The elders wished to protest, but she didn't even give them the chance to voice an opinion; she had the guards push them out and leave the boy behind, the doors shutting behind them.
Morena stared down at the boy without saying anything for a while; she didn't know what to say, and she didn't know how to begin a conversation with someone she hadn't spoken to in so long.
It was awkward, but it was her responsibility to take the lead.
Pushing off the armrest, she rose from the seat and walked down the short stairs, her cloak dragging along the stone ground as she moved closer to the boy. Once she had reached him, she crouched until she was eye-level with him.
She did not sit nor did she hover, she simply lowered herself so she could look at him without making him feel small.
"You've grown quite a lot."
She could see his jaw flinch when she spoke, his body telling him to step back, but his teaching telling him not to.
"That tends to happen when time passes."
