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The monochrome, waning moon illuminated the bleached walls of the Balfort. Nadina Haaven sat erect in the estate's study, a wax-stamped parchment held loosely within one hand, and a blunted quill grasped within the other. Under the faint glow of the stars blanketed against an indigo sky, the room--once lively and green during the day--seemed muted. She glanced sideways to the open window and spotted her husband snoring in the adjacent room, just a mere ink splash away from the desk at which she sat. He would find out in the morning of course, but he didn't have to know right now.
The Yanar gradually unfolded her moss-bitten leg and rose to her feet. The relinquishment document was signed, and would be pinned to the Golden Willow noticeboard before the sun even had a chance to break the horizon, but for now it was only a burden on her aching arm. Allowing the parchment to tumble to the floor, Nadina traced her steps back to the balcony doors and extended her neck out into the cool, september air. Softly, an owl cooed from the tree that overcasted the estate. For a time Nadina pondered what it must be like to be an owl: to be free of expectations and responsibilities. To be free to come and go whenever she pleased. To be free of the agonizing discomfort that comes with accepting defeat.
I wonder if that owl caught a mouse today?
Very little sound came from the children's rooms as Nadina tip-toed past, her bare feet gently padding the wooden floor beams with each decisive step that she took. The weight of her lace nightgown hung heavy around her shoulders and chest, and the movements involved in marching through the Balfort's linear, boxy corridors felt somewhat soothing to the sleepless Yanar. Her legs carried her drearily down the spiralled staircase into the basement; past the lounge, the bathing pool, the servant's room, and through the dense fog that clouded her vision. When Nadina finally opened her eyes, she found herself in a tangible, patchwork memory.
Glimmering glass bottles lined the driftwood shelves of the alchemy lab, empty and pristine from a lack of use. Mortars of all shapes and materials littered the central table, each inlaid with the unique chips and signature stains of the various potions that were once born within them. A giant copper alembic loomed from the corner of the room like a sleeping giant. Through the dreamlike mist that pervasively watered down her vision, the machine seemed to harbor a warm, golden metallic glow that illuminated the broad workspace.
Nadina extended a palm to cautiously sense the familiar wood-grain of the table. How long had it been since she last ventured into this forgotten room? The jars that once bubbled with liquids and teemed with flora, minerals, and preserved specimens now sat empty, disused. Colourless. Even the shelves that used to contain the bare essentials--concentrate of rubyflower, alcoholic tinctures, tonic of seedling petals--had run dry from the barrage of sickness-related blights that toiled Regalia. Nadina's thin, ivy lips creased into a tight line. She had spent so long dictating to others how to concoct these remedies, that she had completely abandoned the one thing that she entered this profession to achieve in the first place.
Through the throngs of sleep that threatened to bite her back into the comforts of complacency, Nadina travelled over to the familiar copper alembic and fumbled for the tell-tale, rubber-capped switch that jutted out from the bottom. A familiar 'click-click' indicated that the flint inside of the machine had been struck, and a peaceful, echoing whirr began to hum from within. As the humble copper began to glow with the heat of the roaring flame within, an earnest smirk began to inch it's way across Nadina's lips.
The morning sun broke over a single, cloudy bottle of Vocadine.
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~OOC~
I wrote this on a little whim at 7am in the morning. Seldom do I write anything that shows much of Nadina's internal thoughts, so I thought this might be a nice glimpse into her emotions concerning recent happenings, as well as some practice for me. Sorry if the grammar is a bit goofy in places, I was trying to segway back into descriptive writing.
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