Cacilie looked at the dusting of snow that covered the family estate and lamented that her mother would prevent her from playing out in the snow. She considered appealing to her father, but a ball of doubt settled itself in her stomach as she remembered the instructions the nanny had given her. She was not to disturb her father today as he had scheduled time for Kathrin and her older brother, Christian. It wasn’t often that he gave her time, but he made sure it was done at least once and a while. She understood that as the Herzog of Ibralaszadado, he was often too busy to entertain his children. As such, it was important for him to spend time with his heir and to appease the youngest of his children. Cacilie understood that much, but it didn’t stop her from longing for his attention over the endless amount she received from her mother. 

In regards to her mother, Herzogin Liesl, she had been hovering over her since she was five years of age. It happened shortly after they received news that her eldest brother, Carolus, had died in a battle against the Fey of Casia. However, her father claimed that she must be more careful since she was promised to the High King of Casia as a bride once she turned eighteen, if his current High Queen had since passed. Cacilie’s status as a diplomacy piece hadn’t been established until she was eight and she was currently ten years of age. She was at an age where she understood her future importance, but that didn’t prevent her from rebelling against the rules imposed on her. 

Any of her education was supposed to be handled by a tutor from Casia, an ancient female Fey who was older than her grandmother. However, this woman claimed that she was too unpolished to teach and refused to help her with any of her studies. Hence, she would hide herself in the closet of Christian’s room and listen to his lessons. She hadn’t been caught in the two years she had been forced to do so in order to learn anything with some form of instruction. Cacilie would spend every holiday and weekend trying to convince her mother to teach her decorum and other ladylike skills that her tutor from Casia neglected and her brother’s tutor didn’t teach. It was a chaotic and hardly fulfilling existence as she was consistently confined to the nursery. 

Cacilie straightened and looked around the nursery and frowned. Father had promised her a room of her own on her tenth birthday. It had been nearly a week and he hadn’t given her a single update. She walked over to the bell rope located near the entrance to the nursery, she had to stand on her tiptoes as she was still relatively short for her age. The bell tolled and soon after the nanny arrived. 

The nanny was her mother’s old lady maid who had fallen in love with a servant and had to transition to less demanding work. “Little Cilie,” she called affectionately and wrapped the girl in a tight hug. “What can I do for you?” 

Cacilie breathed in the rustic scent that clung to the woman’s clothes and let out a sigh. “I wanted to put a request to my father,” she explained, taking her place at her study desk. “He must have been too busy to remember about the construction of my room.” She turned to look at her nanny and noted the look of pity on her face. “Stop that. Father is always busy and Christopher is always so stressed about being heir since brother Carolus died,” she ordered with a huff. She understood the weight of responsibility that hung over her brother and father. There was no reason for her mother and nanny to constantly try to undermine them. 

“Of course, Cacilie,” The nanny bowed to her as a sign of respect to her superior or as a means to apologize for overstepping once more. 

Cacilie tapped a hand on the desk as she huffed. The sooner she put the request in, the sooner she would have her own room. And the sooner both her mother and nanny would cease making up lies about her father being neglectful towards her. Life would be much easier afterwards, at least that was Cacilie’s belief. 

The nanny pulled out the request form and a quail pen for Cacilie to use. It didn’t take the ten year old long to fill in the form as she had done so on many occasions. She had done it to request a day out to the town five miles from the estate, when she desired to throw a large party for her sixth birthday and whenever she yearned for something which only her father could allow. This wasn’t anything out of the ordinary as she had seen Carolus do the same when he was still alive.