My reunion with my sister was exhausting but illuminating. Firstly, Cerys was far from the little girl I knew, who hid her feelings and stayed away from everyone. Now, she was much more expressive and open about her thoughts. Away from the Conwenna residency, she was able to flourish. I was proud of her. However, something kept me from telling her those things.  

“I can’t believe I spoke to him like that, I felt my hands trembling and was worried he could feel it too! I thought I’d faint at any moment”, Ewan told me as he finished changing clothes. He was nervous and thought he couldn’t lead the conversation with Marquis Laukkanen. It had been a long time since he acted as a negotiator and the last years were a blow to his confidence.  

“Why do you say that? I’m sure you were amazing”. 

“You were not there”.  

“I didn’t have to. I just know”.  

He laughed and sat on the bed next to me.  

“More important, how things went on your side?” 

I didn’t know how to answer that. I fulfilled the objective, and at the same time I didn’t. After a long silence, he spoke up.  

“Don’t worry, they’ll be here for some more weeks. Take your time”.  

“If I really do that, it’ll take forever”. 

“I can’t force you to express your feelings, you need to solve it by yourself”. 

“I know”. I hugged him. “But it’s still so difficult”.  

“I can imagine”.  

When we met earlier, I took Cerys for a walk on the property. I wanted to show her how things were going and what we prepared for them. Ewan and I agreed to act on both fronts to convince them and bring them to our side. Cerys and I were sisters, but we barely saw each other during our childhood. Because she lived in the main house, she was brought up as a proper lady. She was only allowed to learn things like etiquette, embroidery, piano, dance, singing, party planning and child rearing. Only the things that could make a better wife.  

In Glæma, the noble ladies customarily have two debuts: the first at sixteen, as an educated lady ready to enter society; the second at twenty-one, as someone seeking marriage. In her first debut, Cerys was considered one of the most beautiful and educated debutantes, with many suitors and marriage proposals. She never made it to her second debut, as she fled at the age of eighteen to marry her lover.  

Therefore, all I know about the present version of my sister is second-hand knowledge. According to the information we gathered, she oversees the economic affairs of the Laukkanen House, especially purchases and budget management, and is an active member of the council of families. That means a direct line with all the Northeastern families – Counts Falk and Järvinen, Viscounts Åström and Korhonen, and Barons Hellström and Koskinen. My older sister really grew up to be an awesome person.  

The connection she has with the council of families is vital for our plan. Although most of them are low-level nobles, they are important partners and could bring a change to our fortune and relationship in the national and international scenery. Falk are hunters whose techniques are legendary and ancient, with deep knowledge of all the creatures of the winter’s land; Järvinen are fisherman that monopolize the selling of magic fishes, that have healing and aphrodisiac qualities; Åström are responsible for the trade routes and the transportation of goods through the Kingdom rivers; Korhonen, a family where all the members are born deaf, but with the strange ability to emit a loud scream that can incapacitate or even kill; Koskinen produce carriages, and all ways of transportation, being the main producer in the kingdom; and lastly the Hellström, the producers of furniture made of petrified tree, and also the called cursed family capable of seeing spirits and talking to the dead.  

However, no matter how valuable the commercial and political relationship may be, I still need to talk to her as a sister. Although we were not close, I missed her. She was one of the few supporters, besides my mother, that I had back home. She didn’t treat me like an abandoned child, as brother Llywelyn would constantly, and respected me. When I read her good-bye letter, I felt a pain in my chest for not noticing all the sorrow she hid behind her polite face. How she felt trapped in a house without love and a future of hate – hating a life she never wanted, kids she could never love and a husband who could only see her as an object. Although there were three years left before she could be properly introduced as a bride-to-be, father was already carrying on auctions to find her next husband. Cerys ran away not because of love, but because love saved her from the hell, she was living in. Every time I look at her the guilt overcomes me for not helping her before. 

The next morning, the Amin family joined us for lunch. Aunt Shalhevet and Sybil, who normally eat separately, were also there. The table was full, but the atmosphere was a little strange. Shahen and her family, outside of the social situations, are a loud bunch; however, being around people they didn’t know made them cautious. Auntie and Sybil knew Cerys from when she was young but were both expecting me to take the next step. Ewan and Marquis Rikkard were also paying attention to us and expectant about our reconciliation. Even after the introductions, the talk was limited to business details. Ewan convinced the Marquis to make a deal with Shahen about the horse trade; both were satisfied with the deal and even volunteered some of their workers for an internship so they could exchange information about the care and training of horses. They were still waiting to meet with the Moonrise Caravan that will arrive this afternoon, but their expectations were already high about the negotiations.  

