《A Machine's Cage: Fire Princess》


 Chapter 1, Fire

    Blazing sunlight lit up the castle¡¯s grounds and courtyard. The various patches of grasses and trees had begun changing hue from life giving green to dying brown under the scorching reality of the arid region. It was late Dumuli, the 319<sup>th</sup> year Ast-Astrix and the 53<sup>rd</sup> year of King Roth. It had been months since the last rain, at the end of the month of Cantam, which while not unusual was still unwelcome. Even with the daily watering, it was not enough to keep it all alive and healthy.


    But despite the heat one rather feisty eleven child seemed to enjoy the outdoors as she crossed swords with her personal guard in the scorching noon sun. Her usually long deep red hair and purple had been tided back and bundled up, protecting it from the swings of the dense wood. Her dark, amethyst eyes followed her opponent¡¯s sword, watching each movement, she thought her self-unstoppable, unbeatable. Reality of course, knew otherwise, and she felt a smack on left side as her less than deadly instructor¡¯s sword impacted her where her short armor plate ended, and her weighted shirt began.


    Thwack.


    The cloth and sand inside provided a minor bit of dampening, but not that much as she fell back in shock, pain, and anger. It was just the right spot to elicit some pain and make the point. As did the impact on the ground. The young girl¡¯s instructor didn¡¯t need to hit her so hard as to knock her down, but it did feel good.


    ¡°That¡¯s 3-0 Feuer, you lose.¡± The guard looked down at her protectorate and pupil. The half hearted smile showed she was both happy to be done, but also a little bemused at the lack of progress from the girl. The brown-eyed, olive-skinned girl frowned at her pupil. Running a hand through her short green hair, she gathered up the sweat that had formed and threw it back to the ground in annoyance. Her armor would start chafing from all the humidity of the sweat, which was another reason she was happy this match was over.


    Feuer was at the stage of her training where normal movements alone would no longer be effective. She needed to start using sword techniques, and to do that she needed to start tapping into her gate.


    The girl¡¯s personal guard and instructor, Shevana, was a master in all three imperial styles of combat and a few others but was focused on teaching Feuer just one to start with. The traditional Imperial Stand style, which made heavy use of long blades. Focusing on the one blade type and limited shield use meant that Feuer would have less to worry about while she first learned to use and channel her mana. It was a common standard of sword training and is how Shevana learned herself. It was just taking longer than expected for Feuer to create that first connection between her skills and her gate. Like most people who knew her Shevana saw the young girl as spirited, but a bit dim at times.


    To be fair to the girl though, it wasn¡¯t something you could just learn from a book. At least, Shevana wasn¡¯t aware of any way beyond just doing it. You had to figure it out by trial and error, much like walking. Though, once you figured out your first steps, the rest would come much quicker and easier. Once you knew a few techniques you could tell someone that a new technique was like another and make it easier as well fast to learn new ones. Though it all still took time, it¡¯s why no one was a master in everything. Some of the more complicated techniques could take years, even decades to learn, even with experience.


    ¡°I still want to practice.¡± The young elf pouted while laying on the hot pavement.


    While she enjoyed the training, what Feuer really wanted was adventure and freedom. A chance to forge her own destiny. Becoming a knight was something she clinged tightly to because she thought it would give her that. In truth she didn''t have to become a full knight; she just, didn''t want to stay where she was. All she felt was anger, like something burned inside her, but was always stifled. Fighting helped push that poison out, and just felt good.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got math tutoring again, Prance has already been waiting for a half hour. Your parents pay for that time even if you don¡¯t use it. And they¡¯re liable to take it from my salary soon.¡± Shevana whispered that last part.


    Her tutoring obviously wasn''t doing much any. She could sort of read, well enough anyway. She did know a surprising amount of history, at least when it concerned war and battles. She knew almost nothing about numbers their shapes and values always seeming to shift in her mind. It didn¡¯t help that she couldn''t understand the value of knowing how much 8 loafs of bread cost if bread cost 12 copper each, never mind the digits being hard to decipher. She''d either have someone else buy them or count out the coins by hand and on her fingers.


    ''What was 7 and 5 coppers, how many silvers is that?'' Prance might ask in that snide tone of his. Why it was, 10 fingers plus 2 left over, so 12. 12 coppers which was half a silver which made a full silver¡­ 24 coppers, maybe? Good enough for everyday things, but not good enough for him. Who cares.


    For all the talk her parents had about education and its importance, they never really involved themselves in the day-to-day activities. They never even bothered to quiz her or ask her questions beyond the most superficial ones. It made it all seem like a dance with no music that no one was watching anyway. Why should she care if they didn''t?


    To be fair, her parents never hit her, and never raised their voice to her. In fact, most days they just let someone else deal with her. But that''s how it was in aristocratic and noble circles, at least when you weren''t the 1<sup>st</sup> or 2<sup>nd</sup> child. Her parents did love and care about her, they just didn''t always show it in any visible or common way. Though, at least her grandmother sometimes paid attention to her.


