Cecilia POV:

“So your name is Ti’sha, you’re one hundred and seventeen years old, and you are only contractually obligated to serve me for the next two years. Though you are probably going to serve more than that? Why ‘probably’?” Cecilia

She beams me another one of her smiles, seriously, does this woman think that her smiling at me will actually help her out that much? I already know that she isn’t all sunshine and rainbows from that interaction with him, and I don’t have all the body parts needed for option number two to work effectively.

“I’m not a big fan of the other Royalty, and when I heard you were the Fire’s daughter, I just had to meet you.” Ti’sha

Oh God that name.

“Are you alright milady? You’re scowling.” Ti’sha

Right, right, appearances. Wait, how did she know I’m mom’s daughter?

“How did you know who my mother was?” Cecilia

“Oh that? Simple, Tor told me. I’m one his most trusted servants and he told me in order to convince me to work for you. I don’t have the highest regard for the other nobility, your youngest sister is a complete brat and Riker tried to ‘woo’ me several times by cornering me in a hallway. Boy’s not even a man yet and he tries to get me in his bed! His twin, Trevor, he’s not much better. Boy has issues, ones that would be well cleansed from him if he could almost die a few times. Teach him some courage and the like. Talia is a flat out bitch. And Jeremiah…” Ti’sha

I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose.

“He’s been like that with everyone since he rejected his mother’s lessons. Don’t hold it against him. And if you know so much about my four eldest siblings, what do you know about the three younger ones? They didn’t get as many lessons from their mother, after all.” Cecilia

She nods at me before beginning.

“Elysia thinks Talia is a complete whore, and the Riker and Trevor are creepy. She wishes that Jeremiah took more responsibility and also keeps the younger two as far away from Talia, RIker, and Trevor as possible. Philip is a really shy one, and I think he has a crush on me, judging how he always went a bit red around me. The youngest one, well, she’s a little princess toddler. A bit spoiled, if you ask me, but there isn’t any real indication that it will end too badly. Also, I know that look, and I’m not stalking them, Minister Tor usually visited balls to commemorate their birthing.” Ti’sha

The reason for her confused and disgruntled expression is simple, Erian tradition rarely takes age into account. We used to go off of a system known as the “Marks of Maturation,” to distinguish ourselves above toddler and the like, a village idiot not being in possession of many marks, as you would imagine. The Marks measure mental age and capability, not age in years. The Marks are still used in three out of the five Erian duchies, Maria, Uria, and Esilia.

In Adria, the Capital’s duchy, and Dilia, the home duchy of the previous Queen, we have started adopting traditions from the rest of the world. This happened for two reasons, one being that the rulers of both duchies haven’t been the most steadfast in our traditions, my grandfather more than my father, and that the majority of our trade and port cities lay in both duchies, as they are lined up along the only coasts that aren’t filled with cliff faces.

Minister Tor, if my memory serves me, is a count from Uria, the duchy just north of Adria that plenty of mountains. Uria mainly contains the Orc tribes and Stone-Kin. There are a few other things that have slowly been weeding their way into Eria, more so Dilia, which is a change in the language. You know how I’ve been calling all the races with the -Kin attached? That’s because, in Erian tradition, that is how people are called. Everyone shares a common ancestry, and therefore, are simply relatives with strange body parts and features. This tradition used to be more widespread, but then the Great Upheaval screwed everything to hell. Nowadays people have taken to using completely different names, like how the Stone-Kin have always referred to themselves as ‘Dwarves’ or how the people in Uria have been drawing racial boundaries. Thought that’s just in Dilia, and the Rangers have been hard at work in that duchy. Not to mention the number of “accidents” that seem to happen to the most protected of the nobility there.

“Alright, that’ll be useful for the future. Also, I thought that my existance was to remain a state secret until I was already sitting on the throne?” Cecilia

“Oh, that? I’m the personal servant of a highly trusted state official, which means I’ve been looked over thoroughly. I’m as trustworthy with secrets as the Minister of Affairs and Spymaster.” Ti’sha

Huh.

“Well, that should be everything, for now, I hope we get along well, miss Ti’sha. Also, I haven’t been paying the greatest amount of attention to the politics of most other duchies, so can you help me out with that?” Cecilia

“Oh, about that, I don’t really pay much time gossiping with the rest of the servants and Minister Tor tends to keep away from any Noble business that doesn’t directly involve him. Besides, you have the Minister of affairs to guide you on that front. Although I can understand your frustrations regarding him, he isn’t proper in the least!” Ti’sha

Yeah, my reasoning is much, much worse than yours in the grand scheme of things. I mean, I only need to avoid him until this heat business is over, than I can actually worry about getting to know him. Until then, easier to dislike him simply because my body is telling me to do otherwise.

Also, if you prefer people being proper, we are most likely going to be having soe issues when the nobility isn’t around.

“Well, do you know where some more presentable clothing is, I’d rather not be walking around in the middle of an assassination attempt in a nightgown.” Cecilia

Also, yeah, if you’re wondering why I’m not panicking, ask Y’sar.

