Nyxara
[Saturday, Seraphelle 20, 4310]
The next day, when I woke up early, I felt ready to get the lessons of the day over with so I could relax and maybe play around in the music studio. My day, however, started off to the sound of construction the moment I took seven steps away from my bed. The illusion of a peaceful bedroom shattered like glass underfoot.
Blearily looking around trying to make sense of this situation, I notice a team of workers discussing something about the walls of my room, while the rest of the room looked like a tornado had come through.
Hoping to get some clarity about why my room looked like this, I meandered over to listen in on the discussion. It wasn't until 5 minutes later that the room realized I was among them. Uncovered by my own maid-assistant, I thought laughing internally.
"1st Lady, I apologize for not anticipating the possibility you would wake up earlier than yesterday. I'm still adjusting to the change in your behavior pattern. If you will follow me, Lord Keir has offered his suite for you to get ready in." Lima slid a robe over my shoulders and offered me slippers to step into.
As I pulled the robe around me, the room fell silent as the workers realized I had been hanging out with them. It did not take long for the workers to line up bowing to me. I finished tying my robe shut and sliding my feet into the slippers before giving them my full attention.
"We greet Lady Nyxara. We hope you are well rested." One of them took a step forward out of the line. "I am Calvin, team leader of team 7 who are renovating your suite to the specifications the Crown Consort gave us. We should be done with renovations by this afternoon. Do you wish to review the schematics before relocating?"
I caught the glimpses the workers were trying to get of me while their heads were bowed. The team leader is the only one who did not try to look at me. "Stand up all of you. Your deference is appreciated, but it is before 6 a.m. so I don't mind us cutting the formalities short. Please get back to work. I would like the renovations to be done by the time I return later."
"And just to let you all know, if it's just me and Lima, a nod of acknowledgment is enough for me. The bowing and waiting is a bit much for me personally when we aren't interacting in an official capacity, if that makes sense." I wanted these workers to see me and get to know me as I am so that when I need their network it will be done with loyalty, not just duty.
The workers and their lead seem to consider my words before standing up with smiles and nods. The majority went back to work, while the team lead and one woman stood before me with a glowing floating screen that showed me in better detail the changes I discussed with Azrail last night.
I looked it over with Calvin, Rena (the woman with him), and Lima the finer details. After we established everything, Lima swept me away out of the suite, down the hall, and around the corner to Keir's suite.
This will be the first time I visit any of my brothers' suites. I wonder if Keir's rooms will be all spartan and basically a huge armory with weapons everywhere. Feeling a concoction of curiosity, nervousness, and excitement, I waited behind Lima as she knocked on the door. It was not, however, Keir who answered the door.
A beautiful, smoky-brown woman answered the door drowsily. She pulled the door open, then wandered back into the dimly lit room out of immediate sight. We entered closing the suite door behind us. Lima guided me to a candle lit table where the woman was now seated quietly eating her cereal. Once I was settled, Lima removed the cover from the plate in front of me to reveal bacon, eggs, and toast, with a bowl of fruit.
Since the woman said nothing, I didn't disrupt the quiet and just dived into my meal. Lima set a mug of Korran's draught within each, and I took a deep gulp of it. I wish I could have this more often. Now that I was more stable, I could only drink this a few times a week. The draught can have an addictive quality in my current state, so I'm being weaned off of it, much to my dismay.
It is when I'm almost done with my meal that I look up to find the woman's smoky gray eyes staring at me. "I didn't think what Keir told me was the truth. Not that I thought he lied to me, but that you were faking it to make him happy. You really have changed after your accident. Is it true you don't have all your memories? Do you remember who I am?" Her drowsy state had dissipated; in its place was a calculating presence.
I sipped the draught to buy myself a moment—the woman clearly intended to interrogate me. Setting the mug down, I laced my fingers, put my elbows on the table, then rested my chin on those laced fingers. I analyzed her back in kind before speaking. "I don't know who you are, but I can hopefully safely assume you are Venus, Keir's girlfriend. He also mentioned he intended to become Velari with you."
"Yes, I am Venus. A demon beta research scientist. We did not get along previously, but for Keir's sake, I hope we can at least be as cordial as we are now going forward. It would mean a lot to him that all three of the most important women— your mom, me, and you—in his life got along well. Do you think you can do this?" She sat back, looking like a queen in her chair.
Keir has wonderful taste in women. If I ever decided to try being with a woman, I would want someone like her. Beautiful, intelligent, and willing to set aside personal issues for the greater good.
"I would be honored to have an older sister like you if you don't mind guiding a younger sister like me." I could tell my response surprised her from her frozen state. I chuckled, then returned to my food to finish it while she rebooted.
"You accept me just like that? After all these years, it takes one accident, and you want to call me sister?" Since I didn't know the history between her and Grey, her incredulity felt a bit much to me, but I didn't dismiss her reaction since I was attempting to reconcile with her for Keir as she requested.
"Let's just say the accident has changed me a lot, and my memory loss is requiring me to make gut-based decisions. My gut tells me you are someone worth getting to know. You will be a wonderful first Velari to Keir." I grinned, feeling a bit mischievous about what I was about to say next.
"In fact, I like you so much on this first impression, that if I was romantically attracted to women, I would totally try to steal you from him." She paused to process what I said, then she doubled over laughing so hard she fell out of her chair.
This was the scene Keir walked into, bemused. "I'm glad to see the two of you getting along so well. What is so funny that you ended up on the floor, V?" He helped her off the floor, then gave her a light kiss on her giggling lips. I could not only physically see and feel the deep love between them but for a moment, I thought I saw a twisted cord of black, purple, and gold connect them.
The moment I saw the cord, something in me… quieted. Like a puzzle piece had locked into place even if I didn't know which puzzle it belonged to. When I blinked, the vision was gone. No matter how I looked at the two, I did not see the cord again.
My instincts tell me that cord and those colors are significant. I'll have to look at my notes about Velari to see if the answer is there. If not, I'll ask one of the others about it.