The weather gets better as we travel south, though for the most part it is imperceptible on a daily basis. As the weeks go by, I do take note of it. We travel south and the world is getting colder as winter deepens so the change is as slow as our movements, if not slower. We ride on horseback, which is a blessing, as at times it seems like travel any other way would be impossible. 

 The snows are bad this year,  as I'm told by those who have lived through winters in this land, and they certainly seem so. There are days we'll spend in Inns or smaller forts, waiting for a blizzard to pass. Carriages would be impossible now, not that I had any expectation that we'd be using that method. Even Lyana has become accustomed to long days in the saddle and bundled up as we all are against the cold, it's a comfortable enough journey with the group of us.

High Lord Shiar tells us that we would make twice the distance in the same time during the summer, but I don't really mind. As much as the cold is a discomfort, there's an odd sort of companionship between our group now that we've wandered through countryside asleep in white. Nerini and Shiar are becoming fast friends and though they don't see eye to eye on many things, their differences seem to compliment each other. Nerini has even broken through Lyana's self doubt and shyness for the most part, pushing and prodding in her way until the woman either pushes back or learns whatever Nerini was seeking to teach her.

The people are welcoming, and the inns are much like ours, the food is spicier but of similar staples and meat products to what I'm used to at home. There are a lot of recipes that I hope to bring back with me, things that we don't eat, or eat in a different way, though as whole our lives are not so different from those here.

Nerini remains focused on the journey and has been helping Lyana work on her gift the last several weeks and when she is not doing that, she is training or helping me. Or her and Lord Shiar are speaking about the Alliance to all that will listen. Rini is keeping busy and Lyana confided in me just how painful it is for her not to listen to her gift. I never knew it caused actual physical pain, or that the reason Nerini eats far less than usual now is because of the illness it causes in her.

Still, Nerini remains with us despite it; I didn't realize how bad it was until I had asked Lyana if there was anything a healer could do for Nerini. Lyana almost started crying then, and told me that I didn't know the half of it. Nerini doesn't say anything, doesn't give voice to the torment in her eyes and the tension the battle causes. Instead, she focuses on other things, she tells me that the fighting style changes as you move south, that it's more artistic. 

She is right about that, though she only seeks to distract me from worrying about her. The Long and Bastard swords of the northern provinces are making way for the broad sword or two curved swords with a more flowing fighting style.

Like Aupana, certain cultures seem to have settled into specific regions of the country.

Within the next couple weeks, we should be arriving in the capital, as the snows have stopped for the most part and turned to freezing, stinging rain. At least the roads are clear, but our horses cannot be pushed, for fear of slipping on the sheer ice in front of them. 

Lady Wyn

***

It was the day after Aupana's winter solstice and the first day of the winter holiday celebration in Sellexu that they arrived in the capital of Sellexu. The streets and shops were closed, leaving a silent and still ride up through the streets to the palace because of the holiday. Wyn was beside Nerini, following slightly behind Shiar and Lyana, who seemed comfortable with this level of quiet. The two were comfortable with the large sprawling city that was probably the most different from Aupanan's towns, of all the cities in Sellexu.

Nerini frowned ever so softly, her gaze wander and more than once remarking to her friend that something was off, something felt wrong. Try as she might, she couldn't find out what had settled in her mind, only that the tug to the north had ceased with a suddenness that made her heart skip. There was a calm in her mind that matched the eery feeling of the empty streets, a tension of anticipation building up in her awareness, telling her that something bad was about to happen.

Wyn merely shrugged and reassured her that it was just odd to see a city so void of life, at any time of the year. In Aupana, the winter holiday meant more activity and celebration, with neighbours milling about outside with neighbours, celebrating the fact that the darkest day of the year was behind them. Wyn tried her best to silence the voice in her head that wondered if it was Nerini's paranoid brain or gift that was raising concerns, swallowing the uncertainty with the reassurances she murmured to her friend.

