Private Bolt and Burden

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

The late afternoon sun bled gold across the rolling heights of Dee'ja Peak, bathing the Abrantes estate in warm light. Out on the wide gravel stretch where the vineyards gave way to hunting grounds, Sibylla stood with the weight of a long rifle in her hands, jaw tight, shoulders tense.

Her motions were brisk, almost clipped, as she worked the bolt of the slugthrower and fed in the heavy cartridges. A sport of leisure for the nobles, pigeon shooting was meant to be refined, measured. But the way Sibylla handled the weapon betrayed no serenity, only restless energy begging to be spent.

Cassian arrived just in time to catch the sharp edge of it. Sibylla's hazel eyes that typically shone within the grounds of their home with warmth or wit, now burned with a different fire now. And while the details of it were not known to him, it would be evident that something was bothering her. The Sovereign Campaign had left its marks, the Gala more so. And whatever storm she carried from that night on the beach with Kadaara with Aurelian, it lingered still.

The solid-state projector set near the hedgerows hummed to life, ready to launch holographic clay pigeons into the sky. But Sibylla was hardly thinking of glass discs. Her mind chased darker shapes: the memories of the beach, the taste of whiskey, the confusion etched in Aurelian's face, and the sting of choices she couldn't untangle.

"Ready?" she muttered, sliding the last round into place with more force than necessary. Her hands were steady, but Cassian Abrantes ' knew his sister's frustration was clearly behind them.

This wasn't sport for her. This was exorcism.

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Sibylla Abrantes​

Cassian had always been able to read his sister with little effort. The Abrantes estate in the late afternoons usually meant calm evenings, quiet reflection, or family gatherings in the warmth of the hall. But here, on the gravel range, rifle in her hands, Sibylla was far from calm. The rhythm of her movements was too sharp, too deliberate. This wasn't for sport today; it was an outlet, a weapon against ghosts she couldn't strike down in any other way.

Cassian let his footsteps crunch lightly across the gravel until he was in position, until the silence between them acknowledged his presence before either spoke. His gaze flicked to the rifle, then to her stance. He remembered their father teaching them both to shoot, the careful emphasis on precision, control, and restraint. What she was doing now had none of those lessons in it. It was catharsis masquerading as elegance.

"Ready?"

He said nothing at first, he stared for a minute. Cassian wanted to say something, anything at this point. But he couldn't find the words. So he stood there and waited. She was the voice of the people, but something had drawn her deep thoughts.

That much was evidently clear.

He tapped the code into the projector as it soon began its countdown, he doubled checked his weapon before placing the butt of the weapon firmly against his shoulder, getting into position.

Then it started, the sound of the disc being released for either of them, one, then two for each. Steady, quick aim, shoot, reload.

Each shot that hit the disk as it were destroyed and more came from the projector. Each reminded him of that night, the sound of the crashing waves against him. The Shadows that moved in the dark..... The attack was meant for him. That truth sat heavy, immovable. Every step he retraced through memory brought him back to the same point: someone had calculated, someone had planned. Their timing had been too exact, their intent too precise to be anything but deliberate.

Another shot rang out, louder in the stillness between his thoughts. Cassian let the silence linger afterward, staring upward at the ruin of the target. It might have been easier if it were just bad luck, a misstep in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this… this was an execution attempt. Two more followed and a quick reload and it was time again.

Beneath the calm, beneath the reserved demeanor he wore so easily in court and council, a storm coiled. Not fear, no, never fear, but the cold, unyielding clarity that came when death had already brushed too close.

Whoever wanted him gone had failed once. The question wasn't why, it was who, and how long before they tried again.

Cassian let out a small sigh as he turned to grab a few more round before loading once more. "You missed breakfast this morning...." He turned back around and raised his weapon up once more, ready to fire.

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

"Clear!" Sibylla called out, her jaw set as another disc arced skyward. She pivoted, lifted, fired. The shot cracked through the stillness, but the disc slipped untouched into the distance.

"Blast," she hissed, rare heat flashing in her voice. She reloaded with a sharp snap of the bolt, shoulders rigid. At Cassian's remark, her eyes narrowed but never left the horizon.

"I had to work," she muttered, as if that explained everything. " One cannot be expected to tend to Naboo and a breakfast plate at once, brother dearest."

It didn't, as her stomach turned in protest, reminding her that a single bitter cup of caf and half a roll did not constitute a meal. Perhaps her aim suffered more from hunger than she cared to admit.

But two could play at his game. If he wanted to needle, she could press where she pleased.

Without looking at him, Sibylla asked, "But since we are trading observations this morning… where did you vanish to after the dinner? I could not help but notice you in a very animated conversation with the young Priestess of Amnen."

