"There are loads of things I want to do," Aurana said, leaning her chin on her hand in quiet annoyance. "I've always wanted to go out and play and have friends, and all that. They don't let me. Even if I say the stuff that you just said, Julan. The only friend I have is Jatinha and the other servants. I like them, but I don't even get much time with them with all the work they do."

Janius stopped tapping his thumb on his hand. "What Kaleeth says makes sense. They had this idea of what they wanted [i]me[/i] to be." He shook his head. "Turned out I wasn't. Or, at the very least, I didn't know what I wanted."

"That doesn't make it fair!" Aurana retorted.

"Yes, I know, I thought the same thing," Janius clarified. "About my situation back then as well as yours right now. You shouldn't be cooped up by them any more than they should try to control where your life is going to go."

Aurana looked away, diverting her own emotions from the others. "Can't you talk to them? I know they want you back. Maybe they won't keep me locked up if you talk to them. They won't listen to me."

Janius hesitated. He stopped to draw a lengthy sigh. "Aurana." He rubbed at one eye, trying to keep his anger at his parents internal. "Look, if I could talk to them at all, I would demand that they give you more freedom, but...well. I would not assume so quickly that they would listen to me." He looked up at the ceiling, breathing in through his mouth. "Father and myself were not on the best of terms by the time I left. I was a constant disappointment to him for years. I was a burden to him and he hated me for it. I can't honestly say I miss the man. Or mother, to be frank. She was always absent." He rolled his head forward again. "There are a number of reasons why I cannot just walk right back in there, but those are the main ones."