"My Lady, must I stand aside during the entrance ceremony?"

"You won't be standing aside, Portia. You'll be locating my dorm room and putting things away. That's not standing aside, that's doing your job." Portia gave a light pout as she trailed behind her charge at customary distance, walking along a wide and windowed corridor which was steadily filling with other girls. Ladies and maids, chittering and chattering all over again. It was bringing back Sophia's throbbing headache. Being around so many people at once truly wasn't her forte. It was the reason why all her visits to Henkrie were often kept strictly confidential.

Visitors were a pest she wouldn't often feel like tolerating. She couldn't understand her mother's obsession with attending and hosting events for peerage.

"You could also brew my medicine. I feel a pounding behind my eyes." Sophia made a soft sound that bubbled up from her throat, barely a whimper, as she held her forehead in her hand and took a sharp breath. "Why is everyone so loud?"

Portia came to her lady's aid, supporting her arm and bringing a handkerchief to her head to wipe away some of the sweat she was beginning to produce. "Mayhaps we take a walk outside, My Lady? There was a garden courtyard on our walk here I saw and it looked rather empty. Just a pop out and pop back in just in time for the ceremony?"

"... Did you see Letta flowers there?"

"Yes, My Lady. A beautiful few bushes, well tended."

"Will we truly make it back in time?"

Portia put a hand to her heart and postured herself. "I promise, My Lady. If I am to be wrong let Her Blessed's scepter bop me in the stomach."

Sophia let out somewhat of a chortle that quickly transformed into a groan as it sparked a run of pain behind her eyes. "Alright. But if we are late I'll bop you with a scepter myself, understood?"

"Of course, My Lady. I recommend we go now though, the hall is becoming more congested."

"You're telling this to who, Portia?"

OMG THIS HURTS SO SO MUCH!! WHY DOES NOISE HURT? DO MONTSWORTHS JUST HAVE THE MOST SENSITIVE EARS EVER?!? THIS WASN'T MENTIONED IN THE HOUSE DESCRIPTION OR ON SOPHIA'S PAGE! MAKE IT STOOOOOOP-

[ Self-Discovery Made! [Heavy Hearing] Applied to Sophia Montsworth ]

Oh you bitch THAT'S NOT HOW BODIES WORK-

The fresh air of the outside world and relative lull in sound instantaneously brought about a change in Sophia's condition, the pain behind her skull dissipating and allowing her to think properly once more. The garden courtyard was simple and well-organized, yet still had an air of opulence about it with its small marble statues and white stone path. "Portia, where did you see the Letta flowers at?"

"Around this corner, My Lady. I wouldn't mistake their appearance."

"I'd hope so."

Traversing the path in the direction indicated by her maid, Sophia did encounter what she had been looking to see. A neat line of bushes with star-shaped yellow flowers, barely over the size of one's fingernail and coating the bush almost entirely, allowing only small swatches of green leaves to poke through their barrier. Sophia released herself from Portia's support and made a beeline to the bushes, kneeling down to the ground without her usual decorum and observing the flowers with great intrigue.

"My Lady, your dress-"

"Shush."

Portia could only sigh and allow Sophia her moment as the previously tightly laced lady affectionately touched the yellow flowers with something close to reverence, purple eyes alight with an emotion that wasn't often expressed from her. Youthful exuberance. Letta flowers weren't something that could be found in most gardens, especially those of the elite. With their small size and lack of any glamour, they were often only used for bushes that outlined garden entrances, their flowers pruned to only expose their bright green leaves. They were the only flowers that grew naturally in the Elteran Duchy, particularly in Fyre and Sophia's mother had long removed the "stars that didn't shine" from their residence's garden, replacing them with Frescian roses and Weltan orchids, proof of her position presumably and the Marquess hadn't cared either.

Portia enjoyed seeing what was left of her charge's childish wonder, she hadn't seen such a look on her face since... She was broken out of her memories by the sound of feet against stone, positioning herself before Sophia to shield her appearance from the approaching presence. Or more exactly, presence that had been hiding.

"Who goes there? Present yourself immediately."

"Oh, my apologies. I thought that this courtyard was empty."

A girl around Sophia's age, in a suit rather than a dress, appeared from the other side of the white stone path followed by their own maid. The girl had blonde hair and indigo eyes, a straight back but a certain tenseness about her. Portia didn't move and Sophia did not extricate herself from the Letta bush.

"May I request the name of our newest guest?" Sophia didn't look away from the bush, plucking one of the flowers from the bush and popping it in her mouth without much preamble, chewing on the sweet treat and protected from view by Portia's out blowing skirt.

"Eugenia Albingy, heir to the Gallahad Viscounty. May I request-"

[ Internal Affairs Check! ... Extreme Pass! ]

"Oh, House Albingy of Gallahad then? Aren't you in the eastern part of the kingdom? I thought attendance to a foreign academy was on the mind of Viscount Gallahad. It appears I was incorrect in such an assessment."

"Pardon?"

[ Eugenia Albingy - Affinity ↓ ]

The maid following Eugenia grew red in the face, sputtering. "How impudent! Do you understand who you're addressing?!"

"Who I'm addressing?" Sophia finally stood up from the ground, dusting off the skirt of her dress while still staring at the blooming bush. "The only one being impudent is you. Are these the sorts of dogs the Albingy are raising after your little operation was confiscated by the crown?"

[ Eugenia Albingy - Affinity ↓↓ ]

Eugenia's face turned about as red as her maid's, a fist forming at her side as Sophia plucked another flower from the Letta bush, popping it into her mouth once more and letting out a hum. "Oh my, it seems that I've gone and hit a sore spot. My apologies, I thought House Albingy had gotten over their shame but that seems to not be the case."

"Shame?!"

"Yes, shame. Is it not shameful to be punished by the crown and stripped of your property? I could even argue it to be one of the most shameful things one can encounter in their history. That's why I thought for sure you'd be sent abroad, to avoid peerage chatter. But it appears that the members of House Albingy have much thicker skin than I predicted. Grandmother will be sorely disappointed."

"Grandmother? Then you must be-"

Sophia gave a smile to the blonde and gave a customary curtsy. "Sophia Montsworth, of the Elteran Duchy. I look forward to an interesting school year together, Lady Eugenia."

[ Sentiment Gained! [Warring Houses] Applied to Eugenia Albingy ]

kallasoo

i am on a roll and with that roll comes low quality