Chapter 25

Everyone in the room sat with bated breath, waiting to see how Sasha would react.

“H-Huh?” The emotions on her face from only a moment ago were gone, and she stared blankly at me. Maybe she didn’t understand me? I cleared my throat and spoke again.

“My real name is Audrey Rose… I’m your sister.” Again, the room fell silent as my sister and I stared at one another. Her lack of reaction started to scare me more than if she had just started yelling.

“This might take a while…” Lydia murmured before turning to her family. “We should give them some space, and I think we should explain the situation to these two.” Yuzuki and Brandon seemed to be just as confused as Sasha was, and I nodded in agreement. My girlfriend started to push everyone out into the hallway and paused before closing the door.

“I’ll leave Leah out here. Let her know when you’re done.” I only nodded again, my eyes still on my sister. We stayed like that for a few minutes before she finally spoke.

“T-That’s not very funny… I didn’t take you for that kind of person, Lady Audrey.” Her face still showed no emotion, and her mouth moved stiffly as she spoke. The unexpected situation had calmed me down from my rambling, and now I was at a complete loss for what to do.

“I’m being serious, Sasha. It’s me.” I reaffirmed, but that seemed to push her over the edge.

“Why are you lying to me?!” She shouted, her empty expression morphing into rage. “My sister is dead! She died and left me behind! I didn’t even get to say goodbye!” I moved closer, reaching out for her, but she slapped my hand away and collapsed into my chest. “How could you say something like that?! Don’t give me hope!”

I felt her rage give way to anguish as she weakly pounded on my chest with her fist. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her, unsure if that’s what she actually wanted from me, but she didn’t try to break away.

“Do you remember the last time we were together?” I whispered to her. “You stole some bread for me to eat, and I ended up lashing out at you. I’ve always wanted to apologize for that.” I bit my lip hard, and the taste of blood helped to ground me. “I was supposed to be the older sister, but it was you who was always taking care of me… I’m sorry.”

She looked up at me, her light green eyes brimming with tears and shock. “Could it really be you?” Her hands gripped the front of my dress tightly, and I could feel her shaking. “Are you truly my sister?”

Her desperate question shattered and healed my heart because I could finally, at least to Sasha, be Audrey Rose once more.

“Yes.” I held up my wrist, which was now adorned with her precious gift. “You finished it, and now I get to uphold my promise. Every day, I’ll get to look at this bracelet and think of you.” I held her tear-stained face with my hands, staring into her eyes. “I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”

Finally, my words connected to her heart, and the biggest, most sincere smile I’d ever witnessed broke through the pain on her face.

“It is you… I missed you so much!”

We continued to sit on the floor together, holding onto each other as if the other would disappear for a long time. When I finally looked out the window, I saw it was pitch black outside, and I frantically checked the clock on the wall.

“It’s so late! What if Father punishes you for getting home at this hour?!” I stood up, bringing Sasha with me as she latched onto my arm.

“No! I want to stay here with you!” I was torn between my desire to protect her and the urge to spoil her, so I just shifted anxiously until the doors to the room opened.

“Is my girlfriend still alive here?” Lydia called out, smiling when she saw how Sasha was glued to my arm. “Things went well, I take it?”

We both nodded happily in sync, which made Lydia burst out laughing. Then, she leaned down to look at my sister. “Sasha, you should know it was my idea to hide Audrey’s true identity…” She placed her hand over her heart, her face serious. “So I ask that you direct any resentment you have toward me.”

“Lydia, wait—” I started, but she cut me off with a hand.

“It’s fine, Audrey. I had planned to take responsibility from the start. I can handle it.” Lydia and Sasha stared at each other for a few tense moments before my sister shook her head slowly.

“You did it to protect my older sister, right? Because you love her?”

“Of course!” my girlfriend responded before her face flushed. “I-I mean, I hadn’t realized my feelings back then, but yes.”

Sasha let go of me to take Lydia’s hands gently. “How could I be angry when you protected the person I love the most? Thank you for watching over her when I couldn’t.” There goes any dignity I had left as her older sister… Of course, I knew I hadn’t been able to fill that role before, but things were different now! I had every intention of being the best sister possible!

“From now on, we can protect her together, right?” Lydia said with a sly smile that made my sister giggle.

“She does seem to be quite the handful.” I kept quiet since they were having a heartfelt moment, but now they were just being mean.

“I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.” I defended, but they just looked at me weirdly.

“Right… Like the time you nearly dumped a whole lake on Yuzuki.” my girlfriend said, stabbing me in the back. She wasn’t even there for that!

