Petra Love adjusted her white lace gloves, a picture of elegance as she made her way through the ever growing market of the House Evergreen settlement. To the casual observer, she was a refined socialite, charming and graceful. She had long tossed the desire to be coddled and protected to the side. Petra was infatuated with walking the line between failure and success, her life always hanging in the balance. She only ever wanted to depend on her own skills but enjoyed the freedom that Markus Evergreen granted her to perform her duties. And beneath her calm exterior, Petra was ever vigilant, her sharp mind constantly assessing and analyzing the people around her.

Her network of informants had been busy, and whispers of covert activities possibly by House Goldfury's had reached her ears. Petra knew she had to act quick and discreetly to uncover the facts and if needed the full extent of their activities.

David stood at the balcony, watching his twentieth sunrise in this new world as it cast a golden hue over the land.

Megan joined him, her eyes reflecting a mix of determination and fatigue. "Ready for another day of pretending we know what we're doing?" she asked with a wry smile.

He chuckled, "More than ever. Let's go." David had not felt this great in years. It was a bit tough to see Petra and Brum on a daily basis as the two looked like his Mother and Father. They even showed signs from time to time that really made him think. He once had to keep a smirk off his face when Brum walked out of a meeting huffing about how Lady Brown was acting like a petulant child. Their father would always walk away in the same manner huffing about how much money Megan was costing him. Funny enough he always ended up buying whatever it was Megan was asking for.

As the siblings prepared for another day of leadership, Petra was already deep in her clandestine work. In the dimly lit room of an unassuming tavern, she met with one of her most trusted informants, a young woman who worked as a pissprophet and recently returned from performing rounds at the dock houses.

"They're watching us closely, my lady," the pissprophet whispered, her eyes darting around nervously. "I was doing my rounds checking the dock workers urine for signs of infection as I do, as I do. And you see it's all quite like seeing as how most of them fish smelling men don’t like the sight of me splashing around in my bucket with their urine. Don’t like it but they are ever so pleased when I point them to the right ointments for their ailments.”

Petra raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry miss, as I was saying I was working as I said and I think they were trying to be like sneaks thinking themselves alone but they weren’t I was just round the corner able to overhear things as it were. I took a peak too and one grumpy looking brute saluted another with that finger wagging beneath the eye, the way them highborns of House Goldfury do, show’n off their rings and all. So grumpy starts talking about how our Lord Evergreen and that Lady Brown he fancies have run stray of their betters. That the two are being something rotten and that they don’t plan to comply with the king's demands." the woman spat to the side as she mentioned the king. “Not my king he isn't, I had no choice in being sent here, but best of luck I got, cause our Lord Evergreen done me right, yes he has.”

Petra's eyes narrowed. "How much do they know?"

"Enough, enough they mentioned preparations for war and the building of a forbidden fortress that Lord Evergreen will use to declare himself king and claim the unclaimed lands" the pissprophet replied. "Said they were signaling their agents in the settlement, to gather information and impede his lordship wherever possible."

Petra thanked the pissprophet and slipped her a small pouch of coins. As she left the tavern, her mind raced with the implications. If House Goldfury's agents were already embedded within their midst, it was only a matter of time before their plans were fully exposed.

In the council chamber, David and Megan were reviewing the latest reports on the castle construction and survey missions. The atmosphere was tense as few workers at the castle construction site had gone missing.

"Good morning, everyone," David announced, taking his seat at the head of the table. "Let's start with an update on the castle construction."

Gabrial Dunn stepped forward. "The location is secured, my lord. Construction has begun, but we need more manpower to ensure it's completed before winter. The disappearance of a few workers won't delay much and I can attest that they went missing between here and the construction site. My guess is either wild animals or a dispute between two fools. I understand your caution my lord and want them two fools found. I have a handful of men out looking as we speak. We should have it figured out by tomorrow afternoon."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

David nodded. "Marshal Deer, can you arrange for additional guards to patrol the route to the construction site?"

"Consider it done," Casius replied. "The forest to the North is still largely unexplored. I’m hesitant to bring this up however I’ve received news from a few hunters that some of the larger animals in the area have started migrating North. I’ve sent scouts out to ensure this a hostile force is not marching in from the South."

