It wasnât too long ago that everyone was scurrying around preparing for a grand celebration. Maids ran around doing even more cleaning and decorating than usual. The walls seemed to sparkle as crystal chandeliers hung high on the ceilings. The floors were so clean; Astra doubted that any dirt would even stick if it were tracked in. The air smelled of sweet lavender from all the perfumes they sprayed through the air in order to make everything smell fresh. The maids probably had the most work to do of anyone.
As the maids worked, chevaliers like Astra were going through some re-training. The nobles wanted to insure that if they were attacked, they would be safe. A lot of really long lectures took place in the re-fresher course. Of course, everyone already knew what was going to be said in the refresher course, so it was extremely dull. After the lectures came drills. With the drills, the knights basically went through some physical tests and obstacle courses to insure that everyone was still in shape. Any knight who wasnât was sent away until they could prove themselves worthy once again. In their place were other chevaliers who had been tested and sent from other noble families who wouldnât need them for the time being. At least physical tests and obstacle courses were better than listening to lectures, trying desperately not to slouch or nod off.
Even the nobles were working hard in preparation. They were making sure all the plans were flawless before the day of the event. Every noble they knew had to be invited. If they missed even one, all the plans would be ruined. On top of that, their reputation would be unfixable. Oh, how devastating for the poor nobles it would be. Reputations among each other seemed to be all they cared about aside from money. Even then, money was most important when it came to reputation among the others. If one were a noble with a considerable amount of money, even for a noble, it was likely that the noble with the most money had the best reputation. Still, it was bad news to forget one of their friends. At least this new girl⊠Cinåed would probably get a very nice welcome. Of course, as a noble she was probably used to such grand celebrations.
Not knowing her, and having hope that nobles from other places were different than the ones she knew, Astra tried to think about CinĂĄed in a neutral way⊠Or to at least give her the benefit of the doubt. Until she met CinĂĄed, she could never know. Astra was not exactly excited about meeting another noble. She didnât quite care. Nothing really mattered. Even if CinĂĄed was the nicest girl in the world, Astra would still see nobles as corrupt pigs with too much power and she would forever remain alone. It was obviously the poor chevalier womanâs destiny.
No one could ever be close to her for long. The only one who did care for her died and the only other one she thought cared didnât. He only wanted his âchildâ to carry on his reputation⊠So he adopted the child her could find with the most potential. It was sickening⊠He could never really love her as a daughter. He could only love strength, power and legend. Legendary as he was, his adoptive child should hold up his honorable reputation for the family⊠Despicable. He was lucky that he had never been married and had a child of his own. He would have been so disappointed if the child werenât talented as a knight⊠Perhaps that was the reason he adopted instead of marrying and having a child of his own.
Throughout the preparations, everyone was gossiping. The maids talked behind closed doors, as did the nobles. They didnât know this CinĂĄed anymore than Astra. However, people said some of the most horrid things about her. For all Astra knew, CinĂĄed was the kindest person in the world. It was doubtful though. The only kind person she had ever known was her mother, who was brutally murdered right in from of her eyes⊠Astra could do nothing. She knew there was nothing she could have done as well, but she hates herself for being too afraid to try at the time⊠As a knight, she had hoped that she would never have to deal with such pain again. She would always protect people⊠Little did she know she could only protect people who could afford it and the people who could afford it were absolute pigs.
It was finally time for the celebration⊠Astra watched as CinĂĄed entered the house of those Astra is to guard. The girl didnât seem to care one bit about what other people were saying, but it was obvious that she knew. She didnât seem displease or pleased. She seemed completely indifferent. At least she wasnât in pain or depressed.
With a sigh, Astra fallowed CinĂĄed as she was told to do in training. Of course, she wasnât going to fallow too closely or for too long. She was to fallow the bride to be to insure that no one was around to assassinate her. It wasnât as though the nobles really cared about her. It would just be extremely bad for their reputation. Stupid nobles⊠They had no appreciation for life. It wasnât as though Astra did either, because she was far too numb to really experience life. However, she was sick of serving the noble scum who treated commoners as dirt, kicking them around as they pleased. Astra eagerly anticipated the day she would leave the place. And the man the poor girl CinĂĄed was to marry was just as disgusting as the other nobles Astra had known. He, being the horrible womanizer he was, came after Astra more than once. Of course, she only gave him the cold shoulder and left. She would give him nothing. If CinĂĄed was any different from the other nobles, Astra felt sorry for her. No one should have to deal with such disgrace.