The Palace itself was quiet as well, with only a skeleton staff available to see them to their apartments. Once they had settled from their long journey, they were summoned to court by royal request which in itself was an oddity. In Aupana they would have been given more time, perhaps the rest of the day to recover from their journey before the regent would have cared to see them officially.

All four of them met up and were lead through the halls of the palace before being formally introduced to the sitting court. It was a sparse crowd gathered casually in the ballroom, with King Caelur sitting on his throne. After paying the proper respects, Nerini and Wyn were invited to stand on one side of the large throne dais that stood at the forefront of the crowd, a place of honour it seemed.  Lyana smiled to them before she turned to join her friends in the crowd with smiles and hugs after a long journey. Shiar stood on the other side of Caelur, ducking his head to talk, catching the Regent up with their activities since their last correspondence.

Nerini was the first to turn her attention to the exotically beautiful woman and her retinue that approached the King, offering him respectful bows. Caelur chuckled and nodded to Shiar, motioning to the group who had just arrived, his voice loud enough for the rest of the room to hear.

"And here are some of our other new visitors, Lady Emeltra from the island nation of Cavatine has joined us as an emissary until the summer months, when she'll be attending Alliance to assist her representative on the council. Lady, this is High Lord Shiar, Champion of the Alliance, Commander of my armies. Beside us, are Lady Wyn Lac of Aupana, who is also an ambassador in Alliance and Lady Nerini O'Vara, Champion of the Alliance."

"My honour." The woman smiled politely and curtseyed to the two women, then offered her hand palm up to High Lord Shiar, who bowed and kissed her it, eyes locking on the woman. He watched her for a long moment, taking in a slow breath, his entire expression shifting from his normal formal mask to something different, something disarmed. In a breadth of time, he appeared to be looking at a long lost friend.

"A pleasure, M'lady. You should join us.  I would love to hear about Cavatine." Shiar said smoothly, leading her to sit beside him, where the two of them fell into easy conversation with one another as if they were old friends.

Wyn smiled, glancing over to her friend to exchange one of their typical inside jokes, pausing when she saw Nerini blink. The woman had a hurt, concerned expression on her face before she turned towards the rest of the crowd. 

As quickly as the emotion was there, it disappeared and suddenly Nerini's expression was unreadable. Wyn could tell it was schooled into a a mask of indifference as she watched the group of Sellexun nobles. There was something bothering her friend, but now was not the time to address it and even as she debated what was wrong, Wyn's own expression was pulled away.

"Tell me, M'lady, how have you enjoyed Sellexu thus far?" Caelur smiled to Wyn, pulling her attention to him, sitting close enough to have an easy conversation with her. "I've heard reports of progress being made on your projects?"

"Oh, it's been splendid! I'm only sorry I've missed most of its beauty due to the storms keeping us indoors when we're not travelling!" Wyn grinned to him, bowing her head. "And I wanted to convey my congratulations on your coronation, we were able to enjoy the celebration of it in Couth when we arrived, I trust Queen Rael has already sent her own well wishes?"

"Yes, along with the rest of Aupana." He offered and shrug and glanced at the room, then back to her his expression intense as he watched her. "But truly, it just means I have a bigger crown, I hope you don't expect that I'm a different man."

Wyn smiled, though she knew things would be different here in Sellexu. "Not at all. Though I do expect you may be busier than before?"

"Not so busy that I'll allow you to shake off my company, Lady Wyn." Caelur shook his head and leaned closer to her still. "I will still have time to introduce you to my mother, and you can start working on the Sellexu meal house and schools as you've planned for the Capitol."

***

Lyana took a moment of silence in her group of friends to look towards her brother, frowning as she saw him looking quite intimate with a complete stranger which was completely out of character. He didn't do that.  Not while in court, not while he was officially back at Caelur's side.

She shivered, her eyes taking in the rest of the group around the woman who captured Shiar's attention. "Who's that?" she whispered to her friend. Her brother had an odd expression on his face, something more expected of a young man in love than her normally calm and collected sibling.

