Heirs of Hyarch

Suppressing a heavy groan, Myron sat up in his bed. Even after a full night of sleep, he still felt a bit drained. He supposed he should consider himself lucky, with everything that had happened. It was far more luck than he deserved, as he turned to look at Nela, who was laying beside him.

So beautiful, he thought as he looked her over. A face of sharp angles, framed in loose reddish brown hair, looking peaceful in sleep. A small, thin body, far more fragile than the airs she normally put on, half wrapped in the blankets of his bed. Soft skin a shade of pale pink, faded in the dim light shining through the curtained window.

It wasn't beauty in the typical sense, the sort found in paintings and art of fair maidens. It was a beauty that came from her strength and compassion. While Nela was far from perfect, and it didn't always show, for Myron there could be no one else. If nothing else, he was certain of that.

It was just about the only thing Myron was certain of now.

Sighing, he went to get dressed, thinking on the words he and Edeline had exchanged last night. While far from the first time he had seen his sister angry, he'd been completely stunned by fire in her eyes, the rage in her voice...the pain on her face.

There were a hex of different ways he could have handled the matter. He could have asked Nela to wait until the next day. He could have spoken to Edeline privately in advance, or accused Hamond separately. Or he could have just let the matter be, walk away and let the consequences sort themselves out.

No, that wasn't who Myron Hallowscroft was. Abandoning his sister was something he would never do, not unless he had exhausted every possible option to aid her. If it meant making himself look like a fool, then he would do it, without hesitation.

"It's morning?" a sleepy Nela asked from the bed, right as Myron finished pulling his shirt on.

"Yes," Myron said. He'd fallen asleep soon after eating the meal Nela had brought him, too tired to do much else. She'd been oddly silent herself, now that he thought about it. He just hoped he hadn't hurt her feelings too.

"Still too early." Nela rolled over, pretending to go back to sleep again for a moment. Then she sat up, looking over at him. "Your arm feeling better?"

Myron stretched out the arm in question, twisting his hand. It still ached a bit, but it was far better than the broken mess it had been the previous day. If there was one thing his time with Nela had taught him, healing magic was impressively effective if the healer was there quickly. Of course, as Nela had also said, a lot of people just didn't bother seeking a healer's aid until it was too late.

"It's much improved, thank you." Adjusting his sleeve, he walked over and sat on the bed next to Nela. While he probably still wasn't in any condition to fight, Myron doubted they would let him get anywhere near that elf. And given the spell he'd been under, he did not blame them.

"Good," Nela said, "I guess I'd better get my arse up and get dressed."

"I don't think they'd approve of you walking around like that," Myron said with a smile, looking her naked body over.

"And you wouldn't either," Nela answered, chuckling.

"Definitely not." Myron laughed too. "I'll just go ahead downstairs, and you can come once you're ready." Knowing his sister, they were probably seeing about food.

"You sure you don't want to wait on me?"

"I'm sure," Myron said, "Besides, I think...I owe the two of them apologies."

"Right." Nela nodded, a strange smirk on her face. "I'll join you soon."

What that was about, Myron had no idea, but he knew staying to ask would just distract Nela. Probably would distract him too. Instead, he turned to the door. Opening it slightly, he started to slide out so he wouldn't expose Nela to anyone outside. Not that he expected anyone to be waiting, but he was going to be careful anyway.

Pain. He'd bumped his elbow of his injured arm on the way out. Gritting his teeth so he didn't make a sound and alarm Nela, Myron closed the door behind him. Wonderful, he was now even more useless for this afternoon's plans.

Making his way downstairs, Myron slowed as he heard the voices of his sister and Hamond down the hall. That probably meant they were near the front doors. Slowly walking forward, he tried to listen, curious about what they were saying.

"-are clearly their primary target," Hamond stated.

"Do we have any other options?" Edeline said in response, "More of the city watch will be brought along, and with my brother's injury, I'm the only one that can hold them off directly." Myron looked down at his arm, knowing she was right and wishing she wasn't.

"That's why we need to plan carefully," Hamond's voice was calm, "If you fall under their control, we have no chance."

Myron decided that now was a good point to step out. "Good morning," he said, coming around the corner.

Edeline spun to face him, her surprise quickly changing into a guarded expression. "Oh...you are awake."

"Indeed." Myron took a deep breath. This was it. "And I have one thing to say to you."