“Or the time you accidentally revealed your special magic to me,” Sasha added, wounding me further.

“How about the countless times you’ve lost track of time while training?” Lydia said, and my sister nodded her head.

“She does do that a lot, huh?” It seemed like they were going to keep bullying me, so I clamped their mouths shut with my hands.

“A-Alright! I understand! Lydia, we should get Sasha home so we don’t anger our Father.” She tried to speak, so I slowly removed my hands, ready to cover their mouths again if they began to tease me.

“Don’t worry about that. I figured this might happen, so I already received his permission for her to stay the night.” Lydia turned around, her hands behind her back. “As much as I hated asking him for a favor, I knew you two would want some more time together.”

“Thank you, you’re so reliable. It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.” I said.

“I love you too.” She gestured toward the door, her cheeks pink. “Everyone else has retired for the night already. Shall we head back to our rooms?”

With that, the three of us walked through the castle halls, and Sasha linked arms with me. “Can we sleep together, Sister?” We hadn’t done that in a long time, but it had become the standard for Lydia and me to share a bed, so I turned to her quizzically.

“I’ve had you to myself this whole time. I’ll survive not having you beside me for one night.” I guess that’s that.

“We can sleep in my room, then,” I said to my sister, and she lit up. After a few more minutes of walking, we entered Lydia’s room, where she and I shared a brief goodnight kiss. Then, I led my sister through the adjourning door to my bedroom. I haven’t slept in here for a while…

Sasha looked around the room, admiring the white, blue, and gold palette. When her eyes landed on the bed, she teared up again.

“I’m so glad you have a warm place to rest now.” Still holding her hand, I guided her to the bed and sat beside her.

“It isn’t just the bed… I’ve been surrounded by warmth since I met Lydia.” Sasha tightened her grip around my hand.

“Will you tell me what happened… How did you fake your death?” She looked away. “Was there a reason you couldn’t tell me? Did you not trust me?” I heard the fear in her voice and quickly reassured her.

“No, of course not! The truth is, I really did die that night…” I said and began to tell her everything that happened. How Aurora saved me, and how I was her divine guardian. How Lydia found me and my time as her attendant before attending the academy. Every little detail I could think of that led me to where I am now.

At some point, we changed into pajamas. Since my sister hadn’t planned on staying the night, I gave her some of mine, and she looked adorable in the oversized night clothes.

“T-That’s incredible, Sister.” She said, peeking out from the covers where she lay beside me. Her green eyes sparkled with excitement and curiosity from my story. “So that magic I saw you use…”

“Right, it’s called night magic. It’s one of the many blessings I’ve received from my goddess.” I said and formed a ball of dark magic above my hand. It was just a mass of harmless shadows, so I didn’t stop Sasha when she tentatively touched it.

“How interesting! And you mention something called ‘stella’? How does that differ from mana?” Ah, I forgot she was a magic enthusiast. An exasperated smile sat on my face as I did my best to explain what I knew, but it got to a point where I could no longer understand what she was saying.

“So this ‘stella’ acts as a power amplifier when combined with mana… I wonder what the usage ratio is. Do you use less mana the more stella you infuse? Or maybe it’s the opposite, and the efficiency tanks in return for the increased output…” She drifted into her own little world as she continued to mutter about all the technical terms I only vaguely remembered from Mr. Tressums’ lessons.

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her mutter about her passion, and eventually, her rambling was interrupted by a cute yawn, and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Then, she seemed to remember my presence and turned toward me in a panic. “I-I’m sorry about that, Sister…” but I shook my head at her apology.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m overjoyed that we get to spend time as sisters again. And I love hearing you talk about magic.” However, it was getting quite late, so we agreed it was time to sleep. After turning off the magic lamps, we lay in silence. I closed my eyes, listening to my sister breathe.

“Sister?” Sasha whispered, rolling to face me.

“Yes?” I could barely make out her features in the darkness.

“Thank you for not giving up. For choosing to stay despite everything.” My heart wrenched, remembering how I had almost made the wrong choice that night.

“It was because I wanted to see you again… to see what kind of person you would become. Even if I couldn’t be a good older sister, I wanted to see it.” It was the truth. So many wonderful things have happened to me since then, but Sasha has always been the root of my resolve.

“Don’t say that. I wouldn’t want anyone else as my family.” Sasha said with conviction. “And I’ll do my best. I’ll become someone you’ll be proud to call your sister.” But I shook my head.

