[Norien's Point of View]
The wedding is tomorrow, and my father has been talking about it again and again like an excited child. Of course, I understand what he is on about, though. Who wouldn't be excited for his daughter's wedding?
The feast that was prepared for the Ballisters was grand, but this was simply spectacular. Father had hired jesters to the event to entertain the guests, along with the finest orchestras in the land. As for the scholars at the Hall of Ravens, each one was invited to the feast. One such person that was invited to make a speech was a Ravenman named Ryene, who is a famous philosopher across Northrest and the entirety of the land my father holds.
One thing that's unique about those people is that they lack a family name. Unlike us, who bear the name of Ravenhan, these scholars are stripped of that, and are given titles instead. As for Ryene, the old man got "The Philospher" as his title.
I entered the ball room, expecting a grand surprise. I was met with something more than I expected. The chandeliers that hung above lit the room nicely, but they did not blind you with light. The tables were long, each one around twenty meters long and half a meter across, each one covered with a white cloth that had intricate gold patterns.
The windows were a direct view of the sunrise, which only made the room more beautiful. The silverware was grand, each was a silver plate, outlined with gold patterns. The scent of the food that was being made by the castle cooks travelled to the ball room. The smell of turkey being roasted and mashed potatoes being topped with the finest gravy mixed with the air, combining with mother's beeswax house scent.
The very thought of food made the servants drool and hungry, restlessly working as fast as they could just so they could pay the cooks a visit. To be quite honest, I have been starving the entire day as well.
"It's amazing, really..." a woman's voice said.
She was my mother, Odelia Ravenhan, carrying on her right hand a basket filled with fruits, mainly apples, plums, and cherries, all grown from the castle garden. "It is." I tell her.
"How wonderful it must be for your brother..." she began, "...getting married to a Ballister is simply the highest honor!" she exclaimed with joy, looking up to the ceiling, probably imagining Noran holding hands with Lady Orelia. Gross.
"Of course it's an honor!" I tell her, "Which one of our great ancestors would have dreamed of our two houses being bonded in marriage-"
"And blood now." mother said.
She then looks at me, her gaze as if judging my very form. "I wonder who you will marry, Norien..." she began. I could feel my stomach beginning to form knots within me. "...Perhaps a young noble from a great house. A pretty lad from the blood of... Strix! How does that sound?" she asked me.
"I would not think all the same as you, mother." I reply sternly.
"Why not? House Strix holds the richest port in the entirety of the four regions..." she tells me. "...Their prince, Lord Forien is rumored to be a handsome fellow, strong and great." she remarks.
"I might be a fair lady, but my spoils are not for men to enjoy." I tell her, taking a small apple from her basket. "I shall marry when I choose to..." I remark, "...not when you decide for me to," I finish.
"Perhaps you could marry Gryphith blood!" she desperately begs, holding my arm tightly and pulling me back. "Men of builders and swordsmen of the west, beautiful lads with stunning faces-"
"Why do you beg me to marry so badly?" I retort, breaking free from her grasp.
She pauses, puts the basket down, and looks at me with a grin, her composure seemingly saying I am judging you repeatedly without an end. "You are a maiden of fifteen. Only a year remains before you come of age to marry..." she tells me. "Your brother is now seventeen, and his lady is the same as his age. When will you come to fly, little raven of mine?" she asks, her tone surprisingly... concerned. The sun began to go out of view. Evening approaches, I realize.
I clear my throat and gaze at her. "Did father tell you to remind me of these things?" I asked.
She rolls her eyes, her smile widening. "Your father has nothing to do with this." she answers, walking closer to me. "Isn't it a mother's duty to take care of her daughter the best she can?"
"This isn't really 'caring' is it?" I ask her, my arms crossed. "Forcing me to marry, not hearing me out when I have something to say... is that your chosen meaning of 'caring'?"
My mother's smile turns into a faint frown. "You are my daughter." she tells me, "Why must you turn me down at every chance? Is it wrong for me to ask you to wed a good man, young lady?" she asks in frustration.
"And you are my mother..." I began. "It should be that you know the best for me, and that you know what I feel. Do care for me, mother, if it please you. Do not, however, force me to marry any man and reveal to him my spoils with open legs." I reply. "I love you, but this is too much. I want to be a lady of a castle and marry on my own accord, not some whore to make children with men I do not even know."
My mother stops completely. Did I hurt her? I ask myself. Her eyes began to shed tears, her lips begin to tremble, and her legs soon started to shake. I could only hear her faint voice, yet I could not understand the words.
"Is this all... true?" she asks me. "Do you really feel this way?"
"Of course I do." I tell her. "More than a decade you have ordered me around. It hurts me to see you do this to me, your daughter!" I exclaim, my voice high and demanding.
"Well..." she began. "...even if it is, I do not regret trying to care. But if my caring has somehow made all things worse for you... I am sorry- I can't imagine you-"
Mother continued to struggle finding words as she became more emotional. Soon enough, a whisper came out of her mouth. "Oh, Norien." she managed to get out with a shaky voice.
