Evelyn was slow to wake and even slower to get out of bed. Even as she finally managed it, her warm blankets called to her. Tempting her to get back under them. But she forced herself up. She couldn’t stay in bed all day, even if that is exactly what she wanted. She immediately regretted her decision when her bare feet touched the cold stone of her room.

Evelyn quickly walked over to her closet, where she had foolishly left her slippers, and put them on. While she was there, she got dressed for the day. Her maids, while they had given up trying to dress the young lady, had already set aside the day’s dress. Evelyn smiled to herself at the memory of the last time they had tried to dress her. It had only been one week after she arrived at the Duke’s Residence.

She quickly got dressed in the thick winter dress and grabbed her book. After arriving at the Duke’s she quickly earned the reputation of always reading. If she wasn’t doing something else or talking to someone, she was reading, even when walking. Luke had quickly learned how to direct her around while she was reading, or she would run into things, and by now it was fairly instinctual. He didn't even notice when he did it anymore.

Today’s book was about the intricacies of the Taurian Government and Nobility. A fascinating subject because the Taurians had two kings. One that managed the military and one that managed the domestic matters. Traditionally, the Kings were brothers, with the oldest being trained to become the Military King.

Evelyn put on her shoes and left the room, nearly walking into Luke, who had his fist raised to knock on the door.

“Oh! Hi Luke.”

“Oh, Hi Eve. I was coming to get you for breakfast. Whatcha reading now?” Luke stepped back, allowing Evelyn to exit her room, and together they began to walk to the family’s personal Dining Room.

“Taurian Noble Intricacies.” Evelyn said, holding up her book to show her friend.

Luke glanced at it, “Huh, sounds boring.”

“You’re boring.”

“How old are you again?”

“Thirteen and eleven months!” She proclaimed, sticking her chin up like she had seen some of the prideful nobles do.

“Still such a child.” Luke said, a disappointed look on his face before he ducked under Evelyn’s swing and running away.

“Come back here and let me hit you!” Evelyn gave chase.

The two kids ran through the halls of the Duke’s estate, filling them with laughter as they ran in between the numerous servants. Some keeping the estate clean and running. While others were assisting the Duke with his numerous duties, such as running messages or bringing reports. The Duke advised the King, focusing more on the domestic affairs. He had agents throughout the Kingdom, each providing reports on even casual and unimportant matters. They left it up to the Duke to connect the dots.

They turned a corner in the hallway, Evelyn on Luke’s heels. Right into one of the guards. The armored man picked Luke up by his collar, while he gently but firmly held Evelyn’s arm.

“Young master Luke, young madam Evelyn, I do believe the Duke has asked you not to run in the halls. It disrupts the servants while they go about their duties. Now, I really don’t want to inform him of this, but I will if I see you running in the halls again. Understood?”

Luke hung his head, “Yes sir.”

“Good.” The man let go of them, dropping Luke, “Now go eat your breakfast and have a good day.”

They stood there while the guard walked past them, resuming his rounds. When the man passed them, Luke looked up with a grin and took off running again, Evelyn right behind him. The guard looked behind them and saw them go, but only rolled his eyes, continuing his rounds.

The two children soon burst through the doors of the family’s personal dining room. The table was large enough to sit six, but the family was only four, five with Evelyn. Luke’s older sister was currently abroad educating and strengthening herself while also fortifying the reputation of her family. And the Duke himself rarely joined the rest of them for breakfast anyway, though he always did his best to join them for dinner. Evelyn was actually surprised to find out that most of the nobles who ran their families rarely joined said families for meals. The Duke was one of the few who did.

He found the time, though he would still occasionally receive reports or fill out paperwork while he was there. But he strived to hear about their day and keep up to date on what was happening in their lives. Evelyn had noticed people following them throughout the day several times, only to find them handing reports to the Duke that same day.

Currently, only the Duchess sat at the table, eating some fruits while reading a book. The Duchess actually wasn’t Luke’s mother. His mother had died just over a year after giving birth to him due to a Monster raid on a small village she was visiting, doing the same thing Luke’s older sister was currently doing. The entire Kingdom had mourned her loss, and called her a hero for saving the village.

The Duke had married the current Duchess just two years ago. And while she never tried to replace their mother, she strived to be the best one they had.

She looked up at their entrance, “Good morning, children.”

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“Morning Sofia.”

“Morning Duchess.”

She smiled warmly as she set down her book. The servants had put the vast selection of carefully prepared food down the center of the table, which the two kids quickly began to pick from once they sat down. They immediately began to stuff their mouths with one hand, even as they continued to put food back on their plates with the other.

Fresh fruits from the City Greenhouses. Various flavors of porridge. Fluffy pancakes served upon a platter enchanted to keep them warm, with several syrups to choose from. Eggs of all kinds, from scrambled to omelets, and from both cattle raised within the City and from Monsters. Bread freshly baked that very morning with warm butter. Juices from a multitude of fruits.

Evelyn still remembered back when she had first come to live in the Duke’s estate. The vast variety had stunned her. When she lived in the village, her family had at most two different foods per meal, and she had never tasted half the food available. Even the Academy didn’t have the selection.

