Duchess Florencia Rydell Famaliana's Story

"We're almost there Telius.... just a little bit more....."

Florencia knew she was late. The whole two hours and thirteen minutes to Prince Arvai's castle in Rumani, Florencia could hear Titania shouting in her head, "DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THAT PEGASUS OF YOURS! YOU'LL BE LATE, AND PEOPLE WILL QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE THE REAL DUCHESS OF FAMALIANA!!!"
Still, Florencia thought taking Telius to the ball would be more relaxing then riding in a carriage by herself. As Titania said, going to this ball would prove that Famaliana is back under control. Florencia had to be the perfect lady; the complete OPPOSITE of her personality. It's not that Florencia was a complete tomboy, it's just that Florencia didn't see the point of wearing makeup, or tight corsets, or anything like that. It was uncomfortable and unneccesary. Knowing this, Florencia's caretaker, Titania, didn't even tell Florencia the REAL point of the ball......

When Florencia saw Prince Arvai's estate, she commanded Telius to make a slow halt just outside the castle gates. Florencia looked around, "Guess nobody else made their way by pegasus....ah well!", she thought. Despite the looks of some people outside, A kind lady offered to take Telius to the stables.

Florencia showed the guard her invitation and looked up at the gates she would be entering through. "Well Maki, it's time.",she said, taking the little fluffball of an animal out of her pocket. Maki's height was about the size of Florencia's palm. "I hope i don't shatter TOO many vases tonight...." Florencia said to Maki with a worried look. "Ah well, no matter HOW many people's lives i ruin, at least i know i still have you to talk to." And with that, Florencia put Maki back in her pocket.

Florencia felt good as she walked through the courtyard. She hoped nobody could tell the tiny bit of dirt on her shoes from sneaking into Telius's stable in Famaliana. She was glad that nobody outside seemed to know her. Being the new duchess of Famaliana for just a week, she had a lot of introducing to do.

Florencia crossed the moat (not even noticing the dead woman floating in the water) and entered inside the castle. Florencia was impressed with herself that she had made no mistakes or flaws........until she almost tripped over a rug in the entrance. Checking to make sure Maki was still in her pocket, she continued on.

Looking at all the people she didn't know was like looking at all the foreign animals in a zoo. She tried to identify the royals, but she couldn't. Everyone looked like they were dressed up in the same exact attire. Florencia felt out of place knowing she was the only one with GREEN HAIR. (her blonde hair was still dyed green from her forest days....) Florencia went towards the only thing she could identify: food.

She grabbed some squares of cheese for herself and Maki, which tasted delicious and creamy, then looked around at the drinks. The drinks these people were carrying were all different colors; white, red, pink, purple. Florencia thought she recognized the red drink as an Amortentia potion, but she wasn't sure. She decided to ask a young man who just grabbed one from the tray the person was carrying.

She slipped through the gaps of guests until she was finally behind the black haired boy. She tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, is the drink that you're drinking Amortentia, or is it something else that i've never heard of?"

"Excuse me, is the drink that you're drinking Amortentia, or is it something else that i've never heard of?" asked a girl's voice from behind Ethan.

Ethan spun around to find the source of the voice. It was a girl with green hair, in a beautiful orange dress.

"Amortentia? Yes, that's right, this would be it." he replied.

Ethan was suprised she even knew what an amortentia was. Most nobles just took whatever drink they thought looked the most appetizing. Of course, Ethan, being a regular pub-goer, knew most of the drinks that were being served at the ball. He decided he would like to know more about this girl.

"By the way, my name is Ethan. Ethan Lindemann, son of Baron Morgan Lindemann. And what would your name be, my darling?" he asked cockily.

Florencia was shocked. Amortentia was the only form of liquor she was allowed to have. Being raised by elves, it was traditional to avoid liquor because it was said to be "unpure" and "filthy" for an elve's digestive system. However, Amortentia was said to have the most natural ingredients, and so, it was okay to drink it.

Florencia took Amortentia off a tray from one of the servants, and pulled out her wallet. She was going to pay for the drink, But the servant walked away. Florencia shouted, "HEY WAIT!", and was about to chase the servant, when the young man said,

"By the way, my name is Ethan. Ethan Lindemann, son of Baron Morgan Lindemann. And what would your name be, my darling?"

