there was much to be done at horn hill, even if not within the keep, and with so many moons away, ascertainments had piled up; hisham liked to do those himself, unwilling to simply remain perched on his seat, and though it could take hours at the very least, he was glad to do it, especially with his wife at home. seda’s presence at horn hill was not an unusual one — she took absence from the capitol when she could, which they all tried understanding, in various degrees of success — but the length of this stay was, and hisham would be lying if he said that it did not give him hopes of extending it indefinitely, possibly permanently; not only for him, or the children, but herself as well. what would it be of them had she been in her office, with the velaryon boy? it ached him to even imagine it, making him hold tighter onto her during the evenings, relieved he was able to relish on her warmth, and not just on memories.
yet, upon his arrival, he knows better than to expect her to welcome him as a mindless, pliant wife may have — the silence of the household, however is an unfamiliar one, and the manner in which one of the servant boys tells him the mistress seeks him, whilst helping hisham out of his outer layer, startles him. it is not easy to not let dread fill his heart as he goes towards his chambers, and harder still it is to remain expressionless when, as he enters the room, his eyes fall on the object of disturbance. at once, he can feel his stomach drop, and his step is heavier as he goes towards the letter, picking it up; he does not sit next to seda, instead going towards a window sill, and leaning against it, as his gaze reads up the content within parchment, at least three times each brief line as it sinks in, uncomfortably.
he should have known it would come sooner or later. it had been foolish to believe the dragon would release a valuable belonging as his mistress of whispers. “took him long enough,” is the first thing he says. “i don’t know why we are surprised.” yet he was, a bit, though his displeasure outweighed that — with fairuza in the room, he had to swallow his anger, not to let the volume of his voice disturb her too. “making a court out of the place he’s destroyed, on top of the grave he ordered...” his face twists in disgust. “you do not have to bear it.” it was discussed, briefly, but he had not imposed it on her, as he did not believe himself capable of doing so. yet, he could not miss the suggestion, eyes pulled from the words into her own, still across from him in the room. “do you want to?”