Hardly a Lady

I

Many years ago, beyond the memory of anybody alive today, the kingdom of Helixonia was ruled by a great family who had always sat on the throne and were beloved by the people. The Debaults were a peaceful family who had won the people's support over the years by mercy and justice going hand in hand, a balance that was hard to find and yet were the two main ingredients for successful Kings and Queens.

In the time of the Debaults, people paid fair taxes and everybody was employed - those who were too old or sick to work were taken care of by the Debaults, who made it their family mantra to ensure that their subjects never wanted for anything and that everybody was happy.

Unfortunately, not everybody was as kind-hearted as the royal family. There were those who wanted what the Debaults had - the people's love, their infinite wealth and most importantly the throne. None of the opposition was greater than the Decristos, a rich family from the west with a lot of money and an expansive army, bigger even than the Debaults own royal forces. Should the Decristos mount an attack, they would be unstoppable. The Debaults would be unable to protect themselves against their enemies.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.

One night, when everything in the capital city of Samarus was quiet, and the Debaults slept peacefully in the palace, the Decristos mounted an attack. From ships that had sailed into the harbour under the guise of plain fishing boats, the first of the attackers crept through the abandoned streets, heading for the portcullis, outside of which the rest of their army waited, hidden in the forest. A few brave Debault soldiers tried to stop them and raise the alarm, but it was no use - the Decristo had trained their men to be ruthless and stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The Debault men were cut down where they stood, unable to fight against the storm of enemy soldiers pouring into the city. The few men that remained ran for the palace, alerting King Bartamius and his family that the city was under attack. Knowing that they didn't have much time, the royal family grabbed what they could - gold, jewellery, money and family heirlooms - knowing that their name wouldn't be enough to buy people's silence. Taking with them as many guards as they could, they ran to the labyrinth of tunnels that lay beneath the city, a maze that only the most trusted members of the immediate royal family knew how to navigate. By some miracle, the Debaults managed to escape, and the King and his family fled into the night.

With the rightful royal family gone, there was nobody to stand between the Decristos claiming the throne of Helixonia. With the new King Yanut sat on the throne, and his family moving into the royal apartments of the palace and claiming whatever riches the Debaults had left behind as their own, nobody at court dared to question their new monarch. The Debaults - who had fled to a forest far from the capital where they bought a grand castle with the jewels and money they had managed to carry - were abandoned by those who had once bowed at their feet. Left only with their name and the influence it brought, the Debaults resolve to wait, until the time was right for them to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

~ TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER ~

Lady Giselle Debault was considered by all who met her to be the clear representation of perfection.

It wasn't only her beauty which entranced all whose eyes fell upon her, nor was it her powerful surname or pots of gold.

Lady Giselle had - in truth - an elegance and poise that could not be taught. A natural grace that flowed through her as if it were carried in her blood, a regality that had been passed down through the generations and could never be extinguished, no matter how hard the ruling family the Decristos tried. The Debaults acted like the true royal family, despite the fact that there hadn't been a Debault on the throne for over two hundred years.

Lady Giselle was considered to be flawless, the perfect example of what a lady should be. Intelligent, she could speak all of the seven languages of the neighbouring kingdoms fluently; musically gifted, she could play the harp better than any professional musician who had ever come to visit the Debault family at Forest Castle; beautiful, she had long locks of ebony which curled to her waist, and eyes as clear as the sky on a bright summer's afternoon.