Seven Devils » 𝕘𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 «

II. [the bell tolls]

⚔︎

There were three things of which Vhanyra Snow was absolutely certain.

The first being that her brother was quite possibly the most annoying younger brother in the vast history of the seven kingdoms.

"Balerion, you fat sheep! Get back here!" Vhanyra wailed and shrieked for her brother, sprinting as fast as her still too little legs could carry her. "That was my fucking apple!"

"Nyra!" Their father, tending to his little garden of yellow pansies and bright snowdrops below the kitchen window, cried out in admonishment as they raced past. "Are you learning to be such a tart tongue in your training!?" His voice faded long before the sentence was fully executed, the children had already ducked into the field of barley and disappeared into the tall, wispy stalks.

  The rambunctious tots were quickly enveloped in a cocoon of bright yellow and gold, their own golden hair melting into the colors smeared all around them. Her brother's hair was darker than her own, a bit muddied, but came to life under pale yellow rays of light. The sun was at its highest point in the sky, much farther than it had been when their mother had all but shoved them out the front door.

Summer is not a time to be taken for granted, my sweets, she had scolded them as she handed each child a shining, blood red apple. Particularly in the North. One day Winter will come, and we will all ache for the warmth of the sun. Vhanyra sensed there was more behind her mother's passing comment, a glint of something in her eye, but she had already turned away to fidget with her vials before the girl could dig much deeper.

  "Come on, Bale!" She tried to harden her shouts into anger, but the closer she drew to the smaller boy, the more her cries settled into giggles. Just two years of age passed between them, and her brother was still much too small to escape her.

Vhanyra pummeled into Balerion's smaller frame, tackling him to the rough soil. He shrieked, tossing the stolen chunk of apple into the field as he struggled out of her grasp. She relented, shifting to let him squirm away. His hair was mussed and there was dirt smeared all over his cheeks, but he shot her a wide, toothy grin before scrambling off the ground and dipping away into the field again.

She sighed, slowly following. Their little village was nestled among rolling hills and thick forestry so old that she was certain the gods themselves could rest on the tree tops. Rest, eat fresh fruits slathered in honey, and mock the sorry state of the people below.

It wasn't that she hated their village. In fact, she loved it very much. It was quiet, apart from the clash of steel from the training yard at the very center, and the area boasted some of the best views in the North, according to her father anyway. Vhanyra was only ten years of age, she'd hardly been allowed the time to visit other places in the North, but she did particularly enjoy the view from the cliff side east of their home. She would sit there sometimes, when the sun was just beginning to dip into the horizon, and pretend she could see all the way to Bear Island just across the sea.

  No, she didn't hate where she lived. What she hated was the people.

  Vhanyra watched them now, watching her, as she weaved around bodies to head towards her mentor's cottage. Most of the villagers were grim, to put it mildly. To see a smile was a rare occasion, even more so if the smile was genuine. She didn't necessarily think it was their fault; their pathetic attitude was a mirror of their own pathetic lives.