Verena stared up at her parents, clinging to her doll. “What do you mean you spent the entire budget for clothes on Mili and the others? Ver outgrew her clothing several months ago and has needed new dresses for a while,” Mislav roared.
“Court fashion is expensive, Mislav,” Avalyn began.
“Did you buy them new jewelry?” Mislav demanded.
“Of course I did. They cannot have new gowns without new jewelry,” Avalyn protested.
“I specifically said no jewelry. You will go get me all of the jewelry you bought them. Right now.” Mislav pointed to his older daughters’ rooms.
“What are you going to do?” Avalyn asked.
“I am going to sell it back to the jewelers so poor Verena can have clothes that fit.” Mislav glared at his wife.
“You cannot be serious.” Avalyn started to protest.
“Now, Avalyn, or I will take all their jewelry and sell it. You have one hour.” Avalyn hurried from the room.
“Mama is going to be mad at me again.” Verena’s voice was quiet as she addressed her father.
“I know she is, Ver.” Mislav scooped his youngest daughter into his arms. “I am angry with her. She constantly neglects you, allows your sisters to bully you, and generally mistreats you. I do not approve of her behavior at all.” He carried her back to the tiny room that had been hers as long as she could remember. He frowned. “Niklas has moved on to his own suite with his wife Astera. You should be able to take over his old room. I will speak to Avalyn and find out why she has not moved you.”
“Yes Father.” He set her down and left her to play with her doll.
Verena heard raised voices. She crawled into her bed and buried herself under the blankets. Her parents argued a lot, and she didn’t like listening to them yell. She hugged her doll close and hid until the yelling stopped.
She crawled out and made her bed before settling on the floor and began playing again. She’d heard that children often had multiple toys, but she’d only ever had her doll. She didn’t feel she needed more toys. She supposed some variety would be nice. However she had a vivid imagination, she had already learned to read so she was feeding that imagination with books, and it was easier not to stir things up with her mother by asking for more toys.
A few hours later, her father came into her room with a stranger. “Ver, this is a dressmaker.” Mislav gestured to the woman. “She is here to measure you. She will make your clothes. I have seen the style for children your age and it is quite simple. I should be able to buy you a few new dresses and some shoes to match. You are too young for court yet, so I do not have to worry about gowns for a few more years.”
“Okay Father.” Verena set her doll to the side and stood up. She walked over and stood in front of the dressmaker.
The dressmaker smiled at Verena. “It shouldn’t take me long so you can get back to your game.” She pulled out an odd tool and waved it around Verena. “All right. I have all the measurements I need. If you want to go over fabric with me, Lord Mislav, I can get started. It should take me two or three days to get the dresses done.”
“Thank you.” Mislav looked at his daughter. “That is all I need you for, Verena.”
“Okay.” Verena went back over to where her doll was and sat down with it.
Verena kept an eye on the chronometer so she wouldn’t be late for dinner. She still had trouble reading it, but she could tell how many hours went by and she knew the key times when she needed to be out in the dining room for meals. It was a few hours later when Avalyn walked into her room.
Without preamble, Avalyn walked over, slapped Verena, and took her doll from her. Verena let out a shriek and reached for her doll. Avalyn struck her again and started walking for the door. Mislav came in at that point. “What is going on here?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Avalyn told him quickly.
“Mama took my doll,” Verena wailed, holding her hand to her cheek.
“Avalyn, give Verena back her doll.” Mislav blocked the door and glared at his wife.
“If her sisters have lost something, it is only fair she should lose something important to her too,” Avalyn countered. “She can have her doll back when you allow them to have more jewelry to match their new gowns.”
“That is not how this works, Avalyn.” Mislav folded his arms across his chest. “They were not allowed to have that jewelry in the first place. I told you specifically you were to buy dresses and shoes only.”
“Well, I do not think Verena deserves to have this doll anymore.” Avalyn glared at her husband. “She is a greedy, selfish little girl who takes and takes and –.”
“Enough, Avalyn.” Mislav’s voice increased in volume. “You are comparing Verena to our other daughters. You are describing Milisen, Nefari, Ismat, and Zdena. You are not describing Verena. Give her back the doll or I will send the older four back to Henebore right now.”
“You would not dare.” A look of horror spread across Avalyn’s face.
“I would and if you do not give Verena back her doll, I will go call Egil and Julian.” Avalyn turned and threw the doll at Verena. It struck her in the shoulder. Verena burst into tears. “Avalyn, your continued neglect and cruelty towards our daughter will not be tolerated. I will send the older four back to Henebore and deprive you of their company if you cannot moderate your behavior towards Verena.”
