Work Text:
Brunaulf loves his work.
He stands watch over the front gates, turns away any shady characters, and goes home just as the sun comes up every morning. It’s not a dream job, but it’s his job.
His family may think him simple, but simple works. Simple lets him meet more people than he otherwise would in his small town. He's not the most charming man, but he tries his best.
And tonight was business as usual.
Over the course of the evening, he'd let through some familiar Crownsguard, the Queen’s nephew, even his own brother without issue. But, right before the sun was set to rise, a stranger approached.
An elven woman, tall, dressed in slightly unusual attire—nothing quite matched, and her hat was a bit ostentatious, but she was, admittedly, quite beautiful. In his periphery, he felt a presence, but her gaze had him hooked.
Probably just the wind.
She had recounted her story - an elaborate tale of perilous intrigue - presented a crest she’d supposedly received from the King himself, and even proven her lineage back to the original royal family. With that, Brunaulf had no real reason to distrust her. He stepped aside and allowed her passage with a smile.
She seemed quite excited once she entered the gates. So excited, in fact, she seemed to speak in multiple tones…
But he gets it, Castletown is exciting.
That’s surely all it was...
Brunaulf crosses the bridge to Mudreach, his calves aching for a warm fire and comfortable bed, then he hears it—feels it.
The ground shakes beneath his feet. He turns on his heel, and just beyond the hill he just traversed, a pillar of black smoke.
In the sky above, a vaguely familiar woman, flanked by two men and a bird.
Coincidence. It must be.