Lyssara was beginning to regret having given in.
"Come on Lyssara you have to try yours on too... you can't just stand there staring at me as if this were torture... it will be fun I promise..."
Celestia twirled in front of the full-length mirror in Lyssara's room, admiring the ivory-colored dress she had just tried on. It was the fifth dress in the last half-hour, and Celestia's energy showed no signs of diminishing.
They had spent the entire morning in the city shopping, something Lyssara had tried to avoid with every possible excuse. But Celestia had been relentless, dragging her from shop to shop with that inexhaustible enthusiasm that seemed to characterize her.
And now they were back at the mansion, trying on everything they had bought.
Lyssara would prefer to be in the training courtyard. Or reading strategic maps. Or literally doing anything else.
But she needed to keep Celestia happy. The plan for the Imperial Academy depended on it.
So she had given in.
"Alright," Lyssara said with resignation, taking the dress that Celestia had insisted she buy.
It was dark blue, elegant, and with a cut more revealing than what Lyssara would normally wear. The kind of dress designed to draw attention, to stand out, to be seen.
Everything contrary to what Lyssara preferred.
She changed behind the folding screen, feeling uncomfortable even before putting it on completely. The fabric was soft, expensive, the kind of garment the daughters of Great Houses wore at important social events.
When she stepped out, Celestia let out a squeal of excitement.
"I knew it! I knew that color would look perfect on you!"
She approached, adjusting a few folds of the dress with expert hands.
"You look beautiful Lyssara... absolutely beautiful... that dark blue makes your eyes look more intense and the cut highlights your figure... you should wear dresses more often instead of always being in that boring training clothes..."
Lyssara looked at herself in the mirror.
Objectively, she knew the dress fit her well. Celestia had a good eye for these things. But she felt... exposed. Vulnerable in a way that had nothing to do with combat.
"Dresses aren't practical for training," she said with a dry voice.
"Not everything in life is training my dear," Celestia replied, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes you have to look beautiful and let people appreciate it... it's a waste that only I get to see how good you look..."
Before Lyssara could respond, Celestia was already dragging her toward the door.
"Come on... let's take a walk through the gardens... I need fresh air and you need to let someone else see how beautiful you look..."
"Celestia, no..."
"It's too late to protest... come on come on..."
And so, despite her objections, Lyssara found herself being dragged out of her room, still wearing the dark blue dress, feeling completely out of place.
The gardens of the Drayvar Mansion were tranquil under the afternoon sun.
Celestia walked ahead, chattering animatedly about something she had seen in one of the shops, about a comment someone had made, about plans for the upcoming social season.
Lyssara followed her, trying to walk naturally despite the dress. She was used to moving with freedom, to having a full range of motion. This felt restrictive in ways light armor never had.
It was then that they saw Sareth.
He was sitting on a bench under a large tree, completely absorbed in a book he held with both hands. His posture was that of someone who had been there for hours, lost in the pages, oblivious to the world around him.
Alone. As always.
Celestia recognized him immediately. She had seen him before during her days at the mansion, both him and Kael. But Sareth had seemed more... accessible to her. Less intimidating than Kael with that cold aura that always surrounded him.
A mischievous smile appeared on Celestia's face.
"Hello!"
She approached with that characteristic overflowing energy, dragging Lyssara with her.
"You are Sareth right... the other Drayvar brother... I've seen you around the mansion these days but we've never spoken properly..."
Sareth looked up from his book, startled by the sudden attention. He blinked, recognizing Celestia, the Valmar guest his mother had been hosting.
And then he saw Lyssara.
In a dress.
He blinked again, clearly not used to seeing her like that. Lyssara almost never wore dresses. She was always in training clothes or simple, practical tunics.
Sareth stood up quickly, closing his book with a clumsy movement.
"I... yes... I am Sareth..."
His voice came out more nervous than he likely intended.
Celestia smiled more broadly, stepping closer lightly.
"What are you reading... it must be absolutely fascinating to be so concentrated... you didn't see us approaching at all..."
She leaned in slightly to see the title of the book, invading Sareth's personal space without a second thought.
Then she pointed to Lyssara with a dramatic gesture.
"But first of all you have to tell us what you think... Lyssara looks beautiful in this dress right... it's a completely different look for her... normally I only see her in sweaty training clothes..."
Sareth became visibly more nervous. His eyes darted briefly to Lyssara, then quickly looked away, as if looking directly at her was too much.
"I... um... I don't know..."
He stammered something else, completely incoherent.
Celestia moved even closer, now at a distance that definitely violated any notion of appropriate personal space. She could see the blush rising up Sareth's neck, spreading toward his cheeks.
"Come on don't be shy Sareth... it's just a compliment... tell your sister she looks beautiful... it's not hard... just words..."
She was practically whispering now, so close that Sareth could feel the heat of her presence.
Sareth was bright red. His mind seemed to have gone blank. He didn't know where to put his hands. He didn't know where to look without feeling more embarrassed.
Lyssara, seeing her brother's evident torture, decided to intervene.
"Celestia, leave him alone."
Her voice was controlled but firm. She tried to grab Celestia's arm to pull her away.
"That's enough... don't bother him anymore."
But before she could do anything else, Sareth spoke.
"She is very beautiful."
The words came out suddenly, without filter, in a low voice but perfectly clear.
He said it looking directly at Lyssara, his gray eyes meeting hers for a brief moment before he fully realized what he had just said.
Absolute silence.
The three of them froze.
Sareth turned even redder, if that was possible. The blush extended to the tips of his ears. He wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.
Lyssara blinked, genuinely surprised.
Celestia had the biggest smile Lyssara had ever seen on her face.
"I... I have to... I forgot something..."
