It's the sign of the times

Briar stood with Art, whispering back and forth in Carpathian as they began to make plans for how they were going to keep all of the children in the castle entertained and cared for while her parents dealt with her mother's dire condition. She knew the end was coming far faster than any of them could really prepare for and much more suddenly than anyone was ready for, but if she could at least give her siblings and family even a slight feeling of home and comfort through all this then she was desperate to do it. She had taken to talking about these things with Art in his family's language just to make sure a wandering pup didn't accidentally over hear, but she caught a glimpse of her father approaching with Gwynevere and she paused, turning to face them with dread that something else had happened. Instead, as her father got their attention, he said that what he was going to say was to stay between them. Regardless of whether or not he could command them to do so, she had no intentions of speaking on things he didn't want said. She nodded and replied, "Of course, dad. Whatever you need. What is it?"

"Briar Carpathius"