Old Quarrels

Adelia mulled things over all the way to Ravenburg. The blood had been delivered for Lord Morrow, not Sorceress Iva or the deliverers surely would have said so. Had it been for the sorceress, Adelia wouldn't have questioned it, magic required all kinds of strange or unusual ingredients, after all.

What did Lord Morrow need all that blood for? Was he secretly, deep down, one of those lunatics who believed in eternal life so long as they bathed in the blood of a virgin at every dawn and dusk? No, surely not.

He was a good lord, from what she was able to discern and his people cared for him as much as he cared for them, but... did she really know him enough to be able to tell for sure whether or not he had some dark secret hidden away?

Steward Lambrecht at the very least had to know what was going in and the people who had delivered the blood might be informed as well. Someone had to have both gotten the blood from someone and filled it into those containers.

Adelia carded her fingers through the mare's mane, trying to sort her thoughts and figure out what to do. She could ignore what had just happened, only... it was blood. And if blood had been in every container, like she suspected, there was a lot of it. She didn't know what to do.

Her racing thoughts got interrupted as soon as she reached the first field and a farmer called out to her, waving his hat. She waved back, forcing a smile on her face and after that she met more and more people, getting distracted from her thoughts for a little while. Most of the people she met seemed to be in a good enough mood and even the grumpy looking ones quietly and politely inclined their heads at her.

She returned each greeting and soon the patient mare plodded through the gates of Ravenburg as she headed towards the market square. It took some asking around until she was directed to a smith specialized in delicate metalwork.

To her surprise it was a pair of married women who manned the smithy, something that would have caused quite a scandal back home. Not that Adelia personally cared, so long as people were happy, that was all that truly mattered.

The women were friendly and welcoming and happily listened as Adelia listed off what she needed.

"We can get ya everythin' in a couple a days," one of them answered. "My uncle is gonna come stay with us by the end of the week to help out, so we'll have your order ready in, say, ten days?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," Adelia said, knowing full well that ten days for the amount of things she had requested was a very generous timeframe.

The woman, tall and muscular and wheat-blond, grinned. "Lovely, my wife's gonna take care of the business, I'll get right to work. Good day, m'lady!"

With those words and a rough but earnest little bow, the woman stepped into the back to select the metal she was going to work with. Her wife stepped forward, a round, shorter woman who was just as muscular. They got to an agreement on the amount owed quickly enough and Adelia paid everything upfront, saying that she'd come to pick everything up rather than have it delivered to the keep.

As she left the shop, another store caught her eye and she ducked into the jewelry shop across the way. There were a number of beautiful trinkets, made of metal and wood and bone, delicately painted or decorated with gems and crystals. It was easy enough to find something for her friends and when she spotted a little brooch in the shape of a golden violin, tiny rubies glimmering on the neck and body of the instrument, she paused for a long moment.

It looked like something that Lord Morrow might like. She thought of the blood spilled on cobblestone and she thought of the man who had worked so hard for his lands, who had done his best to make her feel welcome.

After a moment she picked it up and paid for everything, the clerk looking visibly proud to have served the lady of the keep.

On the way out of the market square, her gaze snagged on the book store and she slowed the horse, hesitated and then approached swiftly, leaving the mare tied up outside.

"Welcome back," Miss Chadha called out from a little ladder as she restocked a top of a shelf. "Do you need help finding something specific or would you like to look around first?"

"I'll take a look around, thank you," Adelia answered and the woman sent her a sunny smile, before focusing back on her work.

The book on monsters was just where it had been last time. Steward Lambrecht had said that he would look into getting it back soon, but... after this morning, there was a sharp niggling in her stomach, a gut feeling she couldn't shake.

Did Lord Morrow perhaps have a monster somewhere in the keep? One that drank blood? She hadn't seen every part of her new home yet and there was a good chance a keep this old had secret doors and passages and perhaps even entire rooms hidden away somewhere.

Either way, she had the money and she wanted to look for answers, too impatient to wait for however long it took until Steward Lambrecht got the book back. She pulled the book from its place on the shelf and took a look at the rest of the shop.

