The stress of balancing her relationship with her brother and the three mages was fairly difficult while they were all in the same room. Not only that, it was hard to not think of the worst-case scenario when your brother takes interest in testing his limits with your friends.
Things were not always like this. Everyone kept their distance, for the most part. It was rare for any of the siblings to show fondness towards each other unless they had to. Keeping up the appearance of a unified family that holds power was something the Centhoses felt necessary. While Cairbre and Aithne had their own special relationship, the same could not be said for the remainder of their dynasty's generation.
While love was not a word one would correlate with the family, it was still something most of them longed for. Everyone had found someone they could show compassion towards, despite all of the hatred they held towards each other. The Centhos family dynamic was far from traditional, but
Those two were parental figures to the entire family. After their parents' passing, Cairbre and Delwyn became the guardians of their younger siblings who had yet to reach adulthood. It was difficult to not look at the two fondly from an inside point of view.
Allowing for the thoughts to mill about in her mind, Aithne lingered by a small table in her room, tracing the detailing in the wood as she reminisced about her time in the palace— the place she called home despite hating the thought of returning. It was a shame that things ended up the way they have. The notion of a reunion was agonizing, yet the small optimistic thoughts of receiving some sort of welcome brought a smile to her face.
"Am I interrupting something?"
The voice jarred her, causing Aithne to swivel around towards the door quickly. In the process, her hand collided with one of the chairs. Letting out a quiet whimper, she locked eyes with the man who stood by her door.
Ros.
He paused at the door frame, closing the door behind him as he stared at Aithne impatiently, waiting for her to formally invite him in. She waved him over, clutching her hand to her chest as she inspected it for any injury.
"I'm certain you will be fine, no need to be dramatic," He chided, his eyes flicking over her fingers.
"I am still allowed to feel pain, you know."