"Is everything alright m'lord? You don't seem yourself..." (daughteroftheswordandbow)
Not one prone to openly display demonstrative facial expressions, kin or not, the pervading disquietude that was manifest prior to his consciousness of his daughter’s presence left his eyes in the space of a single blink, only to be replaced by a steely blankness.
❝Just a little weary, is all.❞
Echernil watched her father before removing her hand from his and looking to the floor, “Of course father, I should not have been so worried…” She knew that he still missed her mother dearly, but it hurt to think he remained so cold. After a moment, she gently stood up, “I was going to visit her…if you care to join me…”
Neither the mention of a name nor a title, but the pronoun was explicit enough reference to the late queen. Exhibiting the slightest inclination to hesitation, the split-second silence that betrayed his usual swift decisiveness was sustained by the slanting of his head–a gesture to physically affirm what was beyond his current predilection to verbally do so–and the rising to his feet.
❝While the break of day has yet to descend upon us.❞













