A nice talk with big sister

Ephraim returned the rare smile, raising a brow. "Someone's being uncharacteristically generous."

Cassandra gave him a playful scowl, kicking his shin under the table. "Shut up, you little menace."

Snorting, he rubbed his leg where she'd kicked him. It hadn't been too hard, but she got him good. "Says the woman who just kicked me," he retorted, which he was rewarded for with another kick to the shin.

"Like I said," she smirked. "Shut up."

"Alright, fine," he rolled his eyes.

Cassandra shook her head, sighing as she picked up her glass of wine. "It's been a while since we messed around like this," she noted, taking a sip. "It's nice."

"Yeah," Ephraim sighed happily, taking a bite of cheese. "What happened to us?"

"Dad," she rolled her eyes. "Dad and his overbearing ways." Leaning forward in a way that emphasized her breasts against the fabric of her dress, she continued, "You know, I took a look at some of the records this afternoon, and do you know what I found?"

"I honestly don't know," he answered, DEFINITELY NOT glancing down at her chest even once.

If she noticed his distraction, she paid it no mind as she said, "I found out that our father has repealed and made more laws than any other king in our history. Or, at least, for the past one hundred years or so."

"Huh," Ephraim frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not certain," she muttered, glancing around the room. "But there weren't any summaries of what used to be law. It's just so obviously torn out, like they wanted to be found out. That, or they simply didn't care."

"Well," Ephraim muttered. "That is pretty suspicious. What are you going to do next?"

She shrugged, sighing heavily. "I don't know, exactly."

Getting to her feet, she quietly excused herself and left the room.

Ephraim shook his head, finishing up his food before heading off to bed himself.