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian's mouth curved, though it wasn't quite a smile, more the ghost of one. He shot two more shots, narrowly missing one and the other hitting right on target. He let the weight of her words hang in the air while another disc sang skyward. The shot cracked again, echoing against the peaks.

"I hadn't realized my absence was so keenly felt," he replied, voice mild, measured, though the glint in his eyes betrayed amusement at her jab. "You, after all, seemed rather… occupied yourself." He let the implication linger, not sharp but pointed enough that she'd know he'd noticed her storm with Aurelian at the shoreline. While he had noticed, it hadn't bothered him that evening as much as he thought. He was still reeling with the fact that he cast a vote for him.

His gaze flicked toward disc as he took a shot, then back to her. "The young priestess," he continued after a beat, tone smoothing out, "She was asking questions about our House. Of our customs, our faith. It seemed rude to leave her without answers."

He let that hang a moment before adding, almost idly, "Animated, was I? Animated, but innocent, perhaps she asked sharper questions than most." A quiet hum of thought left him. "Or perhaps you simply saw what you wished to see."

Cassian shifted slightly, just enough to catch her profile in the waning sunlight. He could press her, dig beneath the armor, but instead he kept his voice steady, low enough to draw her attention back from the horizon.

"But you, firing with tempers sharper than the rifle's recoil, worry more about where are you firing...." Cassian's gaze following the next two disc's zip through the air and destroyed both. "....than who my time is spent with....dear sister."

Sibylla Abrantes

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

The bolt slid home with a satisfying click, though her fingers carried the faintest tremor of annoyance. Sibylla held her tongue, letting the silence stretch between the echo of Cassian's shots and the low whir of the projector resetting. She loved her brother dearly, but he had an exasperating gift: the way his calm, patient voice of his had a tendency to bait her with just enough indulgence to needle her all the more.

Especially when he referenced that she seemed to be rather occupied that night after the dinner event on Kadaara, his implication was clear.

And just as if summoned by Cassian's pointed remarks, the memory flared unbidden. Aurelian Veruna . The kiss. And the expression carved on his face afterward, the confusion, as if he scarcely knew what he'd done. That wasn't even considering her own internal turmoil over it. She would rather jab Cassian about his priestess than face the question of why that moment continued to haunt her.

So she did what one in politics did -- deflect and redirect!

"I am simply making pointed commentary regarding how you are ripe for the marriage mart, dearest brother," she added, bringing her rifle up to her shoulder as another disc burst skyward. One crack of the gun rang clean, the other sharp and wide. Sibylla exhaled, the set of her jaw betraying more temper than she cared to yield.

"And the Priestess certainly seemed to enjoy your company with significant interest."

Truth be told, Sibylla respected the devotion House Amnen held for their faith. If any lineage could have embodied Vere in the flesh, it might well have been theirs, perhaps even Jael Amnen herself. Yet all signs suggested every effort had been made to keep such a legacy from them. Still, Sibylla wondered if the Amnen line knew more of Set and Vere, of the true story behind their trials. Or worse, had they played a hand in the plot, reinforcing those very shields that kept the pair locked apart through the ages?

Either way, Cassian seemed to be hitting the marks today, for he was quick to point out in his measured patient way of his that her temper was doing most of the firing than the rifle she held.

The temptation to toss him into a fountain rose with such ferocity then. Maybe a walk through the maze again would do him some good.

"If my temper seeps into my aim, then it is only natural. A little fire, after all, makes the sport tolerable. But I would caution you, Cassian…" Her tongue swept lightly over her teeth, and she flashed him a smile altogether too sweet.

"It is a dangerous pastime to provoke your sister while she is armed. One never knows whether the next shot will be aimed at glass ...or at elder brothers."

Her eyes lingered on him a moment, bright with challenge, before she bent to reload again. Yet as she pressed the bolt forward, the thought rose to the fore despite her best defenses: if her aim faltered today, perhaps it was not hunger, nor Cassian's teasing, but the confusion of two men, one who had once broken her heart, the other who carried the crown of Naboo, and how both had managed to leave her feeling unsteady when she could least afford it.

And that, she told herself fiercely, was something she would never allow Cassian to see.

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian let her words hang in the golden air, the sting of her sweetly barbed smile familiar as the vineyards themselves. He did not flinch under her mock threat, if anything, he allowed the corner of his mouth to tug upward, a shadow of amusement that made clear he would not be so easily rattled.

"Then I am fortunate you've never been known for poor aim," he said smoothly, lowering his rifle. The unspoken truth lingered between them: Sibylla's shots rarely missed, be it in sport, speech, or Senate.

