The Court yard within the Divalo Manor was full of servants running back and forth getting the pce ready for the coming of age party.

  "I want the courtyard cleaned up, the decorations up, the food ready, the ballroom polished and the beds prepared for the guests! Move!" Duchess Leandra barked orders.

  The servants ran off to get things done.

  There were a few other noblewomen watching Leandra give her orders. There was two groups of noblewomen. One group was led by Marchioness Isabel Wrightwood. The other group was led by Baroness Evelina Dravenhart.

  The group that wasn't happy to be sharing the same room with Leandra were Marchioness Isabel Wrightwood, Countess Alexandria Ingham, Viscountess Cassandra Bckwood, and Lady Lucinda Montcir. They were only there because Duval told his wife to help the Duchess.

  The dies didn't want anything to do with the Duchess, but they had to put up a front since the

  Prime Minister ordered them to do so. Cassandra and Lucinda weren't forced to help like Isabelle and Alexandria had to but they were friends and wanted to show their support.

  Then there was Leandra's actual friends Baroness Evelina Dravenhart, Bethany von Maus, and Medalia Phanza. Evelina was the only Major Noblewoman in the Duchess's group and the other two were Minor Nobles.

  And so these two groups of women were had an odd dynamic going on. On occasion Bethany would try to speak to Isabelle who would either respond with one word answers or would just ignore the lesser noblewoman altogether.

  "How much longer do we have to stay here?" Isabelle asked Leandra.

  "Oh, come now, Isabelle. What else do you have to do?" Leandra responded with a sly smile.

  The Marchioness had an unamused look on her face.

  "Usually, when asking us to attend your little gatherings, we would give input for the party... And where is your daughter? Shouldn't she be here?" Isabelle questioned.

  "Oh, Lydia should be on her way from Tulnadet," Leandra said.

  "Your daughter prefer to stay in the Divalo Domain? Colored me shocked," the Marchioness said in an unamused tone.

  "My daughter loves spending time with her grandmother, Isolde. That woman has done wonders with my child. Lydia will be here on time," the Duchess responded.

  "Or she can't stand being by her mother," Countess Alexandria Ingham muttered to her friends.

  "And what was that, Lady Ingham?" Leandra asked in a sharp tone.

  "Nothing, Duchess," the Countess said quickly.

  Leandra heard what she said and pyed it off with a sly smile. But her eyes were daggers at the young countess.

  "Well, dies. I was thinking that we could have an floral arrangement that looks like the royal insignia. We can have a small fountain of water with flower petals in the center. I think it will be lovely. Don't you agree?" Leandra said.

  "You want the flowers arranged in the shape of a crown?" Isabelle muttered.

  "Yes! It will be for Princess Hilda. She is the rightful fiancee to my nephew, no? If we make the arrangement, it will be a symbol that the Revelias have not forgotten the Stoneworth family. And the dies will understand the meaning behind it."

  "It's a nice gesture, Duchess," Baroness Evelina Dravenhart said.

  "Thank you, Lady Evelina. Your intellect it always appetited," Leandra said.

  The Baroness was pleased as punch to get the praise from the Duchess.

  "And it's also a simple move that will show everyone in the room that the Revelia's have not forgotten about the Stoneworthhs and the Meredydds union. We can have some harlot Dark Elf coming in here, threatening the Peace. What would the world think if the next heir is a half breed? They would see it as a weak ruler," Medalia Phanza said.

  Marchioness Isabel Wrightwood and her friends grimaced. They haven't had any time to meet this Dark Elf that captured Quinus' heart and they might have been curious to talk to her, but Duval forbid Isabel from speaking to Rya. He ordered her to help Hilda win favor with the Ladies of the Court and that's what she was going to do. She was a faithful wife.

  "Weak? No... But I do fear her intentions. Quinus was sent on a mission and he comes back with this woman and she seems like a loose woman, from what I've heard," Cassandra Bckwood said.

  "But your husband is siding with her now. Do you know why?" Leandra asked.

  "My husband is a fool. He told me to have a open mind with her, but she is an outsider. And she not human. Sometimes I don't understand my husband's decision," the Viscountess said.

  "I know. Sometimes men see a big breasted woman and they loose their minds. We will deal with him ter, Cassandra," the Duchess said.

  "Indeed. The peace of our kingdom is at stake. I can't see ourselves following her... Do you think we have to worry about her enchantments?" Cassandra asked.

  "I doubt that, Cassandra. From everything I've seen she's only able to enchant men with her ridiculous bust size," Leandra replied.

  "But she's a mage, right? How powerful is she?" Isabel asked.

  "We've never seen her fight or use her powers. But my husband says she shouldn't he trifled with," the Duchess replied.

  All the dies grew silent and the room grew quiet for a few seconds. Leandra couldn't have been happier by this reaction as this was her opportunity to gain Isabel and Alexandria's support. Those two have always saw Leandra as a nuisance at best and a threat to the Court at worst. But now with the threat of this Dark Elf looming, their opinions could be swayed.

  "So, what are we going to do about her?" Isabel asked.

  "Yes, what do you propose, Lady Leandra? Do we just ignore her?" Alexandria inquired.

  With those magical words, Isabel and Alexandria have thrown their lot in with Leandra's cause.

  "Of course not, we are going to show her who the true dies of the court are. And that is by rallying around Hilda while challenging this Dark Elf's knowledge and influence over our beloved Crown Prince. We will show him what the true women of the court can do," the Duchess confidently replied.

