“This is the latest response, sire,” Hubrik said to Robert as he handed him a grey envelope.

Robert observed the insignia on the seal before breaking it and took out the folded parchment from within. His lips twisted with a hint of distaste twisted as he ran his eyes over the content.

“It’s the same,” he muttered, tossing the parchment on his desk. “They all just want more and more. More than we can possibly give.”

“I would hate to say I told you so, but sire,” Hubrik shrugged, “I did tell you so.”

Robert glared at the old steward with more than a little annoyance. The snark of this old servant of theirs was a hard pill to swallow sometimes.

“The recent mood isn’t only affecting us border folk, the politics of the capital is also experiencing a major shift,” Hubrik stated as he picked up the parchment and started folding it back. “I’ve heard there are some houses that, either covertly or openly, are starting to oppose Her Majesty the queen. Mostly the remnants of the old kingdom’s supporters. No wonder they would want to have a militaristic house like us at their beck and call.”

Robert slammed his fist on the table. “I still think Her Majesty should have eradicated those bastards!” He growled. “Leeches, the lot of them!”

“Her Majesty must have had her considerations. Maybe she wanted a bit of an opposition to keep her supporters from getting too comfortable.”

Robert frowned as he looked at the city outside through the only narrow window of his study. He didn’t want to think about the politics of the capital. The situation of the border was becoming more precarious by the day. If he didn’t find some support soon…

“Any other houses haven’t sent any response yet?” He asked Hubrik.

“Let’s see,” Hubrik tapped his chin. “House Sergel would be the only one, I think. Only they haven’t sent a response yet.”

“House Sergel…” Robert muttered. That house had been one of the strongest allies of House Moras since they helped Her Majesty take the throne. And their response was the one he was looking forward to the most. But it seemed…

The rhythmic rattle of the doorknock brought him out of his musings. He looked at Hubrik and signalled with his head.

“What is it?” the steward called out.

“An Envoy from house Scarva wishes for an appointment, my lord,” said the guard outside of the door.

“House Scarva?” Robert frowned. What did they want? “Send him in.” He ordered.

The envoy of the house Scarva was a lean man in his early thirties. From his well-groomed slick black hair, neat linen clothes and the various pieces of jewellery covering his body, everything advertised the wealth of his family. He walked in, giving a dismissive look to Hubrik, who had moved to stand behind his lord, and bowed towards Robert.

“Greetings, Lord Moras,” he said with a customary note of politeness in his voice. “I am Erkseen Scarva. The valet of sir Alanis Scarva.”

“Alanis?” Robert’s eyes narrowed. Wasn’t he the heir of house Scarva? That boy Sena had sent back forcefully for injuring and assaulting an inn owner and his daughter? That had been a huge scandal, souring the relationship between the two houses. At last, even the citizens of Brigsar had gotten involved after someone leaked the news. It was their outrage that forced the house Scarva to move their branch out of this city. That brat had been the reason for it all.

The more Robert thought about it, the more his mood soured. His cold eyes lingered on the neatly dressed man standing before him with a perpetual smile on his face.

A valet! The brat sure had some audacity, sending his servant to meet him.

He turned his head and glanced at Hubrik, who looked even more indignant than he felt. After a brief communication of the eyes, the steward straightened his back and scowled at Erkseen.

“What does the valet of lord Alanis have to relay to my sire?” he asked, putting quite a bit of emphasis on the word ‘valet’.

Erkseen looked from him to Robert a couple of times. It didn’t take long for him to understand their stance, so he didn’t waste any more time on it. “My sire is good friends with lord Urath Ancrombe of the House of Ancrombe. Who had broached the subject of lady Sena’s marriage to him?”

Robert frowned. The Ancrombe house was indeed one of the houses they had sent the proposal letters to. But he didn’t expect them to just announce it to whoever they pleased. Sure, he hadn’t requested confidentiality in those letters, but there was such a thing as basic courtesy. The nobles of the capital seemed to lack a sense of honour.

“My lord has also heard of the lady’s condition and has expressed deep regrets for not being there to support her.” The valet went on like a seasoned storyteller. He seemed to have quite the gift for gab. “He also knows of the tension rising in the border and as Brigsar used to be his home once, is quite concerned by it. He wishes to set aside the differences between the two houses and reconcile, thus he has sent a proposal of his own regarding this matter.” he reached inside his robe and took out a cream-white envelope with gilded edges. Laying it upon both of his palms with delicate care, he extended towards Robert.

