It was hard not to think of his mother, though, when he saw the echo of her features every time he looked in the mirror. His brothers looked more like their father, with Rodrys blond hair the only hint of her, but Greave… well, his features were as soft and delicate as a mans might get, his hair falling in waves, his hands not calloused by swordplay and his body slender at twenty. Every glance at himself brought back memories of the blood, and then Greave had to retreat here, to the only place that seemed safe.

The library was one of the largest outside of the House of Knowledge, with shelf after shelf of tomes stacked high, copied by the finest hands of the scholars, or by the monks of the Isle of Leveros. There were works here that dated back before the division of the kingdoms, and Greave found that it was the only place in which he felt truly at home.

He started to read through Brother Marcuss Quotations on a Forthright Life, since the long dead monk was considered an authority, and since Greave had made it his mission to read through the entire contents of the library, but he found that he couldnt get very far before his thoughts raised natural objections.

A good man is upright and willing to trust others, he read, then shook his head. But what if the people he trusts are not worthy of it, or betray him? And this… a man should strive for hope in all things. Was he not looking at the world when he wrote this?

Greave set the book aside and turned to LeNeres On the Machinations of Government, long derided by the House of Knowledge as simply a defense of evil actions. Greave could see that, and he could certainly never imagine the destruction of entire families that the man seemed to argue for, but there were passages that simply seemed to speak to him.

The world is a bleak, cruel place, he read, and a man involved at court must recognize the truth of this. To imagine it happier, to trust or to be kind to ones enemies, is not a virtue, but a vice, for one with power must protect the lives of those he serves by any means.

Was serves the right word? Did LeNere truly conceive of rulers as serving those they ruled? Perhaps Greave would write something on it and send it to the House of Scholars to prove how much he deserved to be there, or perhaps he would write a play where a ruler who truly believed that was taken advantage of by his entire court…

Greave? Are you going to miss all of the celebrations?

He turned at the sound of Nerras voice, standing and going to hug his sister. There was always something so delicate and fragile about Nerra that it almost made his heart break.

Im hardly the best at them, he said.