He seemed to say this in a cocky way, but Florencia ignored it and said,

"Oh uhh....my name is Florencia Rydell Famaliana, the new duchess of Famaliana. Pleasure to meet you!"

She was about to shake his hand, then realized she had Amortentia in her one hand and her wallet in the other. She put her wallet in her left pocket (feeling Maki getting squirmish) and reached for Ethan's hand.

"Oh uhh....my name is Florencia Rydell Famaliana, the new duchess of Famaliana. Pleasure to meet you!" said the girl.

Ethan watched as she put her wallet into her pocket, then reach out to shake his hand. He shook her hand, and noticed something a little strange. Her left pocket, the one containing her wallet, was moving. It was wriggling and squirming, as if something inside was trying to break free. He furrowed his brows, and asked Florencia was it was.

"Um, not to worry you or anything, but your pocket, appears to have something moving inside it." he said nervously.

Florencia was about to answer Ethan, when a new girl came along. Her words made Ethan seem like a womanizer.
"Oh.... yeah........ummm......"
Too fast. All these events were happening too fast for Florencia. She calmed herself and answered Alessia's questions one at a time.

"Hi there, Alessia, I'm Florencia Rydell Famaliana. I just became the new duchess of Famaliana about a week ago. That's amazing that you're a witch!!! Yes, I did live with elves for quite some time." There was a pause in Florencia's voice for a second as she thought about her old home. "I'm assuming you do magic, right? I know a couple of things, but i'm not GREAT. We should swap techniques some time!! Actually, i rode here myself as well." Upon saying this, Florencia knew she had to fess up about Telius. She wasn't sure if this noble would tell Titania or not, but she looked trusting. "I took my pegasus, Telius. I was supposed to come by carriage.....but.........i got........nervous....so......yeah. I don't think I was planning to come with servants even by carriage........Wait, WAS I SUPPOSED TO???", Florencia said nervously. She caught herself before she could bite her nails. "Sorry, I'm not really used to the whole 'nobility' thing yet......." Florencia took her first sip from her drink.

Arvai was thinking as he walked towards the kitchen. As he walked inside, he said, "Could one of you make my special drink? The light green. I would like...Eight."

One of them nodded and started to work. "Give four of them to any of the guests, and then come find me please."

They all nodded. He walked back, and started looking. Nobles looked at Arvai. He smiled at them. He saw Alessia and two others. He walked to them. "Hello, Alessia. And hello to you two. I am Prince Arvai Ruban, but please don't go with the royality business pleas. And May I have your names?" Arvai said.

He studied the woman with green hair. She was pretty. A servant tapped on Arvai's shoulder and said, "Here are your drinks, sir."

Arvai nodded with thanks as he took the drinks. With extreme balance, he gave one to the green-haired woman, one to the man, and one to Alessia. "Well. Alessia, if I am correct, I sent you some of this drink two years ago? I never got your reply. May I have it after you try the drink?"

Florencia took the green drink in her other hand. She looked over at Ethan and said, "How sweet! Prince Ruban bought us drinks!"
She looked over at Arvai with a kind smile. "Thank you so much Arvai. My name is Florencia Rydell Famaliana. I'm Famaliana's new duchess. OH RIGHT!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"
Florencia made a huge grin after she said this. Titania had told her that Prince Arvai's ball was actually his birthday party. Even though the prince did come of age, Florencia had no idea about the REAL purpose of the ball. Florencia thought there would be cake and presents for Arvai, just like an actual birthday party.

"My Birthday was yesterday, and you don't buy drinks. They are all free." Arvai replied, "And please, call me Arvai. Wherever you got the information that my birthday was today, it was wrong. But thanks anyway."

Arvai considered if he should tell Florencia that he made this drink three years ago. Just testing ingredients to make a good wine. And it was good. Better than most, but not the best. "The green colour comes from the spruce tree. It's sour, green-apple taste come from the juice of a sweet apple. And the slight burn, is from the tiny bit of vodka. I'm not tellinng the rest of the ingedients, it's a secret. Known only by me and the people in the kitchen."

Yep. There she went again. making things awkward. But Florencia just smiled and said,
"Oh. woops. Happy belated birthday Arvai!"