  The Marchioness and Countess gnced at each other to see if they both were thinking the same thing. And after a moment, Alexandria spoke up first.

  "I can't believe you're saying this, Lady Leandra. But you are right, this is no time to keep up this foolish rivalry between us. It's time to show this Dark Elf what we are made of. I'll help coordinate your servants with the floral arrangements and decorations," the Countess said.

  "And I'll take care of the catering and beverages. With the two of us working together, I'm sure the party will be a success. Right, Lady Isabel?" the Marchioness said.

  "Of course. It's time for the three of us to work together," Isabel agreed.

  "And I'll make sure you all have the finest dresses. You're going to be the most beautiful and elegant dies in the entire kingdom!" Baroness Evelina Dravenhart happily said.

  Leandra couldn't help but smile at this moment. She's been waiting for years to get the other noblewomen of the Court on her side. With the threat of a foreign noblewoman, they were willing to set aside their differences and work together was her first step in winning this battle.

  "You won't regret it. With your help we can defeat the Dark Elf and put her back in her pce," the Duchess replied.

  The only two dies that were taken aback by this alliance were Viscountess Cassandra Bckwood and Lady Lucinda Montcir. Of all their years of being together, they never heard Isabel or Alexandria say a nice thing about Leandra. And now they were agreeing to help her pn an eborate party. It was enough to give them whipsh. But they remained silent and followed allow for now as they helped giving their input on the decorations for the rest of the day.

  ***

  While the duchess was pnning a grand party for her daughter's coming of age celebration, a carriage with the Revelia's banner just crossed the Maldurian Domain border and were continuing West towards Royal Capital City of Tairal. They depended the Divalo Domain's capital city of Tulnadet two day ago and they will reach their destination by tonight.

  Sara and Eleanora had worried looks on their faces as they knew that it was only a matter of time before Lydia would follow the same fate as them and will be married off for their brother's own gains.

  Sara and Eleanora were lucky to get permission to visit their sister while Jemma could only travel the week of the party.

  Eleanora turned her gaze to the youngest two girls. Both looked out their windows and seemed oblivious to the world around them.

  Lydia was ten years old and had her father's gray eyes and her mother's bck hair. She wore a white dress and was very excited about this trip. She was only five years old when she was sent to Tulnadet with her younger sister Cra. She never understood why her older sisters kept her parents away from her. She had vague memories of the man that would lift her up and swing her around while she giggled happily.

  Cra was eight years old and had her father's gray hair and her mother's red eyes. She was wearing a pink dress and had no idea what was happening or why her parents seemed to barely visit them. She loved her older sisters but sometimes they made no sense to her.

  'Dammit... I hate that I can't help them anymore. Those two are always plotting. I hope it is worth it father. You can't keep this charade up forever. If you do not change your ways then it will be us that will suffer,' Sara thought.

  The oldest daughter of the Revelias recalled the time when her Father was punished for trying to assassin her cousin. During those times she and her sisters ate less while Marcus feasted on the finest foods the realm could provide. It was only when her Father found a suitor for her and her sisters that she and her siblings finally ate better again. But the humiliation of having all the other Major Noble children belling her parents as traitors never went away.

  It disgusted her that her father actually tried to kill Quinus so Marcus could become the next King. And it disgusted her that her mother was complicit with the pn. Her brother didn't deserve the throne. Not after what he did.

  She had to watch her brother grow up and he was rotten to the core. He was spoiled rotten and was an ass. His ego was too big and it didn't help that their father praised him at every opportunity.

  All she could do was try and protect her younger siblings. They had no idea how cruel the world could be and she wanted to keep it that way.

  Little did she know that her brother finally met his demise in the Tomb Of the Horde. That knowledge wasn't sent across the nds yet. Due to the unlikely alliance between Duval and Aric.

  If only they knew then she would try to get out of her marriage with Count Ferdinand von Griant. He was a horrible man and he was a coward like her brother.

  'I can't let my little sisters be used like pawns. If only I could escape then they wouldn't need to go through this,' Sara thought.

  She had a feeling that her mother was pnning something but she didn't know what it was. Her mother didn't even try to stop her father from his madness. She couldn't believe that she was even reted to them.

  As the carriage passed the city gates Eleanora could feel her anxiety rise. She hated going to the Divalo Manor after everything that happened to them after their family got punished.

  Sara and Jemma looked at each other as if they were thinking the same thing.

  'If only we could stop our mother and brother,' Sara thought.

  She wanted to warn the Crown Prince of her Father's and Brother's scheme. But her father had a knack for surviving and punishing those who stood against him. He was cunning and ruthless. It made her feel numb knowing that she couldn't do anything.

  "Sara? Why are you crying?" asked Lydia.

  "Oh. Sorry Lydia. I didn't mean to make you worry. It's just... I'm afraid that the past will repeat itself," replied Sara.

  "What do you mean? Why would the past repeat itself?" asked Cra.

  "Nothing... Just get ready for your debut," said Sara.

  The younger girls just shrugged it off and got back to their conversation about dresses and suitors.

  Eleanora and Sara exchanged gnces before going back to reading their books. They remembered being like them, but things changed. Love became a rare commodity and a burden.

  They couldn't help but think of the times when they had no worries or cares. They didn't need to pretend to be someone else.

  And now their lives weren't theirs. They were at the mercy of their parents. And they knew that their mother was going to use them as pawns.

  But should they py along or risk their father's wrath?

  That was a question they couldn't answer.