell!" she announced jovially.
Her father imdiately abandoned the fishing rod again. "Let see."
Aire hurried toward him carefully through the water.
Her black hair fell wildly around her shoulders from the wind while excitent brightened her small face.
She reached him triumphantly and held the shell up.
Her father gasped like she had handed him treasure."Aire," he whispered dramatically. "This is magnificent."
Young Aire bead instantly. She giggled, her eyes sparkling. "I know."
Her father took the shell carefully from her tiny hand. "I fear you may beco the greatest shell hunter in the kingdom."
"I already am."
He bowed lightly. "Forgive . I underestimated your greatness."
Aire giggled loudly again. The sound carried itself beautifully across the quiet pond.
Her father watched her like the sound itself mattered more than breathing. That was how he always looked at her. Like she had hung the moon herself.
Little Aire suddenly turned quickly. "Wait! I saw another one!"
Before her father could warn her, she hurried deeper through the shallow water, then imdiately slipped.
"Aire!"
The splash echoed loudly.
Young Aire gasped sharply as the water swallowed her small legs entirely.
Within seconds, her father abandoned everything. The fishing rod fell carelessly into the grass as he rushed towards her.
He crossed the water imdiately. "Oh, my darling Aire."
The panic in his voice ca instantly. He reached her within seconds and carefully lifted her upward against his chest.
Young Aire blinked rapidly, startled more than hurt. She always wondered why he always over reacted around her.
Her father’s hands moved quickly across her arms and face, checking her over anxiously. "Are you hurt?"
Aire shook her head quickly. "No."
"You fell hard."
"The mud attacked again," she whispered solemnly.
Her father stared at her for one second, then he laughed.
A deep warm laugh slipped out of him, and made his shoulders shake slightly.
"There will be a formal investigation imdiately."
Young Aire smiled proudly at making him laugh.
Her father brushed the wet black strands of her hair carefully away from her forehead afterward.
"So reckless," he murmured softly with affection.
Aire leaned comfortably against his chest while pond water dripped from both of them.
"You ca very fast," she observed quietly.
Her father looked down at her imdiately like the answer should have been obvious. "Of course I did."
Young Aire blinked.
"You are my heart walking outside my body," he said softly while touching her nose lightly. "Do you think I would not run to you?"
The mory hit older Aire painfully hard.
Standing beside the castle window now, her chest tightened so suddenly she nearly stopped breathing.
Her father’s voice still sounded so clear inside her head.
Aire lowered her eyes imdiately.
How could a man who loved her like that leave her with nothing afterward? How could soone who called her his heart forget her so completely in death?
Aire swallowed painfully. She felt so ashad that all these years, she had believed Beta Kole and Aunt Rosemund without a doubt, believing he left nothing.
Outside below, the little boy laughed again while his mother chased after him beneath the morning sunlight.
Aire stared at them quietly.
Then finally stepped away from the window, and walked towards the southern breakfast room.
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