"Oh, Lady Emeltra. She arrived only a few days ago. She's not very sociable with anyone other than the eligible bachelors..." Her friend murmured, sighing, before nodding over to where Nerini was slipping through the crowd. "Is that the warrior woman you wrote us about? The one teaching you how to fight? She's already caused a stir here, apparently, the men are taking bets on who can take her down."

"And still more are betting on who can bed her first. Apparently Aupanan women aren't as concerned about their purity before marriage." Another girl leaned in, smiling thoughtfully, though there was a vicious sound to her words. "They say the Queen doesn't even have to marry in order to get an heir."

Lyana looked away from her brother to the object of their gossip, unsure why she had never noticed how mean her friends could be. "My brother can't beat her half the time, so I would put my money on her in a fight over anyone here. And women in Aupana can inherit through their mother's line, as well as their father's. It's supposedly less contestable to follow your mother's bloodlines. I don't know about their sexual activity though, I haven't seen a man get close to any of them, to be honest."

The women fell silent for a moment, looking at Lyana curiously, unsure what to do when being shut down in the terms of juicy gossip.

 Everything before Alliance seemed like a different life time, she hadn't realized how different she had become until faced with her old friends. Lyana merely turned back to them, offering a shrug. "You should come out in the morning. It's good exercise at the very least."

"But how does one fight in a dress, Lyana?" One of the girls rolled her eyes, wrinkling her perfect little nose in distaste, "my parents would be scandalized if they heard I had picked up any sort of weapon."

Lyana laughed, waving Nerini over as she saw the woman walking, supposedly towards the door, despite the fact that she had just arrived. The crowd shifted to part around the Aupanan who walked over with a an easy, confident gait that Lyana wished she could emulate,."You wear pants like they do, of course. Lady Nerini!"

Nerini smiled to her, offering her a bow and then a more checked one to her friends. "Lady Lyana. I'm guessing these are your friends?"

"Yes. Ladies Olivia, Veronika, and Cassidy." She motioned to each woman, who curtseyed on cue. 

They had the plastered fake smiles on their faces, their expressions turning haughtily superior as they faced down the outsider,and Lyana began to get a bad feeling about the looks they were giving Nerini.

"Nice to meet you." Nerini smiled, her expression easy, as if she didn't have a care in the world, though Lyana recognized the sharp light in her eyes as she took in the women.

"Do you like women, as opposed to men, then?" Cassidy blurted out, drawing a sharp look from Nerini.

"Excuse me?" Nerini's smile returned though and she let out a slow breath, raising a brow as if amused by the idea. Only, Lyana saw the danger still lurking behind her gaze, despite the fact that her friends were oblivious to it, Nerini wasn't playing nice anymore.

"Well, men can't really like a woman who wears pants and throws them around and acts like man. And Lyana says she hasn't seen you interested in any men, despite the loose morals of you Aupanans." Veronika said smartly, smiling with mock friendliness to the Aupanan.

"Ah. So, you have decided to either label me as either attracted to women or with open legs. No. I like men. I've probably been more interested in men than all of you combined." Nerini drawled to them, leaning close as she talked, she noticed their discomfort at her bluntness grinning darkly. "See, I don't really consider a man who can't accept a strong partner, a man. Boys, maybe. But, I have no time for boys who only feel strong around women who don't challenge them."

And with that, she bowed to Lyana and stalked out of the room. Lyana turned to her friends, her features clouded with anger and shame. "You three should be embarrassed. You do us no honour, insulting her like that."

She didn't wait for their reply, turning and dashing off after Nerini, fighting the descending feeling that she had dragged her new friends into a mess, here in the capital.

***

"Nerini! Stop!" Lyana caught up to the other woman as she was being led to her assigned room in a far wing of the palace. Lyana was breathing hard, still red from her anger, shaking with the force of it, tears shining in her eyes.

