Verena wandered the gardens, taking in the scents. She kept one eye out behind her. It had been another bad morning, and she knew her sisters were stalking her. She’d had a couple hours of peace, but she knew her time was running short. She caught a glimpse of Nefari trying to stay out of sight as she stalked her. She made her way to the evergreen garden.
She heard the sound of running feet behind her. She decided to see if Ethian had been truthful when he said she could take shelter in the Imperial garden. She dashed past the Imperial guards. They parted and let her through.
Ethian and another young man looked up as Verena came to a stop. “Good morning, Verena.” Ethian noticed she was breathing heavily. “I take it they are after you again?”
“Yes, it is another bad morning.” Verena stared shyly at both princes, because she was sure the other man was his brother.
“This is my brother Fallon.” Ethian confirmed her guess. “He wanted to meet you.”
“Hello.” Verena bowed politely.
“Hello, Verena. Are the four rather angry looking females in the evergreen garden your sisters?” He gestured and Verena turned to look out through the gap. The Imperial guards were chasing them off. They drew their guns and Milisen and the others squawked and quickly hurried away.
“Yes, those were my sisters.” Verena sighed wearily. “They were chasing me, and I took a chance that Ethian’s offer was a fair one and ran in here.”
“Did you think I lied?” Ethian seemed amused by her statement.
“I was not certain if you had gotten approval from Their Imperial Majesties yet.” Verena smiled. “I hoped you had and came in.”
“Oh, they gave me their permission.” Ethian paused. “I do not remember if I warned you though. I told them I did and as I thought about it more, I realized I might not have.”
“Warned me about what?” Verena asked.
“They do come out here as well.” Ethian looked at her cautiously. “We talked about you a great deal yesterday. I should warn you. My father wants to meet you.”
“The emperor wants to meet me?” Verena asked, suddenly feeling very dizzy.
Ethian got up and caught her before she fell. He guided her over to the bench and had her sit down. “It is all right, Verena. He is not as scary as he seems. Both he and my mother are genuinely interested in getting to know you.”
“They know it is not in your best interest to call you to them formally. It would paint a target on you so large you would be dead before you woke up the next day. Either because of your sisters or because of someone in the upper court.” Fallon spoke reassuringly to her, hoping to help calm her down.
“That is the stars’ own truth.” Verena tried to calm her racing heart. Their words weren’t helping. Just the thought of meeting the emperor was enough to send her into even worse of a panic than the one she’d been in when she realized who Ethian was. She was too low of a status to even be close to the emperor. What was she doing in the Imperial garden? She tried to take a few deep breaths.
“If you encounter them out here, do not leave the garden.” Ethian continued to try to soothe her. “Stay and talk to them. I will most likely be here as well anyway, so you can sit with me and chat with all of us.”
“It is just that, I mean.” Verena wasn’t sure what to say at this point.
“It is just that as a noble of the lower court you are not supposed to talk to the emperor and the empress.” Fallon recognized her dilemma. “Am I right?”
Verena nodded. “I am not even supposed to talk to either of you, technically. Only a noble of the upper court has that right, unless we are petitioning you at the audiences.”
“Can anyone see you in this garden other than us?” Ethian asked.
“No.” Verena began to see where he was going with his line of logic.
“Will your sisters ever admit that you run into this garden?” Ethian asked.
“Starflare, no.” Verena shook her head. “They would have to explain why I am running away from them in the first place. My father would lock them in their room all day and never let them out again. He is that fed up with them.”
“Why do you not tell him what they are doing?” Fallon asked. “They are a threat to you.”
“I suppose because they are my sisters.” Verena paused, trying to put into words what she’d never articulated before. “We do not get along at all. I am certain they hate me, actually. But I do not hate them. I never have. I feel sorry for them in a way.”
“Why is that?” Fallon asked.
“I am going to appear vain here.” Verena knew what it was going to sound like before she said anything. “I do not mean it that way. It is just a blunt statement of truth.”
“Go on.” Fallon nodded encouragingly.
“I am young, I am pretty, and I have not ruined my reputation like they have. I have better prospects than they do.” Verena looked down at her hands. “They have eyes. They know all of this. They are bitterly jealous of me and have been since I was a child. I have been my father’s favorite my entire life, though he has tried to convince everyone he does not have a favorite. Or that Niklas was his favorite because he is his only son. No one was fooled.”
“Is there more?” Fallon asked.
Verena sighed. “Mother spoiled Milisen and the others, even encouraged their bitterness and hatred of me for some reason. I do not know why mother hated me so much. I never understood it. I probably never will. What is done is done and there is no undoing it. I can just try to survive it.”
‘So why do you feel sorry for them?” Fallon asked.
