“Miss,” a voice cut through the fog in Tina’s head, “Miss, it’s time to wake up.”

  ‘Huh?’ Tina thought as she peeled her eyelids back. Bright light of day shined directly into her eyes. She let out a groan and she rolled over, hiding her head under the big fluffy pillows. She tried to go back to sleep, but a nagging feeling rose up. It was another voice. There were times where this voice became the voice of reason, the voice of logic and whatever the situation called it to be. It was her inner voice. ‘Why was there someone calling me miss?’

  “Miss, really,” the voice that woke Tina up rang out again, “You slept through the Pope’s arrival. It’s lunch time. It’s way past for you to be up, miss.”

  Tina’s head popped up from the pillows. Her eyes opened, focusing on the owner of the voice. The owner of the voice was a woman a bit older then Tina and the way she was dressed, it didn’t take a genius to see the woman was maid of a high station. The woman wore a maid uniform. The white apron extended down to her knees while the black skirt danced around the woman’s ankles. The top of the maid outfit had the same color scheme, but the top apron had the traditional kitchen aprons straps looping over the woman’s shoulders while the shirt had long sleeves, cupping the woman’s wrists. Tina blinked at her, taking in the maid’s dark hair sitting on top of her head in a bun and the light make up on her face. The uniform reminded her of the classical Victorian style she had seen in historical shows.

  “About time you woken, miss,” the maid stated, “Now, get up. The Ruling Family will be holding Court soon to welcome the last minute stragglers for the Funeral.” She pulled down the covers, revealing Tina’s nearly nude form. “I know Queen Belladonna is upset about the stragglers.”

  At first, Tina wanted to curl up, trying to hid the fact she had slept in her underwear. That passed as Tina let out a sigh, slipping back into the mindset she held while she was away at college for the first couple semesters and while she was at the Black Tournament. She slid to the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, listening to the woman prattled on about Queen Belladonna.

  “Several of the maids who work in the Queen’s Tower, already sent warning to the maids with the new families that Belladonna is furiously,” the woman went on, “Belladonna doesn’t like stragglers. I think it would be best to expected a lecture about punctuality when you are announced to the court.”

  “Do I have announced myself to the Court?” Tina asked. Her voice held a bit of a whine. She didn’t want to go through that, even though she didn’t know what it meant to be announced.

  “Oh, yes, miss,” the woman looked shocked that Tina would even consider otherwise, “It is strongly recommended by the Ruling Family and it is to my understanding, your family’s Matriarch, Lady Freya, basically ordered it.”

  Freya? Tina frowned then her memories of what happened and the situation she found herself came rushing back. She let out a long breath before she stood up. Her eyes roamed over the room before she turned to the maid, asking, “I didn’t explore the suit much last night, well, upon my arrival, so where is the restroom?”

  “Restroom?” It was the maid’s turn to look confused.

  “Loo? Bathroom? Latrine?” Tina rattled off a few words she knew meant the same thing she was looking for. She didn’t think she would have to deal with language barriers. However, when the word ‘Latrine’ fell from Tina’s lips, the maid’s face lit up in understanding.

  “The Latrine is over here, miss,” the maid walked over to a door that Tina didn’t see the few hours ago when she decided to make this suit her home base until she left. The maid opened the door. Tina walked over to it and shut the door behind her. She heard the maid gasped softly, but she didn’t put much thought into the reason why.

  A few minutes later, Tina walked out to see the maid already made the bed and set out a dress for her. It was similar to the one she had wore the day before, but it was a deep purple. She gazed around the room. The maid had disappeared. She shrugged and walked over to the closet. She stepped inside and spotted her bag in the corner where she had stashed it and knelt before it. She frowned as she tried to remember if she had managed to cleaned any of her other pair of underwear she had brought with her. She dug through her bag and grabbed the extra pairs, pulling them out. She tossed over the closet floor and went through them. Most of them was dry and covered in mud. She let out a sigh. It meant she would have to wear the same pair of underwear again.

