Quiet Courage

1

Cienn frowned, as he looked himself in the mirror once more.He fixed his fancy collar and sighed.Another party, this time with the King himself, Tenur must be so excited.

"Something got you down?" came a voice at the door and Cienn turned to see his twin sister leaning against the door to his room.

"How'd you get in?I had the suite locked." Cienn asked Ceranae as she moved in to sit on his bed.She grinned and pulled a key from her chest, waving the amber colored rod in the air before him.

"If I didn't have a key to your room what kind of sister would I be?Let alone twin." She asked, replacing the key into her breast band and leaning back on the bed.Cienn turned back to the mirror and tried to fix his collar once more.No matter what he did it wouldn't sit flat against his chest.He felt a pair of hands snake across his shoulders as Ceranae came up to fix it for him.

"Why didn't you let Marks handle it?In another of those 'I can take care of myself' moods?" she asked as she slicked the collar down.It stayed for her why not him?

"No I don't need Marks to fix a collar for me Cer, I can handle that on my own." Ceranae just snorted as she finished dealing with the collar."Cer I'm serious, I can handle myself."

"If you say so little brother," she said, slapping his chest as she finished."Now come on Tenur won't wait much longer.He wants to show his value to the King by being prompt." She said, waving her hand in a "he drags on so much" motion, causing Cienn to smile wanly.He followed his sister out, admiring her as she walked before him.While Cienn was easily the quiet one, the sibling who'd rather stay home and read a good book, Ceranae delighted in the social life, the young nobles, the dancing, all of it.Tenur was excited to marry her off to a prestigious nobleman, certain she would marry well despite their magical background.Cienn on the other hand was a struggle for their stepfather, for even though he was the family's Heir he was so closed and antisocial it was hard to get him to look at prospective girls.

In all honesty Cienn had issues dealing with all those highborn, snooty young women who wanted nothing more than an attractive bed partner with a large wallet.He wanted something real, someone who would love him for him and not because he was attractive, or because he was an heir.He didn't think that was too much to ask.

"First lesson of running a household Cienn, always be prompt." came the voice of Tenur, Duke of Analon and Head of the Orater family. The 53-year-old balding man fixed his own dress tunic and tie as his family assembled before him and his wife, Canasena la'Orater, for a final inspection before the party.Cienn stood between his sisters, Ceranae on his left and 13 year old Tassena on his right.Holding Tassena's hand was Tenatur, the youngest of the Orater's and first son of Tenur's get.Tenur and Canasena started with the youngest, and Cienn wasn't surprised to hear that Tenur found nothing wrong with his son and only marginal things with his wife's youngest daughter.He looked Cienn up and down and skipped right over him, commenting on what a fine young lady Ceranae looked like that evening.Only then did Tenur turn back to his stepson, eyeing the boy up and down cynically.

"You look like some fey magician boy, next time dress with less color.We men need to look pale next to our women, it sets a better contrast.... and your collar's sticking up." With that Tenur told the family to mount up for the ride through the city to the castle.Ceranae put a comforting hand on her twins shoulder as they left and followed her mother and sisters into the carriage.The ride through the Capital was uneventful, and soon Cienn was dismounting his gelding inside the brightly lit forecourt of the blocky and tasteless castle of the Sundast Crown.Footmen removed the family's horses and carriages from view, and taking his wife's arm Tenur made to lead the family in.

The ball was like every other Cienn had attended; young girls and older women alike giggled as he passed, yet the only people he would dance with were his sisters and his mother.For the rest of the time he found himself a secluded spot at one of the back tables where he could listen to the music and just pretend he wasn't there.It was moments like this that Cienn could pretend he was at their summer home on the family estates, and Papa was still alive again.Cienn would sit there and remember the times his father had taken he and Ceranae into the woods around their home and show them secrets the Crown would never approve of.Forgotten heirlooms and ruins of secret temples; all signs that once the world had been full of magic.Cienn loved these memories, they kept him alive.He gazed out across the great ballroom and caught sight of his step-father and his mother come face to face with the one man Cienn never wanted to see, King Kadesh doh'Adessa.He noticed how the man grinned at Tenur and held what looked like a mild scowl back for his mother.Cienn couldn't hear what they were saying over the loud music that was so popular with this pompous court, but he noticed the King's excitement and watched as the man touched his mother's growing belly.Tenur and Canasena were expecting another child, a recent development that had Cienn's stomach mildly revolting inside.It wasn't that he didn't love his mother, but the thought of her with anyone other than Papa had his stomach churning.