It takes almost an hour for Lenore to compose herself, a deep ache settling behind her eyes from sobbing. Alaric leads them to a reception room where they're served tea and refreshments. Although he has every right to have Lenore sit beside him, he lets her stick to Vella's side across the table from him.
If she wasn't already overwhelmed by the unexpected flurry of feelings that seeing Vella brought up, she'd have to work to keep her heart from fluttering at the genuine kindness that Alaric always shows her. At the moment, her emotions feel too raw to process any other shifts in her mood.
"So, a broken teleportation circle?" Vella is careful when she takes a sip of her tea, leaving the saucer on the table so Lenore can keep gripping her hand.
"It's more rundown and in need of repairs than outright broken," Alaric says. "As you likely know from being a mage, the Tower stopped using the branch set up in Barrowmere decades ago. The result is that the locations and objects they tended to have been largely forgotten."
Vella nods, and Lenore notices that her expression stays relatively unchanged aside from slightly pursing her lips. "I won't know how long the repairs will take until I see the circle myself."
"Naturally."
Alaric explained to Lenore in the weeks leading up to Vella's visit that the repairs aren't an urgent issue but that it's important to handle them before they become an urgent issue. He didn't elaborate on why he decided to repair it now after decades of leaving it alone, but she didn't ask. She understood that the point was to let her know that Vella doesn't need to push herself to meet a non-existent deadline.
Lenore idly snacks on the refreshments while Alaric and Vella discuss official matters. It's the first time she's been part of a meeting that doesn't directly involve her, and she's well aware that the only reason she's here is because Vella is her sister. But this is a rare chance for her to observe Alaric as he works.
He's focused—the years of loneliness are hidden behind the clarity and decisiveness of an experienced leader. Lenore wonders if this is what he was always like before the curse. Then, she remembers the version of Alaric that appears in her strange dreams, where his heart is still light and his smiles are freely given.
Somehow, those different variations of him just feel like they fit together to make Alaric Barrowmere, even if time, loss, and loneliness have hidden away pieces of him. For Lenore, he doesn't need to find those hidden pieces to be a presence she seeks out. He doesn't need to say or do anything other than be himself with his kind heart.
It leaves her thinking how lucky she is to have replaced Alina and marry him instead. A year ago, Lenore couldn't imagine escaping the tyrannical home of her uncle.
Alaric is the one who ends the official part of the meeting, excusing himself to prepare a carriage and guards that'll take Vella to both the Tower and teleportation circle after she's had the chance to rest for a few days. Once he leaves the room, Vella drops the formalities and starts trying the refreshments. The servants took care when they prepared for this meeting, including a mix of sweet and savory options that aren't too heavy on the stomach but filling enough to be satisfying.
"The chef is good," Vella says, refilling her teacup for the third or fourth time. Lenore lost track. "I'm glad. It means you're being well-fed."
Lenore thinks back to her kitchen visit, smiling at the memory. "The kitchen staff is filled with wonderful people, and the chef made sure that I was able to eat and take medicine when I had a fever by making me the same dishes his children like when they're sick."
Vella looks at Lenore for a long moment, her gaze wistful. "We were all scared to hear that you were married off, but it looks like this has been good for you."
"It's salvation." Lenore shifts her attention to the table, unwilling to meet Vella's eyes when she continues. "I didn't realize how awful it was at Uncle's estate until the people of Barrowmere showed me basic decency and kindness without asking for anything in return."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you."
"What could you have done?" Although Lenore says it without malice, Vella's expression twists.
"Anything. I studied magic as much as possible to learn how to break the wards on Uncle's estate, but I was never good enough."
The idea of a younger Vella trying to fight against the protection of an entire estate pulls an unexpected laugh from Lenore. "You did that?"
One corner of Vella's mouth raises into a half-smile at her reaction. "Yeah. I did. We all tried to bring you home in whatever ways we thought might work, but it always seemed like the entire empire was against us."
This time, it's Vella who starts crying. She covers her eyes with her hand as if it's something she needs to hide from Lenore.
With a touch of hesitation, Lenore puts her arm around Vella, moving slowly in case Vella would rather shake off her touch and be left to cry without comfort. "There were times when I believed Uncle's words. That I thought Mom and Dad sent me away because they didn't want me anymore. But I think that there was always some part of me that knew the truth."
"We never gave up."
Lenore bites her lower lip in an attempt to stop more tears from falling down her own face, but it's a futile effort. "Thank you."
Those two words don't feel like enough to convey everything Lenore wants to say, but it's a start. She has time now to figure out how to express the emotions that built up over a decade and those that came with the truth being revealed.
For now, she clutches Vella as tightly as Vella clutches her, certain that their crying is loud enough to be heard in the hallways.
Later, Lenore's maids don't comment on her swollen eyes. Instead, they simply bring her a basin of warm water and a cloth to put over them in order to soothe the pain.