To her surprise she found some music sheets by the scroll cabinet, as well. Picking out two for the violin that Lord Morrow should be able to learn just fine, she headed for the counter, where Miss Chadha was currently opening a crate. She must've gotten a new delivery right this morning.

The very first book within the crate caught Adelia's eye and before she knew it, she had made a small noise and Miss Chadha looked up, a knowing smile curling in the corners of her mouth.

"Shall I add this one to your purchases?" she asked, lifting the book on rare and precious plants of the Wilds.

"Yes, please," Adelia answered and set down what she had already selected. "I will take these, as well, if you please."

"Lovely choices," Miss Chadha said. "Would you like a bookmark for them?"

She gestured to a little wooden box at the end of the counter that held a number of silk ribbons, some plain and simple, some carefully embroidered and others painted. There was one where a dragon stood in front of a unicorn, their heads bent towards each other so they were touching noses.

"I'll take this one," Adelia decided, picking out the dragon-and-unicorn ribbon and she swiftly paid for everything once Miss Chadha had the purchases wrapped in a simple cloth to keep everything safe in the saddlebag.

"Have a wonderful day," Miss Chadha called as Adelia left her store. "And don't hesitate to come back, I get new books regularly!"

Adelia called an agreement over her shoulder and waved in parting, before she headed for the mare waiting patiently for her. Stowing the purchases away, she left the market, stopping only once more along the way to buy soap that smelled pretty amazing.

The ride back to the keep passed easily, with people stopping to wave at her and many calling out cheerful greetings. The mess in the courtyard was neatly gone when she arrived and not even a hint of the blood remained.

Taking her purchases, she thanked the stablehand who took the horse from her hands and she headed back into the keep. She met a few more of the staff along the way, everyone friendly and busy as ever.

Adelia walked up to her rooms with slightly brisker steps and set her purchases aside to check the letter boxes Sorceress Iva had given her. To her pleasant surprise she found letters waiting for her.

They were intricately folded, so the corners had to rip a little when the letters were opened by anyone but the one they were intended for. Even if someone folded them back up precisely, it was still visible if one knew where to look. However, Adelia had no idea if the letters had been read by someone before her friends had folded them.

Her friends' parents might have taken a look at them, but her friends had good families and Adelia was certain that, aside from the first one or two letters, they would soon stop snooping.

The letters her friend had sent were carefully written, polite and full of friendly well wishes and congratulations about her new home and husband. Everything looked perfectly fine on the surface and Adelia knew her friends had taken every precaution possible, in case Lord Morrow was holding on to her letter box and reading her mail before giving the letters to her.

She'd have to reassure them again that no such thing was the case.

Adelia and her friends had developed a way to write or say things so they could discern the true meaning by reading between the lines. Little tricks and certain phrases they had refined over the years. They coupled that with drawings of flowers that conveyed an unspoken message and taking all of that into consideration, it was easy enough to decipher the real meaning of the letters.

Her friends were worried for her, asking if she was alright and well. It made her smile, her heart growing soft. She penned answers right away and this time it was easier to write them than previously when she had still felt so very lost and adrift and worried. When she had half feared that her letters would be read by someone before they reached her friends.

She told them about the friendly staff and the fog surrounding the keep, the nightmares and the things she had learned about the Wilds. Before she knew it, she had filled an entire page in her neat, small hand, talking about the accomplishments of Lord Morrow and what they planned to do next.

They, because he wanted her to be part of this. Because he had made clear he valued her opinion and wanted her to be happy. He was a little strange, yes, and there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on and he had glamoured fangs and weird nails, and he needed blood for something, but he was also incredibly kind and caring.

He didn't bother to hide it, either, she realized as she sat back and looked down at the letters she had written.

Lord Morrow carried a great pride for his lands in his heart and his eyes lit up at every accomplishment he had shown her over the past days, telling her how his people had rallied and worked together to help make his ideas come true, and, even if they had been sceptical at first, how they had given his suggestions an earnest try.

Without them being on board, he would have had a far harder time helping his lands recover and grow more prosperous.