Avalyn glared at Mislav before stalking out of the room. Mislav walked over and scooped Verena into his arms. He sat down on the bed and held her until she calmed down. “Mama hates me.” Verena spoke quietly. She’d known this for a while now.
“She does not hate you, Ver.” Mislav always said this, but Verena never believed him.
“Yes, she does.” Verena turned a stricken gaze on her father’s face. “What did I do? Why does she think I am so bad?”
“It is nothing you did, Ver.” Mislav stroked her hair. “Your mother has gotten mixed up in the head about you, that is all. I will talk to her after we have both calmed down and see if I cannot get to the bottom of what is going on.”
“Okay.” Verena leaned her head against her father’s shoulder.
“Now, go wash your face. It is dinnertime.” Mislav set her down and she hurried out of the room to the bathroom. She washed her face and made her way to the dining room.
Milisen and the others were pouting. Niklas looked amused about something. Avalyn glared at Verena as she climbed into her chair. Mislav settled into his place and the servants brought out the meal. “I do not see why we had to sell our jewelry.” Milisen gave her father a sour look.
“You were not supposed to have it in the first place, Mili.” Mislav met his daughter’s gaze calmly. “I sold it because it was not yours to begin with.”
“But we have new gowns,” Nefari protested. “We need new jewelry to go with the new gowns.”
“Will your current jewelry go with your gowns?” Mislav asked.
“No.” Ismat shook her head. “None of mine will work with my new gowns.”
“My jewelry will work with my new gowns, sort of.” Zdena frowned. “I will have to mix and match sets.”
“I can make mine work,” Nefari admitted, still scowling.
Milisen didn’t answer, just continued pouting. “Mili? Does your jewelry work with your gowns?” Mislav gave his oldest daughter a hard look.
“I can make it work,” she answered sullenly.
“So Issy is the only one of you four who has nothing in her collection that will work with her new gowns.” Mislav looked over at Ismat. “Issy, after dinner bring me your new gowns and your jewelry box. I want to see this for myself.”
“Yes Father.” Ismat had a resigned expression on her face.
“What is so funny about this situation, Niklas?” Avalyn snapped. “Your sisters’ discomfort is not a joking matter.”
“I find it highly amusing, Mother.” Niklas’ smile broadened. “However, that is not why I am in such high spirits. Father, that deal with Lord Hiram Serpico went through.”
“You convinced Lord Hiram to take the offer?” Mislav looked impressed. Verena ate quietly. Perhaps this meant more money would be coming in, which would mean her mother would be able to buy Milisen and the others new jewelry and the fight could be forgotten.
“Not only did he take the offer, but he also took it at double what I was initially going to suggest.” Niklas was immensely proud of himself. “We should see the results of that start cycling in during the next few weeks. I am still sounding out Lady Elwira Cassano. She is proving to be more difficult to entice as it is rumored she has upper court connections, and we are pretty low in the ranking here in the lower court.”
“Do what you can. I have an appointment with Lord Takis Oman tomorrow. I have been priming him for weeks and I think I just might have enough leverage to swing him our way as well.” Mislav had a devious expression on his face.
“He is very slippery. A lot of people think they have him locked in and he backs out at the last minute,” Niklas cautioned.
“I know.” Mislav nodded. “That is why I have been taking it slow with him.”
“Do you two have to talk business at the dinner table?” Avalyn demanded.
“When else do we have to discuss it? We are usually too busy during the day to fill each other in on what is going on.” Mislav shrugged. “Niklas spends time with his wife in the evenings, and I am usually wrapping up business after dinner. This is the only time we have.”
“Speaking of Astera, Niklas, when are you going to start bringing her to family meals?” Avalyn asked.
“When she is ready, and not a moment before.” Niklas was firm on that and had been since he got married. “She is still getting used to the idea that she is my wife. She does not like Milisen and the others. She says they are miserable human beings, and she is not looking forward to spending time with them. I have tried telling her they are not that bad, but she does not believe me. She only has her experiences with them at court and apparently, they treated her horribly and she does not believe they are good people.”
“We never did anything to Astera.” Milisen looked offended. “We do not even know her.”
“She knows you, so you encountered her at some point.” Niklas glanced at his sisters. “She even asked me directly if the four of you were my sisters. She asked by name, so I would say you made a poor first impression on her when you did come across her.”
“She is lying. We have never seen her before in our lives.” Nefari glared at her brother.
“Can you honestly say you can remember every man and woman you have encountered at court?” Mislav asked. “I cannot, and I have been doing this longer than you have.”