“Most of their misery is self-inflicted.” Verena looked at both of the princes. “I will not deny that. But they were never going to have it easy. My mother was not an attractive woman. My sisters all took after her. Father is not wealthy and does not have a lot to offer their future husbands. My sisters are in an unfavorable position and have been all their lives. They are unattractive, have no financial enticement to offer potential husbands, and have been operating at that disadvantage since the family came to court. It is no wonder they turned to promiscuity to try to snare husbands. It did not work, but it was the only thing they could think of.”
“They are violent bullies as well,” Fallon pointed out. “That has to have made the rounds in the lower court.”
“It has.” Verena grimaced. “And you are right. That has not helped them any either.”
“Do you love your sisters?” Fallon asked.
Verena had to think about that for a few minutes. The two princes watched her as she considered Fallon’s question. “No, I do not.”
“Do you love the rest of your family?” Fallon asked.
“Oh yes.” Verena smiled. “Niklas, Astera, Albrecht, Stasia, Harun, my father, I love them all.”
“The names you mentioned, who are they?” Fallon asked.
“Niklas is the oldest out of all of us.” Verena’s smile didn’t falter. “Astera is his wife. Albrecht, Harun, and Stasia are their children. Niklas and Astera let me come and tutor the children for a few hours in the afternoon, and we have a lot of fun together.”
“Do you like children?” Fallon asked.
“I think I do.” Verena shrugged. “I only have experience with Niklas and Astera’s three, and I know I enjoy my time with them. I think I would enjoy spending time with other children if given the opportunity.”
Fallon smiled. “You seem like a very sweet young woman, Verena. I am sorry you have to deal with those four bullies in your family. I second Ethian’s offer. Feel free to come in here any time you need to escape them.”
Verena noticed Ethian seemed to relax. It wasn’t much, and to someone who wasn’t as used to watching the body language of four hostile women as she was it would have been imperceptible, but she saw it. She must have passed some kind of test. Ethian must hold Fallon in high regard if he felt he needed his approval as much as he needed the emperor’s.
“Thank you, Fallon. You may see me in here pretty much every fine day because I have a feeling my sisters are going to be on the hunt every morning from now on.” Verena sighed
“Why do you say that?” Ethian asked.
“Apparently father and Uncle Egil and Uncle Julian came to an agreement last night.” Verena rubbed her temples, grimacing. “By the time the winter festival ends, if my sisters are not engaged, they will be sent to Henebore. Father announced it this morning at breakfast. My sisters demanded to know if I was going to Henebore as well. Father said no, because my reputation was still intact, and he could possibly find me a husband here.”
“They did not take it well.” Ethian didn’t have to ask. It was going to be obvious even with as little as they knew of her sisters.
Verena shook her head. “They threw an absolute fit. Father told them they could abide by his decision or remain locked in their rooms day and night for the next several months until he sent them to Henebore at the end of the year. They quit protesting, but I saw the murderous looks being sent in my direction. I knew what was coming. I know what is going to happen if they catch me at any point in the next few weeks.”
“I think it is going to last more than a few weeks, Verena.” Fallon’s look of concern matched Ethian’s.
“To be honest, so do I. I am in trouble until the weather turns, and we are trapped in the suite. They cannot touch me there because father would lock them in their rooms permanently. They can be rude and nasty, but they cannot physically assault me. Inclement days are the same. I am a frequent target of snide comments and rude remarks, but not physical attacks. It is only when we are in the gardens that I am targeted for violence.” Verena wasn’t sure what she was going to do.
“Verena, just make your way to the Imperial garden.” Ethian took her hand. “Do not give them the chance to corner you. Even if we are not here, the Imperial guards are. Bring your pad and read. We will be out eventually. We have the council meeting in the morning, but then I will come out and keep you company.”
“I might be too busy, because I have different duties than Ethian.” Fallon added his own approval of the plan. “But if I have free time, I will join you as well.”
“I thought, as crown prince, you would be too busy to spend time with someone as low ranked as me.” Verena desperately wanted to spend more time with Ethian, but he was the crown prince. He had to have duties he was neglecting to talk to her.
“I should be doing paperwork, but I can do it in the afternoon after audiences. I would rather make certain you are safe.” Ethian met her gaze evenly.
“You only met me yesterday.” Verena wasn’t sure why she was protesting. Here was her one chance to escape her sisters and get to know the crown prince, an unheard of benefit for someone of her rank.
“Ethian is a very good judge of character. He does not offer his protection to anyone lightly. He also does not offer friendship to many people. If he decided after one meeting to offer both, you are someone he feels he can trust.” Fallon regarded her solemnly.
There was a threat implicit in that last sentence, that if she broke that trust, Fallon would make her life very difficult. Verena had no intention of doing anything to hurt Ethian. She’d never had a friend before, and it was nice to think she had one now. “I have never had a friend before,” she admitted. “I have always stayed isolated because of my sisters. Mostly to protect myself and whoever I might have considered making friends with.”
“You do not have to worry about that with me.” Ethian gave her a wry smile.
