Their third sister was the first to speak but wasn’t the first to get up from their seats, enraged:

“What do you mean we are going to move to besides the Castle?!” Samir’s voice was loud and crass.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Lulu exclaimed, doing as she did so rarely and extending herself to her full height, almost as tall as their parents, “You can’t possibly have simply said yes to such a stupid proposal!”

Their mother, seated on their dining table in the space between their room, looked at them with the dangerous look of someone who wasn’t at all pleased with their attitude. It would be a look that would usually suffice for them to quiet down, but not this time.

“Mother, it’s so sudden! We are just wondering why we have to do this, yes?” Manny interfered, pulling in vain Lulu’s skirt, then with better luck, Samir’s.

“Girls,” she stood up… “Remember your manners. I am your Mother,” …and stared them down, the second tallest in the family, “I won’t take any request if it is delivered with this attitude. And beyond that, it baffles me you aren’t thrilled with such a wonderful prospect! Why do you act as if this is a punishment? Don’t you know that with this me and your Father will have much better prospects professionally and much higher chances of arranging a suitable marriage with a gentleman of higher rank?”

“Damn marriage, marriage, marriage! Why is this the only thing you talk to us about? Don’t we deserve the courtesy of being at least asked before you intend to give us off with plucked legs and a bow like a bird?” It was clear to all but Samir that their words struck a chord that should not have been struck in their Mother.

Alani quickly stood up as well, touching her sisters’ shoulders to indicate they should move back. They complied with a slight flash of hesitation and the oldest, as tall as her mother, did another unusual action when she looked their progenitor in the eyes.

“Mother. I hope you can understand and forgive our reaction to all of those… unexpected events. But they are indeed rather sudden and we have not been given any explanation. We are restless thinking about what this all could mean, and why it is happening to our family. Manny might be young enough to follow without any harsh judgments but Lulu, Samir, Gabe as well as myself are old enough to think about good and bad projections.”

So rare it was for their oldest to stand against their Mother, she hesitated before continuing to lecture them… But the oldest sister’s influence and good grace didn’t seem to be enough to stop her sense of seniority, even more so after what was said by her younger sister.

“And to explain would’ve been my next step if I had not been so rudely interrupted by your disrespect! My Goddess, it’s even worse that you are the one condoning their actions, Alani. I expected much more of you and your influence on your sisters!”

They all retreated, fearing instinctively what was coming next.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing, girl,” she gave them a knowing look that made their blood run cold, “They don’t have a future if they don’t marry off well, Alani! Their father and I won’t be here to support them forever. And you! You are twenty-one! Dear Goddess, you should be willing to accept a beggar if they come to our doorsteps, not keep yourself around putting worms in their heads with your words and actions.”

For a moment, none of them dared to speak, petrified in their places. Their Mother being fed up with the liberties they took was something that had been coming for a long time really, but still, it was so sudden. Everything that was happening was just so sudden.

“Mother,” Gabe’s voice seemed much more… subdued compared to her relatives, ”Please reconsider our insensitive actions merely as our nerves playing tricks on us. As Alani said, we are just nervous. And about her marriage affairs… Everything is settled now, no?”

Her mother's eyes widened then clenched, suspicious, but Gabe didn’t allow her to wonder.

“His Highness. He told me,” Understanding drowned her face, then anticipation: “...He thought her manners to be impeccable. Fitting for the role.”

The older Thatcher opened a smile that shifted her entire posture to one of absolute satisfaction. She clapped her hands, laughing.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“This is great news, my girls, great news,” she moved to give the oldest a hug, “I knew you had a great destiny ahead, daughter, I always did!”

The silence almost filled the room for a second too long.

“Since we are going to go tomorrow,” thanks the Gods her mother had mentioned the fact, “I am going to help the younger girls to pack and explain the situation. I believe it’s best for Alani to hear it from you and Father?”

Her mother backed away from the oldest sister, still looking and sounding slightly out of her right mind, though she seemed to consider her words as she said;

“Yes, it is best. Your Father won’t come back until late at night since he is busy choosing our new residence, we shall have a moment alone, yes daughter?” she held her hand, smiling wildly at the very rigid girl beside her.

