Immediately, the memories of growing up in Castle Bower flooded Katryna’s mind. Running through the long halls with her siblings, playing all sorts of games with her brothers. Fighting imaginary monsters in the gardens with sparring swords. Watching her father as he adjudicated atop the throne.
She had always wanted to sit on his lap but was never allowed. It was forbidden for women to be so close to the throne.
Father. Where was her father?
“Everyone is waiting for us in the dining hall,” Finn said to Katryna. “Come.”
Katryna turned to Trish, “I’ll catch up with you later. See to it that you are all fed, and please make sure Tulip is settled for the night.” Trish nodded in response. “And Trish?”
“Yes, Kat?”
Katryna pulled Trish in and whispered in her ear. “Make sure to say ‘hello’ to Edrick from me.”
Trish smirked and whacked Katryna gently on the shoulder. “Don’t you worry. I will be sure to pass the message on, one way or another.”
Katryna and Finn made their way into the bowels of the castle. Every stone hearth had a raging fire inside and candles lit up the interiors with a warm glow. Somehow, despite its size, the castle was always warm on the inside.
They reached the dining hall, a massive open space at the rear of the keep. Its oak doors were wide open. The walls were painted in stripes of red and white, separated with thick wooden beam supports, and were covered in beautiful candle sconces.
A long table sat in the centre of the hall, its top made from expensive Efferven red pinewood, held together with thick nails and metal braces. At the table sat many of Katryna’s close and extended family members. She could instantly tell who was happy to see her back home, and who was less than thrilled.
“Kat!” Katryna’s aunt Rashel, her father’s sister, leapt to her feet from slouching on a chair, warmly embracing her niece.
Rashel was well into her sixties and looked it. Her hair had grown silver and her face was withered and wrinkled like an old piece of fruit. The soft scent of lavender filled her nostrils- Katryna had always loved the smell of her aunt’s perfume. It smelled like home.
Katryna returned the hug. She was glad that it was the first thing she was met with as she entered the pit of snakes.
“Aunt Rashel, it’s so good to see you again,” Katryna said, kissing her aunt on the cheek twice.
“Look at you! Look at how grown up you are! And so gorgeous, too. How are you, my dear?” Rashel asked, genuinely concerned. She held Katryna’s hands within her own.
Katryna hesitated. “I’ve been better.”
“Sorry to hear, love. It’s wonderful to see you, it’s been so many years.”
Katryna patted her aunt’s hand warmly. “It’s been far too long, Aunt Rashel.”
“How was the trip from Redwatch?”
“Tiring,” Katryna sighed. “Weather has been rough. But we rode as fast as we could. I needed to be here.”
Rashel nodded. “We all need to be here. I’m sure Giliam will be more than happy to see you. We haven’t been the same without you here.”
Aunt Rashel had always been a warm figure in Katryna’s life. After the accident, Katryna had been ostracised by most of the family, especially by her mother. Mira had never been able to move forward from the tragedy, nor forgive Katryna. She still remembered the horror on her mother’s face. The dead stare in her eyes. The wailing that followed.
“Katryna, what have you done?!”
On the opposite end of the table sat Hectar and Ellene Maarsden, siblings of Katryna’s mother, Mira. Hectar Maarsden was the baron of Taloncrest up north. His shining bald head and pale eyes gave him a ghostly appearance and the long scar running down the side of his face had always made Katryna feel uneasy as a child. Ellene looked like an old shrew underneath many layers of furs to keep the cold of night out of her bones.
Neither seemed at all happy to see Katryna, their expressions barely changing as they made eye contact. She never addressed them as “aunt” and “uncle” like she did Rashel. Nonetheless, they stood up and showed the proper courtesies.
Katryna’s other brother, Rowan, sat at the table crossed legged, looking away from her. He had grown up. His beard was unshaven and his eyes sunken in.
Rowan was younger than Katryna by only a year. He wore in hunting gear- Katryna grimaced, assuming he had been out on an expedition earlier in the day. Why haven’t you been by father’s bedside?
Beside Rowan sat a good-looking noblewoman in a long frilly dress. Katryna guessed this was his new wife, Ofelia, the first daughter of House Seros. Maxim Seros, baron of Efferven, was one of King Giliam Bower’s most trusted bannerlords. Katryna had not yet met Rowan’s new wife. She had been invited to the wedding the year previous but had decided not to attend.
For the entire trip, Katryna was consumed by what words she would say to her Rowan. He was who she feared seeing again the most. She had felt somewhat prepared, but now the pit in her stomach had grown so large that she became flustered and nervous and couldn’t remember what she had come up with.
“Rowan…it’s, it’s good to see you,” Katryna said clumsily. The words became caught in her throat as she spoke them.
Rowan stood up and embraced his sister coldly, kissing her on the cheek as tradition required but barely hugging her.
“This is my wife, Ofelia,” Rowan said brashly.
“It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“And you, sister.” Ofelia’s voice was warm, despite appearing quiet and a bit shy.
“I heard stories of your beauty in Redwatch. It seems the stories were an understatement.”
Ofelia blushed. “Oh sister, you flatter me!”
“I’m sorry I could not
