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The Leveilleur estate felt particularly big when one was alone. Confined in this room as he was, Alphinaud felt weirdly ill at ease. Although the room itself wasn’t his usually bedroom it was reminiscent of it—too large for a single person with walls lined with bookshelves and documents haphazardly stuffed between the tomes. What it distinctly lacked were any of his toys or other ways to properly entertain himself. Then again he was suppose to be resting and as sick as he was that was really all he could manage. Even sitting upright in this giant bed was too much effort. So for hours he slept, on and off, battling a fever that came and went and suffering from a cough that made his throat sore. Occasionally the door would open and the physician would wake him, checking his temperature and forcing on him awful tasting medicine.
Needless to say he felt miserable and wanted to be well as soon as possible.
When next he awoke it was dark and the tall windows near his bed showed a cloudless sky full of stars. He wasn’t sure what woke him up at first so he sat up sleepily, blinking bleary eyes at the door. Someone was entering… or trying to. There was a moment where the door handle kept moving but nothing happened. Then finally it cracked open and a familiar face poked her head in, glancing around uncertainly.
Alphinaud rubbed sleep from his eyes. “Alisaie…?”
Her gaze settled on him, squinting slightly to make out his figure in the darkness. The room was dimly lit by moonlight from the windows but it was still much too dark. He watched her disappear and then the door opened further. She shuffled in, a tome nearly as big as she was clutched in her arms.
“Father said you’re not allowed in here,” Alphinaud sighed. He was tired and feeling terrible. Now here came his sister to cause mischief.
“I don’t care what he says,” Alisaie replied stubbornly. She closed the door with her foot, nearly toppling over from trying to balance on the other, and then hurriedly crossed the length of the room to his bedside.
“You’re gonna get in trouble.”
“I don’t care. Here.”
She deposited the book on him. The tome made a heavy thud as it landed and Alphinaud grunted as the weight of it settled on his lap. Sighing, he leaned over to turn on the lamp by his bedside. The soft glow of the flame within flickered to life and brought some much needed light. With it on he could see the cover of the book more clearly and found he didn’t recognize it.
The bed was both large and tall making it difficult for small children such as her to get on it easily. This would never stop Alisaie, of course, and she gripped at the blankets and began to pull herself onto the bed too. Alphinaud took the book, moving it away to give her room, but also to push it open. He came to a page with a colorful illustration near the bottom surrounded by many words. It was detailing some long forgotten myth. Judging by the violent illustrations, it wasn't a particularly happy one.
He glanced up at her as she finally succeeded and she plopped down on her knees directly in front of him with the open book between them. She peered down at it curiously and although it was all upside-down from her angle she looked intrigued.
“Are you here because you want me to read it to you?” he asked.
Alisaie looked indignant. “I can read it myself.”
Alphinaud chuckled. He knew that, of course, but hadn’t been able to resist poking fun at her. It was the middle of the night and he found it ridiculous she was here. She glared at him but he looked back down at the open pages.
“Right, right. Then why are you in here? If Father finds you—"
“I told you already that I don’t care about that. I’m bored. You’re bored. Let’s read this book together. We always read books together.”
She pursed her lips, given him a look that dared him to try to argue this. Alphinaud canted his head slightly. Well… she was right, that was usually how they’d spend their nights. He’d been holed up in this room for a few days now recovering from his illness so nothing of the sort had occurred lately. It was hard to feel bored when all he wanted to do was sleep though. Even now he felt like dozing off. What time was it, he wondered.
“Well?” Alisaie was staring at him expectantly.
He smiled. “Okay.”
Alisaie’s expression softened and she smiled too. Bored wasn’t the word he would use. It was more like he had been feeling lonely. He hadn’t realized that until he was in her company again. She must have felt the same and that’s why she was here, risking their father’s wrath. While the estate was large enough that they had their own rooms they were young enough that often they simply shared one most of the time.
Yet he had fallen ill and in an effort to aid his recovery and to prevent Alisaie from catching it they had isolated him in a different room all together—an extra bedroom that was often used for guests. So accustom to the presence of the other, however, that having rooms all to themselves had instead left them both feeling lonesome.
“Did you get this book from Grandfather’s study?”
“Yes.”
“But I’ve never seen it before.” He paused. “…You took it from the shelf we’re not allowed to read, didn’t you?”
“Also yes.”
