Free Noble Beginnings by D.W. Jackson Page B

did
indeed dimly remember a red-headed girl at a midwinter's festival
they had spent with his father's family before his death. "I must
have been only four or five then." he said, frowning.
    "That's right, you're only a year older than
I am," Lyrre said, beaming. "Are you preparing to take over from
your mother?"
    "I..." The question took him aback, but he
knew how important it was to answer right away. "I am, as long as I
don't go off to war first," was the best answer he was able to
supply. He looked over at Adhara by reflex, and she gave him a
quick tilt of her head which he interpreted as either a shrug or a
nod of approval. He hoped that meant his answer had been
acceptable.
    Lyrre's eyes sparkled. "You're a warrior,
then?"
    "I certainly try," he said uncomfortably. He
suspected it wouldn't be very gentlemanly to start explaining
martial training to her, and was unsure how much he should tell her
about their latest difficulties in gathering soldiers. "What about
you? How do you do pass the time?"
    Lyrre made a dismissive gesture. "Oh, sewing,
singing, study...Mama made sure I know my history and have some
understanding of politics. I'm also to help out all I can with
fabric and clothing production, if there's any of that around here
I can help. I'm decent with a needle and thread, and I want to help
out as much as I can."
    Dorran raised his eyebrows, slightly
impressed with her attitude and charming demeanor. "I wouldn't know
much about that," he admitted, "but I'm sure you're very talented,
and that Mother would be happy to have your help."
    "Though she's happy that you're here
already," Adhara jumped in, smiling warmly. "It's been years since
we saw each other. Remember our outing to the southern
mountains?"
    "Of course!" Lyrre said warmly. "They were so
beautiful."
    "When was this?" Dorran asked, curious.
    "It must have been oh, three or four years
ago, now?" Adhara said, with a quick glance at Lyrre for
confirmation. "You had already begun your training and didn't want
to come, so Nora and I went with Lyrre and Lady Alven to an estate
near the southern pass. We had a grand time; the countryside down
there is so beautiful in the summer."
    "It is," Nora said, speaking up for the first
time. Dorran looked at her, mildly surprised, but she was smiling
pleasantly. "We watched the full moon rise over the hills. Remember
the way it rose twice over the mountains? It was orange that night,
too. I think it was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever
seen."
    Adhara and Lyrre agreed with her
enthusiastically, and Lyrre talked for several minutes about the
times she had been lucky enough to go south, and the pleasantness
of the country down there. Then Thea, taking over briefly, laid out
in detail the history of the region and how many considered it the
heart of Farlan. Even though Dorran and all the girls knew the
history of the mountains word for word, they projected a front of
rapt attention, and he did his best to imitate it despite his mind
being elsewhere.
    Dorran remembered the moonrise over the
mountains, too, but for a different reason, one which Lyrre's words
had brought to the forefront of his mind. A few months before his
departure, Duke Jaren had taken the young Dorran with him to the
mountains. Every night, they would watch the moon rise over the
mountains, and every night Jaren would tell Dorran a new story from
Farlan's history. The last night it was full, and as the illusion
of the two moons shimmered out of existence, Jaren had turned to
his son and said, "This is what you'll have to protect when I'm
gone. I'm trusting you to take good care of it." Then he'd placed a
hand on the five-year-old Dorran's head, picked him up, and carried
him back to the tents where the soldiers were spending the night.
It was more than a year after that when news of his death reached
Farlan, and Dorran had almost forgotten about the incident in the
years since then, but the image of the two moons rising over the
mountains brought