The fireplace crackled not that far from the two of you. Its warm glow illuminated the bookshelves that lined the walls, casting a silhouette on Tashi's frame. Her back was to you as she sat in front of the fire, palms pressed down against the velvet that wrapped around the cushioned bench. It never failed to baffle you how she could look so enticing just sitting there.

But then again, Tashi had always been able to keep people in the palm of her hand with minimal effort.

Maybe it's the way she carries herself, always so collected and confident. Even now, when you two are hidden away in the lodge's library, she's as calm as ever. But you know better than to just read the surface. You know she's wary of what the night has in store for her. Anyone would be nervous the night their father announces his company's successor, especially when one has strived their whole life for it.

It's been an agonizing trip for her, knowing that she had to wait two weeks before her father announced his next-in-line. Of course, the top executives of the company came with them on their supposed "family trip"; it seems like she can never escape it.

The wind howled outside the windows, driven snow sprinkling the mountains and trees outside, a similar turmoil to what Tashi's experiencing herself. But she'd never tell you that. Why would she? She knows it's going to be her; any other one of her brothers or someone not even in the family isn't an option.

"He wouldn't be that stupid. I told you, I'm fine," she says, shutting you down the second you try to get vulnerable with her. It confuses you, honestly—you know she brought you with her for a reason, and yet—

"You know, I should probably thank him for dragging us all here. What better backdrop for the big announcement?" She looks at you over her shoulder with a smirk that doesn't quite reach her eyes. You don't doubt that she'll get it, and her deflection isn't anything new, but you wish she'd just tell you how she really felt.