It made the spilled blood this morning all the stranger for it and she tapped her fingertips onto her desk, frowning to herself. Should she simply ask him over dinner? He might have a very reasonable explanation and she'd rather feel a little foolish for worrying over nothing than continue to stew over an easily solvable mystery.

She signed the letters with her name and once the ink was dry she carefully drew cattails and chrysanthemums and lastly a helichrysum along the sides of the letters. That should be enough to let her friends know that she was happy and healthy and doing well.

She wrapped the letters and gifts up and put one half into the box, used one gem, before opening the box and repeating the process with the other. There was a soft hum emitted by the box every time and she grabbed the book on sentient monsters she had bought.

It wasn't quite as thick and hefty as the one about feral monsters that she had found in the library, but it was still substantial. She was about to eagerly open it and start reading when her gaze fell to the book about laws and customs of the Wilds.

She had finished it already, but she was on a second read-through to properly remember things and no matter how much she wanted to sate her curiosity and no matter how much she wanted to quell that niggling in her gut, she knew duty always came first.

She spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon to finish the book and when Steward Lambrecht approached her after lunch, asking if she wanted to help him deal with quarreling farmers, she swiftly accompanied him, heart beating a little faster and stronger.

It was the first time she stood in for her husband as a governing party and she wanted to do right by him and his people.

Steward Lambrecht introduced the two men who had a disagreement about their cow pastures, each citing that the other must've stolen land from them, because their pastures were too small for their herds. In fact, both argued that the other's pasture had always been bigger than theirs, which was just plain unfair.

"An old argument, or so I'm told," Steward Lambrecht murmured as the two men briefly and loudly spoke over each other, insisting that the other one was in the wrong without directly talking to each other, frustration openly visible on their rugged faces. "They wish to settle it once and for all."

"Do they own the land?" she asked back just as quietly as the two men stopped and bowed to her, awaiting her verdict while casting each other glares. They looked quite huffy and each man was certain that they were on the right side.

"No, My Lady," he answered. "The land was allotted to them and they pay their taxes in grain and cheese."

Lord Morrow was very fair about his taxes and back when he had rebuilt his lands, he had used the taxes paid for in produce to feed his people while ensuring the farmers themselves would keep enough to feed themselves and their families, as well.

He had adjusted that system over the years and kept adjusting it as needed to ensure that a drought or bad harvest wouldn't ruin farmsteads that didn't have as much to offer as others.

"How many cows do you own?" she asked aloud and the two men straightened quickly, holding their hats between their hands. Their clothes were simple, but sturdy and clean, they had proper boots on their feet and nothing was worn or frayed or even patched.

They each wore a necklace with a symbol of the god they believed in and she felt quietly a little proud that she recognized them. One necklace was a circle with a stylized wolf head in the middle, the symbol of the moon goddess Luna. The other was of the old forest goddess Terra, a stooped woman walking on branching feet.

Most of her father's farmers would have looked far poorer compared to these two, even when they had worn their best clothes. They certainly wouldn't have owned leather boots.

Only a select number of her father's farmers had managed to grow rich enough to afford larger homesteads and a couple of servants to ensure their fields were cultivated and their animals fed and cared for.

Here in the Wilds people were better off, no matter their station.

"Fourteen, m'lady," the farmer with the moon goddess necklace answered, a proud shine to his eyes and he smiled, his well kept beard braided at the sides, the ends of the braids kept closed with wooden beads. "Did well for meself and mine these last few years so we could buy four more this spring."

"Pah, and I've got fifteen," the other farmer quickly interjected, puffing up his chest and smiling winningly, his long hair in an intricate braid down his back, tied closed with a ribbon with small forget-me-not embroidered on them. "We've bought five for us this year."

"Would you then say that the small pastures are a result of you buying more cows than you have the space for?" she asked and the two men drew up short, opening their mouths before closing them.

They glanced at each other, as though they hadn't genuinely thought about that, too lost in the age-old quarrel and the desire to one-up each other.

"Well, we can't just get rid of 'em," the farmer with the moon goddess necklace murmured, looking a little less puffed up now. "I hired two new girls to take care of 'em."

"I built a new addition to the house so my son and his wife can stay with us, she's expecting a kid soon," the other said with a worried frown. "We need those animals."