“All I want is for you to live a happy and peaceful life. Live for yourself, and chase your dreams. That’s what will make me happiest.” I said. She opened her mouth to respond, but I stopped her. “We really do need to sleep.” I kissed her on the forehead, and she nodded reluctantly. With our hands intertwined, it wasn’t long before she breathed in a peaceful rhythm, sleep having come quickly.

I found myself fighting sleep, wishing this moment would last forever, but eventually, I lost to the mounting fatigue from the day and soon joined my sister in a peaceful slumber.

***

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as the day's events replayed in my mind. The faint talking and giggling I heard from Audrey’s room seemed loud in my ears. It was bound to happen eventually.

I knew keeping her identity secret from Sasha had been taking a toll on Audrey’s heart, even if she didn’t show it. So, in a way, it was a relief that the truth was out in the open now. Still, when I closed my eyes, I remembered how distraught my girlfriend had been at the sight of that bracelet and how happy both of them had looked together when I walked into the room.

The side of Audrey that only I knew was no longer mine alone, and I was filled with unreasonable irritation. I know it’s unreasonable… but part of me is jealous of Sasha. The sisters still had all those years of memories together, even if it had been a dark time for Audrey. I wish we had met earlier… maybe I could have saved her, and we would’ve fallen in love earlier.

I shook the naive thought away and realized that Sasha must feel the same way about it. No… I bet it’s even worse for her because she witnessed it all and still couldn’t help. It was ridiculous for the young girl to blame herself. She was just a child herself. What more could she have done than what she did?

I clutched my head in frustration and rolled on my side, curling up under the blanket. What am I doing, competing with her sister?! My bed felt bigger than usual because Audrey wasn’t there beside me. I felt the ugly jealousy again rear its head and shoved it down. What a pitiful princess I am, missing someone so desperately in the next room.

Maybe it was because we would be separated soon, but I was holding onto whatever time I could get with Audrey. The stubborn, childish side of me didn’t want to relinquish that time for anyone, not even Sasha.

I tossed and turned, fighting with myself for what felt like hours. At some point, I noticed the other room was silent. They must have fallen asleep. I glanced out the window and saw it wasn’t as dark as it had been. I’m not going to get any sleep at this rate…

When my eyes cracked open, the remnants of sleep fighting to stay, I saw a bundle of red hair beside me, and I reached out unconsciously for it.

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Audrey’s voice whispered in my ear, and I closed my eyes at the relaxing and familiar sound. “Don’t want to get up? Perhaps a kiss will wake the slumbering princess.” Through the haze of sleep that clouded my mind, I felt a soft sensation on my lips. The urges that I kept so carefully contained when I was awake broke free, and I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling her deeper into the embrace.

“More… Don’t leave me…” I muttered between our lips meeting again and again.

“W-Wait! Lydia—” I cut off the complaints with a longer, deeper kiss. Rolling over, I pinned her underneath me. The heat rushing through me was unstoppable as our tongues met and vied for dominance. We were going further, connecting more than we ever had before. The rational part of me was trying to stop, but all of my feelings from the night before were surging forward. I can’t claim I was half-asleep anymore…

I broke away from her lips, looking at her flushed face. She had an arm over her forehead and breathed heavily as those teary blue eyes looked up at me.

“L-Lydia…” Her whisper pulled me back in, and I attacked her neck this time, kissing and nibbling my way down. Her cute squeaks only encouraged me as she squirmed. One of my hands was intertwined with hers, and the other landed on her knee and started making its way up. My fingers dragged across her inner thigh over the fabric of her pajamas. Her knee bent in response, either by reflex or choice; I didn’t care.

We were going too far now. This was unacceptable among unengaged couples, let alone between two women, but her scent intoxicated me… the feel of her skin drove me onward. Her pajama top had slipped off her shoulders, revealing the defining lines of her collarbone and the alluring curve of her chest.

I let go of her hands, reaching for the top button of her pajamas. Her arms wrapped around my back, pulling me closer as we both fell further into temptation. I was so absorbed by what I was doing that I almost didn’t hear the clicks of the doors opening.

“Oh my.”

“Sister…?”

Almost as if planned, Leah and Sasha entered the room simultaneously. As Leah came in from the hallway, her eyes took in our positions, and her lips curved into a sly grin. Sasha stood in the adjoining doorway from Audrey’s room, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

I saw Audrey snap back to reality, the desire in her eyes replaced with mortification as her face flushed with heat. She put her hands between us, and I barely sensed the swell of mana before I was blasted with a stream of cold water. I flopped onto my back next to my girlfriend, soaked from head to toe, and stared at the ceiling in shock. That certainly cooled me down…

My girlfriend covered her face with both her hands in embarrassment as Leah and Sasha approached the bed.