    Feuer pushed herself off the pavement and looked around the large courtyard. Most of the servants were inside, doing any work they could find that would keep them out of the sun. How many of them must have been staring at her like something was wrong with her? Though, they probably thought that even when she wasn''t out in the heat.


    Looking up at the blue and silver sky, she couldn¡¯t help but squint and smile, she liked the heat. It burned, like her insides burned for something else, something more. Not that she hated the cold though, that also burned, just differently. The extremes were fun, soothing somehow. There was an honesty to it all when the world felt like it was trying to kill you. No pretense, no fluff just reality.


    "Young miss, you have tutoring, your parents expect you there." The head servant came out to personally berate her for playing hooky, again. An older dark elf, he tended to dress in dark formal attire. Always sans any color, even the house colors.


    "Did my parents tell you to find me, Hippall?"


    "They did indeed. You aren''t making this easy on them. Let me remind you, you are expected to know basic mathematic and other topics like other educated nobles. Your suitor will be unlikely to approve if you don''t."


    Feuer scowled at that word, ''Suitor''. Like everything else in her life, her future husband was already chosen for her, as it had been four times prior to this one. Four boys, all so unwilling to spend their life with her that the family broke off the engagement before they were even close to marriage age.


    She did smile at that thought a bit. There was always a way to make them give up. Violence usually worked really well. For as egalitarian as the world found itself, so many were still incapable of handling a strong girl like her.


    Or at least, that''s what she thought. In truth, her strength and swordsmanship were never the issue. It was the uncontrolled rage and violent tendencies that made others afraid of her. Armored fencing matches could be enjoyable, being punched in the face with the hilt a sword, was not. Even when the sword was wooden. Even more so after the match was already called.


    It was a common enough occurrence that some had come to call her the ''Fire Princess'' behind her back. It was not a term of endearment, but a critique on her uncontrolled rage that burned like a wildfire. Feuer still took it as a badge of honor, and like fire she would burn anyone that got to close and tried to cage her in.


    "Feuer. It''s time to get up." Hippall verbally prodded her again. Eventually, it would be a physical prod if she didn''t. Followed by another trip to the dungeon if she still didn''t comply. At least their dungeons were clean.


    "Fine. The pavement''s hot anyway."


    Removing the training armor took the weight off her shoulders, and the hot breeze played with her clothes pulling off the sweat the she had built up. It felt good. Satisfying like a small reward for a job well done. Only for Shevana to reminder her that wasn¡¯t really the case, ¡°Feuer, you have to try harder. Your parents aren¡¯t paying me for this, but I don¡¯t mind, provided you take it seriously and try to improve.¡±


    Feuer grimaced slightly. The wind had pulled off all the moisture it would, and now the wind just felt like it was burning her. Maybe it really was time to head back in. Behind her, she was vaguely aware of her guard shaking her head in disapproval. But it felt like she was getting better, wasn¡¯t she? Again, the wind burned as it passed over her. Still, it was better then no wind at all she thought.


    Inside the castle keep there was a large number of nobles and their servants. Far more than she would normally expect to see. Many of them were new faces as well, not that she¡¯d have remembered most of them in the first place. But they wore colors of a house she didn¡¯t recognize. Probably some new trade deal her Father or Grandmother were working on.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    All those nobles were all starting her way, whispering and murmuring to themselves as she walked through the much cooler stone hallways. At least one pointed at her, only to have their hand pulled down by another.


    No doubt they were staring at her sweaty and disheveled appearance. They probably knew who she was, and the fact that she was in commoner clothes, and further drenched in sweat was not something they¡¯d be used to seeing from a young noble like herself. The stares wouldn¡¯t last for long and the stairway to the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor library was much quitter then the 1<sup>st</sup> floor. In general guest were not allowed up to the higher floors, unless they were directly invited or staying in the keep. The guard at the base of the stairs would see to that.


    The library space was decent in size, twice the size of a large book store in the city, and with at least 3 times the book density. Shelves stretched the two stories of the space; the sheer number of bound tomes would make any bibliophile cry with envy, and a tax assessor cry with glee. Thankfully, her family were the ones to employee said assessors in the first place.


    The space held at least ten thousand books, at about 5 gold a book, the whole space was a literal treasure hoard worth, 50,000 gold, at least that¡¯s what Feuer had been told. It kind of made sense. 5 multiplied by 1 was just 5, so 5 multiplied by 1 and four zeros should be 5 and four zeros. At least that seemed to make sense. The more she thought about it though, the more she doubted herself. 5 looked a lot like a 6. Trying to keep the numbers in her head was just too hard.


    Beyond the shelves and books themselves and there were several open areas where one could sit and read, or do work if need be. There was also a nook, farther away from the books with a small fire place surrounded by a metal grate and bricks. Extra protection for the quite valuable and quite flammable items.


