The lady comes - 7/12 - Rena, Cesare

[Cesare Sanseverino]

Cesare rode into the Villa's courtyard on his chestnut steed, clad in dark brown leather jerkin and breeches, longsword dangling from the waist. He came at the front of a dozen Sanseverino men, flying the colors of the house and the black of the Lord of Shadows. All in all, he rode with a bit of show. In part, because he wanted to make sure the people remembered of the strength that the council commanded, in part for the eyes of the one he was there to greet.

About an hour before a horseman came with the news that Lady Rena Parr was finally nearing walls of Solbra. Cesare had been awaiting the moment for months. Short after making the arrangement with her father, he had to go to Stoft and see the decimation of the Skaldings. Next there was the death of Alrik, and he got stuck in Solbra. Before that he thought Lady Rena would stay in the relevant quiet of Whispering Rock, out of sight, only come to Sodra on occassion.

Now it was going to be different, everybody would know about his ward at once. Secrets didn’t stay buried in Solbra, and this was not exactly a secret. He couldn’t keep Rena Parr in a gilded cage, he couldn’t even ban her from attending court. That would bring up suspicions, and a lot of bad things on the girl. He didn’t take her on to be miserable. Actually, Cesare had much different plans in mind for her.

Swinging down from the saddle and getting on the ground took him longer than normal. His leg was healing well, it hardly hurt at all, but it did get stiff. That and he didn’t want to accidentally reopen the wound while the new skin was still tender and soft. After landing on the ground, Cesare had his horse taken to the stables. He moved into the doorframe and talked with the house keeper, making sure that all was prepared for Lady Rena. He wanted to be sure that she was impressed with her new home.