Verena watched her sisters share a look and then they all shrugged. “No, we cannot,” Nefari admitted. “I think we would remember someone who looked like Astera though.”
“Obviously you do not, but you made enough of an impression on her that she does remember you.” Mislav gave his daughters a hard look. “I am curious to know what you did to make an unfavorable impact on her.”
“I would like to know too.” Avalyn smiled soothingly at her older daughters. “Because I am certain she is just blowing a misunderstanding out of proportion.”
“Not necessarily, Mother.” Niklas shook his head. “Mili and the others have a bad reputation at court. They are unpleasant to the women, and Mili and Fari at least flirt with every man who looks at them. I have even heard that they carry it beyond flirting, though no one will admit to sleeping with them. Even Issy and Dee are developing unfavorable reputations because they are emulating Mili and Fari.”
“I have heard the same things, Avalyn.” Mislav gave his wife a stern look. “I am surprised you have not brought our daughters under control. Do I need to step in and take a hand?”
“Of course not, Mislav.” Avalyn looked affronted that he would even suggest such a thing. “What you hear is probably just the same rumor mongering that occurs between those who are jealous of our daughters.”
“What is there to be jealous of? We are one of the least wealthy families. We are one of the lowest ranked families in the lower court. Mili and the others are plain with no beauty to speak of.” Niklas was being painfully blunt tonight, and Verena winced. “There is no reason for anyone to spread rumors to damage their reputation out of spite or jealousy.”
“Your sisters are lovely young women.” Avalyn leapt to the defense of her older daughters as she always did.
“No, they are not, Avalyn.” Mislav shook his head. “You can try to lie to yourself but stop lying to them. They are very plain. They took after you and you are no great beauty yourself. They are exceedingly plain, and I am having a hard enough time finding husbands for them because I do not have the wealth to pay a man to take them as wives. It is probably going to be some time before I can get them married.”
“If I am no great beauty, then why did you marry me?” Avalyn challenged Mislav.
“Your father offered me a reasonable price, and I accepted it because it was enough to fund another investment.” Mislav fixed his wife with a disdainful stare. “You are a tradesman’s daughter, Avalyn, not a courtier. We were not even thinking about court when we got married. You only became a courtier because Egil and Julian decided I deserved the opportunity to represent Henebore at court.”
Avalyn looked down at her plate and finished eating without saying another word. Verena didn’t like it when her parents fought. It made her mother either angry or sad, which made the whole family uncomfortable. She wished everyone could get along and be nice to each other.
“Father, if you and Niklas are doing so well at business, does that mean we can have our jewelry back?” Milisen asked hopefully.
“No, it does not.” Mislav shook his head. “Issy is the only one who might be getting jewelry, and that is if I agree her things do not match her new gowns. Most of that money has to be used to replenish the business.”
Milisen slumped in her chair. She finished eating and shuffled dejectedly off to her room. Her sisters followed her to their rooms. Verena finished eating and made her way back to her room. She picked up her doll and settled down on her bed for lack of anywhere else to sit. She grabbed her pad and opened up her book where she’d left off the previous night. She read until it was time for bed. She changed into a sleep suit and crawled under the covers.
Mislav came in. “Already in bed?”
“Yes Father.” Verena smiled. He walked over and leaned down. He kissed her forehead, put out her light, and left the room. Verena curled up with her doll and closed her eyes. She was soon asleep.
The next morning Verena woke up and went into the bathroom. She stepped up on her stepping stool and fixed the shower to what she wanted before bathing. She knew she should call for a servant, but often her mother and sisters commandeered all the servants so there were none to help Verena. She was very self-sufficient at five years old, and if Mislav knew how much she did for herself he’d probably be shocked.
Verena climbed out of the shower and dried off. She pulled on one of her too small dresses. Mislav saw her coming out of the bathroom. “Good morning, Ver.”
“Good morning, Father.” Verena hesitated. “Father, did you get me some new underwear and socks with my new dresses?”
“I did.” Mislav looked a little embarrassed. “The dressmaker suggested you might need them.”
“Okay. Thank you.” She made her way back to her room. Verena brushed her hair and twisted it into a tail. She wanted to learn to do something more with it, but a tail was all she could do right now. She sat and read until it was time for breakfast. She joined the rest of the family, wondering what new fight was going to happen that morning.
“What are everyone’s plans this morning?” Mislav asked.
“I am meeting with Lady Saoirse and Lady Cailean Selvatici to discuss the possibility of marrying their sons to Mili and Fari.” Avalyn looked at her two oldest daughters. “They are low ranked like we are, so I might be able to negotiate something.”