“Yes , milady. Also, the seamstress finished a few of her pieces whilst you were out training and the like. She truly does make beautiful work.” Ti’sha

While saying this, she got up and walked over to a basket that was in the corner. It was full of white and blue, silver gilded robes, gowns, and clothes. The seamstress made all of these in less than a day? Does she never sleep? Well, she probably has a workforce under her, but still, and apparently she had another customer with similar measurements, so I suppose it wouldn’t be that difficult for her. I just hope that the lady who she used to sell to had the right measurements, I always had ridiculous amounts of trouble regarding such things. You’d think it would be easier, with Cow-Kin existing, but apparently not.

Ti’sha pulls out a pair of cloths, and starts walking towards me. I think those are undergarments, but the nice kind. Not the kind that hurt like shit and leave lines all over your torso, like my bandages. These are just the kind that are slightly constricting, but still stop the majority of problems. She then drops them on the bed next to me and kneels down at my feet, grabbing the hem of my gown. What is she- oh.

“Um, I’m sorry, but could I do that alone?” Cecilia

She just looks at me with a clueless expression.

“But I have to remain with you at all times, my Queen.” Ti’sha

….

About that.

“I’ll be fine, really. I would just rather… you know… not be seen naked?” Cecilia

She looks at me queerly again, is this woman dense?

“Why?” Ti’sha

Oh for the love of- REALLY!

“I’m not a fan of someone seeing me naked, and would prefer it if you guarded the door, that alright?” Cecilia

She beams me a smile. She then gets up and stands at the door, turning around to look at me.

Making no move whatsoever to open the door itself.

“Soo~.” Cecilia

She tilts her head in confusion. You have to be kidding me, this woman is over 100 years old!

“Oh my lord, leave the room!” Cecilia

She knits her brows in confusion.

“But my lady, it is my duty to defend you with my life.” Ti’sha

I can see why Gabriel doesn’t get along with her, this woman is impossible. Wait, don’t think of him as anything else than bastard! I might actually get along with him at a critical time! Not until the end of my heat, after that, he’s an incorrigible bastard.

I see a strange twinkle in her eyes when my expression becomes more annoyed. Oh come on, did Tor have to send someone so difficult!

“Stop, I know your game, leave before I punch you out of spite.” Cecilia

Her innocent expression turns little miffed and she starts mumbling something about being no fun at all. She opens the door and leaves, careful to make sure that anybody outside the door sees me.

I sigh in relief, today has been fairly stressful, not to mention someone is trying to kill me, probably. Come to think of it, shouldn’t I be more… I don’t know, panicked? Alert? Did I really get that fucked up by Y’sar’s training regimen? Maybe this is why soldiers and warriors in general are always so jumpy when they’re not fighting, but I’m not jumpy.

Crap, I’m confusing myself again. Once the undergarments are on, I realize just how revealed I am. I am not letting Ti’sha see me this naked, I’d go red as a beat. That incident with the other reptilians was different, I mean I hadn’t hit puberty yet. Is it weird for a person to hit puberty at the age of thirteen? Maybe, if you’re not a hybrid, we can be weird like that. Is it weird that person has been killing people since before that? Definitely. Is it weirder that that same person is embarrassed about people seeing them almost naked? I’d say it’s justified.

I then start going through the basket, making note of all the clothing in it. There are some gowns for parties…. That are out of the question. The last buyer had to have been a courtier looking to stir up trouble, these are borderline indecent. The overrobes for them are nice, they are rather sturdy on the outside with a softer material lined on the inside, to prevent me from chafing. Of course, it comes with a hood. I’m actually surprised that the gown didn’t come with a little hood accessory, we are Erians after all.

The next item was a combination of three different articles, an undershirt, some pants, and a more military-esque dress shirt. Well, jacket, kinda. I’m glad that the seamstress managed to piece this together, I think I would go crazy if I was forced to run around in that damn gown, the thing has more in common with a towel than clothing. The rest of the basket was fillled with gowns of similar design to the first one and a few replicas of the clothing I chose to wear. I stand up, and lay the clothing on the bed beside, getting to work on putting it all on.

The pants were comfy, and the undershirt soft, and the overshirt was hugging me rather closely, without being too tight. Overall, I very much so like this garb, it holds me like my armor but much lighter and much comfier.

I then look around, sighing slightly as I realize that there is no sword or sabre for my personal use, gonna have to fix that when this is all over. I feel much better when I have a tool of murder at the ready.

I then exit the room, taking note of everything I can see. There are two other doors I can see, evenly space from my own room, leaving room for what I assume to be a third door. The entire room is lit up by a simple circle of Starstone, and I notice small holes running through the ceiling. The stone is familiar, the same material as what the outside of the tower is made of. The stuff is durable as hell, they even had to rebuild the room at the top of the tower with softer materials on the inside.