The desserts had just arrived when one of the maids approached me. She was anxious and got as close as possible not to let anyone hear it.  

“Your highness, there is a lady on the hall asking for the prince and princess. She doesn’t want to tell us who she is but says that it is urgent and that she needs to talk to both your highnesses at any cost. We only let her in because she vaguely resembles the third princess”.  

“Take her to the studio downstairs and serve her some tea. If she asks for something to eat, give it to her. Just don’t let her leave. We’ll be there as soon as the dinner is over”.  

After the other guests left to sleep, I told Ewan about what the maid said, and we went to the studio to meet the girl. When we opened the door, I saw a young lady dressed in commoners' clothes. A cape was folded over the chair; she probably used it to hide her lavish brown hair and silk skin that were incompatible with a common girl.  

“Brother Ewan”, she exclaimed and saluted him with perfect form when she noticed him. 

“Princess Chara, what are you doing here?”, he answered. I already suspected, but he confirmed it.  

“I request asylum, brother”.  

“Asylum?” 

“Yes”, she looked us in our eyes and recounted her story. “After father lost the bet, he sought another way to feed brother Attiko’s campaign. He decided to basically sell me to the biggest bidder, like some livestock. He wanted to marry me to some widow of the Metaxas family whose kids are older than me. Since it all started with you, brother, I wish you could take care of this humble sister who seeks refuge from such an unpleasant future”.  

“What are you talking about? You appear at my house without any warning and demand I take responsibility?” Ewan answered, enraged.  

“If you hadn’t made that stupid contract, you’d still have married a decent person. I will have to marry a man old enough to be my father and act like a mother to people the same age as I. Do you think that is fair? I’d have not run away if it wasn’t for my stupid brother”.  

“You are asking for a favor while calling me stupid? It’s not my fault you ran away from home. Father will look for you. As you said, you’re his precious livestock. What will he do if he finds you here?” 

“It clearly is your fault”.  

She was ready to throw a tantrum and, somehow, I found it cute seeing the two of them arguing like a real family. I never had the chance to normally argue with my siblings, and now I’m scared of even talking to them. Those two were never close and they even have different mothers. They hurt each other and never had the chance to act like family; still, in her hour of need, she ran to him for help.  

“Ewan”, I called him, “Let discuss it first”. 

“What is there to discuss? I’m going to kick her out”. 

“If you could even kick someone”.  

“Calm down, love”, it was still strange to call him like that, but it always catches his attention when I do. “I’ll ask Aimi to take her to one of the vacant guest rooms and give her a bath. While she cleans herself and changes into decent clothes, we could talk a little bit”. 

“I’ll listen to you but ask for two guards to stand outside her bedroom. I don’t want her going around the house and annoying the other guests”.  

“Thank you”, she said. 

After she left, I sat with Ewan. He was still mad that his sister came to the house, but his pouting face was so cute that I couldn’t take his rage seriously.  

“It’s cute to see you mad like that”.  

“How could you call that cute? How bold of her to come here. She hasn’t talked to me in years and decides to come here and demand a place to stay”. 

“Don’t you think we could use her somehow? She was always in the palace while you were serving, she might know things you don’t”. 

“I’d rather not get involved with someone like her. She is a spoiled child with no redeeming qualities. Keeping her here is like raising a snake while waiting for her to bite”.  

“A snake? Aren’t you being too harsh? She is not exactly pleasant, but there is no beast we can’t tame, is it? We just need to put her in her place, and we can use her inside knowledge to take down the royal court”. 

“As if that kid will have anything to tell us”.  

“We can just wait and see. And if she doesn’t, we can just break that childish personality of hers and make good use of whatever there is left”.  

When I suggested we break her, his eyes widened, and a smirk appeared.  

“What are you thinking of?” 

“Sybil would love another candidate for her ranks, especially one that is willing to train harder than everyone else so she can stay”.  

“Hmmm... That isn’t a bad idea. I would love to see that spoiled girl with her hands full of calluses. To watch her trying for once in her life would be a good sensation”.  

“I will call Sybil and Naava. I’m sure they can get her a good job in the house”.  

Just like this, the princess's situation was solved. Starting today, she will be a new trainee in the mansion, taking care of the house, the fields and the domestic affairs. From dawn to dusk she will receive multiple classes, along with battle training – sword, magic and strategy – and physical activities. I saw Ewan laughing multiple times just thinking about it.