I was not particularly attached to my younger sister.

So it was understandable that I was not particularly enthralled by her arrival at the House. All it did was signal my upcoming journey to Lurris, a thought I was unable to bring myself to look forward to, as I had no idea of what constituted the deal between my father and Remonn.

And it wasn't as if Remonn wrote frequently. He had sent a short succinct note the next day that my father read out loud in our sitting room, "I am pleased to inform you that Lady Alma Fughal's family has successfully learned of the situation at hand. She will be sent to the Monastery in Mishavake. They will be taking action against Veur Ittal, priest-in-training. He has also been removed from his position at the temple and is facing the probability of an exile."

My heart skipped a beat. It was fairly obvious to me now, that the only reason Lady Alma wanted to tarnish me, would be that she hoped to have the wealth and power of the Duke backing her as she continued her relationship with the priest. Whether that was something she came up with on her own, or if the priest had had the guile to make her act, I do not know.

After the incident with Lady Alma, my father took to screening all the mail, so I was unable to write a letter demanding answers. Mother took to ensuring that I stay inside the house, such that the only few times I was able to leave, was to attend balls and parties, of the season, with her as my chaperone, which further prevented private conversations with Remonn.

I cursed my luck and my anger had cooled into a numbness that I could not feel.

"Atreya!" she shouted clambering into my arms when she saw me climbing down the stairs for breakfast. I resisted the urge to push her away and awkwardly patted her back. She had grown taller over the half year I had not seen her, now comfortably reaching my shoulders.

"What is Atreya?" I asked.

"It means 'The Older One' in Reyhanese." she grinned with her pearly white teeth, "I have been learning Reyhanese for the last few months!"

"What a crude way to call your sister old," I said.

"Is it true that you're marrying a prince?" she asked as we piled breakfast on our plates. My father had already left the room and only Mother stayed and she was slowly breaking bread into pieces.

"No, I am marrying a Duke."

"Isn't that just a prince who does not live in the palace?"

"You're talking about Dukes who have royal blood. The Duke of Lurris is not royalty. Though there have been women who have married into the royal family."

"Magnificent!" she squealed.

The rest of the conversation was rather too fast for me to keep track of. Her Governess had already been let go. She had had a lovely time. Her health had recovered pretty well and she hadn't relapsed into her sickness for the last few months. Her governess had had the idea of teaching her Reyhanese and she had picked it very well.

"Orsha," Mother finally managed to get in a word edgewise, "You cannot prattle on this way in Lurris!"

"Are you really sending me there?"

"Yes."

"I wonder how different it is."

After breakfast, I decided to make a request to my mother. I was getting sick of oscillating between sitting tight at home and preening like a peacock at all noble gatherings that my mother forced me to attend to. What little decisive power I thought I had, I had squandered away in the course of a day. Oftentimes, I wished I had done more than just kick the priest.

"Mother," I said as we rose to leave the breakfast table.

"No."

"You haven't even listened -"

"Whatever it is, the answer is no."

'It's about dresses! Take me to the dressmaker!" I said loudly and my voice cracked. My mother stared at me stunned before a look of utter joy spread over her face. While she made arrangements to head to the most luxurious boutique in Orira, I snuck into my room, to pen down a note making appropriate inquiries to Remonn. I would send it through a messenger boy when Mother and Orsha would get too occupied. I fitted the note inside my sleeve for good measure.

Soon we were boarding the carriage and leisurely trotting our way toward the Main Square.

I knew that Remonn would definitely take my requests into account but I had to know what my father had agreed to. Maybe I just wanted to reassure myself that he would not waste a golden opportunity in securing my future. I was thinking thus, as I enjoyed the sweet air of the outside when Orsha gave me a small nudge.

There was a small window between us in the carriage and the driver - in case there was an instruction to be given, under which my mother was seated. And through that window, a curious pair of eyes were observing us. The moment my eyes met theirs, they hastily turned away, however, I did note that one eye was blue and the other an unnerving ochre.

"Who is that?" Orsha whispered.

I shrugged. "Probably a curious little kid."

However, it was not any curious little kid.

Just as I was getting out of the Boutique - once my mother began gushing about my engagement to the owner, I requested her kindly to allow me to visit the bookstore next door. I knew then that I could comfortably slip out for a few minutes, so I did, only I was looking behind me too much to see in front of me and almost ran into a kid right there. I profusely hissed an apology before quickly shutting the door and the kid groaned at me.

"Shh!" I hissed to quiet him down.

First, I noticed that he had one blue eye and one ochre eye - the same pair of eyes we had seen in the carriage. Second, now that I could see his face, I bit my tongue to not agitate myself. It was the same little boy Remonn and I had escorted unconscious to the palace - the DragonHeir!

"You -" he began to say to me but I put my finger to my lips. I had no idea what he was doing here, but this was not quite topping my list of priorities. I curtsied and tried to pass by him but he raised a hand to stop me. Wondering what business he had with me, I pointed at the space between the boutique and the bookstore, so we could sneak in and avoid attention. More specifically my mother's attention.

"Your Highness?" I asked awkwardly curtsying.

"You're the lady who took me back to the Palace that day." He stated and folded his arms.

"Uh, yes," I said, "How did His Highness know I would be here?"

More importantly, why was he even talking to me?

I wondered how much trouble it would be to run away from him and what consequences that would entail. However, I did not want another run-in with his mother.

"I used sorcery." He said plainly. "And I need your help."

"My help?" I blinked.