"What is it?" Hamond drew back slightly.

"I'm sorry."

The two were silent.

"I did not consider what you went through." Myron faced Edeline. "You clearly needed both your thaumaturgy and Hamond's help to survive. It was foolish of me to say what I did without thinking about those things."

"Myron...thank you." Edeline visibly relaxed.

"And to you as well." Myron addressed Hamond. "You were willing to aid my sister when no one else did. Even if you are a thaumaturge, you had no reason to take the risk and help her. Forgive me for suspecting you."

Hamond was still quiet, his face oddly drawn up. Perhaps this was a Remuati expression, as Myron had never really dealt with any northerners, but something told him this wasn't the case. It didn't matter though, as he'd said what he had to.

After another moment of silence though, Myron began to worry. "Friends?" he asked, extending one hands towards Hamond.

Hamond blinked. "I don't know," he said slowly, "The thing is...you weren't entirely wrong."

It was Myron's turn to be surprised. Nor was he the only one. "What do you mean?" Edeline asked, staring at him.

"I was not entirely honest in our earlier conversation," Hamond said, "Don't get me wrong. Everything I told you was true, I just...I left out some details."

"Tell me," Edeline insisted, voice fierce.

"I would, but it'd be better if we were all present," Hamond said.

Right, Nela still wasn't here. Myron looked around, realizing that there'd been plenty of time for her to get ready and come down. Hopefully, she hadn't just fallen back asleep again, but he couldn't rule the possibility out.

"I'll go check," he offered quickly.

Edeline nodded dismissively, most of her attention focused on Hamond. Odd, but questioning her now would run counter to his apology, so Myron decided to let it rest. Back down the hallway, up the stairs with him.

As he came up to his door, it opened to reveal a now-dressed Nela. She'd tied her hair back again, he noticed immediately. She was also looking rather pleased for some reason.

"I think I found it," she said on seeing Myron.

"Found...what?" Myron asked slowly, realizing she was holding one of her hands behind her back.

"This." Nela extended a hand, revealing a carved wooden flute. His flute.

Of all the things Myron had expected to see, this was not one of them. "Where...where was it?"

"Under the bed," Nela repeated, "I dropped my hair tie, and it bounced under the bed. When it got down to get it, I saw it there. Thought it was a snake or something at first." She looked a little sheepish for the moment. "But you did tell me about all the times you played it, so...good thing I checked down there, right?

"Right." He couldn't really think of anything else he could say.

"It was probably there the whole time too." Nela shrugged. "Surprised you didn't get it yesterday. Did you forget where it was?"

"Probably," Myron admitted. It had been years after all, both time and distance removed from the days when he would practice. The war, the struggle, and everything that had happened made the flute the last thing on his mind. Given that Edeline had not brought it up, she likely also had forgotten. It had been his personal escape, a break after his lessons and training to go to his room or out into the garden and just play song after song.

"Can you still play it?" Nela asked.

"Let's see." The flute was dusty, unmistakably a result of the time from under his bed. Myron rubbed it on his shirt, cleaning it as best he could. Hoping this had worked, he then raised it to his mouth. The first note warbled slightly as dust puffed out of the holes on the instrument. The second note was clearer, sweeter, echoing down the hall.

Nela clapped her hands. "You should do a full song." she told him.

Myron sighed, shaking his head. "I don't think we have the time," he told her, "We need to get ready for when that elf shows up. And before that...Hamond has something he wants to tell us."

"Later then?" Nela sounded quite insistent.

"Later." Myron tucked the flute into his belt, out of the way for now.

"Anyway...you two back on speaking terms now?" Nela said, "Really don't want you and Edeline at each other's throats, and she definitely likes the man. Even if he's a shit excuse for a healer."

Nela, never change, Myron thought to himself. "I think we're about to find out more about that," Myron said, "And from what he said, Edeline already knew part of the story."

"Once upon a time..." Nela said teasingly, "See, even I know that part."

"If only our stories were that simple," Myron noted, "Then we wouldn't be caught up in a mess like this." And while he was wishing, he silently added, he might as well ask for a rock to fall from the sky right onto the Spellking's head.

"Suppose it does make it more exciting, right? Even if I'd rather it not." Nela bounced in front of him, heading down the hall. "We aren't getting out of this by standing here talking, so let's shut up and push through."

Myron couldn't help but smile at Nela being her usual self. Neither could he help but follow her.