He studied her for a long moment, head tilting slightly as though he could peel back the layers of her temper with nothing but patience. He did not speak of Aurelian, nor of the shadows that troubled her eyes when she thought herself unobserved. Cassian had no need to name the storm to feel the edges of it. Instead, his voice softened, the calm deliberate, not indulgent now but grounding. "A little fire makes the sport tolerable, yes. But too much, and it burns the hand that carries the flame." His gaze flicked briefly to the rifle, then back to her, hazel to hazel. "You can tease me with priestesses and courtly matches all you wish, Sibylla. But I know you, and I know when the fire isn't sport."

The next disc whirred skyward, and Cassian did not move to take the shot, leaving it to shatter unchallenged against the air. Instead, he took a step closer to her, lowering his tone so only she might hear. "If you wish to spend your temper, spend it with me. I can weather it. But don't waste it on ghosts you'll never hit."

Then, in typical Abrantes fashion, he allowed a hint of levity to return, diffusing without dismissing. "Besides, you'd have to explain to the house guards why the heir was brought down by his sister's aim. That tale would make for wretched dinner conversation."

Sad to some...humorous to others...And for person out there, whomever they were. They would be thrilled at the idea that Eldest son was dead.

Cassian took a deep breath as he raised the rifle once more, knocking three more disc from the air. The steadiness of his aim was true and focused. He moved back towards the table, rifles and ammunition scattered before he returned to his position.

"I've been summoned by his grace, for a meeting on the morrow. Do you know what that's about?" Cassian said as he looked over to Sibylla before raising his weapon back up for the next round.

Sibylla Abrantes

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

Cassian's barb hit its mark, as it always did.

Never known for poor aim, he'd said.

Sibylla's lips tightened. True, her aim with a blaster had improved, but the memory of family jests still stung, the endless remarks that she could deliver a speech in Junior Assembly with precision but could not hit a target worth her life.

She flashed him a look that warned he was treading on thin ice. Yet when her gaze met his, she faltered. Those green eyes of his, the same eyes that had watched over her since childhood, seemed to peel back her composure with ease. They had shared everything growing up, and of course, he could read her better than anyone else. Which only aggravated her more.

So instead of answering, Sibylla lifted the rifle. Three disks flew into the sky. Sibylla narrowed her eyes, exhaled, and squeezed the trigger.

One, two, three. All struck.

Finally.

Her chest swelled with triumph and she was ready to flaunt it, until Cassian stepped into her space, the breadth of him crowding her, his presence like a moving wall of quiet scrutiny. That low remark about not wasting her temper on ghosts pricked straight into a sore place, and her lips pressed into a stubborn line.

"It would be no different than the times you trudged up the steps at home soaked to the bone," she shot back, bristling as she tried to claw back her composure.

Leave it to her philosopher soldier of a brother to drop wisdom disguised as adages. She almost wished Elian were here instead of at the academy to distract him, he would make the perfect foil for Cassian's probing attention.

She watched with narrowed eyes as Cassian raised his rifle and struck three more marks without fail, the practiced precision of a former general on full display. It only made her eyes tighten further in concern, recalling what he had told her their father tasked him to do. Suddenly, her own turmoil seemed foolish beside the heavier burdens he carried.

However, the query on her lips regarding the task their father had assigned Cassian was halted when he mentioned Aurelian had summoned him for a meeting tomorrow.

Sibylla blinked slowly at that news, then drew a slow breath, her eyes drifting toward the horizon. She let the view steady her, the mountains, the waterfalls, the paths she had memorized since youth.

When a summons by a recently crowned monarch was presented to a Royal House, it could mean one of many things, but the most pressing matter of course, was the one ability that truly affected every noble house and commoner alike -- the ability for the Monarch to assign stewardship to transitioning worlds coming into the republic.

A path that could equally elevate a House as much as be considered banishment.

Her brows furrowed, and as she let the beauty of Dee'ja Peak distract her for a moment, she thought back to Aurelian. Of the man he was when she first met him, and the man he was now.

No. She couldn't picture him abusing such power with her brother after the near desperate concern he had shown regarding the safety of Cassien and her House against Thessaly Veruna 's potential conspiring plotting.

So what did that leave then?

Sibylla gave a shake of her head, her thick braid swaying as she indicated her lack of information, reloading her rifle. The click of the round sliding into place steadied her, layering composure back over her face.

"I do not. He has not informed me of any offical matters of state concerning House Abrantes directly." The exhale that followed left her lungs in a quiet rush.

"The last we spoke… it was of Thessaly." Her voice dipped, memory stirring. "He was concerned about her return. He said she is fully invested in the old feud between our families. He warned me to tell you to stay away from her. He believes she would do anything to see House Abrantes extinguished."

The words hung in the air, but her thoughts had already drifted further, to that night, to the moment she had tried to ease his fears. She had told him Thessaly held no power over him anymore. That he had nothing to fear. That she believed he was the man meant to sit on the throne, and that together they could make something better for Naboo.

