Sanguine

New Countess

In time, however, Mircalla's grief subsided. Marcia was still gone, but Mircalla no longer missed her as much as she used to. She still had five other sisters, after all. And Marcia did still visit occasionally. So knowing that there was always a tomorrow, the youngest Karnstein finally felt ready to let things get back to normal.

It wasn't until three years later that anything particularly noteworthy had happened. Invaders were coming in the from the west and while Ferenc was out on the frontlines, Jusztina was busy traveling, trying her best to secure more supplies and allies. This left the six remaining children on their own to run the castle's daily affairs.

"But Papa!" Matilda pleaded with her father on the day he rode out for battle. "What about us?"

"What about you?" Ferenc echoed callously.

"Who is going to look after us?" she explained cautiously.

"You're old enough! Surely you can care for yourselves?!" Ferenc sneered scornfully at her. Matilda only gave him a worried look and he heaved an angry sigh. "You are next in line to inherit this place. You're going to be the one doing the look-outs. Am I clear?" he asked.

"Me?" Matilda squeaked. Ferenc uttered another angry sigh.

"Who else?" he snapped and Matilda had the sense not to say anything else. Instead, she only swallowed nervously as she watched her father ride away. Now, she was the new countess of Karnstein.

"Uhhh, go and fix some of the turrets!" Matilda pointed one of the workers towards the north tower. "I'm afraid the frost may have weakened the stone and if we are ever attacked, those will be vital to our chances of victory."

"Yes, your honor," the worker replied. Matilda swallowed nervously before turning to her next worker, a maid.

"Just make sure all the bed chambers are in order," she sighed. The woman nodded before darting away to do her chores. Matilda spent a good while busily handing out orders, but she was still in a minor panic the entire time just because there was so much else to be done!

"God, I hate this!" the new countess cried to herself. She was always a little afraid of her father, but now there was nothing in the world she wouldn't have given in order for him to come home.

"Why don't you let me help?" a voice asked from behind Matilda. She turned to see her next youngest sister, Maria, sidling over to her.

"What do you mean?" asked Matilda, a flash of old spirit returning to her. It hurt her pride that her inferior would suggest that she needed help. "I am the new countess, am I not?" she demanded, trying desperately to appear somewhat authoritative.

"Yes," Maria replied casually. "But I could still help you. Let me take some of the daily duties so you don't have to do it all alone! And feel free to keep the bigger jobs. I was thinking about doing something small, like just helping run the staff."

"Well..." Matilda pondered the offer. She was still wary of Maria, but because she did desperately need the help, and the offer wasn't too outrageous, she finally agreed.

"Excellent!" Maria smiled. Then, without another word, she darted off to find the nearest servant she could. Meanwhile, Matilda went up to her father's study. She had a long day of paperwork ahead of her...

But at long last, Ferenc and Jusztina finally returned home.

"I sent those cowards running for the hills! True, it took far longer than hoped, but we got it done!" Ferenc bragged, looking quite proud of himself.

"How many invaders were there, Papa?" Maria asked excitedly.

"Oh there must've been at least a thousand!" Ferenc cried.