“What happened, Lady Lydia? You’re soaked!” Sasha asked with concern. Luckily, it seemed the young girl hadn’t witnessed our intimate moment, which was a relief.

“There’s no need to worry, Lady Rose,” Leah said, a knowing smirk on her face. “It seems their ‘magic’ practice just got out of hand.” I could sense her teasing in the way she emphasized her words. I sat up slowly, water droplets falling from my bangs as I put my feet on the floor.

“T-That’s right,” I went along with Leah’s explanation. “Just some magic practice.” My own shame started to rise as my actions set in, and I walked to the closet to escape, leaving wet footprints behind me on the tile floor.

“Let me assist you, my lady,” Leah said, following behind me. Her eyes danced with amusement as she looked at my current state.

“I’ll fire you in an instant if you say anything.” I threatened quietly as I stripped out of my drenched clothes, out of view from the sisters.

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

“I wouldn’t dream of mocking my master.” Her voice was light and carefree as she browsed the hanging clothes, grabbing a simple dress. “Perhaps some of your more… elegant undergarments are in order today.” She turned to me, having grabbed a set of my more lacy underwear. “Just in case.”

Her body shook with held-back laughter, and I could no longer bear the embarrassment as I crouched down and hugged myself in shame. “I can’t believe I did that! Why did I do that?!” I questioned myself quietly. Leah came over, ignoring my ramblings, as she toweled me down and dried my hair.

I can still taste her… Feel her soft flesh in my hands… The way Audrey looked at me with desire… Had those two not interrupted us, we would’ve… My whole body was heated up at the possibility, and I clutched at my head. “No! I’m a princess! Lustful thoughts won’t sway me!” I reaffirmed aloud, forgetting my attendant was right next to me.

“Would another cold shower help, perhaps?” This time, she couldn’t contain herself as she laughed uncontrollably. I expended my mana to dry the rest of the water off my body and heated up the room.

“Get out. I can dress myself.” I tried to say sharply, but my voice trembled more with embarrassment than anger. Leah only smiled at me, laying the clothes she had picked out on a nearby chair before bowing and leaving the room.

“Of course, my lady.” I saw her cover her face on the way out, no doubt still attempting to stifle her laughter. I resisted the urge to burn myself to ash for a few more minutes before finally moving to dress. I deliberated on the set of underwear Leah had picked out before putting it on. I just so happen to like this set; there’s nothing more to it!

After slipping on the casual dark green dress, I peeked my head out to gauge Audrey's situation. I hope she isn’t mad… It looked like she had also pulled herself together and was chatting animatedly on the couch with her sister. I shyly made my way over to them, and when our eyes met, Audrey and I averted our gazes bashfully. I sat down on Audrey’s couch, but I left some space between us just in case.

My girlfriend didn’t look at me, but her hand still found mine and pulled me closer, her thumb gliding over my hand softly. I sighed quietly in relief at her attitude before joining the conversation.

“If I may, Lady Lydia…” Sasha addressed me nervously, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “It’s clear that you and my sister intend to stay together, right?” Both Audrey and I nodded at her question, our hands squeezing together. Sasha glanced at us before looking away again.

“Under normal circumstances, if my sister were with a man, He’d also become my brother.” She started to ramble a bit, so I waited patiently for her to get her thoughts out. “But since you’re a woman, obviously, and with my sister. Wouldn’t that make you my sister as well?” I understood now what she was trying to say and gave her a gentle smile.

“Yes. In the case of marriage, I would become your sister-by-law.”

“Right… With marriage.” She repeated simply, looking down again. She is so adorable! I held back the grin that threatened to overtake my face and reached over the table for her hand.

“If you’re comfortable with it, I’d love for you to address me as your sister.” She blushed and smiled up at me.

“I will!” I totally understand now how she wraps everyone around her finger… She looked like an angel when she wasn’t hiding her emotions. I gave her a gentle pat on the head before leaning back in my seat. Audrey put her hand on my leg and nodded approvingly, all the love in the world reflected in her eyes. These sisters are going to be the death of me…

“Oh, Right!” Audrey said suddenly. “At last night's party, you said you had something to discuss with us, right, Sasha? Was that it?” This was news to me, but that couldn’t have been it.

“She didn’t know who you were before last night, Audrey.” I pointed out, and my girlfriend smiled sheepishly.

“Ah… Right.” Sasha giggled at her sister before her expression dropped slowly.