And then… how it had all unraveled thereafter.

Shiraya, they had played their roles well enough through the Coronation and Gala. But the memory of what had followed between them still unsettled her.

How was she supposed to face him in private again?

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian watched the three fractures bloom in the air and let himself smile, quick, genuine, there and gone. Pride, not surprise. He eased a palm along the rifle's stock, a silent approval of form and focus, then let the muzzle dip toward the gravel.

"Well done..." Cassian spoke as he looked over to Sibylla with an easy going expression..

Cassian listened in silence, the rifle lowered against his shoulder, the weight of her words and the weight of his own summons settling like twin stones in the chest. He had always known how to read Sibylla, but this time her admission drew a flicker of unease even he couldn't quite disguise. Thessaly Veruna. The name alone was a poison in the air, acrid, clinging to memory and history both.

"Then his concern is not misplaced," Cassian said, meeting Sibylla's gaze with steady green eyes. "Thessaly has sharpened her grievances into a weapon, and if she sees an opening, she will use it. Whether against you, against the entire house, or against me-" Cassian stopped suddenly, and there it was again, the stirring of the wind, crashing of waves, blooding mixing with the salt and the sea.

Cassian's gaze turned ice cold, the realization of a potential suspect, a target. It wasn't fear, or worry that struck at his bones, it was rage and anger in that instance. Brazen to the say the least, the first night of her return she would arrange something like that. How would he even know if he was going to be there.

Cassian glanced back to the household in the distance and he took a deep breath. Now there were a million things swirling in his mind. Unfortunately he had no proof right now, but where there was smoke there is fire. He would expose that wretched harlot for who she truly was. Time passed briefly in those few seconds and Cassian had almost forgotten that Sibylla was even there, until he turned back around and his composure returned once more, quickly to mask whatever feeling he was giving off in those moments. However it didn't stay for long, as his face turned red, the flush of anger raising in him. He tried to play it off....

It started with a laugh. "Since when does Aurelian care about me. I don't need his warning, I had already intended to never step anywhere near that schutta, unless I'm absolutely forced to. Long before he told you to warn me."

Cassian had cast his vote, and now he would have to pay the consequences, and this meeting with Aurelian was one of them. "Make no mistake sister, I have agreed to meet with him. But I tell you now, he's gotten the power he's always wanted. If he seeks to use it as a means to take action against me...." Newly elected Monarch, never cared for him in the slightest, and now formally asks for a meeting. Thessaly possibly involved in Cassian's attack and now this meeting, which could've happened any time during the course prior to his election as King.

It's too convenient.....

'I warn you, it will not end well...." Cassian turned back towards the range, the device released more disc's into the sky, the Former General fired quickly.

Sibylla Abrantes

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

Sibylla snapped the bolt into safety, her eyes narrowing on Cassian instead of the targets. While he appeared the very image of steadfast composure, she knew him far too well to be fooled. The flick of his jaw, the deliberate way he reloaded, the set of his shoulders when Thessaly Veruna 's name passed his lips, all told her more than his words. Sibylla wasn't fluent in the Lorrdian arts, but with Cassian, she didn't need to be.

So her frustration over Aurelian dulled as her mind recalibrated, studying Cassian with fresh scrutiny. She set the rifle aside and crossed to the table to join him.

"No. I do not think his concern is misplaced," she agreed, recalling vividly Aurelian on the shore, how his eyes seemed to hollow as he spoke of Thessaly, of his father, of the cruelty they had both inflicted. How the angles of his face had lengthened with the weight of it; his voice was stripped of its usual pageantry and theater.

No, she wouldn't bring that up. Sibylla swallowed hard, her tongue sweeping over her teeth as she held back. Aurelian's secrets were not hers to tell.

But Cassian's tone and the particular edge of animosity his voice held when he spoke of Thessaly made Sibylla cant her head in avid curiosity. Whatever vulgarity Sibylla might have spared for the woman in private for Aurelian, it was clear her brother's grievance cut deeper.

But when Cassian returned to the point that Aurelian had gained the coveted throne he sought and might yet wield that power that came with it against him, Sibylla let out a heavy sigh, caught between her brother's warning and what she herself had come to know of Aurelian Veruna .

Years ago, Sibylla might have agreed with it without hesitation, for Cassian's reasoning was sound. Back then, Aurelian had been in her eyes, little more than a decadent Prince turned Senator, a man of theater, masks, and vices, whose reputation preceded him in every chamber.

But time had changed her view: Time and proximity.