  She eyed the mud covered items as a thought accord to her. Maybe she could wash them the best she could and let them air dry. She shrugged. Now, she would just have to find some water and a large enough bowl where she could hand wash her things. She didn’t want to hand wash her other clothes. She would be there all day doing that. She gathered her underwear and stepped out of the closet as the same time the bedroom door opened, allowing the maid to walk in.

  Tina noticed the other woman carried a tray of food and the smell drifted through the air. Tina’s nose twitched, sniffing the scent. Her mouth watered. She immediately shallowed.

  “What’s that, miss,” the maid asked with a curious note in her voice.

  “Some under things,” Tina explained. She didn’t think it would be a bad thing if she had explained a few things. “I had a bad experience with a mudslide recently and I haven’t got my clothes clean from that experience, just yet.”

  “Oh!” the maid ran her eyes over Tina. “I’m glad you are alright.” She paused for a moment, “Even though, your back tells a different story.”

  Tina blinked at her, thinking for a long moment then she remembered before she replied, “My back is still healing from a major misunderstanding with a tribe of- oh, what did Tristan called them? Fawns?”

  “You ran into the non-humans,” the maid’s eyes widened. Her eyes filled with horror and pity. There was a glint of something else that Tina couldn’t identify. “I’m glad Sir Tristan was there to save you. The Fawns of the Dead End Forest have been known to kill any human that wonders into their territory without reason. Such horrible creatures.” Tina hummed in thought. It sounded like the maid was reading from a script of kind. The maid went on, “I will send for a Healer later to take a look at your back, if you wish, miss. I do think we can skip the corset. That would irradiate the wounds.” She paused, looking at the dress on the bed.

  “I do think that would be best,” Tina commented, “I never wore a corsets before and I had no desire to see if one will fit or not.”

  “Never?!” the maid gasped, looking at Tina in surprise before she took a look at the pile of dirty clothes in Tina’s arms as she muttered something that Tina could have sworn it sounded like ‘Lucky you’ before she spoke up, “You said you were in a mudslide. I’m glad you managed to survive that.” When Tina nodded, she went on, “Where are your clothes? I will take them down to the laundry to get them wash up.”

  Tina paused, debating on the choice. She asked, “How long would it be before I get them back?”

  “I figure it will be the morning before your clothes are brought back to you,” the maid stated, “Sebastian has hired a lot of new hands and reached out to the local laundry ladies for the extra help to combat the large increase of people now staying at the castle.”

  Tina nodded, remembering that Sebastian was the man who escorted her to this room, in the wee hours of the morning, “Alright.” She turned and went back to the closet. She grabbed the bag by the handle and carried it back to the main bedroom. She placed it at the foot of the bed and undid the flap before she reached into it.

  She needed to hid that scroll. Her fingers wrapped around the scroll and pulled it out. She set it aside and shoved her underwear into the main pocket before she pulled out a few other things she would be using for the day. “Here. The clothes will be easier to carry in this bag.” She closed the flap and left the bag at the foot of the bed.

  “Thank you, miss,” the maid nodded in agreement, “I will take care of them while you are at Court.” Tina nodded. “Let’s get you ready to go to Court.”

  It didn’t take Tina long to get dressed before the maid guided Tina to a chair by a vanity. The maid filled the silence of the room by her chatter, “You have beautiful hair, Miss Valentina.” Tina winced at the use of her full name, but didn’t say anything about it. “It kinda reminds me of General Genesis’ hair. Are you two related?” Tina didn’t answered that question, but the maid ended up answering the question, “Of course you are related! Silly me. The Armstrong House united their families with the marriage of Annja of House Armstrong and Bardock of House White Hall, nearly 30 years ago.” Tina kept her face emotionless as she did the math in her head. It made sense. She knew Genesis had to be a couple years older then herself. “I meant that you could be his younger sister.”

