Nabil stared at a corner of the room where cobwebs had once more appeared overnight. At first he had hated the smaller rooms in the far corner of the Oban estate, the desert nights seemingly colder in this area more so than others, but after a while he had grown to appreciate the solitude and quiet that they could have in these quarters. His main concern had been for Nabila, due to her health, but he had managed to work his way with the few loyal servants who still wanted to help out and had gotten spare blankets and even renovated the room more to help better insulate it. There weren’t luxuries in this room, not like the rooms they had before with silk curtains, plush beds and anything else Nabil had ever wanted where servants could easily appear with trays of food and delicacies for them to enjoy. At least now though they had some things in this smaller space, gifts that Nabil sneaked in after earning favors that didn’t have their step-mother raising a brow at his behavior as a threat to her son, their younger half-brother. Nabil could still remember the emptiness of the space when they first arrived with only worn down and somewhat broken furniture to greet them. He hadn’t felt comfortable separating from his twin and it benefited the family to have the pair share this space now that they weren’t necessities, more like shadows that were to be tucked away in some corner as to not taint the family name any further after their mother’s attempt to murder the true heir. He had worked hard over the last few years to avoid his step-mother’s wrath and at least now there was a carpet, admittedly thin and worn with ragged edges but still a carpet, that stretched across the floor and a pouch of coins hidden beneath the floorboards for when Nabil could finally get out of this place with his twin. One day he would have a place for them where they didn’t have to worry about spies and how stale or moldy the food for the day would be, Nabil just had to wait for the perfect moment whenever Nabila agreed with him to leave. Nabil nodded at the thought, suppressing the sigh that threatened to escape as he ignored the cobwebs today to instead focus on dressing himself so that he could greet his sister. Today was somewhat special, the rest of the family was away in Jatine for the next couple of days to attend some social event and so he thought it best to see if Nabila wanted to enjoy the day together without interference from their step-mother. Most of the servants were gone even to help out with the event so it was even less eyes following their every move for once.

“Nabila? Are you awake?” He called out softly, knocking against the thin door that connected their adjoining rooms. He had left a note last night about going out today, but wasn’t certain if she was feeling up to an excursion or if they should try to simply sneak into the kitchens for food and walk the gardens instead while the rest were away.

Elyessi