She had watched him navigate crises, both within Naboo and beyond, with an incisive mind that weighed consequence against cost. She had seen him argue for Naboo's survival in the Assembly, negotiate with Mandalorians, and weather the Republic's politics with a stubborn clarity that surprised her. He was not just the man his reputation painted. Beneath the mask was a strategist, a leader who believed Naboo deserved more than to be a casualty of the galaxy's endless ambition and gluttony.

And she had found herself agreeing with him. More often than not.

Her hand closed around a round, fingers restless as thoughts drifted toward what she dared not name aloud, how he'd promised to at least try to be honest with her, to strip away the performance when they were alone, despite how difficult it would cost him. Words and truths she never imagined she would share with him.

The sharp inhale that followed steadied her, if only slightly. She rearmed the rifle, sliding the bolt home with a firm clack.

"I know you think it madness, Cassian." Her voice dropped low, roughened by the weight of her admission. She looked up, hazel eyes meeting the dark green of her brother's with unflinching resolve.

"But I trust him. He has his vices, his flaws, his proclivities. He is far from perfect."

She turned, moving back to the shooting line with the rifle in hand, the gravel crunching softly beneath her steps. Raising her voice just enough to carry back over her shoulder, she added, "But neither am I. And at least I can say this much: he is trying. We both are."

The projector whirred, releasing two discs in swift arcs. Sibylla raised the rifle, her focus sharp. One shot cracked, then another.

Both targets shattered in the sky.

Then came the pointed question.

"So, what grievance do you have with Thessaly, Cassian? It seems there is more to tell there." now the scrutiny was back at him.

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

"I know you think it madness, Cassian."

"But I trust him. He has his vices, his flaws, his proclivities. He is far from perfect."

Cassian watched the discs break apart in the sun, flecks of light tumbling like embers before the breeze carried them away. Her aim was true now, steadier, but her words cut deeper than her shots.

He did not bristle at her defense of Aurelian. In truth, he had expected it, Sibylla's faith in people had always been fierce. Still, hearing her speak of trust with such conviction twisted something quiet in his chest. He carried the thought silently, folding it inward, and when her question came, his expression hardened almost imperceptibly.

The simple fact that she dismissed his words, dismissed his concern. Not a reassurance for him, nothing. It was just a straight line, the two pillars that would keep Naboo safe. It probably didn't register in her mind, but it did so in his.

It was ill in his mouth, just like that night on the beach, salt, sand and blood.

"But neither am I. And at least I can say this much: he is trying. We both are."

And I'm not.....? He could hear it in her voice, tone, lecture. Was it a jab at him? He looked at her as it was said over her shoulder in a quiet way, that to be honest it cut him to the bone. Whatever it was, it stirred something in him.

"Sibylla....I can only say this....." Cassian lowered the weapon slightly as he looked over to her. "It doesn't matter what I think, not anymore. You are the Voice of Naboo, and He is the King of Naboo. What's done is done......" Cassian walked over and placed the gun down on the table before letting out a small sigh. All manner of covert disguise leaking through now.

"So, what grievance do you have with Thessaly, Cassian? It seems there is more to tell there."

Aiden reached for the side of his belt, one of the daggers that was meant to pierce him in the back, the one of several lost to the tides.

"Nothing, although I just find it strange with Aurelian so close to achieving his victory, and you announcing your bid for Voice of Naboo, this harlot shows up."

Sibylla Abrantes

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

Sibylla lowered her rifle, her gaze pulling back to Cassian. The look on his face alone was enough to make her pause. His words cut deeper still.

An exasperated sigh slipped from her. Eilan would have said Cassian was channeling their father's favorite expression, the one he wore when he held all the cards yet refused to share the weight of them.

"Cassian, of course it matters," she shot back, the frustration she usually kept locked away in public rising to sharpen her tone. She held the rifle loosely in one hand, the other pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It matters what you think! Who else am I to turn to other than you when it comes to such matters?" She asked him, searching his face.

"I know what I've seen of Aurelian is not what you've seen." Her hazel eyes flashed as she leveled them on him. "And neither of you makes it easy. He baits you, and you rise to it every time."

She set her rifle down on the table and pressed both hands flat against its surface, steadying herself.

"He has learned restraint. He listens, truly listens, when it comes to concerns, and he has taken every bit of counsel I've given him since we agreed to work together." Her head lifted, her gaze steady on her brother.

"He wasn't the one who approached me to step aside from the throne, Cassian." Her sigh was quieter now, but no less weighted.

"I was the one who came to him and offered to support him, on the condition that he accept me as his gauge of temperance and accountability. As his Voice."

Her thoughts slipped to that moment when Aurelian had put it into words:

You want to be my temperance. My conscience. My hope. Do you have any idea how dangerous that makes you?
I've killed for less...and died for even less than that.
Very well. Let it be written.
​

Sibylla's fingers curled faintly against the table as she returned to the present.

