Sorenth is a town that serves as one of the four main towns in the Evrian Duchy, governed by the Sword of the Empire, Duke Alixandre Evrian. It lies farthest from the main estate, nestled against the borders of his territory, brushing with the outer provinces. Yet despite its distance, Sorenth stands as the center of the Duke's holdings - the beating heart of commerce, artisanship, and ambition.
Its sheer size rivals even the Capital, and among the nobility, comparisons between the two have long been a subject of quiet pride for the Duke himself, and of bitter envy from other aristocrats. Where the Capital boasts tradition and power, Sorenth breathes another - restless and unyielding. Markets stretched beyond sight, guilds rose and fell in a single year, and every stone of its paved streets hummed with the footsteps of those who dared to dream higher than their status.
Once a sleepy border town, Sorenth flourished under the former Duke's shrewd governance, becoming not merely a jewel in his crown, but a fortress of influence; one that rivals that of the Emperor himself. Historians claim it to be "The Silent Capital", and those who are bold enough called it "The Second Crown".
Yet no matter the name, there was no denying the heavy truth: Sorenth belonged to the Evrians - in blood, in bone, and in spirit. And for all of its beauty and grandeur, it remained a place where ambition was the sharpest blade of all.
It was the first time Aina herself had stepped foot in Sorenth. Due to its proximity from the main estate, and the colder relationship she had with the Duke, she never bothered to ask for permission to tour the town. She only heard whispers of it, from the servants, and especially from the former butler, Thomas.
Thomas, I wonder how he's doing?
"Are you sure about this, my Lady? Though Sorenth is famed for its wealth, it is also a heavily dangerous town, especially during the night" Allie was lacing her Lady's heels together, she had soot on her apron, as she always does whenever she fixes the hearth. There was a nervous expression on her face.
"I need to see this Medic, Allie" she insisted, stepping up on the platform and observing herself in the full length mirror.
"Will your father even allow this?"
"He will" Aina didn't know where she got the surge of confidence, but she was really certain that her father would agree for her to visit Sorenth.
A sudden knock from the door caught the attention of the two women in the dressing area. Aina glances at her maid, who stood up without a word from where she kneeled, and paced towards the room. The winter morning sun reflected the golden handle and blinded her for a moment, and when she blinked the world felt softer yet harsher all at once.
The door latched open, and the person behind the door was hidden behind the wooden doors.
Aina stood up, anxiety creeping up her chest, combining with the small ache she suffered from last night.
"How do you do, you must be Allie, Lady Ciana's maid" that voice. Aina could recognize it even in her dreams.
She paces quickly through the carpeted dressing area into the marbled floors of her room, passing by the grandfather clock that ticked by her ears, and the burning hearth that warmed her body as she zooms past it. She flung the door wider, revealing the man who had cared for her most of her life.
The click of his pocket watch. The steady hand that once bandaged her scraped knees. The smell of old leather and parchment. Thomas.
"Thomas!" she knew shouting was unbecoming for a Lady. Yet, as she stood before Thomas, her dearest Thomas — white-haired now, with kind blue eyes and a familiar, warm smile — she couldn't bring herself to care.
He looked older. But no matter his age, Aina knew he remained as he always had been.
Unconditionally kind.
Always. Even when everyone else had forgotten how to be.
"I shall excuse your shouting, Lady Ciana, for now"
Her hand gripped the door too hard. A tremor ran through them, small, yet pulsating, but she couldn't stop it. She could have ran to him, crushing him in a tight hug like a child, or she could have wept in front of her maid. Yet she stood there, gripping the door handle with one hand and fisting her dress with the other.
"Thomas…w-what - how. No, wait more importantly, you're in uniform, why?" There were so many questions to ask, she couldn't pick one. She struggled through her words, stumbling over them like a child.
"Why don't you offer me a seat, first, my Lady?" Thomas subtly suggested, and Aina was ashamed she hadn't thought of it first. I was too excited.
"You're right" she shows an apology through her smile, before turning to her maid. "Allie, why don't you prepare tea for both of us, and some breakfast for me" Allie seemed relieved at the idea of her Lady eating breakfast. She nodded her head and immediately left to give privacy for both of them.
