Chapter 108 - Birthday

Chapter 108: 108 - Birthday

Evelyne woke before sunrise, as she did most mornings. There was nothing unusual about the day when she opened her eyes.

Grey light pressed faintly against the curtains, and for a few seconds she stayed still while her mind arranged everything that needed doing before breakfast.

She washed, dressed, and tied her hair back with the same care she gave everything else. The grey streak at her temple had grown more noticeable over the last few months, but Evelyne had stopped noticing it, since there were more important things to worry about. By the time she left her room, the house was already awake.

The first part of her morning disappeared into documents: grain inventories from the lower holdings, repair costs from the damaged fences, reports from the city administration, and several letters

Evelyne read everything once, then again where it mattered. Greymoor had improved considerably since Adrien took over, but improvement created its own work.

More soldiers meant more wages, and more people returning to Clairmont territory meant more contracts, disputes and requests landing on her desk.

Garrick arrived shortly after breakfast. He looked better than he had after the attack, although Evelyne still tracked the way he moved whenever he thought nobody was paying attention.

"The southern patrol needs another six men," Evelyne said, sliding a report toward him. "Not permanently. Until the road traffic settles."

Garrick read the page before nodding. "I can move four from the western watch and ask Marek for two more. He owes me at least that much."

"Do that. And tell them I don’t want unnecessary stops on merchant wagons. We need people comfortable using those roads again."

"I’ll see to it."

Vikir came next, carrying three sealed letters and a list of messages that had arrived overnight, and he had become steadily more useful since the Arquenay matter. Evelyne handed him two letters of her own.

"One goes to the city office. The other to the millers. I want answers before the end of the week."

Vikir accepted both. "And the third?"

"Stays here until I decide whether replying is worth the time."

He nodded and left without asking who had written it. The rest of the morning passed in much the same way.

Orders, accounts, names and numbers filled the hours until she finally reached the bottom of the last page on her desk. She signed it, set the pen down and turned toward the window, and for once nothing demanded her attention, which was rare enough that she decided not to waste it.

There was a sitting room on the ground floor she preferred when the house was quiet. One of the servants usually kept green tea ready around that hour.

he left the office and walked there unhurried. The corridor was oddly empty, though Greymoor was large and people had work to do, so she thought little of it.

Evelyne reached the sitting room and opened the door.

"Happy birthday."

She stopped in the doorway. Adrien stood near the table with Ariane beside him, and Garrick and Vikir were there as well, both considerably less formal than they had been an hour earlier.

Amelia waited near the windows with Lucien, and behind them were Vael and several plates of food. For several seconds Evelyne studied them without saying anything, because she had honestly forgotten what day it was.

Ariane reached her first. "We thought you might actually work through the whole day if nobody stopped you."

Evelyne turned from her daughter to Adrien. "You arranged this?"

"Most of it," Adrien said. "Ariane remembered the important part."

That meant the date. Evelyne felt something tighten briefly in her chest, though she kept her expression under control.

"You all came here for this?"

Vael inclined his head. "It seemed like a good enough reason to leave Elyndor for a few hours. The forest manages without me."

Amelia smiled. "And we wanted to see you."

Lucien nodded beside her. "Happy birthday, Lady Clairmont."

"Thank you."

Evelyne stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her. There were no grand decorations, only a small cake, several dishes, tea already prepared, and people she actually wanted in the room, which suited her better than any ceremony would have.

Ariane picked up a small wooden box from the table. "This is from both of us."

Evelyne glanced between her children before accepting it. "You didn’t need to get me anything."

"We wanted to," Adrien said.

She opened the box. Silver earrings rested against dark fabric, each set with a deep green stone and a smaller one beneath it. They were simple, elegant, and exactly what Evelyne would actually wear, and her fingers stayed on the edge of the box for a moment.

"They’re beautiful."

Ariane’s shoulders eased. "We thought the silver would suit you."

"It does."

Evelyne raised her eyes to Adrien. "And you helped choose them?"

"I did."

That mattered more than she expected. "Thank you. Both of you."

Garrick poured the tea while Amelia helped Ariane with the plates and Vael settled near the window, and Evelyne sat down among them.

For the next hour, nobody spoke about taxes, borders, monsters, court decisions or missing money. Nobody asked Evelyne for permission, signatures or instructions.

The conversation stayed small and ordinary, drifting between food, travel, Elyndor and Greymoor, none of which needed solving.

At some point Evelyne realized she had finished an entire cup of tea without once thinking about what she needed to do afterward. She studied the room again. Adrien was there, Ariane was there, Garrick was alive and the house was standing. Amelia and Lucien looked comfortable enough to belong there, and even Vael seemed content to stay quiet.

The last months had taken more from her than she had allowed herself to think about: Alaric, the trial, the attacks, and the constant feeling that if she stopped moving for even a day, something else would collapse. Evelyne reached over and touched the small box beside her plate.

"I didn’t realize how much I needed this."

The room grew quieter, and she waited until she had everyone’s attention before continuing.

"After everything that’s happened, I think I forgot what it felt like to have a day that wasn’t about fixing something."

Adrien’s expression softened. "Then don’t fix anything today. The paperwork will still be there tomorrow."

Evelyne considered her son for a moment, then picked up her tea again.

"For a few more hours, I think I can manage that."