Sareth gathered his book clumsily, almost dropping it in the process. He took a step back, clearly planning a quick retreat.
"Sorry... I must go..."
But Celestia wasn't going to let him escape that easily.
She laughed, a musical sound without cruelty, just genuine amusement.
"Oh how cute... you turned all red... you don't have to leave Sareth... we just want to chat a little with you... we don't bite right Lyssara..."
She took Sareth's arm gently, stopping him before he could flee.
"Come walk with us... we were getting bored of being just us girls... we need male company... besides you can tell us about that book you were reading with such concentration..."
Sareth looked at Lyssara as if begging for help, his eyes pleading.
Lyssara sighed internally. She knew Celestia wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. And honestly, Sareth could use some social interaction. He spent too much time alone with his books.
"You can come if you want, Sareth. We were going to go out to the city again."
It was the closest thing to a rescue she could offer him under the circumstances.
Celestia clapped enthusiastically.
"Perfect... it will be much more fun with someone else... besides you can tell us about your books... I always see you reading something different... you must know many interesting things..."
Sareth, trapped and without a polite way to refuse, just nodded weakly.
And so, the three of them headed toward the mansion gates.
Going out into the city required protocol.
Two knights escorted them: one from House Drayvar and one from House Valmar, who had come with Matriarch Seraphine.
Both maintained a respectful but vigilant distance while the trio walked through the streets of the Stormvale district.
Celestia led the conversation, as always. She asked Sareth questions about his readings, and he, gradually, began to relax enough to answer with more than monosyllables.
He spoke of military history, of ancient tactics, of strategies he had studied in dusty texts from the library.
Lyssara listened in silence, observing. It was rare to see Sareth like this, talking to someone other than her or Kael. Celestia had that gift of making people open up, even the shy ones.
They visited several shops. Celestia dragged both siblings to look at jewelry that sparkled under the sunlight, fabrics imported from Nareth, exotic perfumes from distant lands.
Sareth looked completely out of place, but he tolerated it with surprising patience.
Lyssara simply wanted to take off the damn dress.
They were leaving a spice shop when Lyssara saw it.
A group was advancing down the main street, and it wasn't the number of people that caught her attention. It was the formation.
Disciplined. Military. Professional.
Eight knights in total, all wearing the Drayvar emblem on their armor. They moved in an escort formation, with precision that spoke of serious training.
And in the center of that formation was Kael.
Her nine-year-old younger brother walked with the posture of someone who expected that protection, who considered it natural. Aldric was to his right, Favius and Mika behind, and five other knights Lyssara didn't recognize completed the formation.
The presence was intimidating. People in the street moved aside instinctively, making room. Some murmured upon seeing the Drayvar emblem, wondering who the child was that deserved such an escort.
It wasn't normal for a younger son, especially a nine-year-old, to have eight knights escorting him. Not even she had that. Rylan, when he was in the city, usually had two or three.
But Kael had eight.
Kael's eyes settled on them. On Lyssara, then on Sareth, then briefly on Celestia.
His expression was completely neutral. Cold. Distant.
He didn't greet them.
He didn't smile.
He made no gesture of recognition.
He simply continued walking, as if his siblings were strangers on the street. As if they didn't share blood, home, family.
The formation passed by them and continued its path, disappearing into the market crowd.
An awkward silence fell over the three siblings.
Celestia was the first to break it, her voice indignant.
"Did you see that? He didn't even say hello... he walked by as if we didn't exist... as if we were common people not worth recognizing..."
She crossed her arms, her expression showing genuine offense.
"Who does he think he is walking with all those guards as if he were the Grand Duke himself... he's just a child... by the gods..."
She made a dramatic gesture with her hand.
"When Rylan returns from the mountains that air of superiority Kael has is going to go away completely... Rylan will put him in his place like the big brother he is... besides Rylan is much more handsome and has that air of an honorable warrior that is so attractive... Kael is just strange and cold..."
Sareth spoke in a low voice.
"Kael has always been like that. It's not personal. He simply has his own priorities."
His tone was neutral, without particular emotion. As if stating a fact about the weather.
Lyssara said nothing.
But her mind was working, processing what she had just seen.
Eight knights.
For a nine-year-old boy.
That wasn't normal. Not even for a Drayvar.
What was Kael doing with so many guards? What was he building that required that level of protection? Or was it a show of power? A message?
She no longer understood what her younger brother was doing. His movements, his plans, everything was wrapped in shadows that Lyssara couldn't penetrate.
And that unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
Celestia kept complaining about how rude Kael had been, about how Rylan would be much better company, about how excited she was to properly meet the Drayvar heir when he returned from the mountains.
Sareth listened in silence, slightly uncomfortable with the constant comparison between his brothers, but without defending either of them.
Lyssara processed the situation, filing away every detail for later analysis.
Kael had wanted to be seen like that. With that escort. With that power.
It was a message directed specifically at her and Sareth: 'I am building something. Something big. And I do not need your approval or your understanding.'
Siblings' games, but played on a board Lyssara could barely see.
The group began to return toward the mansion as the sun descended, transforming the afternoon into the beginning of the night.
Celestia finally tired of shopping, her energy diminishing after hours of constant activity. They walked back, the two escort knights staying vigilant as they traversed the increasingly empty streets.
Lyssara was lost in thought.
About Kael and his mysterious escort.
About Rylan in the mountains, likely returning soon with stories of combat and victory.
About the Imperial Academy and the plans she had set in motion.
About her own goals.
Every piece moving on the board. Every sibling playing their own game.
And she, Lyssara, needed to ensure that her game was the one that won in the end.
On the outskirts of the city, where the main road from the inner lands met the gates of Stormvale, the sound of steps resonated against the packed earth.
Many steps.
A returning column.