From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
With the new addition to the house, more people were coming to visit. Few were interested in talking to Seren, but she quickly found a spot in the garden where she could watch them come and go. A good sized tree with many low hanging branches perfect for climbing that overlooked the path to the east wing. All who came to visit the Governor were met with the sight of a small girl waving happily at them, and she took note of everyone who waved back.
Today was no different, and she sat on her usual perch in one of the trees. She had a stash of colorful stones cradled in her skirt, and was trying her best to juggle them, like Loren had shown her. But it was difficult, and more often than not her stones were sent flying off in every direction.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Saiden had no business with the new Governor. In fact, the cook was doing his best to avoid Remi, seeing as the two of them got on like oil and water. However, there were others in the Governor's house that the Hali did want to see.
Of those, Seren was currently at the top of that list. It took him a while to hunt her down, but when he found her he beamed up at her. Leaning against the base of the tree she was in, he watched her efforts with the stone. "Are you supposed to be up there?" He spoke in a conspiratorial tone, clearly not caring if she was breaking some rule.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Seren grinned back down at him, and narrowly missed showering him in a hail of stones as her little hands lost track of another three stones. The expression she offered back was perhaps a touch too wide eyed and innocent. "Daddy said I had to stay in the garden," she replied, as if that was all the explanation needed. "I will not fall." And even if she did, the girl had a way of slowing things down just enough that it wouldn't hurt. She was being careful, just like Remi told her.
"You can come up too if you like, " she said invitingly. Wiping her hands on the skirt in a very unladylike manner, she produced a cracker from a side pocket and nibbled on it.
Though she smiled, the girl wasn't quite as exuberant as she usually was. There was something tired over her, like she hadn't slept enough, and the vibrancy was a bit... lacking. Lackluster, even.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Seeing the stones falling, Saiden reached out with his air magic. They stopped midair, and he walked over to gather them up. Handing them back to her, he winked playfully. "I believe you." Then he tapped the side of his nose. "Plus I wouldn't tell if you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be. Sometimes that's how you find the best treasures." His tone was mischievous.
Grinning up at her, he reached for the nearest branch. "Don't mind if I do." He clamored up the trunk until he found a perch strong enough to hold him. Settling in, he kicked one leg in the air idly. "How've you been? Did you enjoy the Festival?" It had been nice reminiscing, he'd decided, remembering the good parts of everyone's lives.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
The girl smiled and clapped as he caught the stones. It was a neat trick, and Seren accepted them back quite happily, glad she didn't have to climb down to collect them herself.
"That is good. Daddy would worry again, and I want him to smile. Not look like this." She made an impression of Ronin's face, where the eyebrows were drawn down and the mouth was quite excessively thin. A worried face if ever there was one.
Saiden was quite good at climbing trees. As he settled in, Seren chewed her cracker and kicked her legs in the air, content with the elevated view the branch gave her.
"It was nice. There were lots of people and pretty lanterns. Daddy's friend Amalia had a whale for a friend!" She was still shook by the encounter, the little stars trailing after the whale recurring in all her drawings and games at the moment. "Did you have fun? I am really sleepy and hungry all the time, it is annoying."
Not that it was the best word for the festival, but... Seren did what she could. Her head wasn't really in it at the moment.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Saiden grinned, then mimed locking his lips and tossing away the key. "Your secrets are safe with me." Laughing at Seren's impression of Ronin, the cook gave her a curious look. "Has your dad been worrying a lot lately?" He wasn't close to the Dark Star, but the Hali felt some responsibility for his late sister's husband.
"A whale? That's very exciting!" There definitely hadn't been one, since Saiden would've noticed, but he'd let the girl have her whismy. "I don't know if fun is the right word, but it was nice to be able to remember my sister." He smiled, the expression only slightly melancholy.
As she complained, he smiled mercilessly at her, since it sounded like typical childhood stuff to him. "Are they not feeding you enough?" He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "If they aren't, I might just have to bring you to my kitchen." The one on shore, once it was finished, since he figured Jack would have the cook's head if he brought the girl aboard.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Seren giggled at her uncle's antics, and nodded gravely. "He is teaching me to swim," she told him. "And he has that face every time I go outside." Maybe he thought she would run off to play in the water on her own, without him there to watch. Maybe he did have other concerns to frown over; Seren couldn't say for sure. She just enjoyed her lessons and tried to be good; it was just very hard when she was so tired all the time.
Resuming her attempts to juggle, the girl managed to shift all of two stones the right way before it fell apart on her again. It was encouraging, but the stash of rocks in the fold of her skirt was dwindling rapidly. "I get to eat lots," she assured. "I have these too." She showed him one of the snacks she had been provided with, then promptly devoured it. Though really, it made no noticeable difference in her stomach, that still felt hollow and ravenous. "You have a kitchen? On your boat?"
