Milan’s Villa -- Morning Garden

The morning sun cast gentle light across the villa’s gardens as Jolthar and Cleora walked along a path lined with flowering shrubs. Jolthar’s leg was still healing but much improved, enough that he could walk without obvious pain, though he kept the pace leisurely.

"I should respond to the Madam Secretary about our next meeting," Cleora was saying.

"She was impressed with the initial discussions about Tekkora’s trade potential, but she wants more detailed projections for the next year. She seems to be interested in setting up an office in our barony."

"It’s a good thing. We could expand our weapons business, like exporting out of the empire, though we haven’t reached the stage of producing for mass production."

"You are not paying enough attention, darling," Cleora said as she coupled her hand with his.

"We are producing enough to supply a battalion in a single day."

"Well, I am a bit busy fighting deities and armies," Jolthar said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Right then, Jolthar looked up, and he looked in the distance, like he sensed something.

Cleora also looked at where Jolthar was looking.

He saw a black dot in the blue sky; it was becoming bigger and bigger by the second.

A smile appeared on his face as he saw the shadow.

Soon, the large shadow turned into a creature flying towards them.

Cleora recognized him by the color and frowned.

It was the drake, Jolthar’s drake Maelruth.

A drake, magnificent and fierce, circled once before landing with surprising grace in the open area of the garden. It was covered in crimson scales that gleamed like polished rubies. Its wings, folded now against its body, were edged with darker red that looked almost black. Steam vented from its nostrils, and its amber eyes tracked them with predatory intelligence. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

On the drake’s back sat a young woman in traveling clothes designed for aerial riding: practical leather and cloth that allowed freedom of movement while protecting from wind and cold at altitude.

She was perhaps eighteen or nineteen, with features that clearly marked her as Cleora’s daughter. The same elegant bone structure, the same dark hair, though hers was cut shorter and pulled back in a practical style. Where Cleora carried herself with mature dignity, this young woman radiated youthful energy and barely contained exasperation.

"Mother!" she called out, dismounting from the drake with practiced ease. Maelruth settled onto its haunches, clearly comfortable around humans despite its fearsome appearance.

"Nora?" Cleora’s surprise was evident.

"What are you doing here? Is something wrong at the barony?"

Maelruth moved towards Jolthar, bobbing her head slowly at Jolthar. She was happy to see Jolthar, as it had been a while since he had been away from her.

Jolthar stroked her head, smiling at his drake.

Nora strode toward them, her expression a mixture of relief at finding her mother and frustration. "What’s wrong is that you and Lady Maena left me to handle the administrative work alone, and it’s become absolutely hectic! Do you have any idea how much paperwork has piled up since you both departed? Trade agreements, tax assessments, development permits, dispute resolutions—" She threw her hands up.

"I can manage the magical training and security, but the bureaucracy is drowning me!"

Despite the complaint, there was affection in her voice. She reached her mother and embraced her warmly before pulling back and looking at Jolthar with a serious expression.

"Just what have you been doing here?" Nora said, giving him a questioning glare.

"I read in the newspapers, why can’t you just talk like a normal civilized person?"

Jolthar said, "If I do that, they will think I’m easy to mess with."

"Nora," Cleora said with a warning tone.

"What?" Nora turned back to her mother.

"You don’t know what exactly happened here. We did try to obey the law, but things went south in no time, and Jolthar just..."

The commotion in the garden had attracted attention. Milan emerged from the villa, clearly having been alerted to the drake’s arrival. He was dressed more casually than usual, having apparently been working on correspondence in his study.

"Lady Nora!" Milan called out, approaching with a smile.

"This is an unexpected pleasure. Welcome back to the capital."

"Prince Milan," Nora replied, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you for hosting my mother. I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble."

"None at all," Milan assured her.

Then, as he got closer and seemed to really look at Nora, something changed in his demeanor. A faint flush crept up his neck, and his usual composed bearing became slightly less certain. "You’ve, ah, you’ve grown since I last saw you. More... that is, you look well. Very well. The...um- the barony must be treating you well."

Jolthar’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Was Prince Milan, the composed and diplomatic prince who had remained calm through battles, actually flustered?

Nora seemed not to notice, responding with cheerful energy.

"The barony keeps me busy, certainly. Though apparently not busy enough since Mother felt comfortable leaving me in charge while she came here."

"You’re more than capable," Cleora said. "And you have your brother with you."

"But if the administrative work is truly overwhelming, perhaps I should return sooner than planned."

"Brother is busy with the forge alone. He doesn’t even come to the mansion at all. He is just sleeping there, working day and night."

"My poor children, working so hard. I will return immediately with you and relieve you of your work."

That’s when Milan said quickly, "Why don’t you leave after some food? Let me treat Lady Nora and Lady Cleora."

Nora looked at her mother, and Cleora nodded her head; then she also accepted.

Nora said, "So, tell me about your adventures in the capital?"

"You’ve had quite a few of them."

"Some probably are," Jolthar admitted.

"Others might be understated."

Milan, who had been staring at Nora with an expression that could only be described as smitten, seemed to realize what he was doing and looked away quickly.

"We should, ah, we should arrange a proper meal. I’ll have the staff prepare something."

He hurried back toward the villa with slightly less grace than usual.

Nora watched him go with a puzzled expression.

"Is Prince Milan feeling alright? He seemed... distracted."

"I’m sure he’s fine," Cleora said, though she exchanged a knowing glance with Jolthar that suggested she’d noticed Milan’s unusual behavior too.