There is a table to my left that has three chairs surrounding it, one of its sides lining up along the wall. There sits Saran and the annoyance, yeah, that works as a name. Ti’sha is… somewhere. Saran sees me and stands up, causing Annoyance to stand up as well after he took a brief glance back at me. Both bowed. Gabriel then moved over and pulled out a seat.

“Please, take a seat, it would do you well to better understand our thoughts. Besides, Saran and I are about to become two of your most vital advisors, aside from the Spymaster, but damn me if he is ever forthcoming to anyone other than Tan, and Tan can be annoying as hell unless you get along with him, which I do, so yeah.” Gabriel

I take the chair and move to push myself in, but he takes care of that for me. That was nice of- not completing that thought process. I place both hands onto the table and clasp them together, leaning in so that the sit directly in front of my face, hiding the majority of whatever expression I may take to. Usually it’s used by drill instructors and businessmen to keep their target from seeing their smile, but it can work with hiding momentary facial twitches of pretty much every variety.

Gabriel take his seat back, and I don’t fail to notice the slight amount of difficulty he takes in pushing the chair back. It’s understandable, he’s missing a good portion of both legs and the prosthetics are meant more for standing than exertion. I’m actually surprised that he managed to push me in, I mean, I am fairly light, a slight effect of the physical magical properties I talked about earlier, but I’m still a woman sitting in a chair, that had to have been slightly difficult, at the least.

“Now then, I just want to ask you a question, how much do you understand about dueling? The public understanding of it and the actual laws pertaining to it are quite different, and the intricacies of a Royal duel even more so. Not even a majority of the knights truly understand it.” Gabriel

This will most definitely prove useful.

“Two parties who hold a disagreement may engage in a challenge. The challenge must be brought and stated before a Rowune, to confirm its legitimacy, and should the challenged accept, they must engage in a form of combat as directed by the challenged. If the challenger is belonging to a higher station than the challenged, his wager for the challenge must be exponentially greater than that of the challenged. If the challenger is significantly weaker than the challenged, than, should the challenged refuse a duel, they must submit to the demands of the challenging party. A challenge may not force either party into a state of slavery, and has no power over the dissolution of family bonds, including marriage and engagement, and vice versa cannot forge a family bond.” Cecilia

He nods, a pleased twinkle in his eyes as his permanent scowl lightens a deal. He eventually sits back and begins motioning with his arms as he spoke in a lecturing tone that wasn’t conducive to his youthful appearance. Well, if you disregard the grays, a further mark that he’s Erian, they age like Erkin shit.

“That’s a bit more than the average commoner knows, but it’s different in regards to when Royalty is thrown into the mix. Ever since your great-great-grandfather took the throne, he made deposing the ruler a bit too easy. So, you can be deposed by a bearer of the title of Duke or Grand Duke, as long as they are not relatives which you were chosen over. A relative of the heir or heiress apparent may not challenge them for their station, lest they have the support of three of the five Dukedoms, twenty of the twenty five Counts, or sixty of the eighty Barons. Technically, you’re the fifth duke, and possess one of each of the lower titles, but that still leaves three out of four Dukes to worry about. If they challenge you, they must present their candidate, in the case that they challenge you en-masse, and then that candidate may choose a champion to represent him from those warriors that willingly apply. The champion must be within five years of age in regards to either you, or the Champion you choose to represent you. You are granted freedom from execution by the decree of the challenger, but lose any claim to the throne you may have been gifted by the previous monarch. So, yeah. Those laws about marriage also apply, but we have another problem regarding that. As you are the blood of a Primal, the Beast-Kin nobility will expect you to adhere to their “racial customs.” Another Primal of comparable age, skill, and station will be accompanying the diplomat from the Principalities on their diplomatic visit. As is his right, he can challenge to share the heat with you, which in tandem with our customs regarding such sexual relations, you will be forced to marry him. Obviously, that’s a problem. We’re moving up the time tables and scheduling a hunt, working you adrenaline in such activities can stave off certain effects of the heat and, should you catch the largest prize, it’ll hopefully establish your dominance over the delegates.” Gabriel

… okay firstly, how long as he been coming up with that, secondly, hot damn I underestimated him, and thirdly, my ears twitching. Hopefully this is what my ear is twitching about, I’d rather not have more things to worry about. Speaking of which.

“While that’s all well and good, I have a question. Am I going to have to marry anyone?” Cecilia

He immediately flares both hands above his head.

“Not unless you fuck up bigtime. In which case, my condolences.” Gabriel

Gabriel then picked up one of the mugs that had been left on the table, taking a long swig of the liquid inside, seeming to heartily enjoy himself in that moment.

“On the topic of marriage, Gabriel, anyone catching your eye? Or are you still trying to get your first kiss?” Saran

Gabriel went bug eyed and started choking on the mug’s contents, causing Saran to start laughing rather heartily. I myself can’t help but offer a slight giggle.

These people are nobles, but they act like actual people.

Maybe there’s hope for nobility yet…

…

nah.