“That is correct; it’s an entirely different matter.” She took a deep breath before looking at us with resolve. It was the same way she looked when we parted ways at the academy.

“I have reason to believe my father plans to cause a disturbance at today’s celebration.”

I shared a worried glance with Audrey. “Do you know what he’s planning to do?” I asked.

Sasha shook her head. “I don’t… I only overheard snippets of the conversation, but I know for certain it’s happening today.” I put my hand to my chin in thought and addressed my lady-in-waiting.

“Leah, please arrange an emergency meeting with my family.” She bowed and quickly left the room, wasting no time. I sat in thought, trying to piece together what the Duke’s goals were. Perhaps he wants to use the public venue to garner more support from the non-cabinet nobles? That didn’t seem right. If that’s all he wanted to do, there would be no need to cause a scene.

Even if he did gather more support, it wouldn’t do much for his position right now. What he needs is to sway the neutral members of the cabinet in his favor to push his plans through officially. Obviously, this man is the prime suspect behind the assassination attempts, but he wouldn’t be able to do anything too drastic in such a public setting.

The room went silent as I sunk into thought, and it stayed that way until Leah returned.

“My lady, the royal family has gathered in the crown prince’s office.” Sasha and Audrey followed me as I stood up.

“Honestly, you’d think they’re never busy with how fast my family responds,” I said wryly, leading the other girls into the hallway. I say that, but Luke isn’t the only one under pressure. I can tell the precarious situation is starting to affect Father as well. As king, he can’t let it show to his subjects, but when it’s just his family present, he is more than comfortable letting his guard down.

As we walked, we ran into Lucia, who had just finished her training. “You seem tense, my lady. Is something wrong?” she asked, and I nodded.

“Good timing. Trouble is brewing for the celebration today. I’ll need you as my personal escort.” I said, not leaving any room for objection. “Come with us.”

“As you command, my lady.” Lucia saluted, then joined our group as we continued on our way. A few moments later, my girlfriend broke the silence.

“How’s training going?” Audrey asked the knight. “I’ve noticed you training with Prince Abel often.”

“Indeed, but he certainly doesn’t go easy on me, much like the captain.” She flexed her hand as she spoke. “Although… I think the prince is much stronger.”

“Really?” I could hear the excitement in my girlfriend’s tone and rolled my eyes. “Do you think I could convince him to spar with me?”

“Maybe, but Audrey… you can’t even beat me. It would be a quick match.” I scoffed at Lucia’s quick rebuttal, and Audrey folded her arms angrily.

“Rude! There’s no harm in trying, right? I bet Prince Abel would be just as excited as I am.”

“You can ask him after we get everything sorted today,” I say as we arrive at Luke’s office. My attendants take their places by the door, and I lead Audrey and Sasha to a couch. This feels familiar… I thought back to when I first brought Audrey to meet my family almost a whole year ago. This time, it was the younger Rose sister who was the center of attention.

“Good morning, everyone!” Audrey said happily, a sharp contrast to the memory that had been playing in my head. The severe atmosphere dissipated immediately as my girlfriend went around the room, giving my Mother and Father hugs and personally greeting my brothers more casually than usual. Audrey’s naturally a bundle of energy, but she’s been unusually giddy all morning…

“You’re buzzing with excitement today, dear. Did something good happen?” My mother asked, mirroring my thoughts. Audrey looked at her as she finally sat down beside me.

“Of course! Last night's party was so much fun. I got to spend time with everybody I love in the same room! And I get to be Audrey Rose again, and Sasha and I stayed up all night talking! Then this morning…” She used her fingers to count as she listed things, and then her enthusiasm took a sudden dip as her face turned a bright scarlet. I can practically see the steam rising out of her head.

“U-Um, this morning was nice as well!” She stuttered out. Her assessment of our ‘magic practice’ threatened to fluster me too, so I quickly cleared my throat.

“I think we get it, Audrey,” I said to end the conversation, and she looked down bashfully.

“Sorry, we came here to discuss something serious… Don’t mind me.” She said quietly, still steaming from her self-inflicted embarrassment. I resisted the sudden urge to pin my girlfriend down again and gestured toward Sasha.

“As you all know, this is the second daughter of house Rose, Sasha Rose.” I introduced her again since last night's party was an informal event. The casualness of the night before allowed the young girl to act naturally with my family, but it seemed she had lost her nerves in the current situation.

“I-It’s an h-honor to meet you…” She said. Sasha’s broken words snapped Audrey out of her daze, and she came to her sister’s rescue.

