The atmosphere in the Rowanhart viscount's home has lightened considerably since they received Lenore's first letter. It's amazing how much of a difference a few words can make, even if the shock of the first letter remained. Her little sister is a duchess in another territory. Vella has trouble wrapping her head around that idea.
They've exchanged several letters with Lenore since then, but never about anything too important. It's difficult after so many years have passed in silence, so the family decided it would be better to keep the content in their letters light. While Vella feels like this method comes with a reminder of the distance that's grown between them and Lenore, she knows that saying too much too soon can end up burdening her.
Oh well. At least they're communicating now. The distance can be closed in time.
Vella hands her cloak off to one of their few servants when she enters the manor. She's made an effort to stop sleeping in her office at the Tower in order to come home almost every day. There's always a day or two when her research really can't wait, or times when she needs to help other mages. And of course, the Tower can send her on errands without warning. Some days she wonders why she chose this path in the first place.
She heads to her father and brother's shared office first, entering after a quick knock on the door when she sees light escaping through the gap at the bottom. "Another late night?"
Evander groans. "Of course it is. Trying to figure out the logistics of attending the emperor's birthday banquet is annoying at best. I understand now why lower nobles tend to skip it."
As a mage, Vella has had the option of attending the emperor's birthday banquet since she joined the Tower. However, it's true that nobles with lower ranks are generally excluded. It's expensive to travel to the capital, especially for families who have to find a place to stay for the duration of the event because they don't own a townhouse or any property close to the capital.
"Well, it's for the sake of seeing Lenore again," Vella says. "Did we get any letters from her today?"
Her father gestures to an envelope sitting in the corner of his desk. "You did."
Vella picks it up and opens it. It's strange that the letter is only addressed to her. Usually, Lenore addresses it to their father, and the letter inside is for all of them.
As soon as she starts reading its contents and sees that one page is from the duke, she understands. "It's a request."
"For what?" Evander asks, his exhaustion overpowered by curiosity.
"It seems that Barrowmere's teleportation circle is in need of repairs. They need a mage's help to fix it, so I guess they wanted to ask me before officially asking the Tower to send a mage. That's rather thoughtful of the duke, and it seems like Lenore wants me to agree."
Her dad looks almost sad. "You're heading to Barrowmere, then?"
Vella nods. "It seems that way. I have a lot to do before I can even leave, but I guess I'll need to hurry before winter and its unpredictable weather make the trip longer than it needs to be."
Evander taps his finger on the smooth wood of his desk. "We should send gifts for Lenore with you. It's the first chance we have to give her more than letters."
"Sure. I'll deliver gifts if you send them along." Vella folds the letters back up and heads to her own bedchamber, forming a mental list of everything she needs to do before she can leave.
She starts by writing a letter to the duke, accepting his request for help. Along with that, she asks him about the equipment left behind in Barrowmere's abandoned Mage Tower. As far as she knows, no mage has been to that branch in decades. However, it's possible that the tools she needs are still there. If not, then that's another thing she has to consider.
Next, she writes a formal request for the Tower to approve her journey to Barrowmere as official business. There's no reason for the high mages to deny her request, but they need to keep track of everybody involved with the Tower. After all, a mage defecting could cause untold chaos depending on the strength of their magic. She doesn't enjoy the paperwork she has to do as a result of that reason, but she understands the necessity.
Beyond this, it's going to be a matter of packing what she needs and getting together the gifts her family wants to send along. Vella thinks that she should pick up a gift of her own to give Lenore, but the thought is almost intimidating. She has no idea what Lenore likes now.
Vella suspects that the only person who will get a good night's rest is her mother, who's already in bed and asleep by this time. Once she learns that Vella is heading to Barrowmere, however, she doubts that'll be the case for at least a few nights. Instead, her mother will rush around, trying to make sure that Vella has everything she needs and that Lenore is able to feel their love through gifts.
For now, Vella flops onto her bed and thinks about all the times she tried to use magic to break into her uncle's manor in order to see Lenore. She wasn't strong back then. Her magic was new and unfamiliar, and that meant there was no way for her to get past the layers of protection magic that encompassed the estate.
It's hard to believe that so much time has passed since then. She's finally about to see her sister again. With that in mind, she's afraid to go to sleep, wondering if this will all have been a dream when she wakes up in the morning.
But she knows logically that isn't the case, so instead she hopes that the day of her departure arrives quickly.