    In one of these areas specifically, further from the fireplace and near one of the only two windows, were her tutor, Prance and her older sister, Lueismar. Who was already setup at the table finishing her work.


    Many might say that Lueismar was prettier than Feuer, with sky blue eyes, and longer, bright red hair complete with curls and locks. Unlike Feuer she kept up her appearance as well, always brushing her hair, and applying just the lightest of makeup. Her sister¡¯s hair was silky smooth and shined, unlike Feuer¡¯s darker red hair that seemed to knot and frizzle with split ends. The freckles on her face would have been seen as cute and not be mistaken for dirty, like they would be on Feuer.


    Lueismar, smiled brightly and stood up ¡°Sister! It¡¯s good to see you!¡±


    Then there was her voice, which had this almost song quality to it, and sweet stickiness that wasn¡¯t quite as bad as their older sister Virume¡¯s, but was still uncomfortable so. Made worse by the genuine felling and care that was behind her every word. It¡¯s true Feuer hadn¡¯t seen her sister in a few days, but by all appearances it might have seemed like months. Worse of all, unlike their older sister and bother, she was sincere in how she felt. It made it hard for Feuer to hate her, despite wishing to.


    In truth, it was somewhat surprising to even see her at all, over the past year their father and mother had taken to tutoring her in the ways of the larger family business directly. Being the 2<sup>nd</sup> in line for the so-called family throne, meant she had many expectations put up on her.


    Their grandmother had confided in Feuer that her sister¡¯s kindness might be her undoing one day. For someone with such a good heart, leading a large borderline city-state of Trillonia may prove too difficult. Feeding the hungry poors might be sellable, letting the food thieves go, could lead to riots. Was what their grandmother explained.


    Feuer forced up a smile and sat across from her. ¡°Lueismar, I¡¯m surprised to see you at tutoring, I figured you¡¯d be with mother and father again.¡±


    Unlike her sister, the middle age human tutor, had a voice like chalk on a chalk board. Dry, and boring with an occasional annoying screech to it. ¡°About that, your parents are very busy today. They asked me change my lesson plans, in light of some changes, and¡­¡± Prance took a deep breath, it was clear he knew his next words would not be taken well. ¡°To tutor you, actually both of you for the upcoming meeting with your new suitor, Feuer.¡±


    Feuer wasn¡¯t sure she heard him right, ¡°My new what?¡± She nearly yelled as she stood back up.


    Clearly regretting his career choices rubbed at his eyes in frustration. ¡°Suitor, and we don¡¯t have that much time. Please sit back down.¡±


    ¡°No! Gods be damned, no! I just got out of my last engagement; I¡¯m not going through this bullshit again.¡± Her blunt and crass words made her sister blush and bite back a bit of smile. Prance on the other hand, took on a much stoneware appearance.


    ¡°Young ladies and lords should not talk in such a manner. You will sit or we can have this conversation in the dungeon. Again.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be the first time. Guess I¡¯ll see you there.¡± Feuer stormed out of the library, on her way somewhere else. Anywhere else really. Inside of her, she could feel something billowing up. A heat coursed through her vein and body. Right now, she needed to find a place to scream or someone to hit.


    Why did she have to do this? Why was it always her? Her older sister Virume was already betrothed, sure. But Lueismar wasn¡¯t. Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for both her older sister to be handed off first.


    From behind her the sounds of hurried steps could be heard, muffled by the overly frilly dress that Lueismar liked to wear. Technically mother and father would force her to wear it, but knowing her sister, she probably would have chosen it anyway.


    ¡°Feuer, please wait up.¡± She called back in that same sweet voice that was hard for Feuer to ignore.


    ¡°Why?¡± Feuer didn¡¯t bother to turn around. Despite what people may have thought about her behind her back, she knew she wasn¡¯t smart. Still, even she could see through what her sister was doing there. She was going to break the tension and get her to calm down. The worst part, Feuer knew it might work.


    ¡°Please. Just lets talk for a second.¡± Her voice was almost winey, and if Feuer didn¡¯t stop there was a real risk she might start crying. As ammusing as that could sometimes be, it also didn¡¯t seem fair. Still why should she had to suffer alone? Feuer continued to walk away heading down the stairs, slowing just enough for her sister to keep up..


    The sudden sounds of scuffing, of a foot slipping and a rather puffy dress tumbling after her caught Feuer¡¯s attention. Her training paid off, as she was able to quickly bring her sister¡¯s tumble to a stop. It was her hope to draw her sister out for a bit, and maybe rile her up. But Feuer didn¡¯t want to see her actually hurt.


    ¡°Why are you always like this?¡± Lueismar pouted and genteelly pounded on her sister¡¯s chest. The tears in her sisters¡¯ eyes where what Feuer was looking for, a bit of misery to keep her own darkness company. But, upon seeing them, she wasn¡¯t really happy.


