Heavy lies the Crown

3 days later...

A bright sun shines over towering spirals of a shining city, as the day starts, the denizens of this sprawling city prepares themselves for their responsibilities, whether for self, others, or the commonwealth.

White clouds hover over Valoria City as the inhabitants crowd the wide streets, slowly being filled with peasants, merchants, and adventurers looking to make a name for themselves, as the horses trot through the road carrying a wagon full of goods, hays to be made into bread or carriages with nobles as it's passenger, a young elven magistress residing in a spiral on the upper districts of the city opened a door to her quarters.

The magistress adjusted her silver locket for it to be more comfortable hanging around her neck, the sun's light emanating from her balcony door and windows illuminated her room with a rich yellow hue, the room was more akin to a library for the amount of bookshelves it had, a single and simple wooden desk stood out in the room, behind it lies a large window, the curtains resting besides it flew as a gust of wind enters the room.

The magistress remember the errands she has to run today, so she took a deep breath and exhaled, she adjusted her green tunic and dusted off any dirt on her brown pants in the case she accumulated any, finally she pushed the bangs of her long brown hair to the side as it was obscuring her vision, she then proceeded to go to her desk, once she got there she eyed the multiple drawers from under it, she opened the left drawer and acquired a brown book resting inside it, she gave it a few flips and saw the fresh white pages within the hard cover of the book, once her inspection was done she closed it for the time being and rested it on her desk.

She then glimpsed at the quill resting in the ink bottle and contemplated for a moment if she should use it to write "No..." she audibly said then went and opened the right drawer of the desk, there she saw three pencils in which she grabbed one and closed the drawer, after she got the necessary materials she pushed back the wooden chair and sat on it and then scooted closer to the desk to she can write properly.

She then flipped the book open to it's first page and rested the tip of the pencil to her cheek, thinking of what words to write "What were those spells I tried to experiment with yesterday again?" she said to herself as she glances at her balcony, after a few moments her attempts to recall bore fruition "Ah! That's right, the flame blanket spell!" she squeaked joyfully as she began to write it down "So a bit of igniting powder... an fire enchanted crystal... a few chants..." she muttered word by word until she completed scribbling down the process of performing this spell.

"Alright then! Now what's the next one..." she said to herself as she returned to her state of recollecting, just then a knocking sound came from her door, to which she quickly responded "Come in!" as she prepares herself for a guest.

The door was opened by an elf with gray hair which reached his shoulders, he sported a gray beard with it, it was well groomed which added to his professional demeanor, this elf was old, full of experience yet his stature indicates that he is still full of life, he entered the room as his faced stretched to form a smile.

The elf at the desk smiled back at the familiar face she instantly recognized "Seldanna, you're here early." The old elf said as he closed the door behind him as his eyes darted throughout the rest of the room, he noticed it was unkempt and dusty "I have to be uncle Thallan, or else I'd forget the new spells I've been experimenting on." Seldanna smiled as she replied, Thallan approached her as he noticed Seldanna not using the quill on the desk "I see that you're accustomed to using the products from the industrial areas?" Thallan inquired, slightly adjusting the sleeves of his dark blue robes.

Seldanna looked confused for a moment then realized her uncle was talking about the pencil that she was using to write "Oh this? This is a pencil and it's much more easy to write using this." Seldanna explained to which Thallan replied with a chuckle.

Seldanna looked muddled at her uncle's response until she realized her mistake of trying to explain what a pencil is "Oh that's right, you've already been in the industrial areas multiple times." she lowered her head in embarrassment, trying to hide the slight red hue that was forming in her face.

"It's okay Seldanna." Thallan reassured her niece as he grabbed a chair resting on a bookshelf and sat next to Seldanna.

"So what brings you here uncle?" Seldanna asked as she closed her book and rested her pencil to the left side of the desk "Oh yes, I'm just here to check on how you're doing, we haven't had the opportunity to spend more time together, also I'm just concerned for your well being, you have been seeing less and less people since both your parents died two years ago." Thallan answered sincerely, Seldanna was silent for a moment until Thallan spoke up again.

"Trust me Seldanna, I was greatly distraught at the death of your mother and father, so let us help heal each other, this isn't what they want for you." he continued, Seldanna tried to suppress the tears that she felt was coming "If only I could've been fast enough to develop a cure." She said as she let a tear flow down her cheek "No, don't blame yourself, their illness was too advanced for our current knowledge, but you still did your best." Thallan comforted her as he scooted closer to her to give her a hug.