"The green colour comes from the spruce tree. It's sour, green-apple taste come from the juice of a sweet apple. And the slight burn, is from the tiny bit of vodka. I'm not tellinng the rest of the ingedients, it's a secret. Known only by me and the people in the kitchen.", Arvai said.

"wow, a SECRET recipe. A spruce tree you say? I've had other drinks with spruce tree. It's a pretty interesting taste. I've never actually been allowed to drink vodka, but i guess there's always a first for everything!"

Florencia took a drink. The spruce was bitter, the green-apple was sour, and the vodka did indeed burn, but Florencia got a kick out of the drink. she swallowed hard and said, "Whewie, THAT'S STRONG! haha!", and laughed. She took another sip, and almost forgot that she had another drink in her hand. She looked at Arvai and said, "Thanks for sharing this with us Arvai, it's really good!"

Baroness Alessia was soon over with Ethan and Florencia, and joined in their conversation. She said some things about Ethan that made him sound like a womanizer. He didn't blame her, he completely acted the part. But Alessia and Florencia seemed to hit it off, and were soon engaged in a conversation. He stood close by, sipping his drink and listening in to their conversation. Alessia seemed her usual confident self, but Ethan could tell Florencia felt a little awkward near so many nobles. Soon, a man came over to join them. Ethan didn't recognize him, but he introduced himself as Prince Arvai.

"Pleasure to meet you, Arvai. My name is Ethan Lindemann." said Ethan.

Prince Arvai then handed out drinks to them, a drink Ethan had never seen before. Arvai told them the green came from the spruce tree, the flavour from green apples, and the burn from a hint of vodka. Florencia took a sip, and laughed and said she thought is was strong. Ethan took a sip too, and agreed with her.

"Wow, that's really nice! Strong, but nice." he said.

Florencia then thanked Arvai for sharing the drink with them. Ethan did too, it was only polite.

Florencia thought that Alessia was very down to earth. She thought Alessia had a lot in common with her. Florencia admired Alessia's independence. HOWEVER, there was a little voice inside of Florencia that told her that Alessia might be too independent and refused to work as a team. Sure, you can do almost anything by yourself, but there are some things you can only do with the help of others. Other than that, Florencia was willing to be friends with Alessia.

Right after she thought this, Alessia glanced over at her and said, "If I were you, I would watch out with the drinks. You could get drunk really fast from it." Florencia nodded, "Right. Oh, the other day......"

Florencia's train of thought stop as she could feel and faintly hear Maki hissing in her pocket. Through all the years Florencia had him, Maki had NEVER hissed before.

Florencia worriedly glanced at everyone and said, "Excuse me for a sec.....". She walked quickly over to a remote part of the room and put her drinks on a table nearby. She grabbed the little fluffball out of her pocket and asked nervously, "What's the matter?", but Maki wasn't hissing. In fact, Maki looked calm and peaceful like he always was. Being a forest spirit, Florencia never thought Maki could hiss. Maybe Florencia was just imagining things. She put Maki back in her pocket, gave her Amortentia to a servant who asked her if she was finished with it, and quietly looked around at the other nobles who were dancing.

Florencia daydreamed as she watched the nobles twirl in their fancy costumes. The dance that they were dancing to was similar to the dance Shinnon, Florencia's brother, taught her. However, Shinnon's dance was faster and less graceful. Nevertheless, it was a fun time....

Suddenly Florencia realized that she told Alessia, Ethan, and Arvai that she would be back in a sec. She quickly speedwalked over to the group, taking a sip from her green drink. When she heard what the king had to say, she had to stop herself from spitting it out. She stopped halfway between the group and the place where she had watched the nobles and listened to the king's words.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are here for my son to find someone who he can love and probably a future wife....."
"wait....WHAT?!?!", Florencia thought. Titania had lied to her, but why? Lies told to Florencia always felt like stabs in the back, and this time was no exception.
As well as Arvai was concerned, Florencia had only met him two minutes ago. Why was he looking for a wife? Maybe the ball was just an engagement party and the king was just giving some sort of speech.

"...To make things not such a hassle for my son, he will choose a number of women he finds interesting and we will visit their estates, so that Arvai can get to know them....
Another stab in the back. What if Arvai chose her? What would she do? Florencia was willing to become Arvai's friend, but his lover? Florencia was very confused. No, Arvai wouldn't pick her. Florencia was too clumsy, too awkward, and FAR too stupid to be anybody's lover.