    Feuer took a breath and slowed her walk down the stairs. The water of her sister¡¯s eyes quenched some of the fire in her, but the embers still threatened to burn if she didn¡¯t at least walk. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Was Feuer¡¯s answer to Lueismar.


    In truth, she didn¡¯t really know. It was just a feeling, a desire. Feuer didn¡¯t want to be caged, to be trapped. Her family saw the castle walls as protection, the giant gates leading in as fortification. But for her, they were more like a cell. The dungeon had the same kind of stone, the same kind of metal bars as the gates. To Feuer, the might as well have been the same.


    Her family was happy here. How could they not be? They had everything they could ever want. Food, wealth, power. The lack of freedom never occurred to them, because they like their walls.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s hard on you Feuer. You¡¯ve been promised four times so far.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ve never been promised despite being older than me.¡± Feuer shook her head. That didn¡¯t really matter, even if it was unfair. Being promised to another wasn''t even the worse of it, it was lack of a choice, of freedom. One cage for another.


    Father had explained it to her before, as had her grandmother. Ultimately, she was worth less than her older siblings because of her birth. They didn''t use those exact words of course, that would have been to crass for either of them, but that''s what they meant. So any ''good'' noble family would be worthy of consideration. Her middle sister, Lueismar older than herself but younger that of Virume was more of challenge. Being the second in line for control of the house, her hand-held real power, which came with a high price. Even as Virume would one day take the throne of their large city state, Lueismar would still have sway. Then if Virume never had children, then Lueismar''s children would take the throne after her passing. It wasn''t impossible, after all, their mother had become barren after Feuer''s birth.


    Feuer was originally third in line, being the 4<sup>th</sup> child and after her brother abdicated. But after she began to grow and her temper got the better of hers on more than one occasion, well. It was determined that several of her cousins would be better as the 3<sup>rd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup>, 5<sup>th</sup> and so on. She still technically had a claim of course, it was just below her older brother who had rescinded his own claim to go off an be a knight somewhere. They would give her brother another chance, before even considering her. The whole thing was a confusing mess that she didn''t even care about. There was no appeal in sitting on the throne of Trillonia, or anywhere.


    Lueismar and Feuer were both painfully aware of all this of course. It didn''t change anything though.


    The two walked the busy halls full of various servants, both from the Vallhorn and now from whatever this new house was. Lueismar tried to talk to her, but it wasn''t anything Feuer hadn''t heard before, so what was the point in listening?


    "Feuer, you''re a part of this family whether you like it or not!"


    "But that''s just it, I don''t like it! I never asked for any of this, and I don''t want it!" The yelling attracted more attention than Lueismar wanted, but Feuer, as usual, didn''t care. Murmurs of ¡®unstable¡¯, ¡®nuts¡¯, and even ''Fire Princes'' could be overheard, causing her sister to blush in embarrassment for Feuer more than herself.


    How many times had she said that? Words never changed anything, only force. Only the sword. If she ever wanted to leave this family, it would have to be by force. That was a step she wasn''t prepared to take yet. Both mentally and physically.


    "Feuer, we all know it would have been better for you to have tried for knighthood. But Svachgit beat you to it. He was the oldest, it was his right."


    "Yeah, yeah. And we can''t have two knights in the family. No, that would piss off the other nobles, and we can''t do that. Unbalanced influence on the military." The sarcasm in her tone dripped. It was a stupid rule, no matter how many times they explained it to her.


    "Yes. If we weren''t a noble house or a much smaller one it wouldn''t matter, but we are. Not only that, we''re one of the wealthiest. No one would trade with us if there were two in the military."


    Feuer''s legs picked up the pace as she wandered back outside and made her way down Vallhorn road to the castle gates. Again, she didn''t need to hear all this again. "I don''t care! It''s a stupid rule-"


    Two of the family guard stopped her from leaving the castle. Instead, they picked her up and began carrying her off. "LET GO OF ME! I CAN WALK TO THE DUNGEON MYSELF!" She screamed and kicked.


    Only they weren''t taking her to the dungeon, this time. "They''re ''escorting'' you to your room, princess. Not the dungeon." Hippall spoke from somewhere behind her, just out of foot range. "I thought you might run out on Prance, so I put all the guards on alert. You will not be leaving the castle ground today. Nor will you be playing with your pet rat."


    There was only thing left that Feuer could do, yell.


    Hippall smiled at the sight. All things considered, today was a good day so far. She hadn''t bitten anyone yet.