“It’s alright, Sasha. They are the same people you talked with last night.” Audrey said with a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Just go slowly.” It was quite entertaining after that, watching the entire royal family of a nation make a visible effort to relax their facial expressions to calm a single thirteen-year-old girl—especially Mother, who had been in ‘Ice Queen’ mode.

“Of course, Sister.” After a few deep breaths, Sasha looked more composed. “Concerning today’s celebration for Sister Lydia— Excuse me, I mean Her Highness.” Her slip of the tongue made nearly everyone in the room smile, myself the most. “I didn’t get all the details, but my Father is planning some sort of disruption.”

“Do you know how, sweetie?” Mother asked, her ice-blue eyes showing nothing but kindness to the daughter of the man she hated most.

“I’m sorry,” Sasha said, looking down. “I don’t… I could only listen in for a couple of seconds.”

Mother stood up and walked around the table to Sasha, sitting next to her and gently taking her hand. “It’s alright; what you’ve said is more than enough. But it never hurts to double-check, right?” She placed a hand on the young girl’s forehead, and I could feel the slight coolness exuding from my mother. “Close your eyes, and just focus on my magic. Think back to what you remember, anything you may have heard as you were leaving or before you chose to listen in… Take your time.”

We all sat silently as Sasha’s brow furrowed in concentration, and she subconsciously bit her lip. It took a few minutes before she spoke. “Five… I remember hearing Father say that before I stopped to listen.”

“That’s the time the event starts,” Luke observed, but Sasha shook her head.

“I don’t believe that’s what he was referring to. I think he meant five things… or maybe people? Again, I’m not sure, I apologize.”

“There’s no need to apologize.” Mother said as she pulled Sasha into a soft hug. “You’ve been a tremendous help.”

“O-Oh… I’m glad to be of assistance.” Sasha seemed unused to such a display of motherly affection and wiggled uncomfortably, but she didn’t pull away.

“So, what can we do with this information?” Abel asked as he lounged on a chair. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to know something’s up, but we can’t exactly prepare if we don’t know what that something is.” The room fell into a thoughtful silence as we all tried to devise a solution.

“We’ll increase security around the ballroom. That’s all we can do at the moment. Everybody here must be vigilant through the rest of the day, got it?” Father ordered, and we all nodded in response.

“With all that sorted, I think it’s time for us ladies to start getting ready. We only have a couple of hours until the party starts.” Mother said, standing up and gesturing for Audrey, Sasha, and I to follow. “It’s a big day, and I must make sure my daughter shines the brightest!” Oh no… Dread filled my stomach as I realized what was about to happen.

I had intended to avoid Mother in the hours leading up to the celebration for this exact reason, but it had slipped my mind entirely because of what Sasha told us. Mother saw my fight-or-flight kick in and quickly grabbed my arm with an iron grasp.

“Oh no, you don’t.” She smiled at me, the glint in her eyes sending a shiver down my spine. “There’s no need to look so terrified, my dear. All three of you will steal the hearts and eyes of everybody in attendance today!” I shot the men in the room a desperate look for help as I was dragged toward the door, but they were all suddenly busy examining a blank document on Luke’s desk. Cowards! How could my own Father and Brothers abandon me like this?!

In all her endless optimism, Audrey just walked beside us happily as she discussed what dresses we would wear with her sister. Sasha’s eyes sparkled at the prospect of playing dress-up together, and I was left with a sinking realization: Am I the only sane one?

***

I looked at my daughter in pity as she resigned herself to my wife’s plans. Godspeed, girls. I sent them off with a silent prayer as my daughter’s attendants closed the office door on their way out. I could sense similar feelings running through my sons as we were left behind.

“It’s moments like these I’m thankful for being a man,” Abel said with a laugh. “I couldn’t imagine being at Mother’s whim for hours on end.”

“We didn’t completely escape her unharmed either, though… remember when we were teenagers, and she’d dress us up in the most garish attire?” Luke asked.

“How could I forget?” Abel said with a dramatic shiver. “Father abandoned us as well, glad to know he treats all his children equally.”

I laughed nervously at his accusation, not denying it. “You’ll understand someday when the two of you find life partners.” I love Bella with all my heart, but she was a terrifying woman at times. It was usually best to let her have her way. Then she dares to ask where Lydia gets her hard-headedness from… I sighed at my own thoughts. Yet, I couldn’t ask for a better queen or mother for my children.

“Anyways, Father,” Luke said, changing the subject. “Do we not have enough ground to persecute Duke Rose for treason?”