"And he has more than kept his part of that bargain," she said softly, thinking about the past several months since that fragile moment in time strung on a diamond thread. That defining moment in her life.

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian listened without interruption, though the storm of her words pressed against him with more force than the rifle's recoil ever could. He saw it in the flare of her eyes, the sharp line of her shoulders, the tremor in her fingers pressed against the table. Sibylla rarely let her walls down like this, and when she did, it was not for the court, not for allies or rivals, it was for him.

When she finished, his hands sliding from behind his back to rest lightly on the edge of the table beside hers. Not overpowering, not crowding, just existing.

It was inspiring and strange how she had the power to do that. Silence him with her words, with just her presence. His mood shifted instantly, and he took a deep breath.

"That is true enough..." Cassian spoke as she spoke of the baiting. He wasn't so ignorant to realized when she was correct. "You see what I do not," he admitted, voice low. "And perhaps that is why Father placed us as he did, because where I guard, you guide."

"I cannot trust him as you do, Sibylla. To forgive every reckless word, every baited hook he casts my way. You would have me set aside the memory of years where he wielded charm like a blade, carving at our House, cutting at me. That is no small thing to ask. Could you do that with Thessaly?"

It was the same thing, at least in his mind. Cassian's green eyes held hers, steady and unwavering. "I do not deny his effort. Nor do I deny yours. But trust is not given because one demands it. It is earned, step by step. And if Aurelian keeps his word to you, then that must count for something. I don't trust him, but I do trust you."

His hand shifted slightly on the table, fingers brushing the edge of hers, just enough to soften the words. "Whatever crown he bears, whatever bargains you make, your brother will always stand beside you."

Even when it costs me, because that's what I've chosen to do. Cassian knew he had to put whatever this was with Aurelian behind him. He didn't tell her this, nor would she be able to see it, but amongst the flurry of anger, rage, compassion, honor, duty there was a small measure of fear.

He was trying...

A breeze swept across Dee'ja Peak then, tugging at their hair, carrying with it the faint scent of grapes and mountain stone. Cassian let the silence linger, leaving her the space to answer, or not.

Sibylla Abrantes

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

Sibylla let out a sharp breath, shaking her head.

She could not fault Cassian for what he felt, for it was entirely valid. But he didn't know the sort of vitriol Thessaly lashed upon Aurelian. And while one couldn't leverage that one was worse than the other, she at the very least knew that the impact was far greater when it was one own's kin who conducted the venomous tongue lashing day in and day out.

Explaining that was not something she could relay. But she also didn't want Cassian to think she wasn't on his side for all the manner of recklessness Aurelian had lashed at him at any opportunity the last few years.

"No, Cassian. I do not discount the way Aurelian has baited you, our House, or the manner of his approach. I agree with you entirely. It is juvenile and unworthy of him. I have told you both, time and again, this feud is senseless. It should be set to rest. He provokes, you oblige, and we are all treated to the same tired performance. You've been at it for years."

Her tone was stripped of its usual polish, her frustration plain.

"The truth is, there are threads where both of you are more alike than you think." She was sure Cassian was going to take offense to that, but Sibylla pushed through anyways, trying to explain, for it was Aurelian Veruna who stepped in to make sure his father's plan didn't bear fruit and saved her life, " Aurelian has honor and can do the right thing. Cassian. It may not be the sort of father that sets a precedent for our family, but he does. I wouldn't be standing here alive were it not for that."

A breath and then she continued.

"Know that I am not saying this lightly, I would defend and insist you receive the respect that you deserve. I don't enjoy it when Aurelian sinks to his proclivities to pick a fight with you. You are my brother, and I will defend you any time I must."

She sighed, her fingers running through her hair over her head before she lowered it again, hazel eyes meeting verdant green.

"So no, Cassian, I don't expect you to trust him because I say so. I agree, trust is earned, step by step. But I am asking you to please try to have a reasonable, honest conversation with him. I'll ask him the same. Gladly. However, I ask that you be willing to meet him halfway if he does. That is the only way forward."

Her chest rose with a deep breath she did not release easily. Would Aurelian even see her before their meeting? Would he want to? She pushed the thought aside before it cut too deep.

"Please. Try that, and see if perhaps you both can move forward on more solid ground than trading baited words and barbs. "

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian let the quiet stretch between them, the weight of her words pulling heavy as the light waned over the vineyards. At last, he inclined his head, the faintest exhale breaking free as though conceding something long held. She had finally spoken what had worried him so, so she wasn't blind to it at all. She could see, clearly both sides. That game him more life than anything else.

