Apollodora I

14th night of the Month of Ice, 6:00, Moonrise

It's a somber night, the sky clouded and air cold with the threat of snow. The people of Neth wake slower and there are not cheerful sellers at the market. The people know better than show their joy when their royal family is in mourning.

Apollodora, secondborn of king Zeno, Infans and future advisor to prince Artemy, known to her family as just Dora, was mourning the hardest. Dressed in proper mourning red, face blotchy with shed and unshed tears. Sad as only a niece can be after loosing her favorite uncle.

They had the most in common, both Infans, title-less in the most powerful family in Neth, Dora would never rule, but she would advise her brother when he rose to the throne, just like Mikhe had done with her father. He had been her teacher in everything that mattered, who to listen, who to ignore, when to push and all the laws she needed to know to do her job correctly. After every lesson they would eat sweets together in the gardens.

But now, he was gone forever. Killed and thrown in the Aaru like one would a stone. No witnesses, not even Mani had seen who had dared to murder a member of the royal family in cold blood. But eventually, Dora knew, the truth would come out, the Og would not allow such a sin to go unpunished.

Dora watches her family. They were all breaking their fast together and while such a thing never happened, it was saddening that they had only managed to do so for a tragedy. Her father was the most affected, he had not eaten and just stared at his empty plate with a glare. Her mother seemed deep in thought, eating as calmly as ever a bowl of assorted fruits. Her brother is the least affected, at least externally. He's devouring a bowl of fruit similar to their mother's, next to it there's a plate with spiced meats piled on it and from time to time, he picks one stripe of meat and feeds Saghira, that lies next to his chair attentively.

Her grumbling stomach interrupts her musings, and with a sigh she looks at the dish she had asked their chef. A simple vegetable broth, bland and almost flavorless, perfect to tame her body but not enough to fill her, as she didn't she could handle anything else.

"At what time is the Baru?" Asks Artemy suddenly, breaking the silence that had taken over the grand dining room of the Lunar Palace.

"As soon as we finish" growls father lowly, eyes fixed on his full plate. "The Nocturnals will attend also, but will leave before the omens are given"

"Will grandfather attend?" Asks Dora, knowing the death of her uncle had hit her grandfather particularly hard to the point of affecting his already failing health.

"Yes" grumbles father "We will meet with Wina after the Baru for the burial"

Dora nods, knowing that her aunt would not be allowed for the Baru, as she was not considered part of the Drest family after her marriage to Firo Ulrik. She pities her aunt even though she knows of the traditions. Aunt Wina had loved uncle Mikhe deeply, the baby of the family had been spoiled since birth by both parents and older siblings.

As the silence drowns the room again, Dora stares at her soup and decides it is a necessity. The last thing she needs is to faint during the Baru. It would be her first one, since she had been a baby when her grandmother Bacchia had died.

Artemy had told her about the experience in gruesome detail, taking special pleasure in describing the entire dissection process and the smells that accompanied it. It wasn't a secret that Dora dreaded the day that a familiar died, not just for the emotional pain, but also for the Baru. Dora did not want to faint in front of the Haruspex and the Nocturnals. The Haruspex had that strange ability to transmit his displeasure and disdain even with his face covered. Also, fainting—or even worse, throwing up— would have the added terrible bonus of being teased immensely by Artemy until the end of time itself.

Is while Dora ponders the possibility of becoming laughingstock for her older brother, that father gets up from his seat, food untouched and mood getting worse by the second.

"We leave in ten minutes" he says right before disappearing behind the doors to the dining room.

It stays quiet after that, with only the sound of cutlery and the faint noises of servants walking around. Dora takes her spoon and ponders it for a second, would it be worse to eat or to stay hungry?

"Such vanity, sister. Is your reflection that good of a sight that you must look at yourself in spoons now?" Teases Artemy, making Dora jump and then glare at him.

"Shut up" she growls in response, then pouts "I just don't want to vomit at the Baru"

Mother makes a comforting noise and gets up from her chair to seat on the arms of Dora's chair, petting her head gently.

"My sweet, the Baru just requires your presence, there's no law forcing you to watch anything" says mother, kissing Dora's head and giving her a smile "I used to wear a blindfold for some of them, you know?"

Dora frowns, but that would be disrespectful, wouldn't it? And judging from what her brother had told her many, many times, the worst part was the smell of the process.

"Bari won't care if you close your eyes, Dora" interjects Artemy. His plate of meat is now empty and Saghira has abandoned its shelter under the table to wander around the table, looking for more scraps.

"Exactly, my sweet" smiles mother "Bari just wants us to accompany our family before she takes them away, with time, one becomes accustomed to it, but is healthy to be sick at the sight. No one will judge"

With a swallow, Dora looks up at Artemy, that smiles sincerely and pets Saghira's enormous head when it approaches him and bumps against his shoulder.

"I won't laugh, Dora. I got sick that one time, you know? I even ran away!" He chuckles.

Dora nods, but inside she still wonders; this will be the last time she'll be able to say goodbye to uncle, and she decides, that she will try to see, even if she gets sick or faints. She owes that to her uncle, the one that smiled at her always and understood her better than anyone.

Yes. She'll watch and say goodbye. That is, after all, what the Baru is for, the omen is just an afterthought in her mind. Who cares about the future when she's still living in the present?