  “No, we are cousins,” Tina cut in, sitting down in the chair, “Annja is my Aunt.” The lie came out easy, but it felt weird, off, to say her mother was her aunt.

  “Oh, really!” the maid said, reaching over to the vanity and grabbed a brush before she started to brush Tina’s hair. “That makes sense. It would mean Lady Nami is your grandmother.” The maid didn’t seem to take a breath as she went on, “That is amazing. I wish I had a grandmother like that. Lady Nami was rumored to be an unique fighter, using something called Spirit Energy as a weapon. I know she tried to teach it to Merlin and Morgana while she was living here and still does when she comes for a surprise visit. That’s why this room is always prepared for her, but it has been a few years since anyone has seen her. Is she still alive?”

  “Yes, she still is,” Tina said, thinking about her great aunt, “she has been dealing with a few issues -” That was the best way to describe the fact her aunt decided to take on a student and became involved the events surrounding training him and what kind of trouble he managed to stir up, “-that has popped up and she hasn’t been able to travel for a few years thanks to those issues.”

  “Well, I hope she is okay,” the maid said, “I was assigned to her while she was staying here. She is a sweet heart, but a harsh woman to her enemies. Many of the Butlers and Maids used to find excuses to be around when she and Queen Belladonna went head to head about various issues over the non-humans. Rumor has it that Belladonna has tried multiple times to banish Lady Nami from the kingdom, but Lady Nami always had the support of the Military. I think Belladonna knew if she did managed to banish Lady Nami from the Kingdom, there would be an huge uproar over the news. I remember my father - he served with the Lady while she was the Head General - saying Lady Nami had the respect of the men and they were willingly to follow her if she got banished.” The maid ran the brush through Tina’s hair before she began to style it in one of the current fashion trends of Camelot. “It wasn’t until I got assigned to serve the Lady Nami I understood why my father was willingly to do that.”

  Tina didn’t say a word as the Maid pulled at her hair, styling it before she pinned it into place. It was strange to hear about her Great Aunt like this. She was aware of Aunt Nami’s reputation while she was visiting her in Japan and later when she was introduced to the world of demons. The impression Tina was given, Aunt Nami was a powerhouse when it came to using Spiritual Energy and she was skilled in several different forms of martial arts. She remembered how Aunt Nami woke her a few times. She resisted the urge to shudder with horror. She couldn’t how opposite Aunt Nami was from her sister, Tina’s grandma.

  Deciding to turn her thoughts elsewhere, Tina decided to ask about something that had been bugging her since she arrived in Camelot, “What is going here in Camelot? I mean I know that the King recently has died, but besides that I don’t know anything about this Kingdom. My grandmother didn’t give me any knowledge to go on when she sent me here.”

  The maid’s eyes meet Tina’s eyes through the mirror before she started, “Besides the King’s Death, there have been a lot of changes going on.” The maid took a breath, going on, “Our neighbors, The kingdoms of Franks and Mercy, have been gathering strength and if the rumors I have been hearing about them from the travelers and the newbies among the staff, people have gone missing. It doesn’t matter if there were non-humans or not.”

  “Is these Kingdoms friendly to the non-humans,” Tina asked. She had been under the impression demons and Sprites were the only non-humans existed, but after her run in with those Fawns and that tree spirit, Tina was changing her mind, fast.

  “Majority, yes,” the maid answered, “I know Franks are, but Mercy..” She trailed off as she walked around Tina and grabbed some closed containers sitting on the top of the vanity before she opened one to reveal a light color powder. She pulled at one of the drawers and grabbed a puff ball. “Mercy has a reputation to be cruel, even to their citizens. I don’t know how many horror stories I have heard about their cruelty.” She rubbed the puff ball into the powder before she patted it over Tina’s face.

  Tina couldn’t speak without a fear of breathing in some of the powder. “However, the ones who managed to get away, from they say, they are the lucky ones.” The maid stood up and set the powder aside before she grabbed a small brush with another container with a brown reddish powder. She twisted the top off and brushed the makeup brush on the top of the powder, “Close your eyes,” she ordered, gently. Tina did so, waiting for the maid to do her thing.