"I will try," he said simply, his voice low but certain. No bluster, no edge, just the deliberate steadiness of a promise made. His green eyes held hers, making sure she saw the truth in it. "Not for Aurelian,. But for you, Sibylla. If you believe it worth the effort, then I will give it that much. An honest attempt."

He stepped closer, resting a hand against the table near hers, the gesture grounding without pressing. "But hear me also, I will not play the fool. If he comes with barbs, I will not rise to his games. If he comes with candor, then I will meet him there. That much I can swear."

Cassian's mouth curved into the faintest wry smile, enough to soften the weight of what had passed between them. "It seems I have always been dragged toward peace by my sister's hand. So be it."

He set his hand lightly on hers atop the table, not lingering long enough to smother, only enough to ground. "Shall we go again?" He spoke motioning towards the range.

Sibylla Abrantes

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

"I'll take it," Sibylla said softly, relief slipping into her voice. "Because I do think it is worth the effort." She gave Cassian a small smile, one that brightened her face at last. He was a man of his word, and that was enough for her.

However, that smile slowly faded into something more sober as she gave a contemplative, slow nod.

"Agreed. If he acts only to bait you, then yes, best not to rise to it."

Yet Cassian's provocation that he's always dragged towards peace by her prompted a laugh, only to roll her eyes.

"Please, between you and Elian, I had no choice but to try at least some measure of peacekeeping. Perhaps that's why I joined Father in the Peace Corps in the first place."

Her teasing eased the tension for a moment, but the smile faltered quickly.

Father.

"Of course," she murmured, nodding again before tilting her head toward Cassian.

"How is Father's task for you going? Do you need any assistance?"

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Sibylla Abrantes
​

Cassian's gaze shifted, the ease he had worn a moment ago giving way to something more guarded. His hands left the rifle entirely now, clasping behind his back as though he needed the posture to keep his composure. When he spoke, his voice was low, not hushed to secrecy but weighted with the careful tone he used when words mattered more than he liked. And there he was again, torn between the telling her more that might worry her. It was a double edged sword, but he could hear her words in his mind.

"You shouldn't have to carry this alone, Cassian,"

"If you're walking into danger, then you'll have me beside you. Always."

"There have been… new developments," he admitted, eyes flicking briefly to the horizon before settling back on Sibylla. "Not with the Republic Intelligence leak—that hunt continues, with the same dead ends and whispers. This is different. Not the work, but me."

He let the statement hang for a breath, long enough that she might hear the subtle shift in him, see the hesitation in the way he stood as though choosing between silence and confession. "Something happened to me, the night of Aurelian's dinner."

His jaw tightened, and the soldier's discipline that usually kept his expression steady seemed to waver, just enough for her to glimpse the shadow beneath. "I have not yet decided when the best time was to tell you, with the coronation and such. But it is not something I can ignore, not something that fades with the passing of days."

For once, Cassian did not finish the thought neatly, did not tuck it into a soldier's report or a politician's statement. He left it unfinished, raw, his green eyes searching his sister's hazel ones with an unspoken plea for patience.

"Sit with me, Sibylla," he said finally, his tone softer. "And I'll tell you."

The dagger that he held close to him he handed it over to her. "What do you think of this dagger?" Cassian asked, not a trick question, but truthfully he was trying to buy more time before the words that he didn't want to say, finally came forth.

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

Sibylla saw it at once, the way his posture shifted, just slightly, when she mentioned Father's assignment. The way his jaw seemed to set too tightly, his eyes flicking away as if weighed down by something he hadn't yet chosen to share. Anyone else might have missed it. She couldn't. That was the curse of knowing each other so well; their walls never worked on one another.

She curled her fingers tighter around the long rifle, her knuckles turning white as Cassian admitted there had been new developments. Only it wasn't with the Intelligence leak, but with him.

Something in her belly seemed to twist at that, especially how he said something happened the night of Aurelian's dinner. For a moment, her breath hitched, her eyes narrowing as unease ran like ice down her veins, especially considering how things turned out that very same night for her. After all, Aurelian had warned her about and everything after.

So when Cassian told her to sit, while SIbylla obeyed, that unease only grew. She pulled out one of the chairs by the preparation table to sit, and while it seemed as if she was composed, her heart was already kickstarting in tension.

She took the dagger, studying. It was beautiful, yes, ornate, with its gemstones and careful design. But it told her nothing, offered no answers, and that frustrated her more than she'd admit. She turned it once more before finally passing it back.

"No," she said, shaking her head faintly. Her brow arched as her hazel eyes searched his, confusion and worry flickering behind them.

"I can't tell you anything about it."

She leaned in just a little, asking in a low and concerned voice, searching his expression for the answer.

"What happened, Cassian?"

