Being in the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took for Adelasia's whole life to turn upside down. After being captured by the heathens raiding her city and taken all the way to the cold North, the youngest Ragnarsson takes an interest in her...
With a soft smile on her face, Alasia watched her younger brother run along the coastline, the sound of his childish laughter filling her ears like music. The breeze moved her brown curls over her shoulders and with it brought forth the salt tang of the waves crashing in front of them. She could stand there for hours, staring at blue waters and her little brother in them, the warm wind caressing her cheeks and body.
She suddenly felt bad for her younger sister, Imeldina, who loved the beach and sea almost as much as she did. Alasia thought it was a shame that such a sweet girl had to be born with brittle bones, which left her to the mercy of the places her wheelchair could get her to. The beach with its fickle sand didn't belong to those places.
"Nuccio," she called out to her brother, her quiet voice almost entirely drowned out by the crashing of the waves.
"Do you want me to retrieve him, Milady Adelasia?" the guard beside her asked when her brother didn't react.
She shook her head, the smile returning to her face. It was not often that their father allowed the two of them to go to the beach, so she wanted Antonio to enjoy the time they had however he wanted to spend it. Though peace had returned to the duchy of Naples since Duke Sergius had claimed the city, her father was still wary of the dangers lurking around. Alasia supposed her father would know, as Master of War and the Duke's closest man.
Alasia and her brother had been joined by four guards on the beach, two to protect each of them, though she guessed there was nothing to be protected from. The fact that they weren't even standing on an open beach, but on a small and secured cove only added to her father's overprotectiveness.
"How is your wife faring, Sir Artu?" Alasia asked politely, taking a quick look at the guard standing stiffly beside her. At the mention of his wife, his face seemed to clear up somewhat, the deep creases between his eyebrows making way for a surprised expression.
"She is doing very well," the guard replied. "Thank you for your interest."
Alasia only nodded, her eyes shifting to her younger brother again. It appeared he was forcing one of the guards to play with him in the water, kicking the salty water up at the older man and giggling like a maniac. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she smiled apologetically at the guards. "Excuse me, gentlemen."