  “Anyway, the Pope arrived this morning. It is the first time in a couple decades since he had visited. Most of the time, he usually visited the other kingdoms, not Camelot. Something do to with Belladonna or at least her family the last time he did visit and he never came back. I’m glad he decided to visit. There hasn’t been a lot of people going to the other places of worship.” Tina frowned at that. She had thought Camelot had been the perfect, well as perfect as a kingdom or government could get, kingdom. People had equality and lived fairly well.

  “The churches and other worship places are hurting as a result. King Uther, he tried to paint the picture that he was a God-fearing man, but he was rarely seen in Church. High Queen Kalliope, however, did attend Church as well as the other Queens and Prince Arthur. Queen Belladonna wasn’t afraid to hunt a person down if there were apart of the Court and question why they weren’t at mass. I have seen it with my previous mistress.” The Maid let out a sigh as she obviously remembered the event.

  “That Queen didn’t care that my previous mistress became too ill to attend Church or the fact my previous mistress recently had a babe and she was still too weak to go to mass.” The maid’s tone struck Tina one of disapproval and the red head couldn’t help but wonder what cause this Queen Belladonna to be, well to put in other words, a ‘bible-thumper’.

  “How many queens are there?” Tina asked, directing the conversation. She needed to know what she was going to be facing while she was in ‘Court’.

  “Oh,” the maid paused, “I forget the current count. I know the other living queens have came to Camelot for the Funeral, but usually there is Queen Vivien, the eldest, Queen Belladonna, she’s known as the Warrior Queen, Queen Clarine, the mother of King Uther and the grandmother of Prince Arthur, and there is the High Queen Kalliope. She’s the youngest of the queens and married to King Uther.”

  Didn’t the Queens take over power after their husbands died? She had been under the impression that was how it was. Of course, her only example she could think of was the British Royalty. Nearly 10 years ago, King Charles passed away from old age and his son, Prince William, took over, even though his step-mother, Queen Consort Camilla was still alive. Tina frowned, glancing up at the Maid, asking, “Why are there so many Queens?”

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  “The Holy Sword is part of the reason,” The Maid explained, “Usually, when the King dies, the Holy Sword choses the Next King and most of the time, the Chosen King is already married and have kids of his own. Whoever the High Queen is at the time this transition happens, is forced to step aside for the Chosen King’s Wife who becomes the High Queen. For the past 20 or so years, it has been the House of Drake that has ruled over Camelot, either through the Kingship or the King had the chance to marry one of the Princesses. As a result, not many will know that the Holy Sword has been the force to chose the next King.”

  Tina nodded, stating so she understood what the maid was saying, “So, this Holy Sword choses the next King, no matter what kind background he comes from. If there is a princess or in this case, queen is free to marry, there is a marriage to hid the fact the,” the next word was hard to get out due to the fact it was a new concept for Tina, “Chosen King isn’t of royal blood.”

  “Yes,” the maid beamed at Tina.

  “And if the Chosen King is already married with kids, there is a good chance that the House of Drake could easily say that there were distinctly related to allow a peaceful transition,” Tina went on. The maid nodded before Tina brought up the question, “There is a Prince of the Royal Family, correct?” The maid hummed. “Has he already tried to pull the Holy Sword out?”

  The maid let out a deep sigh before she launched into an explanation, “Yes, Prince Arthur already announced he wasn’t Chosen by the Holy Sword and will be stepping aside for the Chosen King to take over. Until the Holy Sword choses, he will be the Acting King.”

  “What if the Holy Sword doesn’t choose a king,” Tina asked. She watched as a dark cloud entered the maid’s eyes and stayed there. The maid’s face became guarded. She straightened up. The atmosphere in the room changed. Apparently, Tina had finally came across a hard topic.

