When morning had dawned, Adrianne and I got out of bed. I looked out the window, deep in thought; I was correct concerning the weather, for the rain had not let up in the slightest. The letter from the Marquis was concerning and I wanted to scrutinise it further, but no doubt one of the less loyal maids would find it in their efforts to please Mother.

I scanned the contents again, committing them to memory.

"I ought to burn this letter, shouldn't I..."

Hemeoths in Northern Estray... That's dangerous. Much too dangerous for Father, even with his skills.

"Of course not, you toad. We only happened to snuck into his study unwelcome, rummage through his letters and steal one of the most important documents of all, did we not? And from what I can tell, it seems to me that although your father is a doting one, he does not seem the type to stop your mother from giving due punishment."

Adri walked to the wardrobe, changing out of her clothes and I turned to give her privacy. She did have a lovely figure though, far prettier than mine, with her beautiful golden hair trailing elegantly even before being brushed and the small twinge of envy I felt was soon overcome with guilt.

It must be nice, being as beautiful as her...

The flames licked up to my fingers and I hissed in pain. I was not aware of it back then, but I believe I had a slight inferiority complex when it came to Adrianne; she was far prettier than I, what with my raven-black hair and my icy blue eyes that cut to the bone and my glare that often left others preferring to be inebriated from terror. Such a delightful gift from Mother, it was, but I did not realise its advantages until as of late.

Adri turned to me, finishing in the wardrobe and stepped out in a beautiful mint green belted long-sleeve dress.

"Remember Liz, Lord Alucard must not suspect a thing and that letter would be the bane of our existence should the other maids find out."

She really is much too pretty for her own good. I can’t even pull off looking at that dress…

"You needn't spell every little thing out, Adri. It isn't as if anyone is watching us!" I sniped back, pushing the queasy feeling in my stomach aside.

As soon as I had dusted the ashes of the destroyed letter into the fireplace, I followed Adri's suit and donned a more suitable attire; my slightly torn nightgown was replaced by a lovely lavender dress and the gentle feel of silk-charmeuse soothed my mind slightly.

Mother entered the room suddenly, bringing along Vanellope and Masha in her wake.

"Adrianne, Eliza, Oberon's grace to you."

My face paled.

She should not be back yet.

Dusting my hand, I rushed to stand beside my friend, stunned. We bowed, curtsying gracefully

“Oberon’s grace to you, Lady Celestine.”.

"Oberon's grace to you, Mother."

I ventured the question, "How come you arrived so quickly, Mother? I'm ever so thankful that you're safe, but Father hasn't come back as of late and I fear he'll get caught in this weather."

Vanellope and Masha moved out from behind her and they quickly went about cleaning up the room. They were purposefully ignoring this conversation and experience told me that they were tight-lipped maids.

Mother's eyes softened again, their ice blue colour seeming to sparkle a little more than before.

"My love, your father had to manage more work affairs in Cheverton. It appears that his business ventures there are facing a spot of trouble and he was called away by many a count seeking his advice. I managed back alright, thank you for asking; I left before the storm had grown any worse."

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She turned to Adrianne, "My dear, would you mind giving us a moment of privacy?"

Again with the ‘Love’? Who is she fooling, calling me by that name? But… Father in Cheverton and not Estray? What is going on??

Adri, Vanellope and Masha exited the room quickly, a dirty wash basin in tow and soon I was left with the old Harpy in my room, alone.

What on earth is she planning to do, I wonder?

Mother moved quickly, causing me to flinch. I was afraid and phantom flashes of pain echoed where my body carried unseen marks of punishment underneath the fabric. My heart began to beat in my throat and for a long time, I did not realise what she was doing, terrified.

At that moment, she had tugged me into a hug, pressing her face into my neck; I was too stunned to even think and we did not move for quite some time. The rain outside had lightened to a drizzle and beams of sun seemed to peer into my room as I stood there, uncertain of what I ought to do.

Mother is... hugging me? Is this real??

Torrents of thoughts began to crowd my mind, blinding my vision. I stood motionless as waves of emotion rolled over me in a cacophonous heap: anger and distrust and hatred and bitterness and envy and delight and warmth and pleasure and confusion all mingling together until I could not hear a single sound outside my own thumping heart.

Mother is hugging me… Maybe the sun rose in the west today?

"Eliza, my Love, my proper little lady... What can I do?"

I could barely hear that sentence, to the point of questioning if I had heard it at all and patted her back awkwardly, shelving the panic to the side as I waited for her to explain. She stayed a few moments longer though, as if to draw strength.

Eventually, Mother pulled back and I noticed something glisten on her cheek, though she wiped it away quickly. Her eyes took on their usual frosty sheen and suddenly this gentler, stranger mother was replaced by the old Harpy, the Ahavet of our family. She stood up, towering over me once more, regal in her mannerisms.

"Eliza, I must tell you quickly; your father is currently in Estray as of now. He had been driven there all night long by the Marquis Victoria - you know the one: tall, lanky, brown hair and a jovial attitude? You met him at your birthday ball last year."

I nodded blankly, understanding the situation far more than I should have and I suppose Mother suspected me for it; Father could not possibly be in Cheverton, as the journey was impossible - it was nearly a day's ride by horse and in the weather last night, he never would have made it very far. Estray, on the other hand, happened to be much closer to our manor, with a winding paved road for travelling ease and it was more urgent for him to rush there, considering the contents of Victoria's scrawling letter.

If it were the case, then they would have gone to deal with the Hemeoth problem.

"Your father spoke with Victoria urgently and rushed to leave as soon as he finished explaining the situation. I must admit, I do not know the details of what has happened, but Alucard's face was worrisome, my Love and he asked me to bring you a message. His Majesty Sekhar also ordained his decision and though I do not trust him as a man, I trust in his judgement as a ruler. You are still a child, only blooming into a lady, but even you must obey the Emperor. Whatever he asks of you, you will make sure to do it, understood?"

Knowing her, she would call me a child forever, even though it’s been long since I passed that stage. Even Marcus is growing up and he’s three years younger!

She pulled an important looking letter out of her sleeve and I nodded, worried all the more for her words.

The Emperor himself? These blasted letters will be the death of me…

I groaned internally.

This one, however, was a letter of a different sort; the paper was pristinely white and the ribbon a beautiful blood red, like a ruby. There were two seals on the paper and the sigils had shocked me before I realised what was going on; one marking was from the actual imperial family and the other, from my own.

It was an Archaic Order.

This should not be in my hand; it should be in Father's, or a duke's.

Mother shocked me out of my reverie, but the fear in my blood did not settle, only forcing my heart to thump all the more.

"Eliza Vivienne Von Hestion: I charge you with the Archaic Order in the name of His Majesty, the twenty third Emperor of Valia, Sekhar Adamante Lionel La Valia and Duke Alucard Zenith Von Hestion of Eastern Valia and the Southern Isles. You will carry out the Order in utmost secrecy and only divulge the information only to whomever is directly involved, lest you lose your head for the crime of treason. Do you accept it?"

That stunned me into silence as I dropped to my knees, bowing my head. The Archaic Order from the Emperor to whoever he sent was sacred and I dare not even dream to imagine that Father would believe such a one was given to his own daughter.

The Hemeoth problem really is serious, then… Yvonne, give me strength…

"Do you accept?" Mother repeated, looking all the more concerned.

Clearing my throat, I replied, "I do."

"Very well, then. Be on your way."

And with that, Mother left the room after the maids and Adrianne returned to see what had just transpired.

By then, I was mentally exhausted from the weight of all this information and I simply wanted to sleep, but it was only just morning and the day had a lot to get done.