like icarus loved the sun
Reichenbach did not know how the hawk knew which window was his — or whether it had simply found the largest window of the Keep to deliver it's message. Regardless, the hawk found his chambers first, and had rapped it's sharp claws upon his windowsill. He was glad it had. The scent of blood and death seemed to emanate from the sharp eyed bird — and while some may have brushed the smell away as purely Solterran, Reichenbach knew otherwise.
As capable and fierce as the Solterran people were, they did not stink of burnt flesh. It was an unnerving find, perhaps made even more so later by the lack of mention it received in the letter. The neat script he did not recognise — but assumed belonged to Seraphina, the new Sovereign of Sand. To think, the two of them had met all those months ago by the oasis... and now each of them bore a crown and the weight of a nation.
"King Reichenbach,
Your sister and her newborn daughter should arrive at the borders of the Arma Mountains by tomorrow night. I have sent an escort to accompany them, but I suspect that you will not wish for her to encroach upon your kingdom, nor would I wish for someone inexperienced in traversing the perils of the mountainside to learn them while tasked with their protection. Both mother and child are healthy, though exhausted.
Congratulations on the birth of your niece.
- Seraphina"
Reichenbach straightened as he read the letter, argent eyes swiftly devouring each word.
A niece!
A niece that would be making the trek back to Denocte!
A slight scramble of thoughts followed as The Night King attempted to devise a plan of action. He wanted to leave himself, meet his new niece and his exhausted sister immediately — but first...
His telekinesis grasped a long eagle feathered quill, his own messy scrawl appearing on jasmine-scented parchment a moment later. Once he had tied his message to the hawk, first ensuring the bird was capable of doing such a journey so soon, he turned from the window and slipped out of his chambers.
Aislinn's door loomed before him, reminding him momentarily of a different night, a different time. He paused, baritone voice rumbling from outside the door:
"Aislinn? I have news."
@