Nerini's shoulders tensed but she stopped, nodding to the guard who paused until Lyana fell into step beside them. The guard offered Lyana a curt bow, before continuing down the hall, leading them both away from the ball room. "Your friends are nice."

"No, no they weren't." Lyana said softly, looking ready to cry. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I've got thick skin. I hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers." Her words were curt and not very repenting. Nerini's voice had the low heat of a long intense anger, her eyes still sharp and jaw tense as they walked, though she tried to maintain that easy expression of not being affected.

Lyana offered a soft frown as she watched the woman whom she had begun to think of as a good friend, sighing.  "They deserved to be plucked, the whole lot of them. Why are you leaving so soon?"

Nerini fell silent for a moment, staring at the ground as they walked, before offering a shrug, "Long day I guess. Tomorrow's the anniversary of my father's death. This time of year, makes me feel very alone. It's been six years, but I still feel it as if it was fresh."

"So why are you walking away from a group of people?"

"Because when you're alone in a crowd, it is far lonelier than being alone by yourself." Nerini sighed and shook her head, her words soft and far more vulnerable than they had ever been around Lyana.

"Oh." Lyana offered the other woman a sorrowful expression, unsure what to say for a moment.

Nerini glanced to her, trying to smile, to reassure the woman, though looking sadder for the attempt. "My father was here once, you know. And my mother. He told me all about it, or partially about it anyways. He never explained why he was here but he was an emissary of the Queen and spent some time in a prison cell. He told me that the women here, even when they had everything piled against them being strong, were the strongest out of everyone else. He told me how his life was saved by a Lady Lysa and a Lady Victoria."

Lyana frowned in surprise, watching Nerini for a long time. It took her a moment to form her words, unsure what to make of this knowledge, unsure of why, after all the months together she was just learning of the connection. "Lysa was my mother. Victoria is Caelur's mother. They knew each other?"

"My father... he was a bookish man, but a warrior too. He wasn't supposed to be the Lord Heir of Lansen, he had a twin sister who died in battle against Sellexu. I'm her namesake. Apparently, it took six or seven men to kill her, one of which was the King at the time. My father ended up in Cleandria shortly after and somehow forged a friendship with a High Lord and saved both the King's and High Lord's life. Then he came here to Sellexu for some reason, was arrested and they were going to try him for Aupana's perceived crimes against Sellexu. Your mother and the future Queen, stepped in somehow and my father had to do trial by combat in order to leave." Nerini shrugged carefully, glancing to the young woman. "Part of my interest for being here is to see if there is any record of that, to see if anyone remembers it."

Lyana wished there was someone she could ask about it, but the only person who was alive and well enough to speak on the matter was the Queen Mother and Victoria wasn't often seen in court these days. Still, she shared Nerini's curiosity, wondering if there were more details to that strange story to be found.

They stopped before the apartments the guard advised were assigned to Nerini and Wyn. Both women were silent as he bowed and left, looking at one another as his footsteps faded down the hallway. Then Lyana reached out and squeezed Nerini's arm gently. "I'll see you sparring tomorrow?"

Nerini nodded, offering her a smile. "Go have fun. I'll be fine."

And without waiting for a response, she bowed and slipped into her room, closing the door quietly behind her, leaving Lyana no choice but to turn back the way she had come.

By the time Lyana returned to the ballroom, a space was cleared and the courtiers were dancing in earnest. Lyana watched her brother glide by, grinning like a fool in the arms of the Islander woman, causing her to frown even deeper.

She should be happy for her brother or even just enjoying the fact that they were in the Sellexun Court amongst their friends, where she had thought she wanted to be more than anything in the world. 

For some reason, she was feeling a deep pit of dread in her stomach every time he saw his puppy-like expression, locked relentlessly on the woman she did not know. She found herself standing alone, long into the night, turning down dances and letting her mind race as she watched her friends enjoy the holiday, all the while she felt the urge to reach out with her power as if she were healing, to find out where the bad feeling was coming from.