Once Casimir was able to coax her down from the window seat, his little sister clung to his arm as if he were a lifeline, shying away when others tried to approach.
Cas caught his mother's eyes and shook his head subtly, mouthing the words, 'Give her a minute.' When he saw that she was near vibrating with the barely restrained desire to rush over and scoop her up.
And once more that quiet, insidious voice echoed in his head, 'You should have been here. You should have done more.'
After some time had passed, Astra's youngest, a small girl with short, strawberry blonde curls and bright ruby-coloured eyes walked up to her with a shy smile and pulled on her hand, encouraging her to join the other children to play in the garden.
With just a moment of hesitation, Nina smiled back and allowed herself to be led from the room with one final glance back at Casimir, nodding at her in encouragement.
His mother swiftly followed them, keeping Nina in her sight at all times.
