Preparations

❝ Silly me! For a moment I thought I was good enough! ❞

he wanted to make plans for his travel. Which means he needed to prepare in advance. It was one of the reason he had asked his maid to send a letter to Aurora. He really hoped she was still in Norwyn or even in Ishgard, so she could visit the estate in the capitol in time. He wanted her to prepare his medication in advance and maybe even offer her up to come along on the journey. Not that he would pressure her. It would be an offer that could benefit her greatly financially. But that meant she also had to halt activities for her other clients for a certain period of time. Ve wasn't the type of person to force that kind of stuff on people, so he knew he wasn't gonna force anything onto her. He was just gonna ask, tell he what it meant, what was against it... And that was it.

He had taken place in the living area of the huge house. He had invited her to come over so they could discuss some things. It was already pretty late in the afternoon and the young Trygg had decided to enjoy some wine while waiting. As he slowly paced next to the great bookcase his wounded hand going over the covers of the books. He halted, pulled a book with a leather outside out and turned around to walk back to his chair. He placed the thing in front of him, opened it and turned to the flora found in and around Lythrania. He frowned and took a quill as he pulled the paper closer he started to write. Every now and then taking a sip from his wine. He could wait all day for her. The only thing he hoped for was that she actually came. At what time didn't really matter.

Aurora was both surprised and not surprised when she received a letter from Ve. She knew she had offered him to come along on his journey, but she didn’t think he would actually invite her over. Maybe it was just to receive his medications, but maybe he wanted her to come along as well. As she didn’t have an urgent patient at the moment, she had no reason to say no. Her father had learned her what she needed to know about healing, but due to his sickness he hadn’t been able to make the journey to Norwyn when his best friend got a nasty case of frostbite. Aurora had healed him, so she had no reason to stay in Ishgard or in Norwyn. She was free to go and she had talked about it with her father. He wasn’t as thrilled as she was, but she knew he wouldn’t stop her if she wanted to go. Her heart made a little skip when she read the letter and she quickly gathered her things, keeping in mind that this letter didn’t necessarily mean that Ve wanted her to come along on the journey. But there was an opportunity and that in itself was good enough.

Aurora had prepared more bottles than she usually did and so had worn out a lot of her magic, which she felt as she traveled to the estate Ve was currently staying at. Her feet were almost dragging her down, but that wasn’t enough for Aurora to be less optimistic. The huge house the Trygg family owned was quite a sight to see. Although Aurora didn’t have it bad financially, she could probably never have enough money to own that kind of house. But it was alright. She was happy with what she had and with what she had accomplished. The woman walked to the estate and pounded the iron rings hanging on the front door, which made a loud echoing booming noise that seemed to resonate through the entire estate.

Politely Aurora took a few steps back, clasping her hands behind her and trying to suppress her smile. Because she was in fact happy to see Ve again.

❝ Silly me! For a moment I thought I was good enough! ❞

He continued to read about the things regarding the moon and how moon magic worked. If it were to be partially dependant on the moon itself or also on the moon magic source. As he squinted his eyes a bit, a frown forming on his face as he was deep lost in thought, he could hear something from afar. He lifted his gaze slowly, seeing a maid bolt out of the kitchen. "Must be your visitor, sir," He nodded at her, closing the book as he did. "Well, let her in," He said with a sigh as he stood up, picking up the book in the process. The maid nodded at her master, turning away and going to the front door. She would welcome Aurora and guide her to the grand table he was seated at. But he knew he shouldn't let her see all the things he had noted down, as he was sure she wouldn't be interested in it. He stepped away, towards one of his book cases... As he placed the heavy book back where it belonged... He sighed. Oh well.

His hand shifted to a lighter book as he pulled it out. Turning away from the case once more, he stepped to the head of the table and taking a seat again. He opened the small thing, going through it and finding the page he was after quite quickly. That's the one he needed. He nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair as he waited for the healer to enter the room.

Aurora nodded politely when a maid appeared at the front door, informing her that she needed to ask permission from Ve first. Aurora let her gaze wander around while she waited, once again being mesmerized by how big the building was. She was fairly sure that she would never be able to afford that. Her gaze wandered back to the maid, who informed her that Ve had given his permission and that she could step into the building. Aurora nodded once more and walked through the door, letting the maid guide her towards the room where Ve probably was seated at. She wasn’t sure was his decision was going to be, but if she had to guess, he would probably let her come with him. Why go through all the trouble of inviting her at his house while he could simply have declined her through the very letter he had sent to invite her to his house? It didn’t make sense.

Aurora smiled as she saw Ve seated at the grand table that would probably fill up the whole living area in her own house if she were to own said table. ”I assume you’ve made your decision regarding needing my company when you’re going on your journey to Lemuria?” she asked, stepping a little bit closer. ”Ah, before I forget,” she spoke, as if she just reminded herself of the matter while in actuality she had been waiting for this moment ever since she had received that letter. She opened up the bag she was wearing and took out two healings potions, which she set on the table in front of him. She had more in her bag, but she would give them either on their journey to Lemuria or leave them with him when he declined her presence. Knowing Ve, he would down the bottles in an instant when he laid his eyes on them, which wasn’t what she wanted.