It was actually the first day of the week-long break for the Academy. Then classes would resume once more. Some of the students would have different classes, while others would remain in the same ones.

“So, what are your plans for the day?” Sofia asked the kids.

Luke looked up, his mouth full, “Wepth gewing tew,” Sophia interrupted him.

“Swallow before you talk, young man.” She said sternly.

Evelyn giggled while Luke took a moment to chew before swallowing, “Sorry. We’re going to the market! I found a stall that sells some really cool glass figures and I wanna show Eve.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Just make sure to bring some Guards with you.” Sophia reminded.

“Don’t worry, Duchess, they already know and have a few set aside to escort us.” Evelyn said, grabbing a slice of toast.

“So long as you are careful.” She relented, returning to her book as she ate.

Evelyn and Luke quickly finished their meals and rushed out of the room. Sophia just smiled warmly as she watched them go. The two children sprinted to the front gate of the large estate, where a group of four lightly armored guards were waiting. One of them spotted them and nudged his companions.

“Greetings young master. We are ready to travel with you.”

“Thank you. The trip should be fairly short. We are just going to the market and back, no wandering.” Luke tried to reassure the guard, who grimly smiled.

“So we are going to the most densely populated area in the city, with thousands of people all moving chaotically, pushing and shoving, and with only four of us to protect the two of you?”

Luke smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, “Yeaah. Sorry.”

The guard sighed, “Should be fun. Shall we get going? The Weather Mages are predicting a blizzard later in the day, so we should be quick.”

The guards stationed at the gate opened it and allowed them to exit, before closing it again. As the home of the Duke, cousin and direct advisor to the King, his estate was a juicy target for many a thief and assassin. There were over two hundred High Adept guards on duty at any time, as well as two Experts on call within the Estate should they be needed. That wasn’t even including the Duke’s personal Guards, who followed him everywhere and which numbered twenty. Fifteen of some of the most powerful Adepts, and five Experts.

The wind gradually picked up as they walked to the market, causing Luke to shiver, but he had promised to show Evelyn the glass figures. He wasn’t going to allow some wind to deter him, no matter how much it froze his blood. Unfortunately, despite have four carriages with the Duke's Emblem on their sides, none of them were permitted for use outside of something official. Each one worth a fortune with the amount and quality of enchantments built into them. While neither Evelyn nor Luke had seen them in use, each carriage was equipped with such strong protection Enchantments so as to withstand a full-blown attack from an Expert.

Luckily, the market wasn’t that far. They soon reached the vast maze of stores and stalls. And despite the bitter cold and biting wind, it was as packed as ever. The guards surrounded the two children, clearing a path around them as they pushed their way through. Evelyn didn’t really like such crowded areas, but she did enjoy seeing and listening to all the people. Even now, several years later, she still marveled at how so many people could be in the same place together.

In just one moment, she was able to hear bits of conversations from a multitude of lives and points of view. Most would have been confused and simply blocked it all out, but Evelyn had never struggled to listen to all the people at once. It helped her learn the situation of many places, both in the Capital and not. Nowadays, it was almost all about the same thing. War.

War was coming everywhere. Everyone was preparing for it in their own way. No war had been officially declared, but skirmishes were everywhere. If the battle wasn’t between two nations, it was against the monsters. Even they could sense the tension of the Kingdoms, and it excited them. Prompting them to attack more frequently and in much larger numbers. Evelyn had already heard of several villages either being destroyed or having to be abandoned.

Despite it all, she was safe from it. As a student of the Capital’s Academy, she was one of the most highly protected people in the Kingdom. But that did not stop her worry. Not for herself, but for her family. She hadn’t received any letters from them. She hadn’t even received word of what Class her brother had gotten. Nor had she heard of anything about her village in general. But she still had her own private celebration for her brother on his fifteenth birthday.

‘He should be sixteen now.’ Evelyn realized, but before she could reminisce any further, her eye was caught by a flash of light. Their destination.

On a small stall, protected by nothing but a blanket serving as a shade, stood dozens of beautiful glass figurines. Some were of Monsters, some of legendary heroes. Manning the stall, sat an old man on a stool who looked like he was just one stiff breeze away from death. But when such a breeze swept through the market and the man didn’t fall over dead, Evelyn stepped forward.

“These are beautiful.” She complimented.

The man looked up, with dreary eyes, glancing at the armed guards around before returning to the young lady before him.

“Thank you miss. Would you like to purchase any?” The man spoke slowly, as if speaking was a struggle, which for his advanced age, might have very well been the case.

Luke looked on from the side, grabbing his coin pouch. He wanted to buy one for Evelyn as thanks for helping him with one of his Academy assignments, something that was more common than not. The Duke’s son was by no means dumb, but against the frightening intelligence of Evelyn, most would appear so.

Evelyn crouched slightly and closely examined each one. And while each one was beautiful in its own right, even the ones depicting hideous monsters, none called out to her. None except for one. A figurine of a tall man in plate armor, holding his sword up, seeming to challenge some mysterious opponent.

The young lady carefully picked it up, not taking her eyes off it. Luke handed the old man some coins and looked at Evelyn. Despite the man’s face being featureless, Evelyn could not help but feel reminded of her brother. This is always how she had imagined him to be when he grew up.