  “You are ready to attend Court, Miss,” the maid announced, peering down her nose, “Since this is your first time at Camelot, I will summon a Butler to escort you to the Seasonal Throne Room to be introduced to the Court.”

  Tina blinked as the maid set the brushes on the vanity top and spun on her heel. She walked, stiffly over to the bedroom door and disappeared out of it, leaving Tina alone in the room, wondering what did she do to get that kind of reaction of the maid. She waited a heartbeat, frowning after the maid before she stood up and slipped on her boots, thankful the dress was long enough to hide the fact she was wearing her hiking boots instead another pair of shoes. She walked over to the bed where the scroll lay. She grabbed it and slipped into her bodice. She would hid it later when there wasn’t a chance that the maid would return with her escort.

  Tristan let out a sigh as he hurried through the halls. He should have known there would be a summons to Court. There were late stragglers arriving when the Ruling Welcoming party was in the process of leaving the castle grounds, heading down to the dock to welcome the Pope and his party to the Kingdom. He couldn’t believe the person who decide to put the summons waited as long as they did. Belladonna probably did it as a way to show that she was in power while they weren’t. He shook his head.

  Whatever the reason was, it didn’t matter to him. He knew he still need to deliver his report to the Ruling Family about what had happened in the Dead End Forest. Hopefully, he would be able to do it soon, instead of waiting until after the funeral. Those humanoid creatures Youkai as Tina called the wolfish non-human seemed a lot more dangerous then the average non-human. If they decided to set their eyes on the Kingdom, Tristan doubt there would be much the forces of Camelot would be able to do against them. He still remembered how that wolf humanoid moved through the air like it was nothing.

  He spotted the Court Announcer getting into place outside of the Seasonal Throne Room as a line of House Representatives formed down the Knighted Hall. He nodded at the Court Announcer and walked into the throne room. His eyes roamed over the room.

  The Queens were settling down into their respectful places in the line of the Queen Chairs while a couple chairs were placed on the other side of the empty King throne. A man, Tristan assumed he was the Pope from the way he was dressed in white, shuffled into place, sitting two chairs down from the empty King’s Throne. Two more men Tristan never seen before sat in the empty chairs on either side of the Pope.

  One of them he recognized from the long white tunic and the red cross on his front informing everyone that he was a Paladin. The fact he sat next to the Pope also informed Tristan it was High Lord Paladin Peter. That meant the other man in the simple brown robe of a Christan brother was High Lord Bishop John.

  Tristan didn’t think he would see the trio until the funeral in the morning or that night at the evening mass. He frowned, thinking about what that would mean. He spotted the Prince as he strolled behind the Queen’s Chairs to the empty chair to the left of the King’s Throne, settling down beside High Lord Bishop John. Tristan caught Arthur’s eye and nodded in his direction.

  Arthur nodded back and brought up a hand, jerking a thumb behind him. Tristan made his away toward Arthur and slipped between the King’s Throne and the Prince’s Throne before he turned and stood a foot behind Arthur’s left shoulder. Lancelot appeared a few moments later, standing three feet to Tristan’s right, hovering behind Arthur’s right shoulder.

  High Queen Kalliope entered the Seasonal Throne Room, calmly, walking to her throne. Tristan watched as Sir Jack stepped forward, walking down the stairs of the raised platform, holding out a hand for the High Queen. Kalliope sent Sir Jack a smile before she reached out and took the offered hand, stepping up the stairs.

  Sir Jack escorted the High Queen to her Throne. She turned, facing the gathered Court and announced, “Thank you, all, for coming to Court. Before we address any issues that doesn’t require the presence of a King, we will welcome the late stragglers to Court.” She paused. “Court Announcer, would you please do the honors of announcing the late comers?”

  “As you wish, my queen,” the Court Announcer bowed from his position by the Throne doors. He disappeared out of the room as Kalliope settled into her chair and waited. The Court Announcer appeared a moment later and announced in a strong voice that bounced off the walls, “Announcing Lord Denise of House Wincaster, Heir of the Wincaster House, First of his name.”

