#zaida 001

[feraylocke]

closed starter: @zaidamanderly setting: the living quarters of new castle, white harbor while most of the household are away because of the war in the north.

the moment the sky turned black and threatening clouds rolled in, feray quickly feared what might be coming. it had been like this since she was a child. she slowly put down the book that she was reading, trying to quiet her breathing so she could listen for the all-familiar rumble in the distance. but instead of a low rumble, the sound was loud and sudden. with a hand to her chest, feray jolted from her seat and immediately began sprinting down the hall. the book laid forgotten on the floor behind her. the keep was quiet, most of its occupants gone, and luckily no one was around to see her running towards her chambers. she was quickly out of breath, but the adrenaline from the terror she felt deep in her bones kept her going even when she started to feel weak.

as feray approached her chambers with heaving breaths, she saw zaida standing outside her door. without even uttering a word, she quickly grabbed the hand of her friend and pulled her inside the chambers. she slammed the door after them and dragged the manderly underneath the covers of her bed as another loud rumble filled the air. she allowed a little crack between the bed and the covers to let in some light. "i really do hate storms." feray sent zaida a sheepish smile as she uttered those words. of course, the manderly lady already knew how she felt about thunder and lightning. it was not the first time that zaida was hiding under the covers with feray.

"one day the bards will write songs of my bravery, i just know it," feray joked softly. she had always been good at poking fun at herself. a consequence of growing up with brothers and then all the manderly siblings. if she did not make fun of herself, someone else would surely beat her to it. she knew her fear was stupid. women of her age should not be hiding from storms... and yet here she was again, telling herself that next time she would be brave, next time she would face her fear. and she had said so the last hundred times.