“No, I suppose I do not.” Verena smiled shyly at the two men. “Thank you.”
“What do you do with your free time besides playing with your nephews and your niece and hiding from your sisters?” Ethian asked.
“I read.” Verena sighed. “Unless I have to get ready for our weekly attempt at getting into court. Or our attempts at making it into the high feasts.”
“What do you read?” Fallon asked.
“Anything that looks interesting.” Verena grinned. “History, philosophy, science, technology, political science, all of those things are interesting to me. I read an occasional fiction book too, when my mind is too keyed up to focus on something serious. Mostly though I read to learn.”
“Are you reading anything now?” Ethian asked.
“I am reading a book on the founding of the upper and lower courts, as written by a courtier who was relegated to the lower court by the fifth emperor.” Verena laughed. “He is rather biased about some things, and I would love to see a more unbiased discussion of the division, but it is fascinating to see where the split was started.”
“Do you have access to the Imperial archives?” Ethian asked.
“My father paid a small fortune and got me access two years ago.” Verena smiled at the memory. “Lower court nobles usually have limited access, but I now have almost completely unrestricted access. I never knew there were that many books in the whole universe.”
“Almost completely unrestricted access?” Ethian asked.
“There are things that are restricted to members of the Imperial household only.” Verena shook her head. “I have a feeling what I am looking for is probably among them. A few of the titles I want to read are locked behind that block. I found them referenced in other books and went looking for them.”
“I never knew we had access to titles others did not.” Ethian frowned. “I have always had full access to everything. My mother had it from when she was a courtesan.”
“Yes, because as an Imperial courtesan, she was part of the Imperial household,” Verena pointed out. “It makes sense why she would have it. Ah well. I will just have to let my curiosity remain unsatisfied, annoying as that is.”
“I would be looking for ways to get around that block.” Ethian grinned mischievously.
“I did.” Verena giggled. “I got a politely worded ‘if you do not stop, we will revoke your access’ letter from the Imperial Archivists. So I quit trying because I would rather have access to all the books I have now and only a select few I cannot read than lose what I already have.”
“Sensible.” Fallon poked Ethian, who just grinned at his brother.
They talked about books and history until it was time to go in for lunch. “Where have you been, Ver?” Mislav asked as she joined her family for lunch.
“Talking about books with some friends in the gardens.” Verena kept her answer vague. “We were discussing how unfair it is that some of the titles we want to read are locked behind the Imperial household block.”
“You are not still trying to get around it, are you?” Mislav asked.
“Oh no, I stopped that ages ago.” Verena didn’t want her father to think she was still trying to get through it. “I like having access to millions of books, thank you very much. If I cannot have access to a few thousand titles, what does it matter? It is annoying but I can live with it.”
“Good. What were you four up to today?” He turned his attention to his four older daughters.
“We were just walking in the gardens.” Milisen glared at Verena. “We stopped and talked to a few acquaintances, but mostly just wandered around looking at flowers.”
“My sisters saw you stalking Verena.” Astera challenged Milisen’s story almost as soon as she told it.
“I did not see them at all today.” Verena decided to keep her older sisters out of trouble for the moment.
“You did not?” Mislav asked.
“Not at all.” Verena shook her head.
“They must have lost interest then.” Astera gave the four older sisters a suspicious look.
“We never saw Verena in the gardens.” Nefari tried to hide her puzzled expression. They all knew that Verena had seen them, that she had escaped them. They were all doing their best to hide their confusion because she wasn’t telling their father they’d tried to attack her again.
Mislav interpreted their confusion to mean they were baffled by Astera’s accusation. “Your sisters must have been mistaken, Astera.”
“Possibly,” Astera conceded. “They are so used to these four stalking Verena that they may have seen Verena pass and then Mili and the others pass and automatically assumed they were stalking her when it was pure chance.”
“That is probably what it was.” Mislav looked at his older daughters. “I am certain Mili and the others know what will happen to them if I find out they are attempting to harm Verena again.”
“Yes Father.” Milisen scowled.
“Ver, are you coming to tutor the children this afternoon?” Niklas asked.
“Of course, Nik.” Verena smiled.
“Watch out for Albrecht. He is in a foul mood today for some reason and he is giving everyone trouble.” Niklas sighed. “He was horrifically rude to Astera this morning and very nearly got sent back to his room to spend the day there.”
“Oh dear.” Verena shook her head. “Is he already in the moody adolescent phase?”
“We think he is close. He might give you some trouble this afternoon. If he does, kick him out and send him to me. I will deal with him.” Niklas sighed again.
“All right, Nik.” Verena smiled. Albrecht entering the moody adolescent phase wasn’t surprising. The boy was turning thirteen after all. After lunch, Verena made her way to the little room in Niklas’ suite where she tutored her niece and nephews. Judging from the expression on Albrecht’s face it was going to be an interesting afternoon.
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