Seldanna wiped a tear using the sleeves of her green tunic "Thank you so much uncle, for being there for me when I needed you the most." Seldanna said as he held her uncle's hand "Okay now, I still have some political duties to attend to, listen if you have the time, maybe both of us can attend the parliament meeting next week, you may be a minor member of House Revero but even in the most minor of it's members, the pride and legacy is still carried." Thallan proudly said with a slight puffing of his chest to which Seldanna giggled.

"Alright well, I'm off now." Thallan said as stood up and walked towards the door "But listen, try and cheer yourself a bit, talk to some of old friends of yours, take a stroll, or like you were doing last night; experimenting with your spells." He held the door open as he gave an advice to her niece.

"I will uncle." Seldanna nodded, Thallan then gave one last grin then exited the room.

Seldanna then took a deep sigh and leaned back to rest herself on the chair, she starred at the ceiling for a few moments, contemplating on the advice of her uncle, he was right, she doesn't need to shut herself off from the world, this grief isn't going to go away by being in her quarters on most days, though experimenting on new types of spells seems to alleviate her sadness a bit but she still felt empty inside.

"Hmm, talk to some old friends you say?" She said to herself as she stopped staring at the ceiling to stand up and walk towards the balcony of her quarters, she breathed in the fresh air coming from the mountain ranges that was visible from her the spire, the sun continued to rise from the east, the direction is which most of the buildings in the city was facing.

Seldanna rested her hands on the railings of the balcony, taking in the mesmerizing view of the landscape, she looked down on the other districts, the streets were as usual as it was every day, full of people going about their day with the passing of a carriage or two.

A few moments passed from Seldanna observing the city after she decided to face back towards her quarters, she took notice of a red hooded cloak hanging on a coat rack next to the door "Old friends..." she pondered on that part of her uncle's advice, she crossed her arms and gradually approached the coat rack.

A small smile formed on her face as she grabbed the cloak, put the hood up, and exited through the door of her quarters.

...

The streets remained lively as Seldanna observed it from the top of her spire, she tried her best to not stand out from the crowd unless she'd be noticed and recognized as a member of House Revero, she appeared in enough public events to be known by a commoner, she attended every yearly Fall's Eve Festival, a massive celebration throughout the commonwealth, drinking and feasting right before stockpiling of food for the winter.

Nonetheless, Seldanna navigated throughout the brick road of the city, dodging people passing near her, brisk walking excitedly as if she was in a hurry to reconnect with this old friend she had in mind, she passed by an array of luxury stores and went down pair of stairs leading to the middle districts, there she saw a fountain erected in the middle of a plaza, she turned left to be met with an array of food stores, she then slowed down her pace, observing the store signs hanging from a steel beam or a wooden stand resting on the brick floor.

Finally she found what she was looking for, a sign that says "The Bread Hall" a familiar name that remained with her for two years since she last visited the establishment, there were a couple of bread on display for interested eyes passing outside the store, she entered though the wooden door of the store, there were a couple of patrons inside, browsing through the vast selection of bread from Cinnamon bread to the Long Crusted Bread.

Seldanna browsed through the faces of the shopkeepers, looking for someone specific, she already knows all of these four shopkeepers, they're all blood related since this store was a family run business, she continued to dart through the shopkeepers until she spotted a blonde elf right besides a stand of white bread, wearing a blue dress and sporting a bored expression, she was sweeping with a broom and she seems to be a bit frustrated about the task she was performing, Seldanna smiled as she approached that specific girl. 

She stood near her and the blonde elf momentarily stopped sweeping to look at the figure that the peripheral of her eyes noticed, her mouth hung agape at the familiar face that was in front of her, recognizing Seldanna even through the hood "Hello Tiri" Seldanna smiled.

"Seldanna?! Hi! Uhm, Hello!" Tiri said as she attempted to regain her composure "I haven't heard from you in years!" She continued in a whispered voice to avoid attracting attention "Yeah I know, look I apologize for leaving you in the dark like that." Seldanna said as she scratched the side of head through her hood "Oh! Don't worry, since the moment you've come of age, I thought you'd be participating more in politics." Tiri smiled as she put a hand on Seldanna's shoulder.

