NOVEL NEXT Lucus
Rain watched from her window to where she could see men unloading a handcart full of gold bars under the watchful eyes of Mr. Markson and Lord Estom. Even this far up, Rain could see the glee in Lord Estom’s movements.
Rain looked away from her new father as he reveled in his newfound wealth. She gazed past the garden of hedges and black stone monoliths over the estate wall to the Crown Ring. It was nicer than the other parts of the city, with large dark-spired manors and shops made of elaborate stonework. The roads were wider yet had less traffic, and everything was clean of ash and grime.
Eventually, Rain got bored of watching people ride in expensive handcarts and decided to go explore the greenhouse. She had only ever seen a few flowers, and each had been really pretty.
Finding her way through the mansion was challenging, but she eventually found her way outside, though she was on the wrong side of the house from the greenhouse. The sounds of clacking wood and shouts were thick in the air. Following a hedge taller than her, Rain went looking for the source of the sound.
Eventually, she found it: a large empty space in the middle of a ring of henges where four boys sparred with wooden swords under the watchful eye of an experienced-looking warrior.
Rain watched the sparring through the henge. She wanted to find a place with a better view, but they would tell her to go away if they knew she was there. She realized one of the boys was her new brother. He seemed to be the worst of the fighters. He frequently took hits from the other boys and got yelled at the most by the warrior. Despite that, there didn’t seem to be any animosity between him and the others.
Between fights, a servant would approach and offer everyone something to drink or a towel to dry their sweat.
Rain spent a moment looking through her pockets for her information on her new brother. She had originally planned to outperform him and take his place as heir, or remove him if necessary, but she didn’t feel right about that anymore.
There it was.
Name Lucus, the only child of House Estom. Average in combat and academics, he lacks motivation and talent. He is neither loved or hated by those around him. Some wish for their talented daughters to marry him, believing it will allow them to control House Estom.
Other than his stupid, meaningless name, there wasn’t much there. Rain looked back through the bush to see him losing another fight. He didn’t seem to be bad; he just wasn’t as skilled as the other three.
During the next break, one of the servants said something to Lucus as she handed him something to drink. Lucus stopped drinking halfway through her explanation, and after a brief back and forth between the two, he handed her the cup and marched straight toward where Rain was hiding.
Ashes, he found me!
Rain started her escape, but he called out to her before she could get away.
“Why are you hiding in the bushes like a weirdo? If you want to watch, come and sit down over there like a normal person.”
Rain turned around to see him pointing to a shaded area with chairs underneath.
Was he inviting her to stay?
She ran around the hedge until she found an opening, then entered the open area with everyone else. It was a little awkward having everyone stare at her, but as long as no one was angry at her, she didn’t mind.
With their scene over, the four boys went back to their sparing. Rain couldn’t hold in her excitement at being included. She found herself jumping up and down in place as the sparring matches went on. Wanting to be a part of it, Rain cheered for Lucus.
“Get him, brother!”
Lucus immediately fumbled and took a hit to the ribs.
Rain was horrified she had distracted him and gotten him hurt.
“I’m sorry. I'm so so sorry. I didn’t mean to..”
“Shut up. I don't care if you yell. It had nothing to do with me losing. So do whatever you want.”
Rain was relieved he didn’t seem to be angry at her. She continued to cheer as the sparring went on, but she made sure not to be too loud; she didn’t want to bother him.
Lucus, for his part, seemed to be more invested in the matches. He even won one of them.
After a few hours, a servant came to tell Lucus that supper would be ready shortly and that he should return to the manor to clean up.
After taking a few steps, Lucus turned to where Rain was standing.
“Come on, we need to get ready!”
Rain blinked, realizing the servant had also been talking to her. Unsure what to do, Rain started following Lucus. Only to have him turn and glare at her.
“Stop following me like a weirdo. Just walk next to me.”
Rain felt her ears warm as she rushed to walk beside Lucus. The journey to the manor was quiet. Rain didn’t know what to say without getting scolded. Lucus, for his part, seemed equally unable to figure out what to say.
Once back at their rooms, Lucus changed while Rain waited outside his door. She wasn’t dirty after all. A few minutes later, he left his room in fresh clothing, and the two of them went to eat together.
The dining hall was massive, with a long table running down the center. It could easily have hosted dozens of people. Currently, there were only settings for two people. Rain and Lucus sat down, and servants placed some of the best-smelling food Rain had ever smelt in front of them.
“Where are Lord and Lady Estom?” Rain asked.
“You think they would waste time eating with us?”
Rain had thought that families ate together; however, before she could say anything, Lucus continued.
“No, you’ll be lucky if they even talk to you every couple of days.”
Rain decided to change the subject and started gushing over the food. She spent the rest of the meal eating amazing things and getting scolded for her table manners by Lucus.
The meal ended with a servant bringing each of them a square of some kind of jiggly brown thing. It only took one bite for Rain to decide she was putting it on her list of favorite things. It was cool and slimy with a sweet taste, unlike anything Rain had ever eaten. It was perfect.
Seeing the look on Rain's face, Lucus slid his portion over to her.
“I don’t like this stuff, so you can eat mine.”
His words were a color so black they put the priests of Agro to shame. Rain slid his portion back and insisted he eat it with her.
It was the right choice. Rain found that good food tasted twice as good when you ate it with someone else.
***
Later that night, Rain stood in front of her new bed, a familiar terror gripping her as she thought of going to sleep. The evening had been fun with her following Lucus around and him calling her a weirdo or telling her she was annoying him. She wasn’t bothered by it, though, because she could see he was lying - at least about her being annoying. But now she was so tired.
Maybe the nightmares wouldn’t come tonight? Deciding to risk it, Rain lay down in the bed. It was even softer than her bed back in her library. It was like lying on a…
Rain woke tears in her eyes, heart pounding. It had been a bad one. There was no way she could go back to sleep now. Rain was exhausted and shaking; she was so, so tired of it all.
Looking at her bed, Rain made a decision. Leaving her room, she stared at the door to Lucus’s room. Trying the handle, she found it locked.
She slid a coin under the door and warped into the room. It looked similar to hers, with a spacious sitting room in the front. Rain picked up her coin and cracked the door to the bedroom open. There he was, sleeping peacefully in his own large bed.
Rain walked up to the side of the bed and looked down. Was she really going to do this? But the truth was that she was scared, and maybe having someone hold her while she slept would help the nightmares go away.
Taking a half step forward, Rain hesitated. No, he had been nice to her. If she bothered him, he might not talk to her anymore. It wasn’t worth the risk just so she could sleep one night.
She turned around and returned to her room. She spent the night huddled in a ball and tormented by nightmares, but at least she hadn’t ruined her chance to be friends with her new brother.