 Chapter 2, Cloth Cage

    Feuer¡¯s bedroom was far larger than any commoner would have. Even compared to the entirety of most homes it would have been decent size. Though, it was still far smaller than her sisters or her parents. Which made sense to her, all things considered after all she wasn¡¯t really important. It wasn''t like she needed or wanted much in the first place. A knight should live a Spartan life, ready to move on a moment''s notice. The space was also on the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor of the keep, a floor reserved for distinguished guests of, modest importance. Unlike the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor where only other high-ranking nobles would be allowed to stay. Still, at least the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor had running water, the 4<sup>th</sup> certainly didn¡¯t. That floor was reserved for all other¡­ guests. People who needed to appear important, but in truth weren''t.


    Her room was fairly empty, it wasn''t that she had been forgotten about it, it was just how she liked it. She''d use the word ''Spartan'' to describe it all, an old word that sounded simple, and strong, like she envisioned herself. A large circular rug sat in the center of the otherwise stone space. A fireplace, that was a tad too small for the room, stood against the wall with windows. Her bed was larger than most in the world, but for a noble was still a bit small. A bookshelf stood not far from the bed, like the room it was also fairly empty, with only a small handful of well-read books. She had two dressers; one she used often with every day common wear. The other was much larger and contained most of her formal wear that she hated putting on it. It was also the one currently in use.


    Standing around her was her father Beeson, her sister Lueismar and strangely her grandmother, Fuhen. Feuer was not expecting to see in her modest quarters. In fact, it might have been the first time she had ever visited her room. Normally she was too busy at this time of day to do anything but be in court. It was clear she must have thought this was important. Fuhen was the matriarch of the family, second in line was her father, and then her older sister, Virume who was not here. She was probably too busy learning and running some part of the family¡¯s business today.


    It was Just how the births turned out, the eldest was always the one slated to run the family, unless they abdicated, like her older brother had. He left to go become a knight. A fact that made Feuer quite envious.


    Her grandmother didn''t look particularly pleased to be there, but then again, she always had that look on her face. The old matriarch knew her time was nearing and didn''t want to deal with the trivialities around her life any more anymore. She was older, about 72 now her once luxurious brown hair had turn mostly gray and was even more fragile than Feuer''s. The wrinkles across her face showed a long life of stress caused by running the Vallhorn family and businesses, but those deep brown eyes still showed a strong spark of life and intellect. Her body may have slowed but her mind certainly had not.


    A few servants moved between the taller dresser and Feuer, as they attempted to put her in a dress that was far too large and poufy for her taste. Overseeing them all was the rather odd human tailor the family employed who went by the name of Abstent. A so-called Ice Skin human from the north, he was very pale with silver hair that he kept swept back and ice blue eyes. He was occasionally known to wear makeup and color his hair, it always seemed odd to Feuer that someone would spend so much time on something frivolous. But, she could admit it wasn''t like he was ever dressed badly. Some might have even seen him as handsome, not Feuer though. At least, not that she would admit.


    They had insisted on wiping her down in her room, rather than allowing her to attend to the baths. It was embarrassing to say the least. Perhaps they were afraid she¡¯d escape from one of the windows or something. That was the kind of thing a rat would do, not a fine and noble knight like she thought herself. Besides, she already knew those windows were too small for that, unlike the one in her room. At least her father wasn''t present for the wipe down.


    The worse part of it all was her hair. It wasn''t that she didn''t wash it, but she never really paid too much attention to it. Without any added oils it tended to dry out and get frizzy, as well as being fragile. Their solution was to soak her hair in some kind of sweet-smelling oil, that made her feel like a cheap dessert from the lower markets.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Lueismar have to get married, why does it have to be me.¡± Feuer¡¯s voice was between a pout and snarl.


    Her grandmother quickly rebuked her, ¡°Your sister is currently second in line to lead the family. You would have been third, but to be blunt about it, one of your cousins will likely see the throne before you.¡± She was rough and direct. It was one of the things Feuer like about her, you never had to worry about where you stood with her. She¡¯d let you know. That said, it wasn¡¯t like Feuer even wanted to be head of the family. Still actually hearing it come from her grandmother, kind of hurt somehow. Like there was some amount disappointment behind it.


    She shook it off and returned to her question, "But why? Why do we have to go through this at all? We¡¯re already powerful."


    Beeson tried to keep his composure, but his daughter was starting to pull at his last threads. "Feuer. You''re the daughter of a lord, that means something. You have-"


    Fuhen put her hand up, interrupted her son, "It is the goal of this family to one day move from minor nobility and lords to become actual barons and rulers. To do that we need connections and allies. Feuer, your marriage will cement an important connection with¡­¡± Fhuen took a large breath, as if she didn¡¯t want to say it, ¡°The Toosanaci. Who have several modest but successful farms, and a large number of soldiers under them."


    Feuer had to back down a bit, she trusted Fuhen too much to fight her. But, this was her life, why couldn''t she have had some say in it?


    An errant pin prick caused her to wince and nearly growl at the staff putting her into this monstrosity of a dress. The dress was almost entirely white, but with amber frilling along the arms, and a green frill near the upper part of her chest. The colors were important, seeing how they were the house colors. That green part would have been much more noticeable had they forced her into that demonic trapping they called a corset.


