Since the unsuccessful afternoon party, whenever Violant encountered Euphemia by chance, she was glared at. The redhead had even tried to apologize for what had happened but the other girl didn’t even want to listen to her. Well, Violant’s apology hadn’t been sincere since she had said what she really thought after all, and Euphemia knew that.

Even worse, Mortimer, when confronted with a teary Euphemia, had in fact agreed to what Violant had said, thus furthering the insulted girl’s resentment. In her eyes, it was all that devil child’s fault that her beloved Mortimer didn’t like her anymore, for Violant had to warp his senses with her venomous tongue. Euphemia would never forgive her.

Euphemia’s increased resentment was inconsequential for Violant though. Although it might lead to a little bit of hassle in family matters, it didn’t affect the big picture.

Even in the returnee’s last lifetime Euphemia never had married Mortimer. In fact he had married some Viscount’s daughter experienced with fief administration simply for convenience’s sake and also had some children with her. Violant didn’t know any details since this had happened after she had cut ties with her family and she had chanced upon this information several years later.

She didn’t know at all what Euphemia’s later fate had been but she never got involved with any members of the royal family in the time Violant had been married to Gervase and seemed to have withdrawn from noble society altogether.

Despite all her resentment, Euphemia stayed in Avallach for Midwinter, mainly for her fruitless efforts to regain Mortimer’s affection she never had had in the first place. In the process she seemed to develop at least a rudimentary ability of reading the mood and thus hindered the Midwinter preparations less frequently than before, a fact all inhabitants of Avallach Castle were deeply thankful for. It was Violant who was thanked for the taming of the shrew rather than Mortimer though.

In such an environment where the pre-festival workload was reduced to manageable amounts again, the festival preparation successfully came to a timely conclusion. On Midwinter day itself the servants worked in shifts to afford them a day with as little work as possible, for the festival was not only a joyous day for the lordship but also and likely even foremost one for the subordinates. The kitchen staff, however, was excluded from this grace since they had to prepare the holiday meal for the whole castle.

The margrave and his family including their guest assembled in the dining hall where a tall fir tree had been erected and where the walls were decorated with green garlands of holly. Both evergreen plants symbolized the perseverance of vegetation in the bleak winter season and the promise of the gods that springtime should return as long as there were still bushes and trees holding on to their leaves.

The long dining table was laden with a great variety of all delicacies available in winter and surrounded by the servants who once a year were allowed to dine at the same table as their masters. A crackling fire in the big fireplace ensured a cozy warm atmosphere. Wine and beer flowed freely and the tipsy merrymakers could count on the leniency of their lord as long as they didn’t lose their bearings completely.

Violant also decided to thoroughly enjoy the one day of the year where all feuds were adjourned, charity was the order of the day, and sympathy was given even to your archenemy. To her great joy the governess Lady Alse, although present too and even more prim and proper than at any other day by wearing her finest dress and having carefully pinned-up her straw blonde hair, willingly turned a blind eye to all violations of etiquette her student might show. Violant’s vindication was that her etiquette wasn’t lacking at all. In fact it was just that the governess was rather meticulous regarding the intricacies of noble society.

The girl’s magic teacher Eibhlin, a stunning elven beauty with a voluptuous body, beautiful almost floor-length silky blonde hair, and the typical long pointed ears of elves, managed to get so drunk that she began to climb on the table and started a magic show all by herself. The fire magic she released into the air resembled intricate fireworks but ultimately set the fir tree ablaze. Later on Eibhlin was banned from any kind of alcohol since she had such a low alcohol tolerance.

Old Alarun also had joined the festivities although big crowds really weren’t hers. As soon as she entered, she was already monopolized by Doctor Wace and his assistant Ottiwell who did their best to serve the revered schrat healer. When she thought that the hustle and bustle went too far, she excused herself and left. Later some stable hand told that he had seen the hoary woman celebrating Midwinter in the stables with Huwcyn and night-raven Hraban who had joined them.

Exploiting the fact that Midwinter was also known as a festival of love, Euphemia sought to endear herself further to Mortimer. But considering Mortimer’s dislike for her it was a pointless endeavor. Normally she would have blamed this on Violant but given the joyous occasion she didn’t do so – at least not openly.

In such a manner the inhabitants of Avallach Castle passed the Midwinter holidays and New Year’s Day approached.

The Avallach family saw Euphemia off at the very same place where they had welcomed her several days prior: in the entrance hall. Orderic’s niece was completely covered in fur clothing again since it was still as bitterly cold as it had been during her arrival. The snowfall had ceased for the last two or three days, but it had now begun to snow heavily again at the present.

“Reluctantly I must leave you know.” Euphemia spoke, shedding some false tears although at least her reluctance to part with Mortimer was real. “Although I would have loved to greet the new year together with you, I have promised my dear mother that we would enjoy the festivities while bathing in the famous thermal springs of Sulia. During this dreadful season there is nothing as important as taking care of your health after all.”

So they watched Euphemia leave, glad that they wouldn’t have to meet the obnoxious nuisance for at least a couple of months. At the latest they would reunite in October of next year when both girls would have their social debut in the capital following their sixteenth birthdays. Euphemia couldn’t stand the fact that she was younger than Violant though, for the former’s birthday was in October but the latter’s in September.

Hearing her cousin talking about the hot springs in the duchy of Sulia, by the way the fief of the chief minister’s family, Violant couldn’t escape the feeling that she had forgotten an important future event connected to the famous recreation spo,t but no matter how much she tried to remember, she didn’t seem able to.

In the middle of the night the girl woke up. Finally she remembered what had bothered her. The event she did think about didn’t take place in the thermal springs themselves but during the journey there. The concerned party was Prince Wynkin, the king’s eighth son. The very same boy who would show symptoms of berserk syndrome and thus be put to death. In fact the outbreak of the boy’s disease was the very event Violant couldn’t seem to remember. Sometime in late April of next year Prince Wynkin would travel to Sulia to treat his perpetually sickly body but would experience the starting symptoms of berserk syndrome while on the way. Thus he never would reach the hot springs but return to the capital as a cold corpse.

The returnee thought about it for a moment. Berserk syndrome was said to be incurable and the idea of insanity coupled with unimaginable strength and invulnerability spread fear in the hearts of the people. But now she had Alarun, an existence who could cure illnesses deemed incurable by even the best human doctors. If the schrat managed to heal the young prince from his affliction, the very boy who was the queen’s and her married daughter’s apple of the eye, wouldn’t that be the chance to have the royal family indebted to her she desperately was looking for? Of course, the first thing she had to do was affirming that Alarun could indeed cure berserk syndrome. Violant made a short mental note to ask the hoary woman tomorrow about this matter and turned around in her bed to fall asleep again. Soon only gentle, even breaths could be heard in her chamber.