Queen Nadia paused for a moment, it was just Alessio in Silvan's bed, the human Prince didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. A thought crossed her mind, and she immediately dematerialized to Alessio's room.
She couldn't help but feel a trace of disappointment at the sight of Silvan seated at the edge of Alessio's bed like he had just woken up.
"I hope I didn't interrupt your sleep." Nadia spoke gently, even though she hadn't made a single sound while appearing.
Silvan wasn't too surprised to see her, this was her son's room after all. And seeing that she wasn't too surprised to see him either, he could guess that she had come from his room.
"You didn't," His low raspy response came, "Did Your Majesty want to see me?"
Nadia walked right over to the windows to throw them open, the rays of the early morning sun seemed to be absorbed by her glistening hair. "You're rather perceptive." She commended with approval.
"Your father and brother will be leaving soon. I wanted to personally inform you so you could see them off."
Silvan perched tensely at the edge of Alessio's bed, but it wasn't because of Queen Nadia's words. He had completely slept through the night, feeling the most refreshed he ever had, so much so that he had been completely dazed after waking up, right until the Vampire Queen showed up.
He had only just woken up before Queen Nadia showed up, but he was still stuck here because he knew that Alessio would still be fast asleep. The temptation to go right back to sleep rose in his heart.
"There's no need for that." He turned down her consideration, laying back down. He couldn't remember the last time he genuinely wanted to sleep. Even before joining the temple, he only slept out of habit and was up at the crack of dawn.
Nadia skillfully hid her surprise, taking a step back. "I understand. Will you have lunch with the family later today?" She invited instead, expecting Silvan to turn her down.
"I would be honored," Silvan muttered, his eyes drifting close. Maybe he could request his sheets to be scented with jasmine, it wasn't like he was going to be busy, he might as well catch up on lost sleep.
Nadia's eyes were wide open in surprise as she watched Silvan fall fast asleep right in front of her. She had expected him to put up more of a guard against her.
There was a hint of sadness in her dark eyes as she studied him. When he slept, some of the coldness that was constantly on his face thawed off, revealing the exhaustion that seemed to have sunk into his bones.
She silently went to draw the drapes close once more. She wasn't quite sure what methods Alessio had used, but he had seemed to get past the walls Prince Silvan constantly had up in merely a few days. There wasn't much of a reason to be worried after all.
Nadia dematerialized just as silently as she came, they would most likely be sleeping till noon, especially after the night they had.
She didn't have to personally see off their human allies, but she knew that King Rolfe would be desperate to hear some information about his second son, seeing as Silvan had no intention to see them off.
Nadia appeared on the stairs to find that the carriages were ready to depart, the neighing of horses loud in the cool air of the quiet morning.
Everyone was in the carriages save for King Rolfe himself, he stood halfway on the stairs, his back straight, clearly waiting for someone.
When he saw Queen Nadia, the hope in his eyes was extinguished. "He's not coming, is he?" He spoke quietly, but those few words held so much sorrow.
"He was fast asleep," Nadia tweaked the truth a bit, "I couldn't bear to wake him up."
Some of the hope came back into King Rolfe's eyes, as well as a multitude of relief. "He was asleep, you say? He barely sleeps recently, that's good." Rolfe nodded, the weight on his heart easing a bit.
He tipped his head in a show of genuine respect to the Queen of Vampires. From the consideration she had shown him, he could trust that Silvan would be well enough under her care.
Nadia didn't say a word, everything had already been said. She stood on the stairs and watched as the procession of carriages slowly began its journey out of the castle.
Her soft red dress blew in the wind, her crown and the braids in her hair keeping the white locks out of her face. She stood at the stairs until the carriages were naught but a blot, lost in thought.
She soon shook herself out of it, turning around to head into her castle to prepare for lunch. They didn't often have lunch as a family, but it was necessary with the new addition to the Royal Family of Vampires.
-+-
As the carriages slowly lumbered through the Capital of Vallyn, Rolfe sat with a cloud over his head. If he could look behind him to the castle they left behind, he would.
Alexander was seated across from him, in Silvan's absence, there was no reason not to share a carriage with his father. Unlike the journey here, where he would be careless with his words about Silvan, he said nothing now.
The pounding in his head added to that, so he just rested back against the padded cushions and closed his eyes.
Rolfe was comforted by his presence, he had lost two children in the span of a month. He had only one left. Alexander's words the night before, when he was hopelessly drunk, had eased Rolfe's worries further.
He had hoped that Alexander's squirmishes with Silvan were merely brotherly banter, but there had been moments when he had been genuinely worried that Alexander truly didn't like his younger brother.
So last night had completely eased all of his worries, and improved his opinion of his first son. Now that it was just the two of them, he could admit a little that he had unintentionally paid more attention to Silvan.
Rolfe forgot his interest in looking back as he watched Alexander try his best not to grimace so obviously each time the carriage was jostled.
"I could have Graham prepare you some soup." Rolfe broke the silence in the carriage, a slight teasing quality to his voice.
Alexander groaned miserably, "Don't poke fun at me, Father. I can't barely keep my guts down."
Rolfe's smile was easier now, meticulously planning out the letter he would send to Silvan as soon as they arrived at Asten. He hoped… he hoped he would get a response.