{ morning of arrivals in her fathers office }
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In the soft morning mist that enveloped Ninth House, as students streamed back for another academic year, Aurora found herself in the contemplative solitude of her father’s office. Gazing through the window, her eyes, warm like the first rays of dawn, concealed a mix of emotions swirling within. Were they just warmth, or did they harbor something more profound? The answer lay tangled in the complexities of her feelings, feelings she was about to confront her father with. Pushing away from the polished black column that framed the window, Aurora’s arms crossed over her chest in a defensive stance. Her fists clenched tight, a physical manifestation of the inner turmoil that was beneath her composed exterior. Eyes fixed on her father, headmaster Adrian Dear, disappointment was written all across her features. From her point, she could recognize and detect every familiar face that crossed the threshold of Ninth House, except for the newcomers. Yet, it wasn’t the arrival of fresh faces that stirred her unrest.
Amidst the sea of students, a face emerged that she had not anticipated, a face she had hoped would remain consigned to the past. The unexpected reappearance sent shockwaves through her, sparking a wildfire of emotions she thought she had extinguished. “Aurora—” her father began, only to be met with the cutting edge of her anger. [color="#efbcaa”]“Why did you let him come back?”[/color] The words escaped her lips in a hushed whisper, a delicate veil draped over the intensity of her anger. Fearful of the repercussions, her voice remained low, yet each syllable bore the weight of her unspoken rage. Palms landing firmly on her father’s desk, she confronted him with a gaze that demanded answers, a gaze that betrayed a daughter’s anguish, secrets, and the complexities that bound the Dear family to Ninth House.
“Aurora, I am busy-“ Aurora knew how her father was. She knew when to keep her mouth shut and listen to what she’d been told to do but there were some things she could never understand. While her relationship with her father is complex, she does respect him for his position but the expectations placed on Aurora, as the daughter of the headmaster, do add an extra layer of pressure. But that is not important now, what is important is to show how their relationship really works; he did not look up at her as she was leaning over the desk, hiding the pain and fear in her eyes. Instead he simply kept working but this was one of the times when she couldn’t just walk away. [color="#efbcaa”]“But-”[/color] she started, expecting him to look up at her, give her an answer… Give her anything. “Out.” That one simple word was all she got.
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