Megan leaned in, her eyes sharp. "Speaking of the forest, the Dryads indicated that many of the ingredients can be found there. I’d like that scouting mission to gather those magical ingredients. Katheryne, can you join them?"

The Arch Magus nodded. "Of course, Lady Brown. I'll leave immediately."

“Brum, have we seen any traders or pioneers returning for the reward we placed on the magical ingredients.”

“No my lady however many have inquired about the reward and I believe they have ventured off and will return in the next few weeks. Sadly many left before we became aware that the Northern Forest held many of the ingredients.”

“Thank you Brum, please inform me of any returning.” Lady Brown stated.

Just as the meeting was about to adjourn, Petra knocked lightly on the door chamber door, peeking her head in she raised an eyebrow indicating an expression of composed urgency. "My lord, my lady, I have news of recent trends in fashion back in the kingdom and would be delighted to share with you in private, You shall be the first to know and have your attires properly prepared."

David and Megan exchanged a glance before nodding. They followed Petra to a secluded room, where she quickly locked the door behind them.

"We have a problem," Petra began, her voice low. "House Goldfury has agents within our settlement. They know about our plans to resist the king's demands and prepare for war."

David's expression hardened. "How many agents?"

"Unknown, but at least two and if anything a few handful. I have been notified of discussions to impede the construction of the castle and possibly spread resentment. Although I find that possibility unlikely as the peasants would never turn their backs on you my Lord and well I have all the key nobles and merchants under my thumb. So I believe we are looking at a small but likely fervent group of agents who have spread themselves across our settlement. I however am sorry to report that I as of yet know nothing of possible infiltration of your ladyship's settlement. But once I have things in hand here I will set out to the Northern settlement and root them out their as well." Petra replied.

Megan clenched her fists. "We can't afford to let them undermine us from within. What do you suggest?"

"Oh, already working on it with my girls. We have a trap planned," Petra said, her eyes gleaming with determination. "We'll feed them false information, lure them in with they want, and then strike."

David nodded. "Do it. In the meantime, we'll accelerate our preparations and tighten security. We can't let them derail our plans."

That evening, Petra and her network set their plan in motion. Whispers were spread of a possible workers strike, specifically workers who had returned from the castle construction site. This led Goldfury's agents to believe that a crucial meeting would take place in a remote part of the settlement. If these agents were adamant about impeding the castle's construction then they would want to foster the workers unrest. The trap was set, and Petra watched from the shadows as the agents fell for the bait.

One by one, they entered what they thought was a secret workers meeting and were captured, their identities revealed. Petra personally interrogated each one, uncovering the extent of their knowledge and the details of their network.

With the immediate threat neutralized, Petra reported back to David and Megan. "The agents have been dealt with, but we must remain vigilant. House Goldfury will not give up easily. I now know they have slipped agents in on previous shipments or with the migrants. Knowing this I will seed the gossip halls and back alleys with enough false rumors to sow chaos in their plans and present opportunities for their eventual slip ups."

David placed a hand on her shoulder. "You've done excellent work, Petra. We'll strengthen our defenses and be ready for whatever comes next."

Megan nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Petra. Your efforts have bought us precious time. We'll use it wisely."

As the settlement settled into a tense but determined rhythm, David and Megan knew that the sudden appearance of House Goldfury agents was just the start of the true battle yet to come. With Petra's keen eyes and unwavering loyalty, they had a fighting chance to secure their new world and protect their people from the looming threats.

David and Megan began their evening walk.

“Hey, David doesn’t Petra remind you of Mom? Like when mom would do her runway dress before her and dad were set to go out to their fancy dinners. That's like exactly how Petra walks.”

“Yeah, I know. I chose her card because it made me think ‘hey look Disney mom’”

“What, no way. You had to have chosen it to have a badass spy covering your ass. I mean you're the peasant lord or whatever and you have the queen bee of the social world covering your ass with all the snobs.”

“Nope, just lucky I guess. And what about you? I bet you chose Brum because he looks like Dad. He’s basically dad holding all your clothes when your on your shopping binges”

“Yeah, I chose him because you were going to get the military guy so I decided to get the money guy. Then when I saw the characters face I was like oh damn does every wallet have a face that looks like our dad.”

“He hated you calling him a wallet. Not cool little sis. Not cool.”