Chapter Text
Summer at Olau was still, the hot air thick with humidity. The keep was still, too, with its lord and lady gone visiting to more temperate climes. The guard at the gate offered to find Alanna, but he seemed uncertain as to her whereabouts and anyway, he was the only one on duty there. Kel declined his offer. “I'll just poke around myself, if that's all right?” she suggested, and the guard gave her a relieved bow and let her pass.
After touring what felt like all of Olau's grounds, Kel found Alanna at last, in a courtyard tucked behind the main keep, between two guest wings that had been added well after the original structure was built. The sun beat down directly, heating the brick paths that led from one side of the courtyard to the other. On a section of path, Alanna lay on her back, eyes closed, smiling up into the sun.