Their mother and father came in early in the afternoon to sit them all down at the dining table for a talk, later than Gabe had initially predicted.

“Girls, something very important is about to happen tomorrow. Baron Phillip sent us some auspicious news, but we have to approach it with care, yes? We can’t say the details for you yet, but we need you to prepare and be in your best shape for tomorrow morning,” their Father stated.

He was a big fellow, neither thin nor fat, and dressed in a red tunic embroidered with golden turnips. That type of clothing was not traditional in his birthplace, on the contrary, he was born and raised in the capital. But, it was a nice piece to show off the exotic merchandise he had available, and so he played the part, with colored leather booths and a big bushy beard and voluminous brown hair that eluded most of his standard-like features. His mother, on the other hand, was a beauty to be reckoned with. Although she wore a simple commoner pale-blue dress, her foreign face was enough for her to stand out. She had full lips, golden skin, and short curly hair that surrounded her face like a dark frame. She had a distinct claw-shaped nose and symmetric gypsy eyes, honey-sweet as her forever smile. The woman was almost a perfect, if not older, copy of their eldest daughter.

“Mother will help you, darlings, to prepare. We will close the stall early today and spend the rest of the day making sure you are all perfect, yes?” She beamed brightly to all of them.

“What will happen tomorrow? Will an important client come?” Manny questioned, worry deep in her youthful eyes.

The youngest one looked like a perfect mix of the two. She had a small face and brown wavy hair, like her dad, but a lengthy body and a bigger nose, like her mother. The only divergence was her big bright green eyes, inherited from her father’s mother's part.

“Not a client that will come but us that will go to a client. Perhaps the most important client that we ever had, my daughters,” his father voiced, “So we all have to look our absolute best.”

“Who will this client be?” Samir accused with that tone of theirs, of someone who’s not approving what’s happening in the slightest.

If Alani was just like her mother, Samir was their father in a female form. Face just the same with a petit nose and thin lips, they differed only in their darker skin tone and their cut short curly black hair.

“Why accuse us like that daughter?” Their mother screwed her eyes at her, only a crack of pupils scrutinizing her reaction, “Your father already said we can’t divulge the details, on behalf of the Baron that asked for secrecy in the matter. You will know when the time comes.”

Samir folded their arms as if to say they did nothing wrong, but her mother never had much patience for their tantrums. Before she could further discipline them, Lulu diverged the conversation.

“Can we know at least where is the place we’re going? It's better if we know how to prepare for this trip right? It’s been a while since Mother don’t deal closely with my belongings at least,” a very good argument that granted her a concise answer.

“We are going to the Royal Castle, my daughters,” his voice trembled with perhaps a tint of pride.

Lulu blinked, adjusting her glasses and letting go of a breath she didn’t seem to notice she was holding. She was one of the most unique sisters of the bunch. Her skin was darker than all of them, a trait coming from her grandfather on their mother’s part and her face had some tints of an older lineage from the Sandilands: Perpetually squinted yellow eyes, full black almost curly hair and large brown lips stood out as soon as anyone put their eyes at her. Her tall stature (for her age) made her equally noticeable, although she learned with time how to make herself smaller and harder to see.

They all quiet down, digesting the new information, but their mother took notice of one of them specifically.

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“Gabe, my dear, you look distracted,” her tone was suspicious…? It was hard to tell, “That’s not very much like you. Are you feeling alright?”

She whipped her eyes upwards with the remark, alert again.

“She’s been having some back pain, Mother,” Alani answered instead, “Her moon cycle is probably coming early this month.”

“Will she be alright for tomorrow? We can’t have a weak link, even if it's just Gabriel,” Their Father questioned their Mother.

“I’ll be fine,” she said at the same time Mother and Alani stated: “She’ll be alright.”

Of them all, Gabe was the only other oddball. She was merely tanned, like Father and Manny, but had the looks from his father’s lineage – not his father himself. She had a long face, a sharp chin, and brown droopy eyes. Body small and thin, frail-looking although fairly muscled. Her hair was very brown and very thin, so much so it was hard to make it grow past her waist. She was ordinary in all it took, and mostly, if not ever, overlooked, but Gabe had to remember to keep herself acting the part of the elder sister, or else even her inattentive parents would notice something was unusual.

“Well, that’s good then. You girls go make yourself the prettiest, I have some things to arrange too,” and with that, he got up and went to his bedroom, the place in the small house that duped as his office.

“Shouldn’t you go too, Mother?” Alani said slowly.

“Oh, why, I should help you be ready, no?” She said, but she kept on her look a second too long in the direction their Father went. They all knew he had the tendency to overdo things when his wife wasn’t around, and that was why she usually kept herself close to him every time it involved any kind of business.

“It’s alright,” Gabe said, reassuring her, “We know it's best if you go with him. He has his head in the clouds sometimes. I’m sure Alani will know how to help us.”

“Will she now?” she looked troubled by the decision yet, “I feel like I spend too little time and guidance on you girls, sometimes. And this is an important, a very important, time. I am sure he will know how to deal handle himself without me, right?”

Alani touched her hand, smiling.

“We’ll be fine and beautiful, Mother. Don’t worry.” She reassured.

“Yes. And I think exactly because it's an important time that you should keep him close. Alani is used to leading us, and I am a grown-up now too, right? I’m sure we will be alright, and you can check us in the evening to see if anything else needs to be done.” Gabe completed.

“Oh well,” she spent just some more moments fussing over them, making sure they knew all the things that needed to be done before retiring to her room.

Samir waited three long seconds before voicing her complaints.

“They wouldn’t even tell us it’s about marriage talks?” her face was one of outrage still.

“They didn’t want to spook us, dummie dumb,” Lulu shook her head.

“I think they noticed what we were doing over the years too,“ Manny reflected quietly, “About Alani’s suitors.”

Alani shook her hand, an “anything goes” gesture.

“It doesn’t matter now. We have more important things ahead. Come girls, we need to prepare so Mother will think of us as adequate. It will give us more time to coordinate tomorrow morning too.”

Gabe once again got lost in her thoughts, and the oldest one reached out to lightly touch her shoulder.

“Are you really okay, Gabe?”

She focused again, this time with less alarm.

“Yes, sister,” she looked at the others, that were now staring at her with concern, “I am, really. I am just thinking of what to do in most scenarios I can think of. It helps me… Well, it helps me feel more confident about our plan.”

“Well, there’s little time and much to do so no more thinking,” Samir pushed her up her chair.

Gabe sighed at her manners but complied.

“3 hours Gabe,” Alani warned, “Any more and we won’t have time to wax you both before Mother comes to see us,”

“I know. We’ll be back soon enough, don’t worry,” the second oldest said as Manny came from their room with their leather bags.

Gabe and Samir took off the outer layers of their dresses, revealing traveling pants and sturdy walking boots, and gave the extra fabric to Lulu, who quietly wished them safe travel.

“Be back soon sisters. And be careful.” Manny kissed goodbye on both of their cheeks.

“I am always careful, little one!” Samir laughed.

With a last amusing look, they left the house by the backdoor.