"Please, sit, Thomas" she gestured for Thomas to sit in the small receiving area of her room, and she sat beside him, as near as possible.
Thomas seemed delighted. "Lady Aina, how have you been?" I'm glad he still calls me Aina even after all these years.
"You're the only one who still calls me by that name, Thomas"
"I am only following orders, Lady Aina" she laughs , the sound similar to the bells of the grandest cathedrals in Devein. Thomas smiled wider. The expression was warm and kind.
"Tell me, why are you back, Thomas?" she took advantage of the privacy the silence gave them. Inside her room, there was only the scorching fireplace, the clock that ticked continuously, and the winter sun that shone outside the glass panes. There was nothing else.
No one but them two.
"His grace has called for my service once more. Apparently, he had fired James" Thomas glances at her, and Aina knew he was watching her, observing for any reactions he might see.
Aina only gave a sigh beside him. The distance between them was too little. If it were anyone else, she might've felt repulsed. Only because it's Thomas that it's okay, she thinks.
"Did he do something wrong to you?"
"Nothing too horrible. But he's fired and you're here now. There's no need to make a big deal of it" it was only three years of cold meals, and an even colder room. For another noble, that might have been a big issue, but Aina had always been different.
More forgiving. Less worried about herself.
"When you phrase it like that, it only worries me even more" there were visible marks of wrinkles when his face crumpled. Aina stares at them, unable to help herself at the reality of it.
That Thomas was getting old.
"You seem older than you were three years ago" she couldn't help but tease. Her body felt lighter than it was moments ago, and knew it was because of Thomas' presence. If she ignored it enough, the small ache that haunted her nights and shadowed her days might fade, even if only for a moment.
"I am feeling it more now than ever. Especially after receiving a letter from an Evrian knight" Aina laughed lightheartedly when she saw the defeated expression on his face.
"I can only imagine the horror of seeing it in a small town such as Riven"
Thomas laughs with her, the tone a vibrating gruff that comforts her in ways the butler wouldn't even comprehend. The pocket watch in his belt and even the smell of wax that styled his hair in a clean manner, all of it was comforting to her. Like subtle memories from childhood that remained with her throughout life.
"My Lady, if I may…" Aina nodded, turning her whole body to him in the process.
"Ask away" Thomas glances from outside the windows for just a second.
"I heard from his grace that you are engaged"
Aina slumps her once straightened posture. At the mention of the word 'engagement', her spirits faded, and at the memory of Lorian Fremont, a different fire burned inside her chest, sparking her anger and pure hatred for the man.
Thomas seems to notice immediately the shift in her energy. "Is it something not to mention? Do you not like him?" He spoke like a gentle grandfather.
"He…is adequate, I suppose — as a man" Tall with good looks and an even better body, with wealth that rivals her own father, and the wit of a snake. The only problem was his personality.
"How about as your partner?"
Aina's face turns sour. No matter how much she thought of it, she just couldn't imagine herself being with him — being his wife, and him being her husband. There was a distance between them, heights of differences that separated them with a wall that they both had no interest to cross. He's too ambitious, and I'm too indifferent. Not to mention Lorian Fremont was a man that sparks waves of loathing from Aina at the mere mention of his name.
"It's my father's will, Thomas" was the only thing to be said.
Aina reached for Thomas' hand and placed her gloved hands on his own. Her eyes stared up and met his own. The smile on her lips conveyed the assurance she tried to give him, even when she didn't feel it herself.
Thomas doesn't believe her. It was clear in the way that his brows crossed together, and a frown etched in his lips. "Is it also your will?" That question echoed in her mind. Thomas looked dissatisfied with her words, so he asked a question he knew she wouldn't have been able to answer.
A question that haunted her. One that she doesn't have an answer to.
"A woman doesn't have a will in this Empire, Thomas" she tried to seem humorous, only for it to sound bitter and defeated. When her head hung low, she felt Thomas' hands wrap around hers, holding her hand like a sacred treasure.
"Before you are a woman, you are a person"
Thomas had sadness in his eyes, and a great understanding of her situation that glimmered underneath his flawless exterior. He was perfectly imperfect. His words spoke of a thousand possibilities, a new world for her. An unfamiliar yet familiar word all at once. She wanted to believe his words — she knew she couldn't be lying. Thomas has never lied to her before.