Adelia paused thoughtfully for a moment, Steward Lambrecht standing quietly at her side, a picture of poise and quiet, supportive steadfastness. She then asked, "Would you mind describing the pastures to me?"

They launched into a description of their lands: their fields were to the sides of their properties, facing away from each other, while their pastures were in front of them and almost side by side.

With all their squabbling over the years, the mayor had even come by once to measure the pastures, and to ensure it really was fair – though neither man had believed him, of course – the mayor had kept a strip of still unused land between the two pastures so they were the exact same size.

And also so neither of them could just go and use the land that technically belonged to them, since they could not agree on which one of them owned it.

Apparently, back when they had paid off their land until they got to own it for good, someone in the administrative branch of Ravenburg hadn't properly marked down just how much land exactly belonged to each farmer.

The decision to leave the unused strip of land untouched had been a hopeful, if fruitless, attempt to properly separate the two farms and end the constant arguing. Now, both men grumbled that it should belong to them instead of the other, it was only fair, after all.

"I need that land now," the man with the forest goddess necklace said and the other hurried to tack on, "So do I!"

Steward Lambrecht glanced at her and Adelia took a quiet, deeper breath, drawing up a little taller. This little argument might be nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it was the first time she got to prove herself a little. It was certainly more than her father had ever allowed either her mother or her.

"Why don't you merge your pastures and claim the unused land this way?" she suggested, the two men fell quiet with a surprised blink. "Put some marked leather strips around the necks of your cows to tell them apart and let them graze together. There should be enough space for all of them then, correct?"

She glanced at Steward Lambrecht briefly to see if he'd protest and to her surprise, there was the tiniest hint of a proud smile on his face and he inclined his head ever so faintly in an approving manner.

The two men exchanged another look, seemingly sizing each other up anew. They didn't really have a choice, though, not if they didn't wish to sell part of their herd and they clearly, silently, seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"We'll have boards ready for new fencing by the end of the month," the man with the long braid and forest goddess necklace said and the other puffed back up.

"Well, so will we!" he said as he turned to Adelia with a decisive nod, and she had to bite back an unexpected little giggle. It seemed the rivalry between them would continue, but hopefully it would turn into something a little less bitter and more into healthy competition.

"So be it, I will write the mayor of Ravenburg to let him know," she said and the men both bowed to her in grateful acceptance.

"We'll send a special herb cheese as thanks," the man with the braided beard and moon goddess necklace said with a cheerful smile, all the prickly sharpness leeching out of his tone and gaze now that a surprisingly satisfying compromise had been reached.

"And we'll send our speciality: the sweetest cheese you will ever taste," the other man hurried to promise, both briefly glancing at each other, before they wrinkled their noses in distaste and looked away again.

They managed to simultaneously say, "Thank you for your time and advice. Have a good day, m'lady." Only to immediately glare at each other and huff.

They left then with a last bow and Steward Lambrecht turned towards her. "Well done," he said with a small smile that told her he hadn't doubted her for a moment and Adelia couldn't help but smile back, feeling a flush of pride at his words. "I couldn't have handled that better myself."

"Thank you. I'll write the letter to the mayor right away," she said and he bowed his head in polite agreement.

Adelia felt like she was walking a little on clouds as she got to writing the letter. She brought it to Steward Lambrecht the moment it was done and he didn't even read over it, just gave her an approving nod and swiftly sent a servant to deliver it right away.

She was in such a good mood, in fact, that when Lord Morrow came to pick her up for their usual dinner, she greeted him with a smile that she just knew was brighter than her usual ones. Especially since it was completely and entirely genuine.

"I heard about how well you handled that argument today," he said as he accompanied her to the dining room. "Thank you for your aid, I had intended to drop by those farms one of these nights to take a look at the situation myself, but there is no need for that anymore now."

"I'm glad I could be of service," she answered earnestly and she felt a small, slightly amused smile curling in the corners of her mouth as she glanced up at him. "They left squabbling, though, if you believe it or not."

Lord Morrow laughed, briefly flashing those fangs again. "I believe it, my dear Adelia. It was for the best then, that someone with your grace and poise handled the situation."