I thought of what to do, but she went in for the embrace. Tightly, her hands enveloped my waist, and my head rested on her chest. "Mother." was the only word that came out of my mouth. She pulled back, and held my face by my cheeks.
"I never knew you felt like this..." she tells me, her eyes red, tears flowing down, and her nose now red. "Forgive me, Norien. No mother should ever treat their daughter the way I treated you."
This is different, I tell myself. Normally it all ends in an argument, but this one ended in... love, I observe. I would begin to feel my eyes beginning to tear up, and my lips begin to tremble just as my mother's. My voice manages to let three words slip out.
"I love you."
As if it had been from the plays of playwrights, it finally ended happily. I never sought peace from my mother, and all of our endeavors ended in argument. This one was the different kind, the black sheep amongst the white. First, my brother began to change. Now, my mother has shown that she was not a loss of hope. As if it was a sign from the gods, I finally feel like my hope is not misplaced.
We pull apart, wiping each of our tears and making out faint laughs of relief. "Now, we must prepare for the wedding, yes?" my mother asks.
"Of course..." I tell her, my eyes glimmering as the tears dry, "...mother dear."
She lets out a wide smile. "Come on..." she said, "...let's make the most of the day while the guests have not yet arrived." she finishes with a light chuckle. Finally, you laughed after all this time, I say in my mind. At last, the moon began to rise. Evening is closer, I think.
We stroll towards the exit, towards the hallway leading to the castle garden. Perhaps a quick whiff of the cold air and a wonderful view of the flowers would bring us a better mood. I look again at mother, her face now filled with satisfaction. Perhaps it was her candles. Mother's beeswax scented candles made the hallway linger of the smell of honey, likely making the workers and the maids feel hungrier.
We were soon greeted with a double-door, made of pine wood, painted a darker shade of blue, and decorated neatly with gold patterns. Upon opening, I soon came to realize why the young Ballister prince enjoyed strolls at the garden. I faintly recall the last time I visited the place- when I was around thirteen. I never went outside much, only spending my time inside my quarters, reading books, and putting up with my brother's mischief.
The garden had beds of flowers surrounding a wide courtyard, layered with rock, with grass and moss growing in between each small pebble. On the far-left side, the quarters of the guests stand tall, with the top-level housing the Ballisters, and a level below, the Gryphiths- who would arrive tomorrow, as they were running late –with the Strixes being housed at the lower level. As for when they would arrive, they were expected to arrive this evening, bringing food from the east.
Cake... a lot of cake. While it is a common snack for most here in the south, eastern cake is something else. It is always random with those eastern folk, adding cheese, pineapples, and who-knows-what into all of their dishes!
"Many ravens today, don't you think?" my mother asks suddenly.
"How would you know?" I reply. "Don't many ravens fly here all the time? What makes this moment any more unique?" I curiously ask. While there were plenty of those critters in the sky, you would assume many would fly here often.
"Look at how they fly." she tells me, pointing at the nearest flock.
I search them, my eyes squinting and my eyes dashing from bird to bird, for any detail. I find none. "What about it?" I ask her.
"Our fathers used to tell us..." she began, "...that when a flock of ravens fly north in large flocks, it would mean it is the end of a winter. 'Spring is here,' they would cry. The ravens would disappear, and the sign of winter would arrive when they begin to arrive south again." she explained.
"It is quite a cold spring if you ask me." I remark, which was true. If the flying ravens were the signs of spring's arrival according to my forefathers, that would be... stupid. As of now, snow still falls on the grounds of Northrest Keep, even as far south as Old Pike Castle, just further south from Iron Port.
Just as my mother began to open her mouth to speak, a voice of an old man interrupts our brief moment of peace and solitude: Ravenman Ryene.
"Your graces..." he says as he bows down. "...we have word from the scouts. The Strix family has just exited Caire City. They will arrive soon at Greyburg, then here at the keep around evening." he explains.
My mother clears her throat and fixes her posture, her chest out, and her chin up- less authoritative than before, now more of a caring composure. "Very well, Ryene..." she told him with a smile, "...have the workers finish the ball room by midnight. Do not let the guests into the ball room just yet, and tell the maids to clean the guest quarters as a welcome to their arrival." she ordered.
"As your grace wishes." Ryene said, again with another bow.
"Oh, and before I forget..." my mother added, "...tell the cooks to prepare a meal for them. Thank you, Ryene." she said with a wide smile- an authentic one. Wow.
"As your grace wishes." Ryene said yet again.
The Ravenman left. Soon, my mother followed behind him, but not before checking up on me once more and giving me a kiss on the forehead. At that moment, from all the snow that fell on the courtyard, one drop of spring rain fell on my hand. The South turns warmer, I told myself. Perhaps spring has arrived sooner than we thought. Oh, well. What harm can spring do, if any at all? May as well accept it as it is with open arms.