The rest of yesterday had been spent pretending to be working in my room, and this morning so far had been spent allowing my sister to use me to play dress up.

  Since I owed her a favor, Erika had asked me to put on her favorite dress of mine. She stood behind me as we looked into the mirror together, pressed up against me so that she was only barely visible. The whole while, I felt the tingling heat of embarrassment and the cold wash of guilt come and go in waves.

  As she admired us in the mirror, she coached me on how to conduct myself around the Hiems family, including a surprising amount of information on what the Hiems family domain was like. When I asked her how she knew all this, she merely smiled. "She's probably sneaking into the library at night."

  A maid interrupted us with my lunch, which meant it was nearly time for the meeting with the Hiems family.

  As I left, I turned back to Erika one final time to seek encouragement. However there was none to be found: when we weren't alone, the most my sister could offer me was a distant, respectful nod.

  "Have a wonderful afternoon, Lady Sophia."

  ---

  Directly within the front doors of the manor, and connecting to the dining hall, the central stairs, and the parlor, was an oversized room called the great hall. The sheer size of this room was overshadowed only by the anxiety I felt while in it, under the cold gaze from Father's portrait hanging above the stairs.

  The Duchess' portrait had been covered for as long as I could remember.

  It was here where we would be lining up to receive our guests, and where my sister and I would present ourselves as marriage candidates.

  The only other person here this early was William. He was quiet, as he usually was, and standing off to the side of the room in contemplation.

  He looked so much like Father, but the intensity I felt in his gaze was of a different sort. While even Father's likeness was so severe as to be painful to confront, William's eyes instead glanced over the brown wrapping in my hands, searched the anxiety in my eyes, and made note of my dress before deciding that there was nothing to be said.

  He had made these swift assessments many times over the years, but the only time I could ever remember feeling like he'd noticed me was when, several months ago, he told me that a lock of my hair had slipped out from its braid. It was uncomfortable, but I preferred this indifference to how everyone else in the Printemps family treated me.

  Today, William had his own important task. While Agnes and I were to offer ourselves as the prize for connecting our families together, William's responsibility was to present the strength of the Printemps Family's heir apparent. In the likely event that the Hiems family did not join with ours, it was important that they understand how bad of an idea it would be to cross us.

  I made my way over to stand next to William in silence while thinking these thoughts, hoping that it would serve to deter Hugo and Agnes, since a confrontation might annoy him.

  The rapid tapping sound of approaching heels told me that this hope was misplaced.

  "Oh, so you've got something after all, hmm? What's with that shabby wrapping?"

  Agnes' hand reached out to take the package from me and I pulled it away on instinct. Immediately, I knew that this act of defiance had been a mistake. When I looked up to meet her eyes, her face had already twisted into a half snarl.

  "Don't you think that I should inspect your gift before you present it? You wouldn't want to embarrass yourself out there, would you?"

  Her hands lunged forward again, this time with more force than before.

  I was backed up against the wall with nowhere to retreat to.

  I closed my eyes in anticipation of pain, covering Erika's work with my arms to prevent Agnes' nails from damaging it.

  However, nothing happened. When I opened my eyes, I saw that William had raised one hand to signal Agnes to stop.

  "If she embarrasses herself, wouldn't that be better off for you?"

  Agnes wheeled upon William to point at him, but said nothing.

  Her mouth opened and shut several times, like a fish gasping, before she finally composed herself enough to speak.

  "Are you protecting her?"

  William shook his head, dismissing her with his hand.

  "At least Sophia knows when to be quiet. Either stop shouting or leave. I'm thinking."

  I wanted to complain about the comparison, but was still relieved when Agnes decided to do her waiting on the other side of the hall.

  From afar, when she wasn't looking at me with her hateful eyes, she was beautiful. The way she stood was both elegant and effortless; a living work of art in her fine dress and jewelry, more than capable of standing for hours in several pounds of adornment.

  Meanwhile, I stood there in high-heeled agony, wishing that I was allowed to sit down. Imagining the disappointment my sister would feel if I wrinkled her favorite dress kept me upright. "I only have to bear it until they leave. Then, I can go back to being unnoticed."