Robert raised an eyebrow. Reconcile, huh. It would be relieving if that really was their intention. He signalled Hubrik, who took the envelope and handed it over to him. After staring at it for a while, Robert broke the seal and extracted a scented sheet of vellum from within.

Most of what was written on the letter was the same thing as what the valet was saying, albeit in fancier wording, but Robert carefully read each sentence, unwilling to miss a single one. Whatever Alanis’s intentions, the timing of the letter was peculiar, especially with the situation between both families. Noble’s, especially cunning ones like the ones from the capital, had a peculiar way of sneaking in things between the lines that might even take multiple readings to figure out. And although he didn’t think a brat like Alanis would have such cunning, caution begets safety.

In the beginning, he spotted nothing too odd. Though there was a distinct focus on praising his daughter’s ‘transcendent qualities’ and expressing how much the subject regretted not being able to save her from her peril; but for boys her age to be admiring her, Robert considered that to be nothing unusual. What was unusual, however, was expressing such things in an official letter to her father? And despite the polite sentences, the words also hid a patronizing note that annoyed him to no end. So it took some effort for him to parse through the tiringly long introduction to get to the meat of the matter. And that is when his expression changed from strange to grave.

That was where the letter began to take on a condescending tone, laying out how vulnerable of a position house Moras was in, how much they needed support, and how only the Scarva house would be willing to provide that for almost no price. This was also where the content of the proposal became clearer.

It was a marriage alliance proposal.

sure,The specific wording used might have been politer, but the intent was anything but. Alanis was willing to relieve him of their ‘mad’ daughter, even give her the ‘honour’ of being his official wife instead of a concubine, provided they agree to a few conditions as a dowry. Specifically, leave more than half of the rights to the army to them as well as provide them of military support whenever needed. Oh, sure it was a lot less than what the other houses were demanding, but the tone of this letter, and more importantly, the person behind it, set Robert’s blood to boil nonetheless.

He took his eyes off the letter and considered tearing it to pieces for a moment before tossing it towards Hubrik. Yes, the old guy might gloat over this. Still, he needed him to read it. Then he turned his head, giving Erkseen a cold, measuring look.

“Is this the intent of Alanis, or does house Scarva also have this meaning?” he asked in a frosty voice.

“Of course it is the intention of my lord. But the house has also decided on supporting him fully.” Erkseen said with a hint of pride. “Although our house is smaller in stature, it has made quite a few allies over the years. So it is my humble opinion that forging this relationship could only be beneficial to you.”

“Insolence!” Hubrik roared as his fingers balled up around the letter, crumpling it. The tone of this ‘humble opinion’ may have seemed innocent on the surface, but the threat lying hidden behind it was quite clear. “How dare you come here with such demands? Have you no shame?”

“Shame?” Erkseen’s smile faltered for an instant before returning again. “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Do you think we aren’t aware of what kind of character Alanis Scarva is? How dare he presume he could marry lady Sena?”

“This… Arrogant!” A hint of anger appeared in Erkseen’s eyes. “How dare you disrespect my lord?”

“Disrespect him? Does he deserve my respect?”

Robert facepalmed. It seemed… showing Hubrik the letter was a mistake. The old steward had helped raise Sena after all. He had also been the one to give her the most support when she suffered a breakdown due to Sara’s death, unlike him, who was too busy with the war outside to even mourn his daughter properly.

Just as the quarrel began to evolve into a full-blown trade of insults, Robert held up his hand, signalling them to stop.

“Oh, I am so terribly sorry lord Moras!” Erkseen bowed nearly parallel to the ground. Although the instruction had been to behave a bit arrogantly, acting that way in front of the head of the Moras house may have been a bit overboard. “I did not mean to say those things or raise my voice. But I couldn’t let a servant insult my lord.”

“You are a servant too, valet of Alanis,” Robert stated.

“That…” Erkseen fell silent. He wasn’t really a valet, but a squire training under the current head of the house of Scarva, lord Agreis Scarva. “Yes, I am,” he said through gritted teeth.

Robert waved dismissively. “You may leave now.”

Erkseen stood up. “Then your answer…”

“We decline.”