It was almost as if her sister had regressed to the Alani of years ago, Gabe thought with a sigh, but it couldn’t be helped. She supposed the Charm would take more than a couple hours to fade.

“You are still under the effects of the Prince,” she stated as soon as they entered the room, before they could say or do anything else, “None of you were behaving normally, no, not even you, Lulu,” she stopped before she could deny, ”Would you ever call mother stupid to her face? I thought so.”

She pointed in the direction of their suitcases as she went ahead to pick up her belongings. Three voices rang at once:

“Why did you throw Alani to mom like that?” Manny puzzled.

“What do you mean ‘effects of the Prince’?” stressed Samir.

“Are we really going to be forced to leave?” Lulu raged.

Gabe sighed again, not failing to notice her pounding head because of… well, everything. She didn’t turn to them as she kept moving.

“Yes, we will be leaving. I have some idea of what might have happened: It seems that it was an order from the Queen herself, so you can see why we have no choice, right?” she stared at Lulu’s pained, but now resigned face, ”My conversation with the Prince was rather fructuous so don’t worry about our… exposure, I am confident I can dig information from him as soon as possible as to better protect us. Till then, we will have to deal with things as they come. Now, can you explain the Prince's Charm?” Gabe had restrained from explaining things during the trip since their mouths seemed to still be quite loose due to the Charm.

“A Charm? Well, he is a fairy after all. I had thought it to be an enchantment he made, to make us act out of our minds,” Lulu explained, and Samir cursed.

“So that's why you were so weird right now! I thought you were acting off because of a side effect of the pill,” Samir said, before pausing a second too long, “You did take the pill, didn’t you?”

Gabe turned to look as well.

“Does it even matter? The Charm would work with or without it, is it not?” she backed down.

“No, not really, Lucious,” Gabe stared her down, “The Prince said some pills might have an opposing effect on his charm, and your experience would have been invaluable to speculate if the ones we picked were effective in that regard,” She shook her head.

The heavy silence was only interrupted by the youngest one.

“What about our poor Alani? Didn’t you see how frightened she looked? Did you have to leave her like that?”

“What would happen if Mother wasn’t pacified, though? And furthermore, what else could distract her at a time like this?” As Gabe questioned, all of them quieted down, deep in thought.

“Mom would blame Alani even more because she wasn’t doing what she wants,” Manny found the solution herself, “but right now, she is, and she will forget it since the rest doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Even more, isn’t it good that Alani remained unmarried? Now, she has the chance of marrying a Prince she knows, by a first-hand account, that favors her. She is to be treated well,” Gabe massaged her temples, pain rising as time went by, “I know she will be uncomfortable having to be alone with Mother in the state she is now, but it's for the best. And Alani knows how to appease others. She will be fine.”

“... And the Prince really did say that about her?” Samir wondered.

“In a way, yes. But don’t worry too much. By the feel of our first encounter, I think I can work on him.”

But Gabe knew they could perceive her intent on keeping things vague, it made them avoid asking further questions about the subject.

“Nothing worked out as planned,” the little one whispered.

Indeed, it didn’t. Gabe knew she should be adjusting her plans but how would she do it if she had just lost whatever little grasp she had? The Prince had gotten dangerously close to finding the whole truth and she was no fool to think he didn't intend to press her mouth open in the next chance he got. Even if she managed to keep their secrets, the others were too young, too inexperienced to do the same. Alani would be the only other one safe… Though the oldest one had many weaknesses the royals could explore. Four, actually. And Gods, didn’t that apply to her as well?

She closed her eyes, her headache going strong.

“… What do we do now?” The thousand gold question. Gabe was tempted to ignore it just like she was doing to her pain, but the thought was short-lived. Her sisters didn’t deserve punishment for what wasn’t their fault.

“Well,” Gabe turned, one hand in her temples and a pile of clothes under her arm, “for starters, we need to pack.”