"...Otherwise, the Baroness has offered to have the candidates to stay at her roomy castle for activities together....."
This was also a stab, but it wasn't as hard as the first two. Florencia started to consider that if she was picked, she would get to meet the other nobles who were picked and visit to new countries and estates. After all, Florencia wanted friends more than anything during this period in her life.

".....Arvai, please tell me who these candidates might be."
stab stab stab stab stab. Florencia hadn't even noticed that the whole time the king was speaking, she didn't even take a breath. She calmed down and weighed the pros and cons of getting picked. After thinking it through, Florencia came to a conclusion that she was okay getting picked. It's not like she would get hurt or anything. If she was picked, she would make new friends and travel. What's the worst that could happen? Florencia watched as Arvai went up to his father.

Florencia walked up to the group again, calm and collected, and listened as Arvai talked to Ethan about showing him the recipe to the drink.

Florencia watched as Ethan and Arvai slowly walked away. It was just her and Alessia in the same spot as before; before all the craziness.

Florencia knew an awkward moment was about to begin, so she decided to make conversation with the baroness. She wanted to ask Alessia, "So why is it most of the women nobles only care about beauty and showing off while the men are womanizers, ESPECIALLY the prince?!?!", but despite her confusion and anger, she decided to be nice. She kept her thought to herself and asked instead,

"so......uh......Alessia.....do you happen to know anybody else here, at the ball?"

Florencia was bewildered by Alessia's response. She just wanted to know if any of Alessia's friends were at the ball, but instead she got a completely different response. Florencia decided to just go with the flow.

When Alessia talked about the ghosts, Florencia became excited.
"Oh wow!! Ghosts!! I've always been interested in ghosts, even from a young age. I've always felt like spirits can tell you things that you can't figure out yourself, y'know? My mother told me that there was a way to communicate with spirits through meditation. I always tried it, but I could never do it..."

Florencia decided to aim the conversation away from spirits. She didn't want to talk about the whole Arvai situation, but there were things she needed to know.
"Right, so about staying at your castle.... How long and when will we be staying? Also, do you know more information about arvai staying at our estates? Just wanna know so I can plan everything out." Though, Florencia was sure Titania had done that already; it's what she enjoyed doing.

Stab.

The king had called Florencia, which meant that she had been picked. Like before, Florencia decided she was okay with it, and put on a smile. She was excited to travel to Silvania.

Until...............

"Okay people, leave Arvai alone or you will have to deal with me."

Alessia had left Florencia's side and was standing in front of the nobles with a big hammer, telling them to back away. Maki was hissing like crazy. Florencia had to cover her ears from all the noise he was making.

When a noble questioned whether or not she would actually use the hammer, Alessia jabbed the handle of the hammer into his stomach and said,

"Anyone else feel like questioning me?"

The room went silent for a second, except for Maki's hissing.

Arvai later took the hammer away from Alessia. Alessia had claimed that she was just trying to protect Arvai. Florencia ran outside to the moat to think and to shut up Maki.


She took Maki out of her pocket. His eyes were a glowing red, and he apparently had sharp teeth as well.

"Stop it, calm down!!! You're safe now!!!", Florencia shouted. Maki eventually stopped.

Florencia couldn't believe it. Alessia had talked to her about spoiled nobles who did everything their way, and yet Alessia was one of those people. Yet, Alessia said she was protecting Arvai. When Shinnon and Lucia had taught Florencia about protecting the forest, they always told her never to strike or kill unless the target attacks or kills first. Besides, its not like the nobles were hurting Arvai.

It all confused Florencia. She wished she could get advice from her mother in these kinds of situations, but she couldn't. She was forbidden to speak to her family ever again, thinks to Cornelius Prinzemedal. Florencia wondered if she would EVER fit into the lifestyle royals lived. She wasn't excited to travel anymore to Silvania.......


Especially not after she saw the dead body in the moat.

Arvai noticed Florencia run out of the Ball room. He walked over and saw her. She was looking down in the moat. He walked to her side and saw the body. Avai was shocked. "Florencia, go back into the ball room," he started, "And do not tell anyone what you saw, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Arvai jumped into the bloodied moat. He grabbed the body and started swimming to the side. "Oh and get someone to bring a ladder!" he yelled.

