It was early morning when Ildurin begun to wake up. The sun was barely visible when he opened his eyes. Once finally awake, he turned around only to come face to face with Lunahera. She was still peacefully asleep and while she looked simply stunning in his eyes, the King didn't fail but notice a few dark rims that could be found underneath her eyes. Her lids also looked a bit puffy and there was nothing more that Ildurin wished to do but let her sleep in and rest. So he stood as still as he could, hearing the bustling already everywhere in the castle. It was only when the Queen herself begun to stir and her eyes flickered underneath the lids, did the blonde gently stroke her face and smiled when she finally looked at him.

“Good Morning” he whispered to her, only to hear the greeting back.

In that moment, the two of them heard the door to their room creek open and the clank of a tray being put of the oak table. After hearing the door closing shut again, Ildurin stood up and stretched, being followed by Lunahera, who went straight to her wardrobe to chose her outfit for the day. After the two have changed out of their nightwear and put on their clothes sloppily, Ildurin called the two servants, who dutifully waited outside their door.

The woman went straight to Lunahera and gently led her to a nearby chair and mirror, beginning to comb her hair. The young man who approached Ildurin though, begun to fix his clothes and glance at him once in a while. It stroke the King as a rather unusual behaviour.

“Tell me”, the blonde said, startling the servant, “What is on your mind?” he asked and looked at the young man in the eyes, a custom which was rather frowned upon in other Kingdoms.

“I just remembered about an old custom my King, of offering gifts to your guests” he mumbled, as if afraid that those words might anger the man in front of him.

“You believe that I should gift something to Aldryn?” Ildurin asked and tilted his head, noticing Lunahera watching the exchange through the mirror.

“It is not Lord Aldryn who preoccupied my thought my liege”, the servant said and lowered his head.

“Indeed”, the King nodded, “It is custom to offer gifts to a guest who visited our household for the first time. But alas, there are so few people around to fit the criteria that they are mostly children, who are all offered gifts upon their arrival all the time”, the blonde then concluded.

“Thank you and do not fear of speaking up, were it not for you, I would have most certainly forgotten about this tradition. And since you brought it up, is there a gift that you believe might fit our new guest?” Ildurin asked and looked at the young boy, who just finished lacing up his boots.

“A cloak my lord” he spoke and bowed after he finished his duties.

“A cloak?” the King asked, “Why do you believe it to be a fitting gift? Usually they are something more fancy.”

“My brother was tasked with taking care of your guests last night. When he came home in the early hours, he told me about how he and the other servants would often visit Lord Klyran's rooms during the night to kindle the fire. Yet no matter how strong the flame was, he still always seemed to be cold and shivering” the young boy retold the story that he heard earlier in the day.

“If I may... my liege”, the woman, still styling Lunahera’s hair, spoke and waited for permission form her King.

“The other day, when I was at the market, I saw how Lord Aldryn and his guest arrived, clearly wearing the Oracle’s cloak”, she said, her eyes being drawn back to the task in front of her.

Those words caused Ildurin to think back and remember, that indeed he has seen Klyran wear Aldryn’s cloak, only taking it off for their spar.

“If this is true... Then a warm and custom made cloak will be an excellent gift”, the Queen then suddenly said, her husband simply nodding to her words.

The King quickly dismissed the servant who helped him and bid good bye to the two women in the room before departing. He walked through the halls, enjoying the morning. It was the perfect time of the day, Ildurin thought. Late enough for him to no longer wish to go back to sleep and early enough for him to think about the long hours ahead of him. He greeted the few people found in the castle and headed straight to the garden, knowing that it will be the place where he could find Aldryn so early in the day.

He climbed up the steps and ducked his head under a tree that was near the entrance. It was a tree that was planted there by Ildurin himself when it was still rather young. At the time, Lunahera warned him about its branches expanding as it grew and blocking the entrance, but he paid her no mind. An action that he now came to regret, but would never admit to anybody.

“Good Morning”, he heard a happy voice call from the edge of the garden.

“Good Morning Aldryn, I was just looking for you” he said and approached the other man.

“It is hardly looking when you know exactly where I like to spend my mornings while being your guest” the blonde replied with an easy smile. “Do you not have any Kingly duties to attend to?” he asked when he noticed his friend sitting down near him.

“A few of them actually”, Ildurin said and nodded his head, “But there is something that I would like to discuss with you”, he begun to say and quickly continued, not giving Aldryn any chance to offer a reply yet.

“I was reminded earlier this morning about a tradition of the Silver City regarding all new guests that the Royal Family hosts”, he spoke, noticing confusion in his friend’s eyes.

“A tradition?”, the oracle asked back, trying to remember any such thing.

“What is this? Something that the Great Aldryn does not know about?”, the King asked in a mocking tone.

“There are many things that you do not know about, others just never notice it” a voice resonated in the oracle’s mind, to which he paid no mind.

“I know the old language and all the old stories. My duties as a priest consist of knowing all the appropriate rituals and my personal curiosity made me aware of the names of all the Royal Families of those lands. What particular quirks they had, I never had much interest in”, Aldryn said, having stopped bothering to guess what his friend was trying to imply.

“Well... apparently it is an old custom of the Royal Family to offer a gift to any guest that steps in the Silver City for the first time”, Ildurin then supplied.

“A new guest?” the oracle repeated, “You wish to give something to Klyran?” he questioned and turned to look at the King, who simply nodded.

“The servants who took care of the fire in his room last night made me aware that he felt cold, not to mention that he came here wearing your cloak. So I decided to have him fitted for one of his own”, he explained.

“It does sounds like a good idea”, the oracle nodded, “I was thinking about asking you to offer him a trip down the river. He greatly regretted not being able to see the whole city” Aldryn then supplied.

“Excellent”, the King said and jumped to his feet, “Then I will have him fitted for a cloak and while that is done I will do everything on my list today. And in the evening we could have a dinner while enjoying the view of the city”, the blonde King said nodding to himself.

After the two parted ways, Aldryn stood in the garden for a while longer, afterwards wandering to the market to purchase some supplies, knowing that Klyran would be kept busy. Meanwhile, Ildurin went straight back to the castle and ordered the servants to search for their new guest and inform the tailor about his new task.

When Klyran heard at first about the gift that he was supposed to receive from the King, he tried to refuse. It took the servants a few tries to explain to the Ryan that the gift was an old tradition of the City. It was only after he noticed the tailor coming into the room did he stop. After speaking with the old man and finding out just what type of gift he will be receiving, Klyran finally accepted it to be made, thinking that such a warm garment will be quite precious to him in this cold land.

After a brief chat, the tailor declared that he knew just what to create. He quickly demanded to see the crest that was sewn on the Ryan’s jacket, mistaking it for a family crest. The old man made Klyran stand on a small stool and quickly measured him form head to toe.

Just as he was leaving, Lunahera entered the room with Cyan hiding behind her dress like a small child. After a greeting and kind smile, she invited Klyran to join the two of them to the library.