“I wish you luck with that.” Mislav didn’t sound convinced. “Niklas?”
“Astera and I are meeting with her parents to discuss the trade deals her father helped me set up, and then I am meeting with Lord Hiram to go over a few final details.” Niklas glanced at his pad to check his schedule.
“We are going out to the garden.” Milisen looked at her sisters and they nodded.
“Take your younger sister with you.” Mislav gestured to Verena. “She needs some fresh air.”
“All four of us are going.” Milisen seemed confused.
“I meant Verena.” Mislav fixed her with a hard stare.
“Why do we have to be saddled with a child who can barely walk?” Milisen protested.
“I do not want her here alone. You are not doing anything important. Not to mention she is your younger sister, and you do need to spend time with her.” Mislav’s voice was cold. “Take her outside with you, walk her around the gardens a couple times, and then bring her back to the suite.”
“Yes Father.” Milisen was obviously unhappy.
“I do not want to go outside with Mili.” Verena didn’t like her older sisters any more than they liked her. She didn’t want to spend time with them. She wanted to go back to her room and read.
“Ver, do not argue.” Mislav’s tone was sharp, and he turned his glare on his youngest child.
“Yes Father.” Verena never disobeyed when he took that tone with her.
After breakfast, Milisen and Nefari took Verena’s hands and led her out into the gardens. They walked with her for a bit before letting go of her. The four older sisters held a whispered conversation and then they dashed off down a path and disappeared, leaving Verena on her own in the garden.
Verena called out for them, but they didn’t answer and didn’t return. She wandered aimlessly for several minutes, growing increasingly frantic as she searched for her sisters. She burst into tears and stumbled around the garden.
“Hello, little one,” a friendly voice said. She looked up into a pair of kind brown eyes. It was a teenage boy being shadowed by two hulking men in power armor. “Are you lost?”
“My sisters ran away from me, and I do not know how to find my way home,” Verena wailed.
“I will help you,” the boy assured her.
“Prince Meinard, you don’t have time,” one of the men warned him.
“I will take the time. Father can yell at me about this later.” Meinard glanced over his shoulder. “What is your name, little one?”
“Verena Kelcrag.” Verena thought for a moment. “My father is Lord Mislav Kelcrag.”
“I do not know him. Is he upper or lower court?” Meinard asked.
“Lower court.” Verena sniffed. “He says we do not have much rank there, but he is Henebore’s representative.” She stumbled over the final word, but she tried to get it out so this boy wouldn’t think they were completely without status.
“Come on. We will ask the seneschal where your home is. I am certain he will know.” Meinard picked her up and carried her inside.
He took her to a fair haired man. “Who is this, Your Imperial Highness?” the man asked.
“Hello, Seneschal,” Meinard said. “This is Verena Kelcrag. She got lost from her sisters and needs to find her way home. She says her father is Lord Mislav Kelcrag. I was hoping you could direct me to his suite so I could return her to her parents? She says they are lower court.”
“They are indeed lower court,” the seneschal confirmed. “Fifth wing, second corridor, Mislav’s suite is the third on the right. This is their youngest daughter, and it is odd that she would be out on her own.”
“She said something about losing her sisters,” Meinard told him.
“Oh, those four.” The seneschal shook his head. “I am certain they ditched her on purpose. They are a miserable lot, from the rumors I hear about them at court.”
“Thank you, Seneschal.” Meinard carried Verena down the corridors back to her suite. He hit the door chime. Her father answered.
“Ver? Where are your sisters?” Mislav took his daughter from Meinard.
“They ditched her in the gardens and left her to wander on her own.” Meinard was obviously quite concerned about her. “I found her lost and crying. You are lucky I am the one who found her. If the wrong person had discovered her, you might never have gotten her back.”
Mislav saw the hulking men in power armor behind him. “Thank you, Your Imperial Highness. I will have a word with my older daughters.”
“I would highly recommend it.” Meinard seemed determined to make sure Mislav understood he wasn’t happy by what he’d seen.
“Your Imperial Highness,” one of the armored men sighed, after a voice came through on his comm.
“I know, I know, I am late.” Meinard ruffled Verena’s hair. “You are home safe, little one. Next time, do not get lost.” He gave her a cheery smile and hurried down the corridor.
Mislav took Verena into her room and tucked her into bed. “Try taking a nap, Ver. I will have a word with your sisters when they come in.”
“Okay.” He handed her the doll, and she curled up around it. She was asleep before he left the room.
Leave a Reply