Florencia nodded. Without hesitation, she ran into the ball room. She talked to all the servants she could, and tried not to stir up a ruckus. Soon enough, the servants came across the moat with a ladder for Arvai.

Could Alessia have killed this lady, or someone else? How long had the body been in the water? Who was this lady? What was the assasin planning to do next? Florencia's mind was flooded with many questions as she waited for Arvai to come up the ladder. As she waited, she looked up at the night sky. A full moon was shining brightly overhead.

Arvai grabbed the ladder and started climbing. After he was on dry land, he checked the body. The body was clearly a woman's. Arvai saw the tattoo of the Merit family. "Duchess Alexandra Merit," Arvai whispered, then, "Send the body to the Merit family. Tell them 'I'm going to this lady's funeral.' Alexandra was their only daughter. At least they have a son to continue on the Merit family. But he'll be broken. Losing his only sister like this...horrible. Now go."

Four servants carried the body away. "Florencia, sorry about that," he started, "First time in a long time somebody's been killed at a party. But, the dead's dead. The people who are alive are, alive. Nothing can change death, or how it works, but, we should go back inside."

Arvai then offered his arm to Florencia. The guests were leaving soon, including the women who were called out to go to Silvania.

Florencia put her arm around Arvai's and walked with him back into the ballroom. Florencia felt terrible. Florencia wanted nothing to do with death after hearing about the tales of Famaliana, and the war, and how even her own parents died. With Famaliana still in corruption, Florencia was reminded of the aftermath of her own country. What if the person who killed the duchess was a power-hungry fool like the people who took over Famaliana? Florencia's sense of justice kicked in, and she started to blame herself.

"It's feel horrible," she said with shame, "if only i had seen the crime sooner, i could've saved Alexandra, or at least caught the criminal. I could've used magic, or alerted the guards, or something...."

"It's not your fault. You can't blame yourself for another's wrong doing," Arvai said, he was starting to like this girl, "Alexandra was killed hours ago. Her blood was drained into the moat, and that would take a couple of hours."

As they walked, some nobles looked at Florencia with an envious look. Arvai thought, Hmmm...looks like those women want to be Florencia.

They walked to a servant with three purple drinks. "Wine?" Arvai asked as he took two of the three glasses off the tray with one hand, "And Lake, have the last one, and get some rest. okay?"

The servant named Lake nodded and walked off. Arvai gave a glass to Florencia. "Florencia, I'll see you at Silvania, in two days, maybe three." Arvai said, "It's time to go. So see you later."

He tried to give Florencia a cheerful smile, but couldn't exactly. He was disappointed that she had to leave. Florencia had a feeling to her that she was...Arvai didn't know exactly. He left Florencia to get ready for Silvania. First he said in a loud voice, "Everybody, it's time to leave. And to the people who were called out, I will see you in two or three days," then, "Oh, and Ethan Lindemann, you can come to Silvania too. I'm sure Alessia will allow you to stay."

Arvai then walked to the secret passage to his wardrobe. Without anyone seeing, he opened, walked inside, closed it, then jogged to his wardrobe. He picked out his normal clothing, but with different coloured capes. Purple, red, black, white, green, blue. He walked into his grand room, and grabbed his suitcase. he packed everything, and called up a servant. "Joseph, ready a carriage for me... Caeser and Hork, Okay?" Arvai said to the servant.

"A'ight Arvai," Joseph replied as he left.

Then, Arvai grabbed his suitcase and walked out of his room. His mother and father were walking down the corridor when they saw Arvai with his suitcase. King Xavior Ruban asked, "Where are you going at such a late hour?"

"Silvania, father," Arvai replied, "I'll see you in a couple of weeks, okay?"

His father nodded. Arvai walked past them, down staircases, through corridors, and finally made it to the stables. Joseph was ready for the two-three day trip. Arvai loaded his suitcase into the carriage, and said, "Joseph straight to Silvania, no stops, okay?"

Joseph replied, "A'ight boss."

Climbing into the carriage, Arvai noticed many people in the way. "We'regoing to have to wait for everyone to leave okay? And tell me when you're tired. You can come back and I'll keep the carriage moving, alright?"

Joseph let out his hand where Arvai could see it and did the thumbs up. Arvai smiled, and finally went inside the carriage. He closed the curtains, lay down on one of the bench that didn't have anything on it, and fell asleep.