  Father and Hugo came in just as the sound of hooves told me that our guests' carriage had arrived. As the head of staff went outside to escort our guests, Father stood in front of us, and we lined up behind him: William, Hugo, Agnes, and I, while we waited to present ourselves.

  The head of staff opened the doors once again, and a tall, regal looking man stepped inside.

  He had what could only be described as a lion-like mane of white-silver hair, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He briefly scanned across the four of us before meeting my father's gaze, his entire body bristling with anticipation. The two of them, Printemps and Hiems, slowly approached one another, each inspecting the other for weakness.

  The rivalry between these two men was known even to me, and it seemed neither of them would back down from their staring contest.

  The battle was broken by a beautiful, kind looking woman with long, straight black hair.

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  She slipped in behind the man with a wry smile on her lips, and turned his face with her hand. They gazed into one another's eyes, nearly kissing, before she leaned in to whisper something into his ear.

  My ears burned red with how affectionate they were. It was a bit unbecoming of her to make such an obvious show of physical attraction, but a part of me wondered what feeling her soft hand possessed to mollify this lion.

  The two of them walked further in, then, and gave courteous bows of their heads to their host. Duke Hiems spoke for both of them.

  "Good evening, Duke Printemps. We are thankful to you for having us as we introduce our son."

  "Good evening, Duke and Duchess Hiems. I hope that your son proves to be worth the effort."

  The corner of Duke Hiems' smile twitched, but his face remained jovial as he turned to gesture towards the door.

  "See for yourself, Harry."

  "Since when did you think you were allowed to call me by such a nickname?"

  Their quiet, heated posturing resumed, this time with small verbal jabs.

  But I heard none of it, because the only thing I could perceive at that moment was an overbearing wave of fear that made all of my hairs stand in alarm. It was a deep, instinctual feeling, like smelling the first embers of an approaching wildfire.

  Magic.

  When Duke Hiems' son walked in the door, I felt the presence of magic. The kind of magic that had been practiced, honed, and sharpened into a keen weapon.

  The more you used magic, the more the scent of it clung to you, and he had clearly used it quite a lot.

  It had a sharp smell. Cold, and icy, and it burned my nostrils slightly like frostbite. The most dangerous thing to a mage, including me, was another mage, and my body knew it. I felt the urge to curl up into a defensive ball, but made my best effort to swallow the feeling instead.

  Father had taught me to suppress my own magic almost constantly. With that in mind, I attempted to skate beneath Lord Hiems' own magic and escape his notice.

  The young man's ice blue eyes did not spare me more than a passing glance, and he exuded nothing but boredom as he took his place next to his father, running his hands through his silver hair to straighten it.

  Father coughed, ready to begin. "Allow me to introduce my children. William."

  William stepped forward and made a courteous bow.

  "Good evening Lord Hiems. I, William Printemps, am pleased to make your acquaintance."

  Lord Hiems bowed in return, and William stepped back.

  "Good evening Lord William. I, Adrian Hiems, am likewise pleased to make your acquaintance."

  Hugo's introduction repeated William's standard, minimum courtesy.

  Agnes, however, stumbled as she stepped forward. Her face was flushed, and her hands were shaking ever so slightly as she held out a decorated wooden box to Lord Hiems.

  "Good evening, Adrian! My name is A-Agnes. I hope that you find this gift, and m-me, to your liking!"

  The sudden removal of titles and immediate closeness perturbed me, but Lord Hiems did not seem to mind it much. He took the box, returning her curtsy with his own brief bow, and opened up the box to reveal a bejeweled dagger in an extravagant looking sheathe.

  I felt a personal twinge of dismay at how a perfectly fine tool had been decorated to the point of uselessness. Like clothes that could not be worn outside, an ornamental dagger too precious to be dulled by work seemed off-putting to me, and I wondered if Lord Hiems would feel the same.

  Lord Hiems, however, made no clear expression of either approval or disapproval, merely closing the box and handing it to someone in their small retinue of staff for storage in the carriage with a short "Thank you."

  As my eyes followed the box out the door, I noticed that there was someone else in the room, but it was now my turn.

  I stepped forward. My own hands were also trembling, and I hoped that he would dismiss it as nothing, as he had with Agnes.

