Anne sat next to her newly mandated fiance as the festivities started in court. She accepted every toast made to her and made sure to seem graceful and elegant with every sip she took, but she knew what they all felt in her heart. She occasionally glanced at Lucia. She was expecting a tantrum from her younger sister and had prepared countermeasures, but surprisingly, the little girl smiled and acted like everything was normal. She turned to her fiance. She felt she didn't have much of a right to comment on his inability to clarify the situation, but now she wouldn't stand for it if he did it again. He wasn't stupid; he knew letting her have her wild crush would only benefit him, but now he had a fiance.
She looked up at her imperial father, who seemed not to care; he sat on his throne like a lofty god looking down on his people, which made her feel suffocated.
"My lord, I wonder, what exactly do you expect from me as your wife?" She figured it was better to ask than to go in blindly.
Taken aback, he stared at her. He had thought about it before, but now that she had asked, he had no way to articulate it. He paused for a second before saying it cautiously. "Loving mother, peaceful home, peaceful kingdom," he said.
"Hm," she said, seeming deep in thought as she looked at him. Her spirits dimmed; couldn't he speak sweetly to her? How did he make Lucia fall for him with such crude words? "I always wanted to ask, why did you agree to marry me?" she asked.
"I had no reason not to, and you are beautiful," he said with a small smile on his face, then turned up to look at her with honest eyes. "My wife is beautiful."
She felt her face heat up and was grateful her blush wasn't obvious. Was he just really honest? But did he really think she was beautiful? Despite her heritage,? She wanted to ask another question but decided against it; he decided he would have to wait for him to prove his words on their wedding night.
"In that case, I want to know more about Veinna. I will help you have a peaceful country; that is my promise to you. In return, you must always respect me as your only wife till the day you die." She said, bowing her head so he wouldn't see her bashful expression.
Aiden felt a hit of remorse rise in his heart. "I promise, I will respect you as my only wife for the rest of my life. I will be the husband you need."
For the rest of his life, he would be her husband, no matter how short-lived that would be.
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After the ball, Anne felt herself in a trance; she couldn't help but think that her husband was rather cute.
Anne smiled, looking at herself. She tried to keep her hopes down, but she couldn't help but look forward to it.
"You need to stop daydreaming and dress up." Her little dream bubble was disrupted by a taunting voice from behind her. She gasped and turned to see Lilian looking at her with a set of clothes. She was dressed in a black long robe tied at the waist with a gold sash and bilateral slashes on the side, allowing free leg movement. Her black robe was embroidered with what seemed like gold flowers and clouds, and underneath she wore a set of white loose pants that were tied at the ankles.
Anne sighed and grabbed the black clothing, putting it on. Her black-dyed silk pants were tucked into leather boots as she wore an armoured corset over a silk tunic. Despite the heat, she was able to move freely. She put on her weapon's belt, making sure to count her daggers and mystics, before putting on a face covering, leaving only her eyes visible.
The servants around them, dressed in black silks and similarly only showing their eyes, said, "Let's head out."
"Yes!" they all replied, ready to follow her orders.
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Nightshade was a largely unknown organisation, small and mainly located in the Imperial city of Celestia; an organisation founded by the late lady Maria before she married into the imperial family, and naturally, it was handed down to her only heir, Adanne of Celestia.
Before Anne took over, Nightshade was made up almost solely of physicians, as Lady Maria was a healer, but now, after bringing up a new generation of poison masters as well as healers, they were now ready to become a full-fledged organisation.
Anne saw the faces under the dim candlelight. The members all kneeled in silence. This was their first time meeting the leader, as she had never come to the imperial city and her identity was highly confidential. This would be the first time they'd hear her voice. She took a deep breath, steadying her nerves, and carefully thought about her first words.
"Nightshade was created by the late lady—may she rest in peace—and I have taken responsibility for all the members of the new generation. There are only 100 of you, and there will never be more than 100 healers at any given time. This organisation will forever remain in the shadows but will grow in strength and power. The inner will only ever have 10 members at a time, and these positions will only be given to the most powerful of us." Her eyes glanced sideways as she looked at the people standing beside her; there were currently only two.
"The Empress and the Snake are the first members of the inner circle, but they will not be the last, and I will lead as the head of this body containing mismatched parts."
She steadied her resolve as she sat down on the makeshift throne behind her. There were nine other thrones, with the Empress sitting next to her on her left and the Merchant a few rows to her left.
"In a month's time, we will be moving our headquarters to the Imperial City of Veinna. I will leave 10 people here, and I will redistribute 20 through the 3 regions of this continent and the rest of you through the southern continent. In the same vein, you will be the outer circle of the regions in which you are to be based; you will be expected to recruit and manage healers. Understand one thing: insubordination will only lead to death."
There was a ghastly silence throughout the compound, but Anne did not care. She turned to the woman next to her, who had long black hair tied up behind her and the same black robes with gold embroidery. "Empress." She stood up and turned to Anne, bowing at the waist.
"Yes, master!"
"I will leave you in charge of assigning the teams." She bowed again before nodding to the guards behind them to hand out what looked like uniforms of varying colours, each with a name and rank as well as appropriate property deeds and equipment.
"You all understand what you should do?" Lilian asked with a low voice, compelling the healers to bow.
"Yes! Empress!"
Anne turned to the snake as she stood up, heading inside. He followed suit, sitting across from her on the round table. Icarus Alastair was a strange man from the Alastair family. He had black and white hair demarcated by the midline of his head, and he had cold, unfeeling yellow eyes that oddly seemed to glow in the dark. He wielded a cane that had a gold snake with green jewelled eyes on it; he looked like he walked straight out of a novel where he was cast as the villain.
"It has been a while since we last met." Anne began taking off her mask now that she was alone with him. "How have you been, uncle?"
"Nothing has really changed since the last time you saw me, but you have grown quite a lot; you're even getting married; Amara would be proud." Anne smiled upon hearing her mother's native name; he had been her mother's right-hand man, and now he stayed to help her run Nightshade.
"It's been coming for a long time now. Imperial father needed to use me as a scapegoat, and luckily he is not a bad person."
"You can run away whenever you want; my Alaistair family can feed another princess," he said with a chuckle.
"How is Etana doing? I trust she's excelling in her studies."
"I'm proud to say that my little girl is a genius; I have no qualms about handing my position to her when I die," he said with a proud smile.
"Then I guess she's gifted too?"
"She's just like me; unlike my sons, who were disappointments, I thought my bloodline was strong, but I am happy to have someone to pass it on to."
Anne couldn't help but smile awkwardly. Families with gifts tend to be this way, very bloodline-oriented, like her family. Her mind went back to Lucia, who acted oddly docile that day; it felt strange, like a calm before a storm, but she might be mistaken.
"Have you found any information on the 'Dog'?" She asked curiously; she wondered if he had any news on the person she had in mind.
"I do, but I am curious as to why you specifically want this person; it was rather hard to find," he said, handing over a set of documents.
Anne smiled as she looked through the notes given to her. "When I was little, my mother told me many tales of her travels, though I wonder if she would be upset that I used her knowledge in this way." Anne sighed, keeping the documents on the table. "Well, it can't be helped; this is the best way to bring back home a loyal 'Dog'." A sadistic smile crept across her face as she recalled her mother's message to her.
'The elven race is extraordinary; gifted in magic and intellect, it is a shame true elves have died out, but if you've ever met an elf of royal descent, you will soon realise elves have a very innate need...'