  Lord Denis of House Wincaster stepped into the Seasonal Throne Room and strolled toward the raised platform where the Ruling Family and their guests sat. Tristan let out a sigh. Court had began. It was going to be a long day. He returned his attention to Lord Denis.

  The approaching Lord was a tall man with blond hair that curled around his ears. His shimmering blue eyes stared straight ahead, at the High Queen. He wore what was appropriate for meeting the Royal Ruling Family.

  At least, Tristan thought it was. He knew some of the Families did go all out for attending Court. He could have sworn a few times, he was heading to a wedding or Church with some of the ladies dressed. Speaking of them, he could hear a few of them cooing how beautiful Lord Denis’ eyes were, a couple of them wondered in soft tones if he was in a marriage contract yet or not, and a group of the court ladies commented about some sort of scandal Lord Denis was rumored to be apart of. It was rather tedious.

  He hoped he would get some entertainment soon. He felt his attention roam through the room. He frowned when he saw two of the Generals, standing with their houses. He was sure General Genesis was required to be attending Court as well since they would have to report on several issues involving the upcoming ceremony. If Genesis was running late or forgot about the Court session, Tristan would be getting some entertainment. Only problem was it was the kind no body would enjoy watching.

  Genesis entered the White Hall Wing and spotted the mysterious Lady of House Armstrong coming out of her suit, being escort by one of the Camelot Butlers. He stopped. He frowned, staring at the Lady Armstrong, thinking about something. He knew that Reno was saying that the Lady was his missing sister, Valentina, but Genesis couldn’t put his entire attention on the issue, despite the fact he should. It was a family matter, after all.

  However, he couldn’t right now. There was too much riding on his shoulders - the family matters here in at the heart of the kingdom, keeping his men in line for the funeral, and now, the fact he was trying to reaching into the dark for extra help where the Kingdom couldn’t provide such help.

  Genesis already planned to ask his cousin, Remus, to help out, but why not hit two birds with one stone, he mused. He knew he had to make his decision soon. Lady Armstrong was quickly approaching him and the stairs behind him. Their eyes met. Her eyes held a curious and worried glint in them. He made his decision.

  He stepped forward, into Lady Armstrong and her escort’s path. The Butler paused. The General spoke, “Lady Armstrong, how are you finding Camelot so far?”

  “I haven’t been able to explore the castle much, sir,” She spoke in an even polite tone, “But the people have been pleasant.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Genesis replied, “May I ask where you are going?”

  “Apparently, to Court,” Lady Armstrong said in a cheery tone that didn’t match her eyes. Her eyes screamed something at him. “According to my maid, I am supposed to announced myself to the Court, by the order of our Family Matriarch and the Court.”

  “Ah, yes,” Genesis frowned. He remembered how she announced herself to him that morning. “I’m sorry to ask, but I don’t know when you arrived.” He paused as he realized he would have to make appearance at Court, as well. He had forgotten that he was required to give a report in front of the entire Court. How did his father managed to keep all of his duties straight while he was living in Camelot? He resisted the urge to sigh, shut his eyes, and rub the bridge of his nose.

  “Late last night,” She replied, “I didn’t think it would be appointed for me to wake you to up to announced that I had arrived.” Her lips twitched. “Until you decided to wake everyone in our wing with a Bang.”

  Genesis’ eyes narrowed at her. She responded by widening her eyes, giving him an innocent look. He turned to the butler, saying, “Thank you for your attempt to escort the Lady Armstrong to the Seasonal Throne Room, but I think this requires someone of more higher standing escort this…” he paused, taking his time to look over Lady Armstrong.

  She wore a deep purple dress that hugged her form, modestly compared to what the other ladies of the court wore. It was somewhat refreshing to see a woman deciding to hid certain parts of her instead trying to broadcast her desires. She raised an eyebrow at him when he glanced at her face. His heart skipped a beat once he realized he didn’t finished his statement. He quickly finished his thought, “Hellion.”

