Private Rainspire Return

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: The Rainspire, Parrlay, Naboo
Tags: Thessaly Veruna

Aurelian Veruna stepped back into Parrlay as though he had never left it. The Rainspire rose above him, its spires catching the stormlight that had given it its name, and for the first time since Theed had placed a crown upon his brow, he felt the weight of home press against his shoulders. Not unwelcome, not entirely... just heavy with the scent of obligation.

Inside, the halls buzzed with the muted hum of servants rushing to catch up with his sudden arrival. Aurelian's smile, dangerous and bright, carved through the stillness as he dismissed them with a wave. He had no patience for ceremony today.

Tona, his aide, kept pace beside him, a bundle of parchment tucked under her arm. "The company from Farstine is already buying up contracts, Your Grace. They're undercutting us. If you wait another week, the supply lines will belong to them."

Aurelian only half-listened, his amber eyes taking in the chamber where his cousin, Calers Veruna, waited slouched at the long table. Calers rose, stiff and reluctant, bowing a touch too shallow for a man addressing his king.

"Cousin," Aurelian said, the word wrapped in silk and thorns. "I leave you a House with dominion over every grain sack in Parrlay. I return to find strangers from Farstine feasting at our table."

Calers bristled, voice rough with offense. "It's not so simple, Aurelian. Times change. Their offers are impossible to match without bleeding us dry. You'd know that if you spent less time in Theed playing monarch and more time here."

The smile sharpened. Aurelian leaned forward, palms braced on the table, his presence filling the chamber with heat and shadow. "And you'd know, Cousin, that I don't play at anything. Not Theed. Not Parrlay. Not legacy." His gaze flicked over the scattered contracts. "House Veruna does not surrender its throne to grain merchants with fat purses. If you've grown too weary to defend it, I'll remind them, and you, why the name still carries weight."

For a long moment, cousin and king locked eyes, the air thick with unspoken challenge. Calers looked away first.

​

 

[Thessaly Veruna]

Her mourning attire had been cast aside days earlier. Instead, she wore a garment cut to her shape, seamless in appearance, and shimmering with diamond like appearance. The threads seemed to change colour as she turned, walked and moved between light sources.

Besides, of course, her fascinating endeavour with Ravion Corvalis , Thessaly had barely left their family home, instead she had had people come to her. Another caller had been dismissed, taking with them the instructions she had been carefully laying out. And now, she attended to the raised voices.

Tall wine-filled flute in hand, Thessaly walked into the room with languid grace, and did not sit on the chaise lounge, rather draped herself across it as if she were it's greatest asset.

"Aurelian. Temper yourself. We cannot afford to squander more of our family, now can we?"she said, before sipping her wine. She winced. A foul vintage. Someone would be chastised.

Her words were a subtle indication as to her suspicions about her father. She had still been forbidden to see him. Which meant, he was either dead or soon to be so. She would not put it past Aurelian to starve the man, and watch his slowly emaciating husk rot away. Such a Veruna thing to do.

"Calers. Leave us," she said with a dismissive flick of her fingers. Their cousin hesitated. Her eyes narrowed. And he left quickly, non-existant tail tucked between his legs.

Her eyes closed and she leaned back on the headrest of the chaise lounge. Her chin lifted, and her heck of ivory stretched as she sighed. It was a show of power. A throat so easily cut laid bare with no fear.

"Tell me brother...what has the King stomping his feet like a little boy, today?" She said, sipping the wine again with a wrinkling of her nose.

Aurelian Veruna​

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: The Rainspire, Parrlay, Naboo
Tags: Thessaly Veruna

Aurelian didn't turn when Thessaly's voice cut through the chamber. It was low, velvet, and held her usual hint of venom. He watched her lounge across the chaise as if the Rainspire had been built just for her comfort. Calers' retreating steps still echoed when the door slammed shut, leaving only the two of them in the charged air.

His amber eyes, restless and alive with a heat that could ignite or consume, fixed on her. He straightened, his shoulders drawing back beneath his cloak. Every line of him spoke of authority. He was no longer the boy she'd known, no longer the shadow in her wake. Aurelian Veruna was the axis upon which this house turned, and he stood as undeniable proof of it.

With measured steps, he crossed the chamber, his boots thudding softly against the marble. His dangerous smile flickered as he stopped before her. He took in the shimmer of her diamond-threaded gown, the careless arch of her neck, and the theatrics of her indulgence, then let out a faint, humorless laugh.

"How quaint," he said. "I see the ashes of mourning have already been brushed clean. Your late husband is barely cool in the grave, yet you drape yourself in gems and dismiss cousins as if they were unruly servants." His gaze narrowed, studying her as though she were an unwelcome stain upon his house's stone. "I'd hoped the estate was large enough that we might avoid each other, sister. But it seems you've found nothing better to do than haunt these halls and meddle in business that doesn't belong to you."