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Sibylla Abrantes ​

Cassian's fingers lingered on the dagger a moment longer before he finally drew a breath, steady but sharp, as if bracing himself against the memory. When he spoke, his tone shifted, quieter, more deliberate, like a man recounting a truth that had cut close to the bone.

"It wasn't just the dinner, Sibylla," he said, eyes flicking briefly toward the horizon before returning to hers. "It was after. On the beach."

His jaw set, the muscle twitching once as he forced the words out evenly. "I was walking along the beach, drunk, still carrying the weight of Father's task on one shoulder and me casting my vote for Aurelian-" Cassian chuckled lightly as he shook his head, not because of the vote, but just because he shouldn't have been drinking that heavily. "The night was clear, the tide low. And then I knew, before I saw them, that I wasn't alone."

He paused, recalling it with soldier's precision. "Three shapes, waiting in the dunes. Not common thugs. Too practiced. Too patient. They moved like men who had rehearsed my death."

He went on in good length about what transpired after that, from fighting them off, to killing them all. The tide that took their bodies and almost took his before he was found by the priestess. The wounds he suffered, the dagger that pierced his abdomen, was the one she held the one he was holding on too.

"But I know this much... I should have died there, Sibylla. Someone meant me to. And yet, I didn't. Now tell me, sister, was it providence? Or was it something else entirely that spared me that night?"

Cassian took the dagger and place it back on his belt, before he looked back to her.

"With the Coronation upcoming I wanted to wait until after it was done, before I told you anything, at least until things have calmed down to discuss it. Mother and Father know, and does another one, but shes gone now."

A small hint of sadness on his mind, yet necessary.

"It seems so easy to withhold information at the time because we think its right. But sometimes the best path is throwing the truth out there."

It was clearly something he was still working on.

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

Cassian Abrantes ​

Sibylla's complexion blanched, all the color draining from her cheeks as Cassian revealed the truth of what happened that night on Kadaara. Her breath caught, her heart thundering in her chest, and it felt as if her stomach had sank away, leaving only the hollow echo of shock.

That Cassian had almost died while she had been wrecked and crying over her own tangled, confused emotions only slammed more guilt and shame onto her shoulders. This was why she could not afford to lose sight of reality, to want more than she could, why she had to keep her focus on duty, on what truly mattered.

Anything else seemed only to end up getting wrecked whenever she wanted more, hurting others due to her apprehension and indecisiveness. All because she couldn't tell what it was that she truly wanted beyond what was expected of her.

Her lower lip trembled as she drew in a breath, her mind racing ahead. What needed to be done? Who needed to be told? Aurelian, certainly. But would he even agree to see her after Kadaara?

She swallowed hard and took another deep breath, forcing herself to focus and regain a bit of her bearing and composure. Her hazel eyes lifted, locking firmly on Cassian's face as she began, mind locking down on what needed to be done.

"What do you know so far? What clues have you picked up?" Her lips pressed thin, and she added with a darker intonation of her voice as it came out with a sharper edge.

"Do you believe Thessaly could be at the root of it... or could this be the hand of another House or perhaps the Black Sun Syndicate?"

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Sibylla Abrantes ​

Cassian's eyes softened when he saw the color drain from her cheeks, but he did not interrupt her, did not reach for her hand though every instinct urged him to. He knew Sibylla well enough to recognize a battle she fought in silence.

He drew a long breath, steadying himself before answering. "I've sifted through the pieces I could gather," he said quietly. "Unfortunately there are no solid leads, If there was a message meant to be left, it was silence."

Cassian's green eyes narrowed, his voice hardening into the measured cadence of a soldier recounting threat assessments. "Her arrival at the dinner and this..... " His gaze flicked to the dagger still between them, its jeweled hilt glinting faintly. "…there is no proof. But my instincts are screaming that its her, but I won't confront her until I have proof."

He looked back to Sibylla, and his voice lowered, sharp with the weight of certainty. "Whoever it was, they meant for me to be found dead in the surf. That much I know. But I will not give them the satisfaction of panic. I will not crawl into shadows."

Cassian's gaze held hers, unwavering, green fire against her storm of hazel. "If Thessaly is the hand behind this, its brash, brave that she did this so soon. If it was Black Sun, or another House, then their coin will betray them. But until I know for certain, I will not strike blindly. But whomever it was, this dagger will find its way into their hearts." The days that had passed since them had left him with a terrible vengeance, his task forward was now clear. The assassination attempt and the leak in the Intelligence agency had to be connected somewhere. He would not rest until he found it, no matter what.

He leaned closer, voice low and resolute. "I tell you this, Sibylla, because you needed to know. Not because I want your fear. What I need from you is your eyes, your counsel. Together, we will piece this puzzle apart, thread by thread, until we find who thought the sea would claim me."

His hand finally reached out and he gently placed it on her shoulder. "Sister..."