“My lady,” Fran called, and Tinea groaned. “My lady, wake up.”

It wasn’t even dawn yet, Tinea realized as Fran threw open the curtains. The sky was painted in blues and grays, without the rays of the sun on the horizon, and Fran opened the balcony doors. It smelled like dew on the grass, and wet flowers, and Tinea slowly sat up.

“Why am I up so early?” she mumbled as she rubbed the crust out of her eyes, and Fran turned back around.

“The marquis would like you to join him for breakfast,” she said, and Tinea stared at her blearily. What? Why was she joining Lord Father for breakfast? She didn’t move, and Fran threw off the blankets.

“Go brush your teeth and wash your face, my lady,” she said, and Tinea slipped down onto the rug and padded into the bathroom, barefoot. She slowly started going through the motions of getting ready in the morning, and she listened to the sound of Fran opening the wardrobe to select a dress for her. Tinea brushed her teeth, utterly exhausted, rinsed and spat, and then she splashed warm water on her face to wash away the crust and sleep lines.

She stared at herself in the mirror, taking in her gray hair and pink eyes. There was a prick, as if she was being watched, and she turned and made her way for the bedroom, where Fran had a sky blue dress picked out for her. Tinea changed into it in silence, and Fran got her socks and shoes on.

“Now, go, go, my lady. He’s taking his breakfast in the gazebo,” she said, and Tinea slowly walked out of the room, dreading every step as she walked out. Why did he want her? He typically just ignored her. Was it because she tried to escape this time? Was that it?

She didn’t know. She was more than a little terrified. She had never gotten over her fear of her father. He was tall, imposing, and a killer to the bone. He was not a man she should treat lightly, and yet, she also didn’t care. If her machinations got her killed this time, oh well. At least it was a change of pace. She didn’t think she could take the Oracle killing her a fifth time. Though, two of those times had been her fault. Well, whatever. If Lord Father wanted breakfast, she would have breakfast with him.

She reached the stairs and climbed down them, heading out to the garden. There were few staff out around this time. They were all getting ready for the day, and she couldn’t believe her father was up this early. It seemed insane to her. How much paperwork did he get done in a day? Probably a lot.

She pushed open the door to the garden and walked out, headed for the gazebo by the pond. Lord Father was sitting at the table, sipping tea, with an impressive spread on the table. So, clearly, the cook was awake. And probably a maid or two. She sat down opposite him, and he sipped silently at his tea before he set it down in the saucer.

“Tinea,” he said, and she studied him in silence. It was easy to believe he was bloodthirsty, based on looks alone. “Are your legs healing up well?”

“Yes, Lord Father,” she replied, and he frowned at her.

“Call me Father,” he demanded, and she smiled at him slightly.

“This is proper etiquette, Lord Father,” she replied, and he stared at her, annoyed.

“From 100 years ago, maybe,” he said, and she dipped her head.

“Nonetheless, it’s the correct etiquette,” she said. They had this conversation every lifetime. It got old after a while.

“Your music teacher has been dismissed,” Lord Father said, and she was silent. “As has Countess Amalia. It would seem Countess Amalia met a tragic, fatal accident on the way back to the capital.”

“Unfortunate,” Tinea said as she poured herself a cup of tea and added in two sugars. Lord Father studied her with intelligent, cunning eyes, and she stirred in her sugar silently before she took a sip.

“You don’t seem upset about it,” Lord Father said, and Tinea set her tea down and stared at him.

“Why would I be?” she asked. “She was a terrible woman.”

“Mm,” he said, and took a sip of his tea before he set his cup down. “Your new etiquette teacher and music teacher will be here in a week.”

“Okay,” she said, and then--- “Is that the only reason you asked me to breakfast?”

Lord Father was silent, studying Tinea, before he turned back to his food.

“Eat your food,” he ordered, and she picked up a piece of toast and buttered it before she smeared on marmalade and took a bite. He took a bite of his own toast, and then he set it down and stared at her some more. “You look just like your mother.”

Tinea froze, because… He never mentioned her mother. Never, not even once. What was going on here?

“I know,” she said after a pause, and he propped his chin in his hand.

“I loved her, you know,” he said, conversationally. “My wife was a harpy. Terrible woman. Arranged marriage. But, I loved your mother. I would have made her a marchioness, if only she asked.”

“She was a commoner,” Tinea pointed out, and he smiled.

“That sort of thing doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “She was ruthless, you know. I once saw her rip out a man’s throat with her teeth.”

Sean had told Tinea she used to do that, but Tinea had never believed him. But, after hearing it from Lord Father’s lips, she was inclined to believe it. He would lie about a lot, but he would never lie about Mom.

“Oh,” she said quietly, and looked down at her toast.