He loomed above her, the very image of Veruna strength. The mischief in his veins coiled beneath the crown upon his brow, restrained yet restless. His voice dropped lower, a subtle command veiled in nonchalance.

"This is official Veruna business. It's nothing of note for you. These are the affairs of kings and houses, not idle widows with too much wine in their veins. Tell me, Thessaly, how long do you intend to grace us with your presence? Surely your late husband's estate needs tending. Or do you prefer to sprawl here, plaguing my house with your boredom?"

​

 

[Thessaly Veruna]

She didn't open her eyes. Nor did she respond. Instead, her whole body seemed to settle into her comfortable rest.

She sipped the wine again. Her nose wrinkled. This time she set the glass down on the floor, beside the chaise. Her finger rounded the rim of the glass, letting out a high pitched whine.

"Ah. A sound more palatable than your voice."

Still, she did not open her eyes. Letting the moment, the refusal to abide by his cadence resonate.

"I grieved my marriage every day of its miserable reality," she said finally, lips curling in disdain, "he was a vile, hedonist of a man. And I am now free of his loathsome touch...forever."

She knew that he had known her mourning was merely mockery of the format. Despite his oddities, she trusted him to be wise enough to understand that much.

Finally, she opened her eyes, tilting her chin just enough to lock eyes with Aurelian. She smiled, but only barely. There was something in him that she actually respected. A glimmer of value. Bah, likely to be snuffed out by that filthy Abrantes girl.

"I am as much Veruna as you are, little King," she said, pursing her lips in a mockery of contemplation, "and it is best you make use of me, rather than cast me aside. You should know better than all...Veruna's make the worst of enemies."

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: The Rainspire, Parrlay, Naboo
Tags: Thessaly Veruna

Aurelian's smirk lingered, then he let out a sharp exhale, a sound somewhere between amusement and derision. With ease, he sank into the couch opposite of her. He seemed to lounge, yet his posture held no real relaxation. His amber eyes fixed on Thessaly, noting the subtle curl of her smile, the underlying venom clinging to her every small movement. The corner of his mouth twitched before he let out a low, humorless laugh, sharp with mockery.

"Sounds to me as though you and your dearly departed were made for one another," he said at last. "Vile, you say? Hedonist? Loathsome?" His gaze sharpened, a dangerous brightness lighting his eyes. "Strange, sister. Every word you spoke was as fine a reflection of yourself as any mirror in this palace." He leaned back, stretching one arm along the couch, his eyes still burning into her, as if he could strip away her diamonds and silks to find whatever raw iron she believed she concealed. "After all, don't we all attract what we are? You two deserved each other."

With a deliberate turn of his head, Aurelian glanced away, out through the wide windows. For a moment, his features softened in profile, revealing a calculated rather than gentle expression. He let her voice fill the chamber, her words about her Veruna blood fading into his ears like static. Veruna as much as him? The thought tightened the corners of his mouth. She had been gone, years vanished into the decadence of another man's house, another name's wealth. She returned only now, when Naboo gleamed brighter under his crown. And yet, he could not deny the kernel of truth that their name bound them both, whether he liked it or not.

He turned back, his dangerous smile blooming once more, slow and deliberate. "Perhaps," he admitted, the word soft but threaded with steel.

He leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees, his voice dropping to an almost conspiratorial tone. "Maybe another marriage would do well. Surely now, as King, I can draw a wealthier suitor for you. Nobles would pay handsomely to have Veruna blood woven into their line. Wealthy merchants, desperate governors; I'm certain we could even find someone with your taste for cruelty, if that's what keeps you entertained." He paused, savoring the sting before letting the knife slide in deeper. "It doesn't matter to me who takes you, sister. As long as it keeps your schemes far from Naboo. Far from me."

​

 

[Thessaly Veruna]

Her lips curved into the faintest smile, though her eyes never softened. She let his words hang in the air, unacknowledged, as though they were nothing more than the background drone of distant cicadas.

One hand drifted down the slit of her gown, nails tracing along the curve of her bare knee with languid indulgence. The gesture was careless, sensual, deliberate. A taunt.

“A remarriage?” Her voice was velvet dipped in spite. “How droll. Even a fool knows to keep their enemies close… so tell me, brother...what does that make you?”

At last, her gaze slid to him, sharp as a heels of her shoes. The smile remained, but it was the smile of a woman who had already won. She leaned back further, arms stretching with feline like ease along the chaise, her throat bared in effortless defiance.

“I would dearly love to know what Father thinks of all this.”

The words lingered. Thunder roared outside the large windows, daring him to deny her suspicions, daring him to confess.

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: The Rainspire, Parrlay, Naboo
Tags: Thessaly Veruna

Aurelian's laugh came sharp and sudden, a cutting sound that echoed off the marble and swallowed the thunder outside. He leaned back against the couch, shoulders rolling into a posture of careless ease, though the fire in his amber eyes betrayed how little ease he truly felt. His lips parted in a smirk that was all edge, no warmth.