Recalling something he had said before, Seren set her rocks aside and stood up on the branch. Deft as a little monkey she climbed her way from her branch and around until she reached the one where Saiden was. She sat down next to him. "You promised a story," she reminded him. "About Aoife's mama."
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"You come back every time though, right?" Saiden grinned at Seren. "Then he's either going to figure that out, or he won't. No use worrying over his worrying now, is there?" Clearly his concern for Ronin did not extend that far. Besides, the Dark Star would have to learn that children left sooner or later.
As the rocks began to fall again, Saiden caught them, tugging them towards him with his air magic. It wasn't easy, but he managed to slow them and tip them towards him and snatch them with his hands. Holding them out for her to take back he smiled. "I do. But ships are very dangerous, especially for children. Maybe I can show you when you're older. How's that sound?" His smile deepened. "In the meantime, I'm opening a kitchen on the land, and you can visit that whenever you want. That one's going to be more fun anyway."
Nodding, his smile faded a bit. "I did." Clearing his throat, he straightened a bit. "Vanya was my older sister. I had five siblings, and she was the second oldest. And one of my favorites." He reached out and ruffled the girl's hair. "She was the bookkeeper and mapmaker for my family's ship. But more than that, she raised me until I was old enough to pull my own weight. And she raised the rest of her younger siblings as well." Grinning a bit wistfully, he glanced over at her.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
She did indeed always come back. But perhaps that was not the problem. Seren nodded all the same. The girl vastly preferred being happy to worrying anyway, so it came easily to her, this setting aside of issues that really were too big for her to consider anyway.
"Okay," she agreed easily. "I will ask daddy when we can come visit." The raven-haired girl nestled in beside him, and accepted the rocks back, but just held them when she was this close. She smiled softly as he ruffled her hair; her skin was a bit warmer than usual, and there was a suspicious rosiness to her cheeks. But to anyone who didn't see her daily, it could be brushed off as the sun, or hapiness... or just that tiredness she complained about.
Seren listened as he began to tell the story. He was good at it, and her attention was soon captured. It sounded like a pirate family, and that always did help her picture things in a good way.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Looking forward to it!" Saiden really was, as evidenced by enthusiastic tone and the way he smiled at her.
However, he was more than happy to talk about Vanya for now. "Everybody loved her. All my siblings and I. Everyone else too. She was more our mother than any of our actual mothers." It was clear how fond he was—or had been—of her. "She always put family first, and she was fierce and strong and smart." He laughed as he remembered the many scrapes she'd goaded him into and gotten him out of. "And she was beautiful, too, as if the rest of it wasn't enough."
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Seren only knew one mother. There was a great scarcity of other women in her life at present, and no one had stepped in to try and fill that role for her. On the other hand, she had no shortage of father figures. Ronin, being her actual father of course. Remi, who refused the role but was a substantial part of her life anyway. Sunjata and Nate, neighbors and friends both... And of course Saiden. A big, sprawling family, as far as she was concerned.
"What did she look like?" she asked, fascinated by the tale of this remarkable woman. She sounded like Weaver, who had talked a lot about her brothers, and the girl felt that she might want to be that way too, some day.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Saiden smiled at Seren's question. Reaching out, he booped her on the nose, hoping to draw a smile to her lips as well. "Like me. But much better looking, of course." His smile turned into a grin, since he knew he was attractive and was more than a bit vain about it. Still, he wasn't exaggerating: Vanya had been gorgeous.
"But a lot of that was her personality, and the way she held herself. Oh, not that her features were bad, quite the opposite, they were striking, but...when she walked into a room, people noticed. Turned to look at her. She had a presence you couldn't miss." Tone fond, he had a rapt expression on his face. "But when you were actually with her, you knew she was giving you her full attention."
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Promptly she tried to picture Saiden in long hair and dress with fluttering eyelashes and Mother's red lips, and it made her giggle. The posture thing was easier to imagine; she had been raised by Safrin after all. Presence was everything.
"Did you go on adventures?" Seren prompted, when the story seemed to slow down. She was eager for excitement and danger, for drama and tension. She had quite forgotten that this particular story did not have a happy ending.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Laughing at bit at Seren's question, Saiden nodded. "Aye, we did." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "We had a family ship, the Siren's Call. All of us sailed it together. And we sailed everywhere and anywhere. Places where we were welcome and places where we were not." He winked at her.
"We fought battles and stole treasures. Ventured places that people hadn't set foot in generations, and some places that had never seen a human before." He grinned. "And through it all, Vanya kept us together. Kept us sane. Kept us going. She made us into the best versions of ourselves." The affection he had for his older sister shone through the words.