I shook my head. “No… The information we’ve uncovered with the Ethereals so far is circumstantial at best.” It was frustrating just how well Thomas was covering his tracks. At this rate, we won’t be able to change anything.

“Even if we had his own daughters testify against him?” Luke ventured, but it was a dangerous thought.

“I know how you feel. But are you willing to force those poor girls to turn on their own house? They may understand their parents aren’t good people, but that doesn’t change their connection as a family.” I asked seriously. “Even if they did testify, Duke Rose would only claim we manipulated his naive children. It wouldn’t hold up in the court of peers.” Whenever a noble was suspected of breaking the law, the case was brought before a gathering of fellow nobles. As long as they were deemed free of personal interest and an adult, the selection was random, regardless of gender or title. Unfortunately, we lacked concrete proof to convince anyone of Thomas’s wrong-doings.

“There has to be something we can do… For Lydia’s sake.” My heart twisted at my son's concern, and even Abel’s carefree demeanor cracked.

“Even if we successfully convicted him, it would only fracture the kingdom. The duke holds a lot of power, even outside the nobility. If we get dragged into a civil war right now, the empire is all but guaranteed victory.” Abel said, running hand through his hair. “We’re at a severe disadvantage either way.”

All three of us were frustrated by the situation, but I only blamed myself for allowing it to happen in the first place. As king, I should have been able to foresee Thomas’s plans, and now my family has to shoulder the burden of my failures.

“Abel, have the Ethereals redouble their efforts. We can at least compile what we find, so we'll be ready when we can safely bring Duke Rose to justice.” I turned to Luke. “Luke. Keep doing everything you can to stop his movements in court.” I held his gaze. “It’s imperative that we find a way to separate Audrey and Sasha from their house’s crimes; even if House Rose doesn’t survive, those girls will.”

“I know, Father. I’m working on a way to do just that.” He said, then laughed a little. “If we don’t, I fear Mother and Lydia will take turns frying and freezing us until there’s nothing left…” We all shivered in fear at that outcome.

“Good. I have a meeting I need to attend with the generals. If Duke Roses’s offensive plan succeeds, we’ll do everything possible to mitigate our casualties.” I said, then left my son’s office.

I knew my sons were worried, but there was something they didn’t know. There’s still a chance… If it means guiding our children to a better future, Bella and I are both prepared to lay down our lives. When the moment comes, we will not hesitate.

***

Sasha and I chatted excitedly about the dresses we thought would look good on each other. Ah, this is the kind of talk I’d always dreamed about… It would’ve been impossible a year ago, but now I could finally act like a sister. I could tell Lydia wasn’t looking forward to the long fitting the Queen had promised, but I hadn't minded the event even when we picked out outfits for the academy gala.

Aunt Bella led us to a big fitting room with three sectioned-off places to change and an army of maids to assist in the process. When we entered, a pair of maids standing apart from the rest stepped forward, bowing their heads. Their uniforms were different from the castle maids’ black and navy.

“Ah, Anne!” Sasha exclaimed happily. “When did you get here?” She took the taller girl's hand in hers and smiled.

Anne seemed taken aback at Sasha’s attitude but quickly composed herself with a gentle look. “A while ago, my lady. I was told you were in a meeting, so they asked me to wait here for you.”

“Oh, good! It sounds like we’ll be going through a whole catalog’s worth of outfits; having someone who’s dressed me before will be helpful.”

“Glad to be of assistance, my lady.”

“Audrey, are you alright?” Lydia whispered to me as Sasha talked to her personal maid. “Your face is pale. Do you feel sick?” I didn’t respond, my gaze glued to the maid beside Anne. W-Why is she here? It had been an entire year since my wounds had healed, yet I could feel my body aching from the thousands of cuts and bruises this girl had inflicted on me.

Sensing my eyes on her, Leslie glanced up at me, and when our eyes met, I recoiled in fear. Sensing my distress, Lydia had put a hand on my back, which was the only reason I hadn’t fallen over.

“Have I done something to displease you, my lady?” Leslie asked, concerned, and bowed her head again. S-She doesn’t recognize me. I hadn’t thought about that terrible time of my life in a long time, and now all those memories were crashing over me as one of the tormentors I had suffered under for so long bowed to me.

I started to hyperventilate. It was even worse than the night of the entrance ceremony. Lydia had both hands on me, steadying my body as she tried to get me to focus on her. Even Aunt Bella moved to support me, concern evident in both their eyes. My knees gave out, and I sunk to the ground slowly with their help. It felt like all my old wounds were reopening all over my body.

