CHAPTER 391: WINTER AS A KNIGHT (CASTLE BONUS CHAPTER)

Irene’s heart began to feel full again, and she attached herself to Felix’s side as usual. They were inseparable as they helped the apprentices every morning with Gunnar and attended their duties, crossing paths a few times here and there.

However, on one particular pass by each other, they happened to be in the practice yard when the sky opened up again and snowflakes, even larger than the ones they experienced before, started falling out of the heavens and accumulating on earth.

"And here I was thinking it might be a mild winter since the snow already melted once," Irene admitted.

"Never doubt Chemois," Felix reminded her. "I don’t know why I’m telling you this when you’ve been here your entire life as well."

Irene grinned. "Wishful thinking, Felix. I would like one day to experience a southern winter. What’s it like to see winter solstice without a bit of snow on the ground?"

There was another passing by them who could answer their curiosities.

"Actually, winters by the southern coast still get frozen occasionally even if the snow doesn’t fall," their Commander explained. "The air feels heavy because of its natural moisture by the ocean. The sky is always cloudy there at this time of year."

"The grasses still die?" Irene wondered.

"Yes, no leaves on trees unless they’re pine and the grasses turn yellow," Henry admitted.

Irene let out a light "hmm..." and contemplated it for a few moments as her eyes lifted to the sky once more.

"Then perhaps I prefer winters here," she admitted. "Even on the most frigid of days, the sky is too cold to hold clouds, and we get to see the sun even if nothing thaws out."

"Although, based on the mass of clouds, I don’t think we’ll be seeing the sun anytime soon," Felix admitted. "This is the real first snow. Whatever happened last was a fluke."

"Then I suppose it really is time to hibernate," Irene admitted. "What will duties turn into now, Commander?"

The Commander’s dark eyes went from the sky down to his second and third in command, he became thoughtful.

"What do you normally do in the winter here?" he wondered. "The last time I was here while the snow fell, we were in a war."

Irene was in a good mood and she continued smiling. "Knight school," she explained. "The apprentices’ duties tend to lessen during this time of year and we go inside to teach them the more practical sides of knighthood. There was a time we had to present our research on monsters to one another."

"I had dragons," Felix remembered fondly.

"I had wyrms," Irene explained.

However, it did put a bit of a chill down her back because she would forever have a different view of wyrms after her experience in the north.

"What about the knights?" the Commander wondered. "I imagine there isn’t much for them to do either when the snow is falling like this."

"Most who have families return to them," Felix explained. "Then they handle the protection of their various regions while they’re there so that the load is lessened for you."

"So the north truly hibernates," the Commander realized. "I suppose I shouldn’t stop this tradition going forward."

"Everyone would be appreciative," Irene admitted. "It seems to boost morale to be able to go off and see your families while the sun isn’t shining and things feel a bit bleak."

At that, she felt her Commander gazing at her and it was making her unsettled.

"Then I’m not the one who feels a bit down in the cold weather," Henry admitted.

"Not at all, Commander," Irene assured him. "We’re all a bit low this time of year. At times, the practices in the morning are only there for the apprentices because it gives them something to look forward to."

Before much more could be said, the Commander realized Blade was on the roof.

"It looks like the bird has a letter, so I ought to move on," the Commander suggested. "I’m sure you will hear from me again regarding the knighthood’s plans this winter."

"Yes, sir," Irene uttered as she headed inside to oversee the apprentices who were in the armory and shining armor of those who had just returned.

Not long after she departed from Felix and Henry, Irene was shocked to see the Commander eventually make it down to the basement.

"Is there something else you need to know about the winter?" Irene wondered.

The Commander shook his head.

"Turns out Blade’s letter was actually for you," he explained.

"Ah, thank you," she responded. "I will read it in a sitting room. The apprentices need little oversight in this task."

The Commander nodded and returned to his study, where he had been spending most of his time collaborating with the nobles sprinkled across the duchy. It seemed that since other processes slowed down in the winter, it was the ideal time for the nobles to begin their letter writing because he felt there was a new hawk on his windowsill each morning.

Surprised to see her parents writing her, Irene found a spot in the sitting room off of the dining hall and near the fireplace. She opened the letter carefully after removing her gloves and she went over the words from both her father and mother.

It seemed timely that htis letter would be given to her now. As she made it to the end, slight disappointment sprouted in her heart.

It seemed that her parents had gone to visit her mother’s family in the south since Arthur’s joints were starting to ache in the cold weather. Since he had to wear a metal hand to be able to do anything, Irene could only be understanding.

She wouldn’t be returning to her family, after all.

For a few days, the duties changed once more and when she wasn’t with the apprentices, she was in her room simply going through the few books she had herself. Most of them had to do with the volna studies, but all she was doing was reading and rereading, hoping that it would stick to her memory and be useful in the future.

However, that did get a bit boring after a while.

There was only a break in her schedule when the Commander summoned all the knights back to the tower.