Spring had begun clear and bright, and Niklos was at his parents’ estate in Kusheth when news broke of the plague ravaging the City of Elua. His father, the wise man he was, had immediately placed a quarantine on their lands, sending out their last pigeons to some of the family locally. So, Niklos had weathered the entire spring on the border of Mohrban-Shahrizai lands, no cousins visiting, and no little news coming in. He had his books, to be certain, and his father made sure he was also helping out around the estate, but spring had always provided time to visit the family… and decide who was headed to the City for the summer. The cousins often drew lots or wagered their chances over card and dice games, and with his father’s quarantine, Nik figured he’d be left out of the running.
In mid-May, word from the City had gone out, informing everyone that the plague had lifted, so Nik’s father had ended his quarantine. With the news of the plague abating, they also received a message they should have received in February. Apparently, Great Uncle Demitrios had died at the end of January and had named Niklos his heir to his County. Days after, messages began flooding into the estate, the most important one from Demitrios’ Steward and Secretary, informing Niklos that the will had been verified by the Judiciary in the City of Elua and had been accepted, and that legally there was no bar to his inheritance. There had been other letters from jealous cousins, but the will stipulated that the County was to go to the most senior Shahrizai of Niklos’ generation who was not currently in line for their own title.
Nik didn’t make it to the City until the second week of June. There had been far too much going on. He’d had to make the trip to Angers to assure the staff and folk of the titled estate that he had no plans to change anything at the moment, but that he was looking forward to discussing the running of the County and seeing where they could improve. He also was shown the books of accounts and was surprised to see that the estate was doing well financially, Great Uncle Demitrios had been a good steward of his lands.
Upon his entry to the City, Nik took up residence in one of the townhouses the family owned. There were cousins already in residence, but rumor of the inheritance had already spread to the Shahrizai in the city. There was some squabbling, but most just continued on with their usual summer activities. He was introduced to Jacob, the townhome’s butler, and was informed that someone from Jacob’s family had served with the Shahrizai for generations. The man was considered impeccably trustworthy by all the senior members of the family. Nik was certain they would get along fabulously.
He had been in the city for a few days, getting settled before reaching out to some of the people he knew from his previous visits. His first letters went out to some of the nobles he’d gotten to know, but many of them remained unanswered. Some people had moved up in the world, and his inheritance was not generally known, so he was ignored. Some were out of the City on their own business. Finally, he began sending out notes to those he recalled from the Night Court, including Aliksandria nó Cereus and Philomena nó Heliotrope. His last time in residence, he had spent a good amount of time in all the houses of the Night Court, and had enjoyed his time in both Cereus and Heliotrope. He expected that, with the calendar moving to full summer, patronage would be reduced in the Court, and he might be able to see some of his old acquaintances and renew some old relationships.
*
When Mena received Nik’s letter, it was the most welcome of distractions. Today was the day Olivier was moving to the Marquis de Clair’s home. So instead of thinking about that, she read her friend’s letter and thought about how to reply. She finally decided on a quickly handwritten note:
Dear Lord Niklos,
Welcome back to the city, my friend! Please, come to Heliotrope this evening as our cherished guest. We would love to catch up with you, and it would be our pleasure to offer you a meal.
Mena
She folded the missive up as she went out into the hallway to find someone to carry the message back across town.