  "Good evening, Lord Hiems. I, Sophia Printemps, am pleased to make your acquaintance. I hear that this coming winter is due to be a long and cold one. I hope that this will keep you warm, and that you will find it to be of use."

  He looked at me with curiosity as I carefully unwrapped and folded the brown paper, presenting the cape my sister had made to him on top of it. He once again made no expression as he ran his hand over the fabric.

  To my surprise, he picked the cape up and wrapped it around his shoulders to see how it fit. As he gave me the same courteous bow he had given Agnes, I saw a smile grow upon his face.

  Once I saw him wearing it, I realized that the pattern my sister had painstakingly sewed in was that of the Hiems family crest.

  I curtsied, and returned to my place as quickly as I politely could. I did not need to look at Agnes to feel the rising heat from her trembling figure. I only needed to wonder how long it would be before she made her displeasure known to me.

  Immediately, I snuck a glance at the figure I had seen before. She had stepped in so quietly that I had not heard her, and amid the shock and stress of the magical aura that was slowly filling the room, I had not noticed her entering with him.

  Her snow white hair was long and wispy, almost translucent and ghostly. She was just slightly shorter than me, and her gloved hands were holding tight to a parasol. Her eyes, deep and rose-colored, caught mine as I looked at her, and I blinked away with embarrassment. I suddenly felt warm.

  I peeked another look at her. She was still staring at me, now with a strange, growing intensity.

  Not that there was much to look at, I thought to myself. My hair was not the vibrant, fiery red of the rest of the family, nor did I share their fresh, spring-green eyes. My looks had come fully from my mother.

  But still, despite that, she was looking at me, and as our gazes met once again, I felt the strong desire to speak with her. It wasn't often that I had anyone other than Erika to talk to. I wondered, dreamily, what she would think of sugar leaf in her tea.

  "Stephan will show you to the guest rooms so you can make your arrangements, Duke Hiems. How long were you planning on staying in my domain?"

  "Two or three short weeks as we make our introductions to the other lords and ladies nearby, and then we'll be moving on to the Dubois domain."

  As Father and Duke Hiems went upstairs to finish up the formalities, the head of staff led the rest of the Hiems family towards the west end of the Estate, where a small guest house had been built separate from the main estate.

  She was still looking back at me as she left. I wondered why she had not been introduced to us. I wondered when I would see her again. But before I could begin to unpack why I had cared to wonder such a thing, Agnes brought her hand across my face, and I nearly fell to the ground reeling.

  "Where did you buy that cape? And when?"

  Her hands were trembling and her face was turning red. I looked to William to see him turning to leave the room, and then to Hugo to see him looking on with a wide grin. Neither of them were going to be any help.

  "Where are you looking? I asked you a question, Sophia."

  The hand came around again, and this time I saw it coming, but I knew it would only get worse if I acted out to stop it.

  So I let it happen. Now both of my cheeks were stinging.

  "I didn't buy it anywhere. I don't even have any money to buy anything like that."

  Agnes' hand raised to strike me again, but she lowered it.

  "Why didn't you tell Father that you had it yesterday?"

  "I knew better than to interrupt him, as he had already decided to punish me."

  Her eyes narrowed, and for a moment I imagined her as a vicious snake, seeking a weak point. There were almost too many to pick just one.

  "Next time you give him a gift, you give it to me to check, first. You understand?"

  "Yes, Agnes."

  Another slap across the face. This time it was hard enough that I lost my balance on my heels and fell to one knee, bowing in front of her.

  "That's 'Yes, Lady Agnes' from you, mutt."

  "Yes, Lady Agnes."

  "Good. Don't forget again, or I might be forced to discipline you once more. Now get out of my sight."

  I took the opportunity to run as fast as I could back towards my room, aware in the back of my mind that I had slipped out of my heels at some point along the way, and that my sister would be upset at me for losing them.

  I hoped that she would understand the circumstances.

  It wasn't my fault that Lord Hiems had liked my present. It's not like I had even wanted him to like it.

  I felt myself starting to cry, but managed to keep it down until I had gotten back to my room, where I threw myself on the bed and wished, like I often did, that I wouldn't wake up tomorrow.