That flush of pride was back, filling her entire chest with warmth and she noticed that she was walking a little taller and Lord Morrow smiled at her like he meant everything he had said.

They reached the dining room, their meal already waiting for them, though Lord Morrow only had a goblet of wine placed before him with no food in sight, like he preferred for his dinners. It did remind her, however, of the bloody incident this morning.

"There was a delivery," she said as she took a first bite, the food as delicious as always, and he sighed softly.

"Yes, I heard, my apologies for that little mess," he answered with a rueful smile. "I promise, we usually don't spill anything around here, if it can be avoided. Well, aside from juicy gossip, of course."

He leaned forward slightly and all of a sudden, those lake-dark eyes of his seemed to light up as he said, "That reminds me, some of my friends have expressed a desire to meet you and asked if they could visit. It seemed Ivan bragged that he got to meet you before any of them did."

Adelia sat up a little straighter. She had not missed the fact that he hadn't answered her question at all, but she suddenly felt a little gut-squeezing pinch of nervousness.

"Are your friends other warlords?" At his answering nod she had to resist the urge to begin planning a party the way her mother would have immediately started preparing one the moment her father mentioned that he was going to host their fellow nobles. Adelia didn't yet know how warlords liked to celebrate. "How many of them will be in attendance?"

He tipped his head in thought. "About three, but the rest of them will tag along to annoy me and to get a look at you." He tapped the tips of his fingers against the table. Even with his gloves his too longer nails made an audible noise. "I can let them know they're not invited, but that just means they'll show up uninvited at my earliest inconvenience just to be a bother."

Politics was something Adelia understood, even if she didn't know the other warlords yet or how they governed their lands and what opinions they had on important topics.

"It will be no issue for me either way, though perhaps a planned gathering of all will be more to our advantage than being surprised by anyone uninvted," she said, voice certain and with a calm steadiness in her words. Her parents, her mother most of all, had trained her well for dealing with viper pits.

She could do this, even if the two warlords she had met, her husband included, had been rather intimidating at first. Though, truth be told, Ivan had easily made her feel more comfortable around him, an earnest openness to him that managed to ease the air of casual power that surrounded him.

Lord Morrow was silent for a long second as he thought it over, then he sighed. "You're right, let's get that over and dealt with so I can go back to ignoring them as much as possible." He tossed back the wine. "I will kick them out as early as I can, however."

He glanced at her while he reached for the wine bottle. "They're going to be rough around the edges," he said, as though half in warning. "My friends I mean. My enemies are going to be about as pleasant as drinking lantern oil."

"Let's burn them out quickly, in that case," she answered and he grinned at her, fangs easily visible, lifting his goblet in a toast and when he waited a beat, she quickly copied him so they could lightly clink their goblets together.

"To burning enemies," he said and she couldn't help but chuckle a little. Lord Morrow looked quite satisfied at that, a softer smile on his face for the rest of dinner.

They set the topic of visitors aside for now to discuss their progress on their harbor project and on the way to his office, Lord Morrow briefly dipped into the library to come back with another two books he thought she might enjoy. One on a book about folktales about sailors, pirates and sirens and the other was on the territories of the Wilds and their history with each other.

"The history book is the most up to date one we have," he said. "It was published some time last year."

With two books tucked under her arm, they entered his office to tackle the paperwork. They sat largely in silence for a time as they worked, but it was calm and comfortable and the rest of the time, conversation flowed rather easily. She read and answered letters and Lord Morrow discussed things with her as he read his correspondence aloud.

There was rather unexpected letter, however, from a mayor of a harbor town, who requested their aid, since the neighboring warlord territory had grown too unruly for them to ignore.

"It's the isles," Lord Morrow murmured with a wry frown. There was a sharp coldness to his gaze now, like a hidden blade glinting in a stray beam of light. "The warlord of the isles and I have our... differences, let's put it like that. I'll let her know to keep her people in check or I'm going to take care of her pirates myself."

That sounded dangerously like threatening war or at least risking an open conflict. Adelia felt herself frown and he softened at her expression, that sharp danger sliding away like a dagger getting sheathed.