Alphinaud sighed but, well… the book was already here and open. Curiosity was a stronger force and so he began to flip through it slowly. There were a few bookshelves that their grandfather had told them were off limits until they were a bit older. The reasoning varied from them being too advanced to some being much too gruesome. This restriction was imposed less by Louisoix and more by their father but the elder Elezen had respected his son’s wishes.
Alisaie crawled over to sit next to him as he flipped through it, leaning in close and pressing against his shoulder so she could read too. He settled on a story that looked interesting. He read aloud anyway, despite his hoarse voice from his coughing, and Alisaie listened, despite being able to read it just fine.
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When the door of his study swung open Louisoix did not even look up. “Do you need something, Fourchenault?”
“Where is Alisaie?”
He sounded disgruntled. Louisoix lifted his gaze from the parchment he had been writing on to look at his son. He looked as disgruntled as he sounded.
“She is not here, if that’s what you’re wondering. I haven’t seen her all evening although she usually enters shortly after supper.”
Fourchenault sighed. “If not here then where could she have gone? It is much past her bedtime. Honestly, that child…”
Louisoix chuckled. Ah, but it was endless entertainment to watch his son struggle with rearing his own children. It brought back fond memories of all the trouble Fourchenault had caused him.
“Well if I had to guess…” he started and purposefully trailed off. Surely Fourchenault could piece this together, as smart as he was.
Fourchenault’s brow furrowed for a moment before the realization dawned on him. He sighed in the way only a long suffering parent could. “I told her she was not allowed in that room until Alphinaud had recovered. Twelve give me strength, she is only getting worse at not listening as she grows.”
Louisoix stood from his desk with a much heartier laugh. “To her credit, she obeyed quite diligently for the past three days.”
“She did not. I have chased her away from the door countless times. She must have gotten in while I was meeting with the visiting dignitary.” He paused. Although Fourchenault is not quite sure how she knew he was preoccupied in the first place.
His father passed him in the doorway, motioning for him to follow. “Shall we be certain then?”
The answer was obvious to Fourchenault but he humored him and followed. Upon reaching the door Louisoix pushed it open. The lamp was still flickering by the bedside but the twins had long since fallen asleep. Approaching the bedside quietly they found them both curled up against each other with the open book pushed aside.
Fourchenault could only sigh again but Louisoix smiled fondly. He offered his son a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “As admirable as your efforts are you cannot expect them to stay separated this long. They are use to each other’s company.”
“I suppose,” Fourchenault sighed. “I explained the situation to her thoroughly but it apparently mattered little.”
He watched as Louisoix quietly gathered the tome from the bed with one hand, using the other to pull the blankets further over the sleeping children. He was aware Alisaie had expressed a lot of concern about Alphinaud’s well being which included asking the physician if she was ever going to see him again. It was why he had gone to great lengths to explain the reasoning to her. For all their intellect they were still very young.
“No father is ever prepared for the troublemaking of his children,” Louisoix said, a mischievous smile creasing his face.
“I was prepared, once,” Fourchenault grumbled. “I was prepared for a child.”
He is certain that he will never again feel the same level of shock as he did on the day they were born. The decision to have a child had been a daunting one but manageable. Necessary, even, for the future of House Leveilleur. As was in his nature he had thus planned very carefully for the birth of a child… only to be told his wife had given birth to twins and he was now the proud father of two. He’ll never forget his father’s laughter when he, in a flustered rush, told him he had no idea how to handle two.
“It is much too late to dwell on that, I should think,” Louisoix replied with amusement. “Come, let us leave them be. Should Alisaie also fall ill we will handle it then but for now do not worry so much. They are simply at that age.”
But it was endearing, Louisoix thought, how much his son fretted over them. Illness was always a dangerous thing but they were fortunate enough to have the means to treat it. So really, Fourchenault didn't need to go to such lengths every time one of them caught a cold. Louisoix motioned for them to leave and while Fourchenault contemplated plucking Alisaie out of bed to take her back to her room he decided against it. He turned the lamp off before he followed.
As they left he glanced at the tome in Louisoix’s hand. “That is your book.” He didn’t phrase it like a question but instead made the observation flatly. “So she was in there.”
Louisoix smiled a bit too innocently. “Ah… perhaps? I must’ve not noticed. Curious.”
Fourchenault sighed another long suffering sigh. That was how Alisaie knew the door was unguarded because he was busy, he realized. She must’ve been hiding in the study earlier when he had entered to tell Louisoix of his evening plans.
“Aye,” he groused. “Very curious indeed…”