Lady Brie Ballenci possessed a unique talent for sensing prosperous opportunities. From a young age, she had recognized the Silverwaters as the perfect source of authority to compensate for what her own House lacked. Staying close to Morgana Silverwater had been easy enough, but as the years passed, the girl became increasingly obsessed with power and status. Despite Brie's attempts to gain respect from someone nearly ten years her junior, Morgana had shown her nothing but contempt.

Brie had been on the verge of distancing herself from Morgana when Lilliana revealed her true nature. Assuming, of course, that it had indeed been Lilliana. Brie still wasn’t sure if that was true or not. If the rumors about Lilliana were accurate, it was hard to believe that the small, 13-year-old girl had accomplished all those feats.

Or so Brie had thought, until a golden knight of House Alistar and a towering woman nearly a head taller than Brie's tallest guard stirred up a storm in her small city of Cerulean. The moment they flew over Cerulean on a wyvern, bearing the insignia of House Alistar, her entire household erupted into a frenzy of panic.

After all, it wasn’t every day that the Duke who had shown them clemency sent one of his knights to their doorstep.

Brie stood in the main hall of her family’s residence, where her father, the patriarch, usually met with visitors or gave audiences to the city folk. She stood off to the side, absently playing with a braid of her brown hair. Her father leaned forward in his chair, his eyes nearly bulging with anticipation. He shared her dark brown hair and eyes, though his noble garments were adorned entirely in the velvet hues of House Ballenci. Brie had no doubt her father was hoping the messenger was here with marriage offers. If she were married the next day, it wouldn’t be soon enough in her father’s eyes. Despite her prowess in the family’s information-gathering business, her father could not see beyond her age of thirty.

The hall where their fallen noble family typically received guests, though never higher nobles—something that had never happened before—was a blend of grandeur and decay. Crystalline chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling, no doubt once spectacular decades before Brie was born. Now, they carried only a dull sheen reminiscent of rusting silver, lit dimly by low-burning flames that cast flickering shadows on the walls, as if mocking their fall.

Tall, arched windows set in obsidian stone lined the hall, their heavy velvet drapes just as worn and faded. Brie had once tried to replace them, but her father adamantly refused. The old, once-gorgeous pieces of their mansion were the last remnants of their house’s former glory. Only when they could afford equally luxurious material would the old drapes be replaced.

The light filtering through the regal hues of the velvet drapes did little to brighten the room, instead providing a muted illumination that gave the hall a somber, almost melancholic atmosphere.

At the very back of the hall, a platform reminiscent of their days of glory housed the seating for the family of House Ballenci. It was slightly raised from the ground, with two luxuriously decorated chairs for her father and mother, the patriarch and matriarch of their House. The platform connected to the main floor by a half-dozen steps that, supposedly, were only meant to be used by nobles of House Ballenci or greater nobles such as Duke Alistar.

At the end of the stairs, a massive red carpet led to the hall’s entrance—a set of immense blackwood doors that always creaked with an eerie pitch, making Brie want to repair her family’s mansion. They had enough money, after all. The information business had proven extremely profitable.

With the news of House Alistar’s messenger, the normally empty hall was filled with the most important people of Cerulean. They usually didn’t bother attending the weekly audience with the peasantry, though Brie wasn’t at all surprised to see them scurrying like rats upon hearing of the ducal knight’s arrival.

The Alistar knight and the towering woman stood just at the bottom of steps atop the red carpet. The knight stared forward with eyes so gold they looked possessed. The rest of his features were hidden by the golden armor, but the woman wore no such armor. She wore only a tunic and basic brown apparel. It was her brilliant purple eyes that attracted Brie’s attention and the way the woman stood so carefree in the center of so much attention just screamed of a power Brie could only wish she could have one day.

She squirmed, resisting the urge to lean forward toward the knight, reminding herself to take deep breaths.

Not a marriage partner. Not a marriage partner. Please, if there’s a god out there, please, not a marriage partner. I cannot have my future squashed by some no-name lesser noble.

Brie nearly brought her hands to her forehead in prayer and might have done so if her older brother hadn’t jabbed her in the ribs.

“Enough, Brie,” he hissed. “We will deal with Father when it comes. You are not a squirrel.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Still, Brie couldn’t stop the slight tremble of fear and anticipation that always accompanied the possibility of her father finding a suitor for her. There was only one man she wanted, and that man would never be able to stand before her father like this knight of Alistar.

Her nerves nearly frayed when the golden knight bowed in respect, though not low enough to indicate deference, before speaking. The enormous woman at his side did not so much as incline her head toward her father.

Not a great sign for Father, Brie thought with some hope.

When the knight finally spoke, her hopes both plummeted and soared in a bewildering contrast of emotions.