“Oh!” Erkseen frowned. The response wasn’t an unexpected one. After all, marriage or reconciliation wasn’t the point of this visit. But it was to show off their superior position. “Would you not reconsider, Lord Moras?”

Robert raised an eyebrow. “No, I won’t, valet of Alanis. At least, not from a letter like this. If the house of Scarva has any intention to reconcile, then Agreis should come here to discuss it with me personally.”

“As you wish,” Erkseen said as he stood up. By his observation, Robert Moras seemed like an even headed person, so maybe he could push the boundaries a bit. “It was out of the kindness of his heart that my lord has been willing to set aside the injustice he had faced and decided to take a madwoman as his wife. But since you declined his generosity, then she would have to end up as a concubine of some noble. Though in my humble opinion, she deserves no less.”

“You…” Hubrik fumed. He took a step, but Robert shook his head.

“I believe I’ve already excused you from my presence,” he said.

A poorly hidden smirk appeared on Erkseen’s lips as he dipped his head again. “Yes, Lord Moras. I shall take my leave now.”

“No,” Robert shook his head. “Since you have overstayed your welcome, let my men escort you back safely.”

“Huh?” Erkseen’s heart skipped a beat. He fished out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “L- Lord Moras, this… there’s no need to go through the trouble—”

“Oh, no! I insist!” Robert turned towards Hubrik. “Tell the guards to escort this valet of Alanis back. And tell them to make sure he doesn’t have to spend any effort walking home. We want him to be comfortable, after all.”

“M-my lord—”

“Better yet, tell them to make sure he never has to walk. Ever again. We have to show the world how hospitable we can be.”

“My lord! Please!”

“And he talks a lot. That must tire his tongue out too. Also, tell them to make sure he doesn’t have to do that again.”

Hubrik nodded with a deep look in his eyes. “I will tell them that, but my lord, I’ve grown old and my head is not working as it should these days. So if you could elaborate.”

Robert’s lips twisted in annoyance. He turned and fixed his eyes on Erkseen, who had fallen on his rump.

“Break his legs, cut his tongue out, and throw him in front of the gates of house Scarva.”

“I can only show you what I have seen.”

Once again, the misty form of her sister disappeared from Sena’s sight. But the words she left still lingered in the back of her psyche like it always did. Forever echoing in some hidden corner of her mind.

There was something about those words, Sena knew. She had to understand the meaning hidden behind them. But where were they hidden? She sought them, searching for them desperately among the shattered shards of her memories.

She knew, finding the meaning of those words, that was the only way…

The only way to leave this eternal nightmare that had trapped her, forcing her to confront that moment again and again.

“Sena!” it came back, like the twittering of a songbird at dawn. And Sena? She reeled from it.

“Bad Sena! Making me pretend to be you again.”

Sena covered her ears, but it didn’t work. The ground beneath her disappeared. She slipped through the shards of memories, falling deeper and deeper until she was back again, standing in front of the golden-haired little girl that looked like a reflection of her’s. She tried to clamp her mouth shut, but just like all the times before, it opened again.

“Don’t worry, Sara. Today’s the day for a new teacher. She won’t see through us.”

Sara sighed. “Father would be so disappointed!”

“But Sara, I don’t like swordsmanship. It’s so hard!”

Sena wanted to scream it wasn’t hard, but she could only watch the events unfold helplessly.

“It’s not that hard!” Sara said.

“I knew you would say that. You love swordsmanship,” Sena’s body spoke again. “I don’t even know why father forces me to learn it. You are enough.”

“Umm, I don’t like it!” Sara pouted.

“Oh, come on, Sara! Don’t be like that. Aunt Nirn’s sweets shop is releasing a new pudding today. As long as you do this, I’ll bring some for you.” Sena reached out, fixing Sara’s hair for her. “There, that’s perfect. Just do it, as always. It’ll be fun. You’ll be me and I’ll be you.”

“Alright,” Sara said as she turned around. “But remember to bring back double servings!”

The memory shattered into a million pieces and Sena regained control of her body. “No! Sara, don’t go!” she called out desperately, but couldn’t stop her sister from getting further and further. So once again, she sprinted through her shattered lane of memories, chasing after the fleeting shadow.

But she never could catch up, not until that dreaded moment came again.