A court of love and secrets

15

A great dog ran up towards Theodora Willa. Four of them. All with great tails and a golden coat, one even had their tongue out, wagging their tail. Theo smiled sightly as she looked down at the dogs. Her cousin, The High Lord of the Day Court, also had dogs. But nothing like this. . .these dogs where magnificent. Their golden coat seemed to be made out of gold themselves.

"They are truly beautiful." A male said beside Theodora. She turned around and found the Dune of Scalswind smiling at her, two guards behind him. And his younger sister, Eve. Who waved at Theodora. "They are my mothers pride and joy."

"I thought that would be you." Theodora joked.

Demtri Van Rosenburg smirked, "I suppose. But these dogs are some thing else." One of the dogs put their noise to the Dunes hand. "They where originally owned by my ancestor, Inky. So they are over thousand years old and have seen each of my ancestors on the throne. And they will see me and my children rule one day, if I am blessed enough."

"You have a wife?" Theodora said.

Demtri bit his lip before looking down the hallway. Theodora turned her head as saw the dragon on the other side of the hallway, who also bit her pale lip. The dragon then walked away.

"I have no wife," Demtri said. "My wife will be picked for me, by my mother. I don't know who she will be. A noble woman? A woman from another High Family? A fae, or human. I don't know anything. Will she be a princess or a milk maid?"

"But not someone you love?"

"I can have mistresses, I can have lovers." Eve hissed. "Calm now sister, we all know you have your own lovers." Demtri laughed. "No, she won't be someone I love. Love might bloom, but it won't be a love match. If I am blessed, it will be like my ancestor Samela, Inky's son, and his bride, a Tu'la princess. They hated one another at first, but they started to love one another their first child was born, Nicole the first. My great grandmother. And the woman my own mother was named after." Demtri bit his lip. "Did you find Savanna yet?"

"No." Theodora said slowly. "It's horrible. I have however, found that she might have gown up. Though the woods."

Eve shock her head, "no one goes though the woods. It's a death sentence."

"I have heard someone say that she might have gone to O'Kicra." Theodora said crossing her arms. "I have my people say she might be at Phlicrø."

Demtri and Eve looked at one another before Eve said, "our father is from Philcrø, it means rising Phoenix. I can sent a raven out with a note for him to keep an eye out. As for O'Kicraz . .they are not the best of friends with Scalswind."

"Why?"

"My mother was to marry their lords son upon her nineteenth birthday. Instead she ran away and met our father." Demtri laughed, looking at Eve. "She did what it took to make me. She made it so that she was not a virgin. So the lord would not want her into his family." Demtri smile left. "That lord went to war with my grandfather on the terms of a false promise. My grandfather won of course, no Van Rosenburg has ever lost a battle. I half image I would be the first just to ruin it. When my mother came back to Scalswind she realized that she was—"

"Pregnant." A female voice said. Theodora looked at Nicole Van Rosenburg. Her red hair seemed brighter in the afternoon sun. "Demtri you have a meeting to go. Go."

Demtri bowed, "at once mother."

He then walked down the hallway, Eve following. Nicole's black eyes went right to Theodora's face. Nicole's eyes went up and down, taking Theodora in. Her gown was flowing around her, it showed her shoulders. A necklace was around Nicole's neck, not a necklace at all, Theodora thought. It was a tattoo of two snakes going around her neck. Meeting at her collarbone. Theodora bowed.