“I am Sir Boyl Dramas of House Dramas,” he said, pointedly not introducing the female companion. “We come at the behest of Lilliana Silverwater, Saintess of the Light Goddess Delilah and heir to House Alistar under the authority of the House Coin passage. Her ladyship requires the presence of Lady Brianna Ballenci at her court by the week’s end. I am under specific orders to bring Lady Ballenci to Her Grace no matter what.”

His words trailed off as the room fell into silence, and the meaning of what he said sank in. Brie gulped down her nervousness at the unspoken or else.

“That is outrageous!” her father exclaimed, gripping his heavy, plump chair with white-knuckled fingers. “We are under the protection of Duke Collin Alistar himself. Does this supposed successor dare go against her Duke?”

Brie didn’t think it was the right time for her father to challenge the knight, especially since everyone knew the Duke had died in battle a week prior. The news had been the most widely spread gossip among the ladies’ circle since Lilliana had gone missing.

“Duke Alistar is dead,” the knight said flatly, shocking no one except a few maids. “He died in his attempt to free the city of Sealrite and the Saintess from her imprisonment. Marquess Sharma relied on dark power given to him by the Pandorian Empire, which now seeks to conquer all of Pularea. Her Grace will soon become the last barrier between us all dying at the Emperor’s hands, and our ultimate survival.” His voice, neutral and emotionless at first, gradually grew in volume and fervor. By the time he finished, Brie’s eyes had widened at the knight’s nearly religious zeal.

No, she thought. Not nearly—it is religious zeal. He called her Saintess. But I thought she hadn’t finished her trials yet? Is my information wrong? No, Xavier would never sell incorrect information.

Her father, though not the sharpest knife in the drawer, hadn’t maintained their family’s wealth despite their fallen status by lacking basic intelligence. She saw his brows furrow in confusion for a moment before lifting in surprise at the knight’s fervor. “I see,” he said slowly. “Why does her… ladyship desire to meet my daughter?”

The woman growled at her father’s hesitation, but didn’t otherwise move. Just that simple act, however, caused her father’s complexion to pale noticeably, and the maid closest to the woman turned completely green before fleeing the room.

Her father swallowed hard. “I apologize. I am simply unsure how to address Lady Silverwater.”

Sir Dramas, however, seemed unfazed by the woman’s disruption. “Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for you, Baron Ballenci,” he said with a small flourish of his arm.

Her father flashed the knight a grin, ever a sucker for those who addressed him by his unofficial title. “You must understand my hesitancy to simply send my daughter to a city recently ravaged by war?”

Sir Dramas shrugged. “That is your prerogative. However, given the recent events and Duke Alistar’s death…” The knight paused, his lips curling into a snarl before he quickly reined it in. When he resumed speaking just seconds later, any trace of that earlier snarl had vanished. “I would strongly recommend obeying Her Grace. The protection granted by His Grace the Duke was voided upon his demise, and Cerulean’s safety went with it. Her Grace has offered to extend that protection under her authority, but she must first reach Alistar territory and solidify her succession. To do that, for reasons known only to her, Her Grace has determined that Lady Ballenci’s presence is crucial.”

Brie didn’t bother waiting for the discussion to continue. She’d heard more than enough. “I’ll go, Father. I will go,” she blurted out just as her father opened his mouth to protest.

He turned toward her, squinting with irritation. “That is not for you to decide.”

“Actually, it is,” Sir Dramas interjected, motioning for Brie to step forward.

While Brie was relieved that Sir Dramas valued her willingness over her father’s permissions, she didn’t want to part from her father on bad terms. “Father, this is for the best,” she said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Then, lowering her voice, she added, “I believe we will be able to restore our status through Lady Lilliana. Trust me, Father. Perhaps I will even find a husband in that city, as it is filled with House Alistar Knights.”

Her father stared at her for a long moment—long enough that Brie began to overthink and forgot how to stand naturally, her hands fidgeting as she shifted from crossing them over her chest to trying to tuck them into the nonexistent pockets of her floral dress.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Your mother won’t like this.”

“Mother will have to deal with it,” Brie retorted with a shrug as nonchalant as Sir Dramas’. “I am old enough now that she need not continue to baby me.”

“You tell her that,” her father replied before turning back to Sir Dramas. “When must you leave?”

“Now,” the knight answered instantly. “Her Grace awaits, and she is not exactly known for her patience. My wyvern is already saddled for two.” He nodded toward the woman. “And Rosa will follow us on her cockatrice. She is here just in case any issues arise on our way back.”

“Issues?” Brie asked as her brother, Demetri, grabbed her elbow.

"Are you seriously considering this," he muttered, his brown eyes mirrors of her own. Brie just gave him a quick nod. She knew he would understand the need for this opportunity if he thought it over even a little. If she became close to a Duchess, who knew to what level House Ballenci could rise.

“Those were Her Grace’s words,” Sir Dramas said, and Brie realized she'd forgotten the question she had asked. “I won’t pretend to understand what she meant.”