>>5959987It wasn’t that you’d forgotten. You’d had birthdays before of course. Only you never made them a big deal. When you lived with your father, the two of you were far too poor to do anything special. After you came to the castle, the Count would throw a small celebration, inviting Rex as well as his attendants. You recall those days being exceptionally nice. But with everything that happened at Garreg Mach and after, you hardly had any time for such frivolities. And becoming Countess hardly made that any easier. Your husband for whatever reason though, loved such days, and it was for that reason he put his foot down. Not only did he forbid you from doing any work, but you were also instructed to “have fun” and not worry about chasing down the children.
So, rather than argue, you did just about one of the only things you ever did for fun.
You went fishing.
Waking up before anyone else in the castle had, you gathered your belongings and snuck out towards the stables, where Beathan awaited. Your faithful steed had grown old in these last few years, but he was still as strong as ever. You find the ebon pegasus already awake, as if expecting you. Scratching him under the chin, you fill his feed bag to the brim. After he is done, you take off on the pegasus. Your destination was actually in short walking distance, but you never had much opportunity to fly these days, and you wanted the excuse. You arrive at a small beach situated near the castle. The wind was calm and breezy, and summer had already entered. To you, this was the perfect weather for fishing. You cast your line into the water, and then waited.
As you sat there in the sand, fishing rod between your legs, Beathan wandering about, you embraced the calm and serenity. To say that you were unused to this sort of peace would not be a lie. You’d been a countess twice as long as you’d been a mercenary. But regardless, your mind would always wander back to those days. The fights that you endured. The people that you killed. And the friends that you lost along the way. None of them were around to see this sight. To feel the wind’s breeze across their face, and the sand and water between their toes. You knew that returning to a sense of “normalcy” would be difficult. What you hadn’t known was that it might be impossible.
While your heart swelled with pride when Bronte learned how to cast a simple fire spell, you remembered the all-too familiar stench of burning flesh on the battlefield. When Ogier would talk about wishing to become a great knight, you’d picture all the other knights you’d seen die, or even killed by your own hand. In a way, it made you appreciate Lila, who was so far content to cling to her mother’s side everywhere she went.
