Dancing Flames

The wooden grandfather clock with the silver face and bell was ticking with the constant beat that was ringing in her brain after sitting in silence for so long. She didn't prefer to work in silence, because she liked a lively environment. When she did work at home with all her tutors, she kept the windows open to hear the nature sounds outside and just the fresh breeze making the tall grass sway.

Gwen rubbed her temples and glanced up to stare at the clock from the placement behind the sofa to the right for a moment, zoning out. She tended to catch herself zoning out after getting into work for a long period of time, and she pushed her chair out from the desk for a bit of room to be able to stretch her legs after getting down to business long enough to make the sun fall.

She snapped out it and shook her head before tiredly rubbing her eyes, yawning. Her head was filled with nothing but numbers at that point and hit the point where she was going on autopilot, jotting down whatever still being strict with her concise methods.

The sun had fully set, the blazing sun disappearing onto the horizon as the moon lifted up into the sky forcing Gwen to get up and find candles in the corner next to the desk to her right. It had gotten too dim for her to be able to see her work, so she was forced to do something about it.

She had to shift the small table there away from the curtains due to the clear fire hazard before lighting them up and placing them behind a large shade to emit more of the light overhead so that she could see better in the dark.

It wasn't cold enough to burn a fire, so Gwen would have to settle for her small makeshift light source she made on a whim. Leaning over to the side, she grabbed a slim piece of ribbon to tie the stack that she was able to finish and placed it into the drawer with the most strength that she could muster considering that it was a lot heavier than she expected.

Gwen leaned her hip against the desk and shook out her hair, taking a breather from the papers. She asked for no disturbance during work since she wanted to get herself situated first, however, they all respected her wishes so much that it made her feel somewhat lonely while sitting in the magnificent study alone for hours which she found endearing.

She did go out to the dining hall to eat dinner with Isaac and his crew along with Lauren, Avery, and Cosette as usual for a delicious meal since she was able to work up an appetite after sitting for so long.

Lauren asked how it was going, and Gwen has happy to share some details with everyone. Most of the knights were busy for the rest of the evening, so she wasn't able to see any of the usual crew inside the mansion.

She didn't know what they were up to, but Cassian had called for them when he left her be a while ago. Gwen smiled to herself, watching the candle burn brighter and flicker against the walls with the warm light cast dancing as it moved. When the time was right, she would love to have a meal with everyone once more knowing that they were often dragged along to her whims.

There were tall trees that hung near the balcony that she had seen when she was walking outdoors earlier signifying the mature age of the trees, but she noticed them more strongly now since harsh winds were strong enough to make the branches swing into the mansion, creating knocking sounds as the thick branches thrashed from side to side. It wasn't anything too loud or worrying, but she strode towards the French doors to glance outside.

Despite the dark night setting in, she could see the rolling storm clouds ominously swirling above. The howling wind forced the greenery to sway along with the motion, sending leaves scattering across the courtyard and bending the weaker trees.

She enjoyed the ever-shining sunshine at the estate making her wonder what it would be like within Solaris for a change of pace, but the swift change of weather was disconcerting with the thunder clouds beginning to make themselves noticed above.

Moonlight streamed through the window, washing the study in a lovely cool blue light. Gwen fluffed her hair to try and alleviate the stress on her neck after looking down for so long and tilted her head from side to side. Rubbing her neck, she glanced back at the clock, squinting her eyes since she couldn't believe the clock hands that were facing upwards, surprised that it was so late.

She should head back to bed soon so that she wasn't worrying anyone about getting out of her bedroom midafternoon the next day. There was always a knight standing guard everywhere she went, and it rotated every day, so she was able to get to know them all well. Amos was standing out guard today and with his relaxing personality, they were able

Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to warm up from the chilly air and eventually turned back to the desk to tidy the mess that she made. Sliding the pens back into their encasements and slamming all the drawers shut after straightening it all up making sure to place everything back to where it once was, she leaned back on her heels to inspect her work, satisfied.

The small candle to her right blew out, setting the arena in darkness. She waited for a moment until her eyes got adjusted before she slowly moved over to the side table that was pressed in the corner to see that the wick was submerged in the oil. Gwen didn't have any other candles on hand, nor could she find any earlier. It was a sign for her to leave now and rest.