Samantha Edwhan

End of the Winter Star

Chapter 3

The day came to an end and Gerold took Luana and Markos back to the castle. He was glad to have a day with his older two offspring. It was refreshing to just be a father and not have to worry about his duties to the Calndom or how others might perceive him. The older nobles cared so much about image. Gerold didn’t fully understand why when younger generations didn’t have the same worries. But perhaps it was something he or his family would understand in time.

Upon entering the castle, Gerold spotted Misti, Clement, and Modesty sitting by the stairs with a collection of wood carved toys. It wasn’t unusual for Misti to set up a little play area for them on the ground floor of the castle. But Gerold recognised a tension in the air that suggested the play had gotten out of hand.

“Modesty, give that one back to Clement,” Misti said. Her tone was a strained mixture of stern and gentle. “You have all these other toys to play with instead.”

“But I want this one!” Modesty complained, clutching the wooden dragon in question to her chest.

“It's okay, Mum. I'll just play with this one,” Clement said, reaching for another toy.

“No! That's mine!” Modesty snatched the second toy away with a hiss.

“Modesty! Don't hiss at your brother. It's not polite,” Misti scolded. Modesty hissed again and scurried away, scooping up as many of the toys as she could. Gerold watched her crouch over the toys as he approached Misti.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Misti sighed. “They were just fine playing with their toys together. But then Modesty decided she wanted one of Clement’s toys, then another, and another. Before I knew it, she had taken almost all of the toys for herself. I was trying to teach her to share, but she wouldn’t listen. And now she’s started hissing at everyone.”

“Perhaps we should use a distraction tactic,” Gerold suggested. “Modesty, would you like to play some games with our family tonight?”

Modesty’s head popped up. “What type of games?”

“Board games, card games, anything that we can all play together.” Gerold said.

Modesty grinned and jumped to her feet. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

Gerold smiled and turned to Misti. “How about you get Griffin and meet us in the Sun Room? I’ll take these guys upstairs to get set up.”

“Thank you.” Misti had a small, but genuine smile.

Gerold turned to Markos next. “Son, could you go find your mother and brother for our game night?”

Markos nodded and hurried up the stairs. Gerold gathered Luana, Modesty, and Clement with him and led the way to the Sun Room.

The Sun Room was on the top floor of the castle. There was a large window on one side that completely filled the wall. Because the Sun Room was on the North side of the castle, there was a view of the gate, allowing anyone in the room to see dragons entering or exiting the castle grounds. But the reason Gerold loved the Sun Room was for all the light that came in from that same window. The room was pleasantly warm, despite the cooler evening air outside. Gerold couldn’t help but feel relaxed whenever he came in here.

There was a stack of games in the corner, carefully tucked away behind a small piller designed to protect the boxes from the sunlight. Gerold placed a wing on Luana’s back and nudged her towards it.

“I’d like you to choose the game today, Luana,” Gerold told her softly.

“Really?” Luana smiled, her eyes widening slightly.

“Of course. You know what games you can play,” Gerold said. “Which would you like to play today?”

Luana was quiet for a moment as she thought. When she spoke she suggested, “Animal Pairs? We can make groups of two in order to play.”

“The card game?” Gerold was surprised by her choice but ultimately smiled. “Of course. Who would you like to team up with?”

Luana grinned. “You, of course.”

Gerold laughed as he picked out the small cardbox. “I’m flattered.”

He settled near the centre of the room and started unpacking and shuffling the cards. Luana sat on his right while Modesty and Clement sat opposite them.

“Wait. We’re playing Animal Pairs? That’s for nestlings!” Modesty complained.

“Now, now, Modesty. This is a fun game for anyone,” Gerold said.

“No, it’s not,” Modesty growled. “Why can’t I choose the game?”

“You can choose the next game,” Gerold told her. “We’ll have plenty of time for multiple games.”

“Well, then I’m going to choose Criss Cross,” Modesty said.

Clement nudged her with his wing. “Modesty, that’s not fair to Luana. She won’t be able to see any of the letters.”

“That’s her problem.” Modesty’s dark blue gaze darted over to Luana. “Maybe she shouldn’t have chosen a game for hatchlings.”

“It’s for nestlings and fledglings, Modesty,” Luana said.

“That’s enough,” Gerold said gently. “We’re all family here.”

Modesty continued to eye Luana, but didn’t say anything else. Gerold wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to keep her from having a tantrum, but he took it as a blessing for now.

Markos soon entered the room with Adelaide and Jakob close behind. Misti and Griffin joined them shortly after too. Gerold explained which game they were playing and that they were playing in groups of two. Griffin and Misti each paired up with Modesty and Clement while Markos and Adelaide sat down together. Adelaide wrapped a wing around Jakob, bringing him into their team of three.

With everyone ready and the cards passed around, they all settled into the game for the evening. Jakob, being the youngest, didn’t really play according to the rules of the game, but Adelaide and Markos were happy to entertain him. Gerold always made sure Luana knew what cards were visible and let her make the decisions for their turns. Modesty had a couple of tantrums throughout the game, but all the adults were able to quell her rage without trouble.

Gerold enjoyed nights like this. Nights where the Everharts and the Silvers all sat together and acted like one big family. He was happy to have made his best friend the Prinze.