"Yes... about that matter..." Seldanna said as she lowered her head "What? But weren't you promised when you turn 25 you'd be a member of the parliament?" Tiri tilted her head "Yeah but I turned it down since I felt I was not ready." Seldanna chuckled "Besides, even if I wanted to, I can't since my parents..." Seldanna said as her face started to form a frown "Oh.. right I'm really sorry about that." Tiri comforted as she hugged Seldanna.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I had to shut you away, I thought it would get better if I was only by myself and-" Seldanna was then interrupted by Tiri putting a finger on her lips and shushing her "I'm just glad you came to see me again." Tiri smiled, Seldanna felt the blood rushing to her cheeks as a red hue noticeably became visible on her face.

Tiri noticed this and asked "Are you okay? You're starting to look like a tomato right now." she giggled, Seldanna looked around then back at Tiri "Did I caught you at a bad time or do you have free time at the moment?" She asked "Oh I'm not too busy at the moment, just swept some dust and all, business is slow today, why?" Tiri asked as she set aside the broom and rested it against a wall.

"Can we go someplace else? It's a bit crowded here and I the small space here means I might get recognized since people would be all over each other's faces." Seldanna whispered.

"Oh, alright then." Tiri nodded then smiled.

Both of them then went towards the door "Hey Mom! Dad! I'm gonna go out for a bit I'll be back quickly!" Tiri turned around for a moment to let her family know "Okay then, we'll hold the fort here." Her mom enthusiastically replied.

The two then went outside and into the road "So where are we headed?" Tiri asked as she tugged on Seldanna's cloak "How about the nearby the fountain? There seems to be less people there than usual." She suggested "Sounds wonderful!" Tiri agreed with a bright smile.

The two proceeded to go to the direction of the fountain where Seldanna passed by earlier, as they arrived, there still wasn't much people in the plaza, Seldanna eyed around to see if there was a bench they can sit on "Over there!" Seldanna pointed to the bench by the wall facing the fountain.

They approached the bench and sat on it, the plaza was filled with trees which provided them shade from the rays of the sun, today indeed was a busy day for people as there was a lack of crowds in the plaza at that time, a city guard passed by them, doing his usual patrol and looking for any disturbances of peace.

"Tiri." Seldanna started leaning forward.

"Yes?" Tiri replied as she tilted her head.

"Do any of other people we know still visit The Bread Hall?" Seldanna asked, adjusting her hood "You mean Kuskyn and Isaevir?" Tiri asked "Yeah those two." Seldanna firmly answered "They still visit the shop, why?" Tiri questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That's good, how are they?" Seldanna clasped her hands together as a flock of chirping birds flew above them "Well Kuskyn is a captain now and Isaevir passed their forest ranger training, they still make stops at the shop, we exchange pleasantries and all those things." Tiri replied.

"When I... stopped visiting the shop, what did you do?" Seldanna asked with a hint of contempt for herself.

"I was worried for you everyday." Tiri answered with a smile "But since you're here now, I have nothing to worry about anymore." she continued.

Seldanna sighed "You, Kuskyn, and Isaevir were the only people who understood me." she said, the frustration with herself becoming more clearer "Are you blaming yourself for everything for the past two years?" Tiri inquired, concerned for her friend.

Seldanna stayed silent, the only sounds to be heard were the distant murmurs of crowds and the occasional boots making noises at the patrolling guards roamed the city "I-" Seldanna started but can't think of the words to say "Seldanna, everytime when Kuskyn and Isaevir visited the shop, they always ask if you finally left your spire, grab a few loaves from the store and stole some desserts from the store from the next block." Tiri giggled, slowly a smile formed in Seldanna's face.

"You have no reason to think that we antagonize you for the suffering you've endured." Tiri reassured as she put a hand on Seldanna's shoulder.

Seldanna noticed this and decided to hold her hand as it was resting on her shoulder "I'm gonna try to be there for you all, to make up for lost time." Seldanna declared, a grin forming her face.

"For what it's worth, your presence is already enough." Tiri replied.

Just then, a bell rang all across the city, signaling the that it was the afternoon, Tiri then stood up and dusted off any dirt that may have been on her dress "It was nice catching up Seldanna, it was really nice, and I hope Kuskyn and Isaevir can meet with us again soon." Tiri said as Seldanna stood up and hugged her.

Tiri then proceeded to go back to the shop but not before looking back at Seldanna who sat peacefully on the bench.

Seldanna was given peace of mind after two years of mostly being shut away from society since the death of her parents, she sighed deeply, taking in this newfound warm feeling inside of her.