She paced rapidly over her new personal bedroom as she talked a long, bewildered rant… One she had been at for a good dozen minutes.
“I cannot believe they would be this big of a fool after everything that I tried to impart to them about this whole situation, dear Gods, how could they put all of our lives in danger like that without thinking about the consequences of those devil sent deals they made?”
Alani watched her agitation with concern.
“And this damn house, how are we going to manage to keep an eye on the staff if with this place’s size? It’s a matter of time before some of them find it and rat us out! No, forget it, before the week’s end, they will already have enough sensible information about us to tell to that cursed bastard boy that lives across the street!”
“Gabe.”
She stared at her older sister with heavy eyes.
“We will have to work together on this. They will make a fuss if it is only me talking, but if you put on your weight too, we might have a chance to reign them in until things calm down.”
“Gabe, sister,” she put her hands around her shoulders, “Listen, yes?”
“Alani. You know better than anyone that I am right,” Gabe shook her head, already predicting how the eldest would try to cover up for the younger ones.
“Gabriel.”
Alani’s tone was one she didn’t do too frequently, so much so that Gabe quieted, begrudgingly paying attention for the first time ever since they entered the conversation.
“I am not saying you are in the wrong, my sister. You are not, and Samir’s actions were not ideal, that is for sure. But their actions aren’t to be blamed on them entirely. I, too, was part of the whole thing, and if I didn’t allow them to leave, nothing would have happened. Samir is just sixteen. It was my duty to have a better judgment and I didn’t.”
Gabe tried to hold back the relief that was spreading in her facial expressions. She was thinking the same, yes, but her words weren’t quite there yet, so the admission of guild alleviated part of the frustration that still boiled in her stomach.
“Even so, of one thing I am certain of– my mistake was not to allow them to leave and follow their way, but to have stayed behind and deprived them of guidance. That is something you still don’t understand, sister. We can’t stop our sisters from being who they are. They would only find a way to do it behind our backs. Can’t you see Mother and Father?”
“It’s different. I don’t want them to change, I just want them to be better at what they choose to be. Wiser too.”
“And how are they supposed to learn that with you taking away their autonomy?”
“You are distorting my words, Alani, I never meant to take away their free will. Hells bellow, I don’t think us and this whole kingdom combined would be able to do it if we tried,” she argued, undefeated, “But they need a stern voice that will protect them from their hotheadedness and show them their mistakes.”
Alani smiled as if she was saying something so foolish she couldn’t stop herself from finding it amusing. She took Gabe’s hands, holding them tight.
“Sister. You already are this voice for them. Who do we turn to when we need to know how to behave? Go back to our first date in the Castle and it’s plain for anyone to see.”
For the first time, Gabe hesitated.
“Give them your verdict and wait for them to grow,” She said, emphasizing it word by word, “If we are here for them, they will manage to be the best, I’m sure. We will deal with things as they come... And no more,” she shut her before she could continue.
Gabe wasn’t completely certain about this argument of hers, and she was nowhere near relaxed, but she allowed the oldest’s arm to go around her shoulders as she paced, decidedly slower than before, around her room and towards the center of the place.
“Now, sister, the thing we ought to do is to look around us,” she indicated their surrounding with her finger and a sigh, “For better or worse this will be our new home for the foreseeable future. If you want to reign in anything, start by learning how to better use this place and the people in it. I believe this will be more fruticious than trying to control what our sisters do. It will be certainly easier at least.”
“Or so you say,” she gave her a look that wasn’t at all satisfied, but the younger let the matter go for the moment, “Be warned and warn them too, I will still have some words with Samir later on.”
“Remember to utter them with kindness,” she gave her a soft hug and left her for her thoughts.
Gabe took a deep breath as she tried to acknowledge her surroundings.
Though the house had not been very full when they entered, it still contained some furniture, undoubtedly what the previous owner couldn’t take with them. A wooden bed (triple the size of Gabe’s last one) and a sizeable wardrobe stood out. They had already put her things on the side, close to a writing table decorated with carvings of the same spirals she saw outside. Some of the tapestries that adorned the walls in their last house were divided and placed in different locations; her room had one made of blue and purple geometrical patterns, colors that would have contrasted brightly with the dark wood of the surroundings if they weren’t faded by its many years of existence.
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It went without saying that it was big, much bigger than her last room, and Gabe could easily pace dozens of steps without stumbling onto any furniture. That gave her an uncanny feeling that she was suppressing rather harshly as the girl was set on dealing with her feeling of overwhelm much later on. Maybe before sleeping perhaps… She supposed that since she would be able to have privacy anytime she wanted, she could also use this to her advantage.
This train of thought pleased her, easing enough tension to make her shoulders relax.