"A fool?" he echoed, letting the word drip from his tongue as if it were a poor vintage. "No, Thessaly. I am no fool. Just unwilling to entertain your little illusions." His gaze lingered on her sprawl, on the cruel leisure in her gestures, before narrowing with deliberate precision. "You call us enemies, yet only moments ago you reminded me, oh, so proudly, that you are as much Veruna as I. So which is it? Sister or foe?"

He leaned forward, elbows braced against his knees, his voice dipping lower, silk over steel. "If you are truly a Veruna, then you will fulfill your duty to the House. You will serve its interests, not merely your own. That is what binds us."

For a moment, the dangerous smile softened into something wry, playful even, though the glint in his eyes made it clear he was amusing himself more than offering her any true kindness. "Perhaps," he mused, tilting his head as though weighing the idea aloud, "I should marry you off to Cassian Abrantes. Ship the two of you to Geonosis, give you both a nest of dust and bones to gnaw on. Kill two birds with one stone. Tempting, isn't it?" The laughter that followed was low and dangerous, curling with satisfaction at the thought.

Then her words struck him: Father. The mirth in his smile faltered. He turned his head slowly, studying her from the corner of his eye, the amber in his gaze darkened by suspicion. The stormlight flashing through the windows cut across his cheekbones, sharpening the sudden stillness in his face.

"You are free to ask him, if you can find him," Aurelian said at last, his tone flat, too measured to be casual. He let the words hang, heavy with implication. "Though it is curious… that he slipped from the dungeons the same night you returned. Convenient, isn't it?"

​

 

[Thessaly Veruna]

For a moment, the control wavered. Her nails dug into her knee at the mention of Cassian Abrantes. As quickly as she dropped her defences, they were back up.

"Seems you have the 'marry an Abrantes' routine down, little brother," she said, fingers coming to wipe her lips of unspent venom.

She swung her legs over the seat, pivoting to stand. As she walked over to him, she offered him what could pass as a friendly smile, if not for the eyes that bore all her loathing. "Sister or foe? Clearly you do not know how this family operates. It is a good thing I am here to...educate...you."

With a smooth movement, Thessaly sat next to her brother, leaned on his shoulder, chest pressing into his arm. Her eyes looked up at him, while her fingers played with the soft curls of his hair. "You really have turned out to be quite beautiful, Aurelian. You have that same softness about you that mother once had. I can see why the Abrantes girl fawns all over you. If only she knew the truth of who you really were."

She pouted. "You know full well that I do not know where our father is, and yet you try to pawn the blame off on me. You are getting sloppy, little King," she said, his hair curled around her finger as she gave a not-so-careful tug.

She turned away, released his hair, and leaned her head against his shoulder, while her arm wrapped around his. It was a show of familial ownership that was unearned. Thessaly had never been asked when it came to physical contact. Aurelian would survive.

"I heard your concerns. About the Farstine corporations undercutting us. I know you do not trust me...brother...I wouldn't. But you should trust one thing, I want the name of House Veruna to be...supreme. Of course, I want myself to be at the head, but in the meantime...a wise king would use this ambition to his own advantage," she said, volume barely registering now as she seemed to muse out loud, "you do not need to divide your attention. I could...help...you."

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: The Rainspire, Parrlay, Naboo
Tags: Thessaly Veruna

Aurelian glanced skyward at her jab about marrying an Abrantes, a look of tired amusement mixed with pure exasperation. "Yes, yes," he muttered under his breath.

When Thessaly closed the distance, he subtly angled his shoulder away, a smooth but deliberate movement. The instant her fingers began to toy with his curls, his hand shot up like a striking viper, knocking hers away. "Don't," he said, then shifted deeper into the cushions, forcefully reclaiming the space her presence had tried to consume.

Her voice droned on, a poisonous mix of mockery and honey. For a time, he just let her speak, his amber gaze fixed on the fire, treating her like background noise. But her last words pricked him sharper than she knew. With a sudden, deliberate motion, Aurelian rose to stand over her.

"You mistake me, Thessaly," he said, his tone like velvet-sheathed steel. "I dismiss you because I know you, not because you are my sister. Every word, every smile, every touch is only for yourself, never truly for the House. You speak of Veruna supremacy, but you only mean your own power. Your own blood."

He clasped his hands behind his back, "I will not let you undermine me. Not now. I dragged this House up from the gutter it was rotting in. I bled to make it stand tall again."

Aurelian paced a single step, then pivoted back, his gaze narrowing like a predator scenting prey. "Calers will do his part just fine. The Farstine jackals may test us, but they are not beyond my reach. I have massive resources now: armies, coin, and alliances you wouldn't dare dream of. I absolutely do not need your help."

His voice dropped low, quiet, yet all the more cutting for the restraint. "And as for father... the timing is too neat, too clean. If you genuinely don't know where he is, you should consider how incredibly convenient that looks."

​