  “Hellion?” Lady Armstrong echoed, raising her eyebrows, “I prefer the term ‘Sassy’.”

  Genesis snorted, but kept his mouth shut. If he replied to that, they would be there all day, discussing the difference between the term of ‘Sassy’ and ‘Hellion’. He offered her his arm. She slipped from the Butler’s arm and took his. He led her away from the White Hall Wing, leading her to the Seasonal Throne Room.

  “So, I heard you are a General,” Lady Armstrong started. He felt her gaze on him.

  “Yes, I am,” Genesis didn’t fight the surge of pride rush through him as he puffed his chest, “One of the youngest to achieve the rank.”

  “I bet your family is proud,” she commented, a prideful smile played at her lips.

  “Yes, they are,” He replied, “I don’t know how my mother or my sister would react to the news.”

  “How come?” She quipped as he walked her through the various hallways, and down the stair cases, following a route he knew, entering the hallway leading to the Seasonal Throne Room. It was lined with statues of the Original Knights of the Round Table. It was something to behold, no matter how many times he had to walk down this hallway.

  “My mother and sister had to leave when I was young,” Genesis stated, “Before you ask, I barely remember the reason why. It was protect my sister from something. I don’t know what.” Lady Armstrong nodded in understanding. “I did see my mother just before I left to become a squire for a knighted family member. She didn’t stay long, citing that my sister still needed her where they were staying at and didn’t know when the next time she would be able to return home.”

  He glanced down at the Lady on his arm. She didn’t cling to it like the other women he had escorted around the castle or to a political event where he needed to bring a date. “She claimed my sister was doing well and was excelling at what she wanted to do. That upset my grandmother to no end.”

  “Oh?” Lady Armstrong asked.

  Genesis laughed, slightly, remembering what happened, “Yes. My grandmother is a fright to deal with on a normal day, but once she heard that my sister was excelling at Archery and other boyish activities, grandmother had demanded mother to bring my sister back where she could learn to be a proper lady and the proper mannerism to attract a suitable husband.”

  Lady Armstrong gave him a wide eyed wild look. “Mother said no and refused to let grandmother know my sister’s location until mother announced she would have to stay much longer then she thought she would. She was pageant with my youngest sisters, Natasha and Natalie.”

  The woman on his arm sucked in a breath. Her gaze shifted away from him as she turned her face away from his questioning gaze. He was about to ask what was wrong when she asked, “What is your missing sister’s name?”

  “Valentina Marie White Hall,” Genesis stated, “She prefers to called Tina by her loved ones.” He paused, before he asked, “Why?”

  “Curiosity,” she replied in an even tone. She didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I shared her name.” She said. Genesis’ heart skipped a beat as silence fell between them. He resisted the urge to study the woman on his arm. However, she did shared the same shade of red head as him and several of his cousins, marking her a member of the White Hall family at least. “Anyway,” she turned her face to him. “I’m sure you know the castle like the back of your hand. Perhaps you could show me around, sometime, dear cousin.”

  Genesis smiled at her, “It would be my honor, Lady Armstrong, but this is where we part ways.” He watched as fear crossed her eyes before it disappeared. He went on, “Don’t worry, my lady, I will in the Seasonal Throne Room as well. I have to give a report over the security measures to the Ruling Family and listen to the other reports. I heard there is a list of them.” Lady Armstrong nodded. “I will be on the left side of the room with the rest of my cousins. We are grouped together by Ancient and Nobles Houses. I won’t be hard to find.”

  The Lady of the Armstrong Vessel House took a deep breath and let it out, saying, “Alright.”

  Genesis dropped his arm and walked past the Count Announcer, ignoring him. The room was already packed. He didn’t need to go through the announcing process. He strolled over to where he had spotted Remus, Rosemary, and Jacob. He nodded at Reno who stood a few feet away from his cousins.