The first floor was divided by the main set of stairs, and to the left was where they shared their rooms and a balcony. Hers was located opposite Manny’s bedroom since she was now responsible for keeping an eye on her and on her right Samir’s. Opposite her third sister was a room supposed to be Lulu’s… But the girl had insisted on staying on the tower. All of them had tried to pursue her not to, since the place's first and second floor was occupied by the spiral stairs and it's top floor was smaller and more isolated than all the others in the house, but once she set her mind on something, no one could convince her otherwise. So, the spare room was said to be converted into a space for the other sisters to “train their skills”, in her Mother’s words.
To no one surprise’s, Alani was set to sleep beside their parent’s room, on the right side of the mansion. The matriarch wanted to keep her closer than ever and their Father… Well, she doubted he was thinking any deeper than usual. Gabe had long known what kind of man he was. For him, it was granted that since they were all his daughters, they would honor him as daughters would. Even if Alani was not the one... no matter who was chosen, he was certain he would not be disregarded no matter what.
Gabe sighed again. Sometimes she couldn’t help but feel anger at their Father’s simplicity, and other times… She felt just helpless. But she supposed she was feeling helpless towards many other things at the moment, not only at their parents.
What should she do now? Planning, of course.
Regarding Samir’s purchases, they had moved quickly. Manny, the smallest and least surveilled one, had the tea leaves (which they had broken enough to look similar to the real thing) mixed with normal mint leaves in the kitchen and put it together with the spices suitcase their Mother so much loved. Since the older woman was now expected to not spend time in the kitchen, she would not be paying close attention to it. The pills were in her handbag under the label “calming pills”, and she had thrown the thing on the bottom of the new wardrobe as soon as she got on the room. The other stuff was currently hidden on a broken plank under her bed.
With that out of the way, one of the first things she had to do was to find a way to get all the staff’s names. Her Majesty had been kind enough to gift them all the people they would need to keep the residence clean and the kitchen working, so she would have to be extra careful as to do so without ringing any bells. Later on, she would also have to have to work to observe them enough to discern their quirks and manners, perhaps tempted to guess their intentions, but that would take time she didn’t have for now.
Their newest impending doom was that party they were fated to go. She’d have to rearrange the roles all of them were to act on and let their sisters know as soon as possible to play the part convincingly… Though Alani had just been saying for her not to focus on it just now, did she not?
She would go the other way around then. Gabe needed to know as much as possible about who might be there… But that would require too many questions, and she couldn’t afford that.
The girl massaged her temples in frustration, wishing for some of the “calming tea” Samir had fetched the night before, and even without realizing it, she started pacing again.
If all the people were impossible, then at least the hosts. They were their neighbors after all, so it should be easier to disguise that inquiry. With the house’s proximity, there were some tricks one could do as well… But she round all the way back to the point that she had to be acquainted with some of the maids as soon as possible for it to be feasible. Gabe would work on it as soon as the next day after things were quieter around the house, she decided.
What else, what else? Oh, she could not forget their – her – performance at the event. Gabe would have to promp her Mother to find someone to teach them what was the common manners of someone attending events like these. That at least wouldn’t be hard, but to convince her to do it so quickly might be tricky. Maybe Alani could help on that one.
Thinking of her mother… Maybe her interest in making them proper Ladies would come rather handly if played right. If she probed her enough, would she be willing to contact their neighboors for them to be introduced early on? If not all of them, would she take Alani at least? Gabe didn’t know what exactly she could gain from this course of action, but sure as heavens and hells she would feel better to at least have a feel on who she was dealing with.
the girl decided to do it as a side move, while really focusing on the other two: trying to find a person to teach them how to act properly and scraping for info about the hosts of the event they would partake in.
Other than those two, there was the Prince to think about and the possible tension there might be from his encounter with-
“Gabe?” a small voice called out, prompting her to stop and face upwards, to a curious little face, “What are you doing?”
Manny put her head inside from the glass door on the way to the balcony they shared, her hair being blown by the pleasant breeze that also made its way in.
“Ah… I was just thinking, darling,” she took a deep breath and invited her in with a wave of her hand, “What are you doing?”
Manny entered leaving it open, the sun also making its way now that the curtains were caught in the open door.
“I was looking in everybody’s room,” she swirled, big eyes checking her surroundings, “Lulu’s is the smallest but it's so interesting I wish I had picked it first.”
Gabe shook her head.
“Would you be able to live so far away from your sisters?”
“It’s not that far!” she pouted, “And I’m a big girl, you know? I would do just fine.”
The older one just chuckled, getting ready to ask her to come another time, after all, there was much for her to think still.
“Come, why don’t you have a look at my room? It’s really easy to get there from here!” Manny quickly grabbed her hand and pushed her outside, towards the light, “But we have to be quick. We are all waiting for you in our new assembly room.”
“...New assembly room?”
“You’ll see!” she smiled so brightly Gabe couldn’t help but smile as well.