Truth was Thomas.
And Aina cared for him. She loved Thomas like a grandfather.
"A person shall always have will" he added, his wisdom gathered by years of experience and living showing through his words. How many times had he saved me with his words alone? Aina doesn't know. Thomas had always been there for her, even when she felt abandoned by her family, Thomas had been there. A constant reminder of the girl she was before becoming Ciana. A witness to the life that Aina lived.
"Thomas"
He straightened at the call of his name. "Yes, my Lady?"
Aina thinks. Should I tell him? Should she tell Thomas everything? Every detail of the kind of life she lived for the last three years? Every insult that Lorian had told her? And how much she really hate him?
Should I tell him how I vomited blood in the gardens?
Should she tell him how much pain she had to endure the night before?
Do I tell him my suspicions of an illness?
"Thomas, I need to see Father" the butler seemed to brighten at the mention of the word 'father' - granted that she never called the Duke 'father' in the presence of Thomas before.
"Of course, but what for?" he blinked.
Aina never wanted to deceive him. He was her mentor, a guiding hand that shaped the woman she became today. She was really grateful for the care and love he gave her growing up. But the thought of admitting everything to him, and telling him everything seemed more terrifying than any Duke, and any ache she had ever experienced. The truth is frightening. And the possible realities of what might be happening to her was a fact she wanted to hide as much as possible.
"Actually, I'm heading to Sorenth today, I wanted to tour the town with my maid" she plastered a smile on her face, her nervous pulse beating against her chest. "I've never been to Sorenth before. I'm sorry, Thomas, I was planning to spend more time with you today"
Thomas pats her hand gently. "I understand, my Lady. You don't need to apologize to me, I keep telling you that" he chuckled, the sound of a warm baritone that soothed any worries she might have had.
"You're years my senior, Thomas, I should be calling you grandpapa" she cheekily says, hoping her teasing masked the worry in her heart. When Thomas laughed at her words, she smiled at him.
"You're turning cheekier as the years go by, Lady Aina" he had a relaxed grin he only showed around her. Aina was glad to be someone he was able to relax with.
"I got it from you, Thomas" he laughed even louder at that.
.
.
.
"Sorenth?"
Stacks of parchment sprawled across his large ebony wood desk and all over the floor around him, his newly hired aide that stood beside him, the glasses that rested in his nose, and the pen he held in his hand. Duke Alixandre was the perfect example of busy. His hair seemed ruffled, and dark circles hung over his striking violet irises. His office was brightened by the rising winter sun that overlooked the East, where the Duke's office faced.
As Aina stood before him, she felt insignificant once more.
"Yes, I've never been to Sorenth before" something ticked in her father's expression at her words. He cleared his throat and released the pen in his hand, his attention now focused on her.
"Will you be long?"
Aina breathes. "No, I'll return before the sun sets"
Her father nodded. "You will need a guard" he clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on his black desk.
I don't need it. Travelling with a man even for a short while, even if he wouldn't be near her made her recoil in disgust. "Would I really need one, father? Sorenth is in your territory" she attempts to reject the idea subtly.
"One is never too certain of their safety" the Duke firmly said, a tone that wouldn't have accepted any more arguments. He glanced at her dismay, and continued, "I will have the guard stand 10 steps behind, and if you order it, he shall not be seen" he indulges her.
She does not push. "Alright, thank you" she stood still, waiting to be dismissed. For a few seconds silence came in the room, not even the aide who witnessed their conversation seemed to breathe. Aina's pale eyes turned from the pot of plants near the window and returned to the Duke.
"Father?" she asked when he didn't seem to be responding.
"...You may go, Ciana. Your guard shall meet you at the gates" what was that?
Aina bobbed her head in silent agreement, she turns her heel and walks to the exit of the office. And just before she closes the double doors, she hears the scratching of a pen against the parchment, indicating the Duke's return to his work.
It was the very first time she asked permission to leave.
And though it was for a reason she never wished for, seeing Sorenth for the first time might prove to be a worthwhile endeavor for her. Something that would change her life, for the worse or better. Aina doesn't know. Mysteries of her future shall continue to remain as such. Mysteries.
She could only hope the Black Medic will be able to help her.