“She didn’t love me, of course,” Lord Father said casually, and she stiffened. “But, I think I liked that the most. After the war was over, I never saw her again.”

Tinea was silent, processing that. She knew Lord Father loved Mom, but it was uncomfortable to be told that. She never believed her mother was capable of love, except love for Tinea and love for Sean. She was just like that. Tinea missed them both. Mom didn’t love Sean in a romantic way, but in some ways, their love went deeper than that. Like two siblings that weren’t born of the same mother, but found each other nonetheless.

“She must have loved you, to hide you from me,” he murmured, looking at Tinea with sad red eyes, and why was he sad? Seriously, what?

“Well, I have no doubt that I’ll be a disappointment,” Tinea said, and she didn’t know why she said it. Probably because she was a disappointment in every lifetime. She didn’t think this one would be any different.

“Far from it,” Lord Father said and dabbed his mouth with his napkin. “You’ll be a tiger.”

With that, he stood and walked away, leaving Tinea alone.

What?

She watched him go, and there was something longing in her chest. She never understood why she wanted his love, in every lifetime. She would have thought she’d outgrow that, but she still wanted him to stand by her side. She wanted him to protect her, but at the end of the day, she was… Tinea Bellator. Not Inistor.

And she was very, very aware of that.

Too aware of that.

With a sigh, she looked back down at her toast. She wanted to go back to bed.

That thought roused her, and she came to her feet and headed away, towards the estate. She couldn’t run fast enough. Just two more years, and she could manage it. It was a simple enough teleportation spell, but the problem was hiding her magic for two years. It was stupid that she wanted to avoid Ivan, but goddamn was the man annoying, and she wanted to enjoy her time in this life, if she was going to die at eighteen, anyway.

With a hum, she made her way through the garden and back into the mansion. She made her way back to the bedroom and collapsed in bed, kicking off her shoes as she did. It was time to go back to sleep.

….

Tinea woke with a start as someone poked her cheek. She thrashed, nearly falling out of bed, and Elric laughed loudly.

“What are you doing in my room?” she demanded, breathless, and he grinned at her slyly.

“Do you want to go for a ride?” he asked, and she flushed angrily.

“No, I do not want to go for a ride,” she spat out. “Get out of my room. Now.”

“Come on, you look like you could use the sunshine,” he cajoled, and she sat up.

“I don’t want to go for a ride. Leave me alone.”

“But, you rode so well,” he teased. “I would think you’d be jumping at the chance.”

“Well, I’m not,” she hissed. “Leave me be.”

“Come on, you can’t hate us forever,” he said, and she stared at him in disbelief.

“It has been less than a week,” she said in disbelief, and he grinned at her.

“So? We need to bond, come on. Get changed,” he said and straightened up from where he was crouched next to her bed, and she realized he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Well, she could be more stubborn than him.

“What do you want to do with an illegitimate child, anyway?” she spat out, and he lifted his eyebrows.

“Really, I applaud Father for cheating on Mother,” he said and lifted his hands. “She got nasty with him, you know?”

Tinea was silent, and Elric sighed and dropped his shoulders.

“Look, I know we screwed up with Countess Amalia, but we are happy you’re here,” he said, and she studied him in silence. “You’re… I always wanted a little sister to teach how to be a boy.”

Elric was so young here. Barely eighteen years old. She had no idea what he was doing home and not at the magic tower, and it briefly occurred to her that he was here for her. He was here to bond with her, and she… didn’t know how she felt about that, honestly.

“Fine,” she said and slipped out of bed. “Get out of here while I change.”

“Yes, Tin,” he said, and she glared at him.

“And don’t call me that,” she spat out, and he laughed and slipped out the door, closing it behind him. She had barely slept a few more hours, and she was annoyed about it. Why did he want to go for a ride?

She changed into riding pants and a shirt, and then she headed for the door. Elric was waiting outside, and he beamed at the sight of her in her little riding boots and pants.

“There we go, that’s better,” he said and turned for the stairs. “Let’s go get Molly tacked up.”

She followed him out, stewing in her own emotions, and he happily rattled down the stairs. He would be gone for the magic tower soon, and it couldn’t come soon enough. He was annoying. All she could think about when she stared at him was he didn’t even try to visit her in prison. He was flaky, wishy washy, and she couldn’t stand him.

She knew even love in this family was conditional. She was a cute ten year old now, but when she grew older, it would be…

She didn’t think about it. She couldn’t think about it. At least she got to go for a ride and didn’t have to be escorted by Eric. She couldn’t stand Eric. He was worse than Elric. Cheating scum.

Goddess. This was annoying.

 

A/N: I made a discord for my webnovels, because it was bothering me that I didn't have anywhere to post updates, so here y'all go.

https://discord.gg/hJAgYv9dXv