Finding Mona wasn't difficult, if one knew where to look.
Adrian Brower knew exactly where to look. He had avoided it fervently enough the last time he had been in town that he knew it almost as well as if he had come there every day. Since one of his main purposes in this visit was to face some of the things he had been avoiding, he was going to have to come here eventually anyway; it might as well be now.
Knowing where to look, it was difficult to miss a girl sitting atop a roof in full ballroom regalia, staring at an empty courtyard.
Adrian hung back and watched her from afar for a while, hesitant to interrupt her reverie.
While he was waiting, he looked around to see how she got up there. He saw a few avenues that might have worked, but nothing that he could use himself, especially not in his current outfit. He might have originally taught Asa to climb, who had surely shared his skill with her, but his little brother had fast outstripped his own talents in that area when they had moved to Luna City.
Adrian sighed and went around to an entrance Mona wouldn't be able to see.
The servant who answered the door didn't recognize him, but noble clothes spoke almost as eloquently as an introduction, and the merchant who lived here was fetched without question.
"Oh, it's you," Master Lythe said when he arrived.
Adrian fully understood Master Lythe's worried look and hesitancy to get close to him. "Yes, Master Lythe," he said. "It's me. And are you aware who else is here?" He was prepared to specify Mona's location, but he could see by Master Lythe's expression that it would be unnecessary.
"I am aware of the princess' presence, my lord," the merchant said carefully. Too carefully. And the emphasis on Mona's rank exceeding his own– But Adrian had made this bed, and it was time to lie in it.
"By your leave," Adrian said, "I would like to go up and talk with her." He really didn't know if he would prefer the merchant to permit him or turn him away; but it was important to him that Master Lythe know that the choice was his.
Master Lythe finally moved fully into the antechamber. "What are your intentions with her?" he asked. The fact that he didn't request Adrian's permission to ask the question didn't escape Adrian's notice, but at least the man seemed to be loosening up a little bit.
"My intentions with her are much the same as my intentions with you," Adrian replied. The merchant's eyes narrowed suspiciously, remaining so even when Adrian continued, "to apologize for the last time our paths crossed. I think you can agree that I was not at my best at that time, and I did you a great disservice in the things I said.
"But you did nothing wrong. You were just defending yourself and your estate. You had no way of knowing whom you had discovered, nor should it have affected your response had you known.
"My brother knew the risks he took."
Master Lythe closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them Adrian could see a hint of moisture in one of them. Still, his voice was just as strong, if maybe a touch gentler, as he said, "She used to come regularly, maybe once a week or two. At first we tried to force her inside, or get rid of her – I didn't want her falling to her death to be on my conscience, especially after–"
He broke off and looked away for a moment before continuing.
"But when our attempts to force her inside almost ended with her falling on one occasion, I decided that she was safer being left alone and merely monitored. It helped that her parents agreed with my assessment."
A pause, and then, "Her appearances declined over time. It's been almost a year since she's been here; I figured we wouldn't see her again until…." He shrugged uncomfortably.
Adrian nodded. The date Master Lythe was so hesitant to mention had occurred to him as well, and in fact had a good deal to do with his decision to visit the capital, and the timing.
Master Lythe was searching his eyes, and finally nodded without giving any indication what he had found there.
"Be careful with her," he said. "I haven't spoken with her in quite some time, so I don't know what kind of state she might be in these days, but it would be a shame if anything were to happen to her."
Adrian nodded. "Of course, Master Lythe. I have done a lot of soul searching the last couple years, and I have come to a realization that I wish I had come to much sooner. Mona was precious to my brother. All I have left of him is what was precious to him."
He hesitated, feeling like there should be more to say, but not quite sure what he could possibly add to that realization.
"I understand," Master Lythe said, and bit his lip. "I needed some time too, after my wife died. Sickness. Something the Order couldn't handle, though they were able to give her a few months. Nothing like–"
He took a deep breath. "Anyway, even knowing it was coming, and having time to prepare, it still hit me like a load of bricks when she was gone."
He looked Adrian square in the eye. "I blamed everyone. From the priestess who couldn't cure her in the beginning, to the one who performed her last rites, to the moon for failing to protect her. I even blamed myself for reasons I could never quite define."
"How long did it take you to get over her loss?" Adrian asked.
Master Lythe chuckled. "I'll have to let you know if I ever do. Eight years, it's been, and still I hear her laughter when I enter a room, or see her face in the marketplace. There have been days – and more recently than you might think – when I couldn't bear to look at our children because they remind me of her.
"But just like you, I have come to realize that these things, these painful memories, they connect me to her. It's not always enough. But it helps. On good days."
Adrian nodded, then breathed out an extended sigh. "I'm sorry," he said at last. "I didn't know. If I had…."
"Then you wouldn't have been in a place to accept my commiserations. Grief takes time, and is different for everybody. I'm glad to see that you are a few steps further along."
He allowed a brief silence to settle in the room before saying, "Now, let's see about getting you to the other griever."
"I would appreciate that," Adrian said.
The merchant began to lead him through the house, and after following him down a hallway to a set of stairs, Adrian ventured, "Master Lythe, if I may ask, what kinds of goods do you deal in?"
Master Lythe turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. "Is this curiosity or business? Either way, I would be happy to discuss it with you after we see to the girl."