    ¡°It will push everything up!¡± The tailor tried to explain, but unlike her sisters, there wasn¡¯t anything to push up. It was just uncomfortable and made it hard for her to breathe. Again, a problem her sisters and mother didn¡¯t seem to have while wearing one. She was thankful her father stepped in and said it was unnecessary. Since they clearly weren¡¯t going to listen to her.


    Despite the work and shear cost of the ball dress, she couldn¡¯t stand the way it looked. Then again, she probably wouldn¡¯t have liked any dress. They were all so confined, and she hated them with a passion. Pants were what people who used a sword would wear, that¡¯s what she wanted to wear too. Occasionally, a short dress would be acceptable, but this gaudy and gargantuan bell felt like a prison of cloth and unnecessary fluff. She doubted if she could even sit in this thing.


    "It''s the first time I even heard of the Toosanaci. Are they really that powerful?" Like a wolf pup against the pack leader, the anger in Feuer¡¯s voice was tempered with a slight whimper of surrender and compliance.


    "They are the most powerful option available. You haven''t made it easy Feuer. Your grandfather¡­¡± Fuhen closed her eyes and shook her head, ¡°Worked hard to arrange this. Sadly, we can no longer ask his wisdom on this." There was something between sadness and relief in her voice. Feuer never had much of a chance to interact with her grandfather, he tended to disappear on what he called ''quests'' and never had much time for her. But from what she could remember he was always bumbling about. Nice and kind, in his own way, but clearly a part of his mind had deteriorated even when she was born eleven years ago. He had passed this past winter from some illness. The family¡¯s mages and healers couldn¡¯t save him. All things considered; it was probably for the best.


    From what she would later gather he had gone around all of them to arrange this, and without telling them. Why, only he would have known for sure.


    "I know you''re not happy about this, sister. But, I would truly love to be in your place.¡± Lueismar¡¯s eyes glimmered with tears of both happiness and sorrow as she both empathized and envied her younger sister.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to trade places with Lueismar, I¡¯m sure she would make-¡° Feuer wasn¡¯t able to finish.


    ¡°No.¡± Her grandmother¡¯s voice was flat, but still loud. Even as a joke, she wasn¡¯t about to let Feuer entertain these thoughts.


    Her grandmother continued, "Now, Feuer. You will not hit this boy. You will not speak ill of this boy. You will attend court today, and you will attend the official engagement celebration in two weeks. These are not optional. Do you know what will happen if you don''t?"


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Feuer didn''t know for sure. But, she could guess, a mixture of the dungeon and being kept from sword training for a few days.


    Shaking her head, her grandmother couldn¡¯t sigh at her spirited granddaughter. ¡°Well, what ever you¡¯re thinking right now, I promise it will be worse this time.¡±


    Despite the subtle smile on Fuhen¡¯s face, the Matriarch was not joking. She might have liked her younger granddaughter, she very well might have even been her favorite, though she¡¯d never say that. But, there were lines she couldn¡¯t cross for any of her family. The truth was, Feuer had been a constant stream of problems for the family, even if some of them weren¡¯t intentional, and even if she might have a point for others.


    "I think we''re done!" The human tailor clapped his hands and looked over his work in pride.


    Lueismar smile broadly at her sister. ¡°I think it looks lovely.¡± Again, her sweet voice stuck to Feuer and made it feel as if the fabric itself was now sticking to her. Probably because it was in someplace. There was just so much, the whole dress had to weigh double what her training armor did, and that had weighted sand bags in it.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°There¡¯s enough fabric on me to cloth half the city. Consider the orphans we could have given new cloths and blankets too.¡± Feuer snarked.


    Her joke fell flat with the room, who all began to leave after the spectacle of dressing her was now done.


    ¡°Come along Feuer.¡± Her father called out as she stood in place.


    There was a problem with that though, ¡°I can¡¯t even move¡­¡± She complained, as her legs felt trapped and tangled.


    ¡°Stop being silly, sister come along.¡± Lueismar smiled and waved her sister forward.


    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding Lueismar, how the hell do you walk in these things? This is worse than the dress you made me wear for my birthday.¡±


    ¡°But it was so pretty on you! I like this one.¡± Lueismar stood behind her sister as she gently pushed her forward.


    Each step Feuer moved, felt more like a pivot from foot to foot. As Feuer waddled down the hallway, the subtle stares and mummers added to the weight of the dress she wore. Feuer¡¯s face grew red, a mixture of both embarrassment and anger. Mostly anger.


    By far the stairs were the hardest part of it all. The large open bell made everyone of her steps feel indecent. This was absolutely ridiculous. All show, and form no utility and if anything, negative function. The only thing more absurd was the actual room they were about to enter.