  His eyes roamed over the room. Honor stood with his Ancient and Noble House Representative on the opposite side of the room. He still couldn’t believe that Honor’s House was a vessel house to the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Zack, Honor’s second, stood several feet away from Genesis’ cousins with his Ancient and Noble House representative. Bartholomew and his second were apart of the same House, being cousins, so it didn’t come to a surprise to Genesis to see them standing together in another part of the long throne room.

  “Good morning, Lady Rosemary,” Genesis commented, “You look lovely today.” He turned his attention to Remus and Jacob. He nodded at them. They returned the greeting.

  “Morning, General, and thank you,” Rosemary said, “I must say I didn’t think you would be a gentleman and escort a Lady to Court. Who is she?”

  Genesis wanted to groan. He hoped Rosemary wouldn’t try to set him up with Lady Armstrong. According to her, she was his cousin through his mother’s side of the family, first cousin, if he recalled the familial lessons.

  He answered Rosemary, “You will see when she is announced.” He turned his attention to Remus, “Hey, Remus, could you swing by the Family Office after we are done here? I need to talk to you about something, privately.”

  Remus frowned, but nodded. They turned their attention back to the room as Lady Valentina stepped up to the Court Announcer. Genesis glanced behind her and winced. She was the last one to show up. He glanced over at Queen Belladonna. She looked furious. This was going to be a long and painful Court session.

  Lord James Black nodded at a random lady of the court as she started talking to him. He gave her a polite smile, but ignore her words. It was one of the few things he hated about attending Court. The mindless small talk, the false smiles, and the two-face people. It was all the same, every time he attended.

  He resisted the urge to sigh. He knew he should have stayed at home, at the Noir Estate. He wouldn’t have to deal with the annoying Court things. However, his cousin, King Uther, died and it was out of family obligations he had to attend the Mourning Dinner and the Funeral. He knew his Great Aunt also wanted him to pull the Holy Sword out of the sheath or at this point, would it be in the rock that the battle mage created over a thousand years ago?

  He nodded at another lady of the court. He wondered if this Lady was also looking for a husband. It was a common thing. A Lady only attended court to find a husband or increase her status somehow. He couldn’t blame them. The ladies didn’t have much freedom to marry who they love when their husband was chosen for them by their fathers or brothers. The only thing they could hope was to influence the possible outcome.

  He directed his thoughts back to the lady who looked at him. He hoped her gaze didn’t land on him for very long. James didn’t have the time to properly court a Lady nor the time to create a family. He had too many things to change at the Noir Estate since he had become Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

  He tried not to think of the list he had created in his rooms. It was at least two feet long and growing. Hopefully, he would be able to start changing things in the family for the better, soon. Only then, he could start looking for a lady worthy to be his wife and create that family he dreamed of having one day.

  Lord Black glanced up at the doorway. His lips parted. His eyes widened. There walking through the doorway to the Seasonal Throne Room was the same woman who caught his attention early that morning, walking toward the kitchen, wearing a black cloak. Now, she wore a dress deep purple. She looked surprise by something, but she schooled her expression to hid her shock. Her eyes held the shock she tried to from her face as they darted over the walls, taking in the art work of the seasons.

  He hummed, softly. The mysterious lady was beautiful. Her red hair was done in the latest court style, staying out of her face. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity once she got over her shock. This had to be her first time at the Court of Camelot. He gapped, softly, as her name rang out through the Season Throne Room. She was an Armstrong.

  He knew it had been a long time since there was an Armstrong walking these castle walls. His Great Aunt used to complain about a Nami Armstrong and a Sakura Armstrong, breaking the social norms and trying to join the Military when she was the High Queen. Eventually, there was an Armstrong who became General. James didn’t remember which one it was, though. The General Armstrong stayed around for a long while before she disappeared one night, roughly 20 years ago.

  He turned his gaze up at Aunt Bella. She looked calm, but her eyes betrayed her. They were flashing with anger. James immediately felt sorry for this Lady Armstrong. She was in for it now. He really hoped she could stand up against his Aunt’s rage.

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