"Worry not," he said reassuringly. "Miriam and I won't actually fight, but she likes to live a pirate life as wild as the sea and her people are all too eager to imitate her. She'll reign them back in if I ask her to."

Adelia lifted a brow. "You did not much sound like you were asking."

He huffed a darkly amused noise. "It's just the way we talk to each other, I suppose. There is no love lost between us, and you should've seen the letter she sent me when one of my trading guilds started to rip her people off too much. Wait, let me get it."

He got up to pull out one of his ledgers and after a moment of leafing through it, he showed her the letter neatly tucked away for later reference. It was indeed a very harsh, darkly threatening letter that would've given Adelia a little heart attack had she received it out of nowhere.

"Charming," she said after a long moment of staring at it and Lord Morrow actually giggled at that, putting everything away again neatly.

"We have a respectfully distasteful relationship," he said with a little grin as he sat down beside her again. "Miriam actually takes very good care of her people and her fleet keeps our waters safe, but we do not like each other and that's perfectly fine."

It was so strange to hear him speak like this, calm and without the bitter, sharply hateful, antagonistic way her father had spoken about his rivals or enemies. Or about the nobles who had tittered and laughed at him behind their hands the few times they had managed to slight him openly.

Lord Morrow on the other hand seemed perfectly fine with not liking his fellow warlord and yet there didn't seem to be any worry about an actual fight breaking out between them, either. Adelia was very unfamiliar with the concept that two people were content with finding each other distasteful and leaving each other be as much as possible as a result.

Maybe it was just how things were done in the Wilds. People were straight forward and rough around the edges, and yet there was an underlying understanding that, should anything happen, they could count on each other. Especially against outside forces.

"We should visit the isles sometime, or rather, you should if you'd like," he mused as he returned to his work, penning a letter full of cheerful threats to his fellow warlord. "I think you might like them."

He did? Adelia had no idea what to think about that. All she knew, for now, was that the isles liked piracy and those kinds of people had always been considered the lowest of the low among the nobility back home.

Unbidden, her mind wandered to the stories and descriptions she had heard growing up, the drawings of wanted pirate captains that had once been neatly laid out on her father's desk and had promptly been discarded, since his lands were nowhere near the ocean.

He had seen it as a waste of resources and coin to aid the coastal lands, since the lord governing those territories had nothing to offer him and was of lower standing. Her father never had to worry about pirates threatening him and the king's navy had kept them at bay enough that he hadn't felt a financial impact from their raids, either.

"Perhaps one day," she answered and after a moment she added, "I heard they have nice hats."

Lord Morrow chuckled, low and warm. "I'll get you one, if you want."

He offered it so easily, like he really would. It made her smile a little and they finished up their work in a rather good mood. Lord Morrow accompanied her back to her rooms when she began to yawn.

"If you'd like, I can ask Lambrecht to hand you your part of the correspondence as soon as it arrives," he said. "You won't have to wait for me to make time in the evening anymore. Though, if you'd still like to spend your evenings with me, that would make me quite happy."

"I would like that," she answered, another flush of pride warming her chest. She must be doing good work and he must trust her to be offering her this. "We could plan the party together after dinner, if you'd like."

She'd need his guidance so she wouldn't mess anything up or misrepresent his lands and his station as warlord. Lord Morrow sighed.

"There will be so many people to invite to avoid stepping on any toes," he grumbled, looking less than enthusiastic. "But you're right, there is plenty we need to take care of and the sooner we're done, the better."

"What does a party in the Wilds entail?" Adelia asked, curious, as they approached her rooms.

Parties and celebrations and festivities among the nobility had always looked a little different back home, depending on what was considered fashionable at the time, but there had always been a lot of etiquette to pay attention to.

A lot of posturing and political maneuvering, who to charm, who to compliment, who to insult, who to slight and who to manipulate and who intended to do the same to her and her family.

One year, when she had been around ten years old, peacock feathers had been very popular and she remembered them being everywhere and how much they had tickled her palms when she had touched them. They had looked pretty, but poor Baron Izna had been allergic to them and she still remembered the way some of the nobles had smiled at him, all pretty and charming, while ensuring the tips of their feathers bobbed as close to his face as possible.