    The throne room was heavily covered in pale twilight, which seemed all the thicker today, like her own clothing. A stream of bright light hit the throne, along some nearby seats next to it and a small section of carpet. Not done with magic, rather they were lit with carefully placed mirrors and windows. It was all very showy. Feuer hated being in this room. It was all so pointless, a show of force and intimidation. All appearance, and no real function. Sure, there might be value in the soft power which was projected. But that was boring, and she didn¡¯t care.


    Feuer¡¯s family put themselves to either side of the throne. Their placements were purposeful. Her mother, Sneacta, was already sitting in the space to the left of the throne. With her grandmother and father indisposed with her dress, running the court was likely left to her mother. Which was unusual, but not unheard of. From the few times she had talked about it, her mother did enjoy the process, but she found most of her time was spent behind the scenes.


    Despite being of house Vallhorn through marriage, many would still see her as part of her birth family, the Navforins. It was thought unwise to have her sit on the throne if there were other choices, even though she had never done anything to warrant such suspicion.


    Feuer¡¯s eldest sister Virume wasn¡¯t present here either. But, that was common enough anymore. Despite being next in line to lead the family, after their father, Virume was often out of the castle keep. Both her grandmother and father tasked the future matriarch with learning to run the larger family business, like their father had.


    Despite running the city of Trillonia, they were also owners of the silver mines just outside the city walls. Along with some larger shipping lines between this city and the neighboring ones, and various other smaller and even some larger, ventures. Technically, most of the farms or at least their land outside the city were owned by the family as well, but for reasons Feuer didn¡¯t understand, the family declined to collect taxes from them. Something about loyalty and the pittance not worth the cost of collecting. Again, something Virume was learning all this and would probably understand.


    Feuer was just seen as, too dumb to even try and explain it. She often wondered if they were right.


    A light head nod and neutral smile was all her mother would give her as Feuer approached the right side of the throne. It wasn¡¯t that she hated her daughter, Feuer knew that. Or, at least she thought she knew it. It was just the way nobles and aristocrats did things. Barren like the desert outside, only instead of the heat, there was cold.


    Her body twitched, and the laces in her back dress felt a little too tight. Then there were her legs which felt caught in the lose fabric of the dress. A paradoxical feeling like they would just fall off while also strangling her. She hated dresses and formal attire. It was the other reason she hated this space; they wouldn''t let her in it unless she wore nonsense like this, and occasionally they didn''t give her a choice not to show up. Like today.


    Perhaps sensing her daughter¡¯s discomfort her mother gave Feuer a rare bit of encouragement, ¡°You look quite lovely Feuer, now stand proud and stop fidgeting.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t what she was looking to hear. But it was nice to be acknowledged by her mother regardless. Feuer had a complicated relationship with her mother. When she was much younger, her mother was frequently ill. She knew even back then that her birth had done something to her mother, hurting her in some way. People would occasionally say to Sneacta that it was a miracle they survived such a challenging birth.


    Of course no one said that to Feuer¡¯s face, but the whispers behind Feuer¡¯s back and to her mother¡¯s face, she still heard them from time to time. One of the first things Feuer had done in life, was to hurt her own mother. Even if her mother tried to suppress it, there was always this feeling in the back of Feuer¡¯s mind that, maybe it would have been better to just never have been born. It was hard not to see that feeling in her mother¡¯s actions towards her, even if she tried to hide it.


    Even now, her mother said nothing more. Barely looking in her direction. Some of it might have just been pretense, a show for the various petitioners and foreign visitors. But still, it was hard not to feel cold being around her, even in the desert heat Feuer wanted to grab her arms for warmth.


    The few moments of silence with her mother ended once the rest of her family entered. Her father and sister both moved quickly, each taking a position on the right side of the throne.


    Fuhen on the other hand, walked with a slow plodding pace towards the throne. It was hard to tell if her slow pace was one of those power games nobles would play with each other, or if it was just due to her age. As the old matriarch finally took her seat, she nodded to someone standing in the darkness. The dark elf, barely visible in the shadows bowed and moved with speed out of the throne room.


    A moment later, he returned moving with a similar pace as he had a moment ago. On the bright lit carpet between the twilight, the dark elf Hippall walked quickly in front of a man towards the larger lit section of the carpet. The spot was one where petitioners might stand when addressing the court. If one was generous about the man, they might have called him young, but he was certainly no child. His outfit was, puffy, it was hard to tell if that was because of his weight, which was clearly significant, or an equally poor garment choice like her own dress. Oddest of his garments though was the dark and oversized cape that dragged behind him. While a cape might have made sense in cooler or inclement weather, in the desert, it made little sense, just adding to the extra heat and layers.


    Hippall stopped in the larger square of light, waiting for the overweight and slower man to make his lumbering way forward. It was clear this man wasn¡¯t used to moving so quickly.


    "Announcing the arrival of Biadh Toosanaci of house Toosanaci." With that, Hippall faded away back into the shadows.


