Chapter 78: Burning Her Secrets
To say she was worried was an incredible understatement.
The entire time she had been at the Duke’s Tower, she had only received two letters from her father over winter when they weren’t able to see one another. He told her she didn’t have to respond and he sent them by way of messenger hawk so that no one would have to be bothered by traveling through the snow.
That was what bothered her the most about the whole thing. He sent it by way of magic rather than messenger hawk meaning it needed to get to her quickly.
The girl stepped into the common sitting room at the end of the northwestern wing. It was seemingly the only place where the knights or apprentices couldn’t look at her while they went off on their duties. The very letter in her hands seemed to weigh more than a ton and she was burdened greatly.
Finally sitting down in a chair, she took a deep breath and broke the wax seal before unrolling the letter.
The letter began with something he shouldn’t call her then an apology. A lump immediately formed in the girl’s throat.
"My sweet girl,
You can’t imagine how sorry I am to not be headed in your direction as I was supposed to by now. Your grandmother fell ill towards the end of the winter and it doesn’t seem as if she will recuperate any time soon.
Your mother has been taking care of her while I’m away, but it’s time I take the job of watching over my mother until knight’s duty calls once more. Your grandmother refuses to leave her home so I must fix it so that it’s a place she can stay inside of and heal in. If I don’t, I fear that the situation will take a turn for the worse.