Then peacock feathers had been considered unfashionable and all-white clothing was instead considered the height of wealth and status, so all color had vanished. Embroidery had become the way to show off then, using pearlescent or shimmering thread and people had shifted strategically to show off fine, detailed patterns.

But the way nobles spoke to each other had always remained unchanged. Polite and with smiles on their faces to mask what they were really thinking and feeling, insults hidden between elegant words and pretend-compliments.

"Food and drinks is a requirement," her husband answered as they reached her door. "Good music and dancing if we feel like it. Everyone shows off and postures and tries to one-up one another." His smile was wry, bordering on a grimace. "Not my favorite thing in the world."

"You could play the violin," she suggested and he paused at that, his head tipping in thought. "I'm certain you could master a piece in time. Oh, wait here a moment!"

She dipped inside, leaving a very curious looking Lord Morrow behind. Adelia swiftly picked up the music sheets she had bought and brought them to him.

"I saw them when I visited Ravenburg," she said with a hopeful little smile. "And I thought we could try our hand at them."

"Thank you." Lord Morrow's voice was soft, just like his expression, his smile warm and downright sweet. "I'm sure I'll master this swiftly, and if I don't manage to learn it in time for the party, may I play for you later?" He held the music pieces carefully and his smile widened a little, showing off a hint of his teeth. "I would like to impress my teacher at the very least."

Adelia had no idea why that made her feel so touched and softly giddy-warm. "I will look forward to your performance then," she said and bit her lower lip before admitting, "And while I like helping you learn, but I'm not, um." She floundered for a moment and Lord Morrow gave her an understanding, reassuring smile.

"Playing an instrument is not a passion of yours?" he guessed and she gave him a small nod, her fingers knotting together in front of her. "Don't worry, I completely understand. Life is meant to be enjoyed when possible, especially when it comes to hobbies. I am honored you took the time to teach me and that you want to listen to me play in the future. Now, I best let you get some rest, good night my sweet lady and thank you for this lovely gift."

He stepped back with a small bow and Adelia curtsied back with a relieved lightness to her chest, glad that he had understood. Lord Morrow left with a last smile and she closed the door, feeling pleasantly tired.

She was glad buying those music sheets for him had been a good choice.

It wasn't until she set down the two books he had gotten her from the library that her gaze fell to the book she had bought earlier and she remembered all over again that he hadn't answered her question about the spilled blood at all. Not only that, he had distracted her so thoroughly and skillfully that it had completely slipped her mind.

Growing still, she stared down at the book, frowning to herself. Lord Morrow didn't seem to be a bad person, not with everything that she had learned about him. But this... this gave her an uneasy feeling that pinched slightly at her stomach.

Did he need the blood for himself for some bizarre reason or was he housing something? Someone? Maybe something he kept hidden beneath the keep? Perhaps, well, he might even be cursed and only Steward Lambrecht was in the know. In that case his fangs might not be fake at all and his gloves might be hiding visible signs of the curse.

Or he was just a man with ill fingers and glamoured teeth and it was family member, instead, that got cursed and there was no other way to aid them aside from giving them blood. Lord Morrow never mentioned his parents or any siblings, now that she thought about it.

She reached for the book on sentient monsters with renewed determination. Something was going on and even if this book gave her no answers, she felt better if she started her research somewhere.

She wanted to find out what secret was hidden here in a keep that never stopped being foggy, where its lord was gone the entire day and yet he had made sure, over and over again, that she would feel welcome.

If he truly was suffering from something or someone he loved suffered, she wanted to help. After all that he had done for her and continued to do, it only seemed right to return the favor.

She tucked herself into bed with a candle at the bedside table and opened the book, skimming the introductions of the author and the reason the book had been written in the first place – something about his sister vanishing into the night, never to be seen again.

She fell asleep three hours later, the book flopping onto her chest, just as she had reached the chapter labeled 'werewolf' and she dreamed about a foggy forest and voices luring her deeper inside and someone, in the distance began to play a haunting violin melody.