    Feuer was finally able to get a good look at Biadh Toosanaci. She knew he was older than her, but he was almost 10 years older maybe 20 or 21. He was also overweight, but not so fat that he couldn''t walk at least. Pudgy might be the best word. His blond hair and blue eyes might have seemed regal on anyone else.  On him though, the wide open and sky blue color just made his head look empty, and his blond hair more like poor quality gold leaf on top of cheaper clay. There was something undeniably disgusting about him.


    "Come, come. You don''t have to stand down there." Fuhen encourage the young man to come closer to the court. It was unusual, but common enough for equals or at least near equals.


    Feuer struggled to smile as he walked up to her. His smile felt fake, even more than the one she was faking.


    ¡°I believe you are my betrothed, Feuer?¡± He asked.


    Feuer looked between her family for help and guidance, but all they did was nod to her. Her grandmother in particular seemed to have an exacerbated look, she wanted this to be done. This wasn¡¯t the first time she had met a suiter, but things were different this time.


    With an uncomfortable smile, Feuer attempted to introduce herself, "Good afternoon, sir Biadh Toosanaci. I am-" She took a breath and dropped the smile; it was too much work. "I''m Feuer, I hope we can get along well."


    "I''m sure we will, my beloved." He reached his hand out, as if expecting hers in return.


    It took all the effort she could muster to genteelly hold her hand out, and not just ball it into a fist. When his lips touched the skin of her hand she couldn''t help but feel how chapped and moist they were. It was one of the most disgusting sensations she ever felt. A slight breeze whiffed something unpleasant from under his cape and she had to force down what was left of her breakfast. Pulling her hand away, she tried desperately to wipe the dampness on the back of her hand, but it seemed to stick and linger.


    Sensing things might quickly turn as sour as the man¡¯s smell, Fuhen clapped her hands and smiled. ¡°Well, introductions out of the way. I¡¯m sure Biadh would like to shower and change before dinner tonight. Hippel will be happy to show you to your room.¡±


    As the man turned and left with his entourage, the family collectively deflated with a sigh of relief. Well, except for Feuer who found herself still holding her breath. Only to let it out with an exacerbated huff.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± Fuhen chided her from the throne.


    Feuer¡¯s cheek¡¯s warmed as her head dropped in embarrassment. ¡°You barely smelled him.¡± She whispered under her breath.


    The family quickly disbursed, leaving Fuhen to stay on the throne and manage the remaining petitioners for the day. Feuer was forced to waddle from the throne room, each swizzle of her legs causing a further build up of redness in her face. She wanted out of this cloth cage, every step drove her further towards just ripping it off. All that work for less than five minutes of show.


    But, it was her struggles with the steps that caused her to scream. The fabric caught in her legs as the bindings kept her legs from moving quickly enough. Slipping on the fabric she cursed, just added insult to the injury she was about to feel as she fell face first straight towards the hard wooden steps.


    A firm hand and strong arm caught her mid fall.


    ¡°Miss, do you need some help?¡± The man was one of the many guards in the castle. She didn¡¯t know his name, even if she had seen him before.


    Her cheeks grew blushed with warmth as she steadied herself on that top step.


    ¡°No, I''m fine.¡± She brushed the fabric, trying to do something with it. ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered as an afterthought as she continued her way to her room.


    As soon as the heavy door to her room closed she began to pull off the garment. It took less than a minute to rip the dress off that took nearly an hour to put on. Glaring at the pile of cloth on her floor, she kicked at the fabric, making a point to stamp on it for good measure.


    A subtle knock at her door, for a moment she both feared and wanted someone to barge in. Feared because she wasn¡¯t decent. Wanted, because it would have been an excuse to punch someone and let out some of this anger she felt.


    The knocker was wise enough not to enter, speaking though the door instead. It sounded like Hippall. ¡°Feuer, I do hope you haven¡¯t damaged that dress. Your Grandmother and Father have requested you wear it to dinner.¡±


    A sudden click at the door, made her anger fade as fear rose up. ¡°No, no, no!¡± She pleaded and ran to the door to pull at it.


    ¡°I hope you understand, young miss, your family doesn¡¯t want you running off. I¡¯ll be back up in a few hours to let you out for dinner.¡± With another scream, she kicked at the door.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t break the door again. A guard will be posted if you need anything and the cells are an option if needed.¡± From her side of the door, she could hear Hippall walk away down the hallway outside. His already quite steps fading to nothing. For good measure, she kicked at the door once more.


    Like most of her life, she found herself back in her own gilded cage. What was she supposed to do? Looking around, a calm thought crossed her otherwise rage filled mind as she stared at the window. She knew it was a bad idea; this was the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor. ¡°The rat manages to do it.¡± She whispered to herself.


    Opening the window Feuer looked down at the ground that was a good 15 meters down. This was a horrible idea. She was going to do it anyway. She just needed to get dressed in something more proper. For her at least.