The situation finally drew Sasha’s attention away from her conversation with Anne, and her face went pale as she registered Leslie’s presence.

“L-Leslie. Why are you here?” She asked sharply, and Leslie turned toward her with confusion etched on her face.

“Duchess Rose wanted me to assist with your preparations since she didn’t know if you’d be able to use the castle maids to dress, and Anne may not have been enough.” She said. “Have I done something wrong, my lady?”

The mention of my stepmother and my current state seemed to connect the dots for Lydia and Aunt Bella, whose magic started to fill the room. “So it was her…” Lydia mumbled under her breath, Fire igniting in her hand as she turned toward Leslie. Frost crawled across the floor slowly as Aunt Bella stood up, her face shadowed in anger.

“How dare she touch Cecelia’s daughter…” I wanted to stop them, but I still couldn’t breathe properly, my throat tight with fear. The whole situation was only making my head spin faster.

“Audrey! You need to breathe! Slowly!” Aurora said in my head, panicked.

“There’s too much going on… I-I can’t…” Even my thoughts were disjointed as the world started to fade around me.

“They can’t hurt you anymore! Not that maid nor your stepmother!” Somehow, it felt like Aurora was hugging me through our bond, her hand running comfortingly through my hair as if she were physically here with me. “You are so much stronger than you were back then, and you have people to protect you now.”

I knew my goddess was right. I have grown so much this past year— Come so far… I’ve conquered my anxiety and fear and pushed through my limits. But this feels like I’m being slowly strangled. I can feel the despair from all those years of torment building inside me, threatening to drown me…

“It’s alright to be afraid, Audrey. Anybody would be.” I felt her hands on my face, holding my cheeks softly. I could almost see her sitting before me as she wiped the cold sweat off my face. “Accept that fear, and stand up. You’ll see those who tormented you for what they really are: People who deserve your pity, not your fear.”

When I managed to refocus on Leslie, I didn’t see her sadistic grin… I saw a girl shaking like a leaf under the combined pressure from the two royals bearing down on her. The constriction I felt in my throat slowly disappeared, and I took a few deep breaths before pushing myself to my feet.

“Lydia. Auntie.” My voice was a little hoarse, but it was confident. They turned toward me again as I took a shaky step forward. “I’m fine, I promise. It was just a dizzy spell.” Lydia rushed back to me, wrapping her arms around me for support.

“I’m sorry, Audrey. I shouldn’t have left your side.” I could still see anger flare in her eyes when she looked back at the maid, but she didn’t leave me again. Sasha, seeing the two women distracted, quickly pulled Anne and Leslie aside.

“Leslie, as you can see, we have more than enough hands here. Find someone to show you to the servant's lounge and stay there until I call for you, alright?” Sasha ordered. The maid nodded quickly, leaving the room just shy of running.

My sister then rushed to my side as well, grabbing my hand. “I’m so sorry, Sister!” she looked on the verge of tears, but I just patted her on the head.

“It’s alright. You couldn’t have known she’d be here. I just need to sit down for a bit.” Lydia promptly led me to a chair before I could even finish the sentence, and she and Sasha flitted around me with worry. Aunt Bella whispered something to one of the maids, presumably one of her personal attendants, before coming over to me as well. I gave her a suspicious look as that same attendant left the room.

“Auntie…” I began but coughed from the hoarseness in my throat. Leah quickly appeared with a glass of water, much to my gratitude.

“Don’t worry, dear. I only sent her to keep an eye on that bitch— I mean, on that maid.” She totally does that on purpose… But it made me smile a little.

“Thank you for protecting me,” I said. “But it’s all in the past now.”

“So she was the one that hurt you?” Lydia asked to confirm her suspicion.

“You weren’t even sure? You were going to stop her heart out of pure fear, Lydia.” I quipped, feeling much better now that I was sitting and had some water. Looking down, my hands were white-knuckled into my dress. “But yes… Out of the servants, Leslie was by far the worst.” I gritted my teeth, fighting back the memories.

I’m fine. Totally fine. Taking a few moments to convince myself, I continued. “But I mean it. My goddess helped me understand that she isn’t someone to be scared of… not anymore.”

Aunt Bella nodded at me approvingly and took my hand. “Your mother would be proud of you. I know I am.” My heart swelled at her praise, and I grinned.

“Well then, Give me a few more minutes to rest, then we can get this fashion show started!”

Lydia groaned in response, but Sasha and Aunt Bella were raring to go. This is where I belong, and I won’t let the past hold me back. Even if I have to face my stepmother, Father, and everyone else from the mansion again…

I will not falter.