❝ Silly me! For a moment I thought I was good enough! ❞

It seemed that he didn't need to wait very long. He could hear her footsteps, accompanied by those of the maid. When she entered the room, he stood up. Feeling his bad leg protest as he did, he sighed for a moment. Damn cursed thing truly wasn't good for anything huh. Instead of greeting him, however, the lady started about the things they had spoke about back in Norwyn. To go to Lemuria and all that. As his gaze went to the maid, he showed a more hardened expression. The young girl quickly leave the room when she noticed. It's not like it mattered much, they wouldn't stay in the Trygg estate. He didn't want Rán to know about what he wanted to do. Making sure that everyone was fed their own little lie was part of what would grant him his freedom once he left Ravaryn. Aurora carried on, showing two potions. He blinked as he looked at them. It was peculiar how his body wasn't craving the numbing effect of the thing. It really must be the weather of Ishgard that was doing him well. Or perhaps, it was something else.

"The answer is a bit more complicated," He started as he looked up at her, nodding for a moment. "Rán doesn't want me to go," He wouldn't tell the healer all that she had said to him. The words she spoke cut deep, but meant little in the whole picture. He had heard the words so many times. Being a weak little boy and all that, someone who would never have any potential or have anything to offer. He was to be sheltered within the safety of Norwyn. To be preserved and wed off like his sister wanted. He didn't complain all that much about that faith, but he didn't want it to be his only use. He wanted more. He wanted to be better. And that was the whole reason he wanted to go for Lemuria. He was very aware that his eye was a lost cause at this point. But Lemuria would still offer him answers that Ravaryn couldn't. He had to go there. It was his only option.

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" He asked her as he tilted his head. It was still somewhat pleasant outside. Going out for a ride had been his plan all along. As his gaze went back to the table he carefully grabbed his notes, folded them and put them in his back pocket.

Aurora frowned when Ve spoke his words. Well, she wasn’t really surprised. She was even surprised that Rán knew about it at all. She thought Ve would have wanted to leave before the woman would have found out, but she appeared to be mistaken. ”I can’t say that I entirely blame her, but on the other hand I think you’re old enough to make decisions like that for yourself.” She gave her honest opinion without batting an eye. She knew why Rán didn’t want Ve to go. Probably because he was too important to risk getting hurt on the journey. He still had responsibilities he needed to fulfill while he was being here. And maybe there was some family love involved, but with Rán you could never know for sure.

Aurora frowned once more when Ve asked his question, but she gave him a simple nod. She had to sell the horse her father owned to be able to pay for his medical cure, but she was still able to remember how to ride the animal. She wasn’t going to tell Ve that, though. She was fairly sure that he didn’t even know how bad things were with her father and she felt like it would be too personal to delve into that matter, even if they had known each other for quite some time. ”Was that a cryptic answer to tell me that you’re actually going, regardless of what Rán has to say?” she asked with a little smirk appearing around her lips. She knew that once Ve had set his mind on something that he wouldn’t let it go that easily, regardless of what others would think or say about it. And while she didn’t want to leave her father behind, she was pretty sure that the trip to Lemuria wouldn’t be a waste for herself as well. While they were there, she could always look for a better mage to send back to Ravaryn.

❝ Silly me! For a moment I thought I was good enough! ❞

To not tell his sister would be a death sentence in his own right. Not literally, but if he actually went without telling her.. And she found him or he would return. Oh Ranaan, there would be no end to it. She would most likely resort to the same methods his parents had so adored growing up; locking him up. Aurora spoke, she couldn't blame her and well, there were the words a lot of people shared with her. He shrugged for a moment. "She is still head of the family and governess of Norwyn, her word is final," So be the ways of being born in a wealthy and noble family. Freedom and free will were all just part of a façade. And even though he was considered the next in line for now, he actually didn't care. Rán just had to stay where she was, because he was going and never coming back if he had the chance. All those talk about responsibilities and working for the family.... After the last talk with his sister he just couldn't bring himself to care anymore. He truly had enough of it all.

Horses, riding, all that stuff. She nodded, but went on. The corners of his mouth curled up as he shrugged. "Don't be ridiculous," He said with a soft chuckle. "She would kill me if I did that," And that's exactly why he wasn't coming back when that time came near. He shook hbis head, stepped aside and slowly walked forward, past Aurora to the door. As he gently put his hand on the doorframe, he turned around. His leg pulsating with pain as he did the movement, he actually shouldn't be doing this, but there was little choice on the matter in the end. "We are going for a ride, come," He gestured to follow her, turning around and walking to the exit of the estate. The horses were already prepared, it was just a matter of getting on and going. Once in the forest, on their own, they would have more space to talk.