“...It r-reminds me of our ch-childhood,” smiled Cessilia.
“The rowdy part,” chuckled Tessandra. “Whenever you guys came to the Capital, we would all run in the streets and cause a commotion...”
Cessilia smiled. Having a large family had always been a blessing. She had older brothers to rely on, and her younger siblings to take care of. Because she and Tessandra were born the same year, just a few months apart; she felt like they were as close as sisters, with different personalities that suited each other.
While reminiscing about their childhood, they slowly made their way toward the quieter streets of the northern part of the Capital, where Ishira had clearly explained her clan’s main house to be. In fact, once they got there, Cessilia realized the Hashat Family’s house was just slightly bigger than the norm, but it didn’t matter much, as all of these streets probably belonged to their tribe. There were several herbal shops around, two doctor’s offices, a different, smaller apothecary, and more plant-related businesses around, like a tea shop and a massage house. For each business, there was an upper floor where the family probably lived. The apothecary they had visited that same morning wasn’t too far from there, either.
The main house of the tribe was marked with their insignia, larger than anywhere else, just as Naptunie had explained. Even without that, though, Cessilia would have guessed this was the Hashat Family’s house. The walls were covered in a variety of ivy, and all the flowers decorating the entrance were ones that could be used to make medicine.
Just as the two women turned their heads to exchange a look, wondering if they were supposed to knock, they both noticed a movement somewhere behind them. Tessa put a hand on her sword, but the people had no intention to hide their presence. Instead, as soon as they realized they were seen, two of the triplets stepped out of the shadows.
“...I fucking knew we were being followed,” hissed Tessandra.
“Only by order of the King, Princesses. For your security...”
Just as Cessilia was about to speak up, the doors in front of them opened, revealing Ishira, two of her family servants already bowing behind her. The timing was quite perfect. She smiled politely to her guests, barely glancing at the two Royal Servants behind them.
“Evening, Princess Cessilia, Lady Tessandra. Thank you for coming to our humble residence, please come in. Feel free to bring in His Majesty’s servants... or not.”
Cessilia was a bit surprised. It appeared they didn’t mind them bringing in Royal Servants, although Ishira had been clear about Naptunie not being invited... So this was more about the rivalry between the clans than an attempt at isolating her. She hesitated for a second, glancing at the two young servants behind them.
“...Th-they are with us,” she finally said.
At any rate, the triplets were still trained as bodyguards. If anything happened tonight, it wouldn’t be bad to have them as reinforcements, especially after the trap they had already run into the previous evening...
Perfectly composed, Ishira bowed politely and turned around to show them the way inside. The entrance of their house was a small garden, which Cessilia immediately found beautiful. There was a small wooden bridge over a pond, so narrow and thin it only allowed one person on at a time, but that was the only way to the mansion, and they walked across it one by one, noticing the colorful fish quietly swimming underneath. From what Cessilia could see, the garden was only made of medicinal plants. For every single leaf and flower her eye caught, there was some use.
“My aunt created this garden,” explained Ishira. “It was her favorite place in the Kingdom... My uncle, our Clan Leader, wishes for this place to be preserved as it is, and I have been taking care of it personally since. That’s why despite being given a room in the castle as a candidate, I do still spend a lot of time here during the day.”
This explained why Cessilia hadn’t crossed paths with this candidate at the castle after the first banquet, but had run into her in one of the family’s businesses instead. Unlike the other candidates, Ishira herself seemed to have little interest in becoming queen. Cessilia remembered vividly that she hadn’t been shy to speak up against her rivals in Cessilia’s favor either. Maybe she was more interested in alliances with a woman she believed to be the future Queen, like Lady Bastat. The fact that she had already mentioned her aunt, who was probably from the Rain Tribe, intrigued Cessilia, though.
“Although this is considered our main house in the Capital,” she continued, “our family is more of an itinerant one, so my cousin, the heir to our family, isn’t here at the moment. We like to travel from village to village to offer our services as doctors, as well as study plants and remedies we can find in farther regions.”
“Your businesses in the Capital aren’t enough as an inflow of money?” said Tessa.
Ishira smiled, understanding the real question underlying her comment.
“I promise we’re not robbing anyone. Actually, people pay us what they can, but our services as doctors are mainly given for free. People only have to pay for the medicine, if they can afford it... We are trying to be charitable while not running out of business. Many would love to see us fall, though.”
“We heard a b-bit of your s-story,” said Cessilia. “Your family b-benefited from learning medicine...”
“That’s true. ...I know what you came here for, but you’ll hear it from my uncle. After all, a lot of our wealth came from his marriage...”
They finally reached the actual mansion, which, aside from the beautiful garden in front, didn’t seem much bigger or ostensive as the other larger houses they had seen in the Capital. With the servants opening doors for them, Ishira preceded them inside, quickly leading them into a small room where a man was already seated and drinking. The space was smaller than they had imagined, but the table was large enough for six people, and already filled with food. The man looked to be in his late fifties, with a well-kept silver beard and short hair, a thin nose and thin lips on a square-shaped face, and enigmatic brown eyes. His long sleeveless tunic showed thin but toned muscles, and like his niece, several tattoos. He was one of those men who might have been average when he was young, but was more attractive as an older man, with an aura of calm and dignity, and fine wrinkles. He didn’t get up upon the young women’s arrival, only bowing over the table. Cessilia remembered him right away. He was one of the men sitting during the council she had witnessed on her first day there, one of the nine lords. He indeed was the head of the Hashat Family.
“Evening, Princesses. Please, take a seat.”
Cessilia and Tessandra exchanged a glance and took the two seats opposite the man, while Ishira went to sit next to her uncle, pouring what smelled like hot tea for the guests herself.
“My name is Hedrun, the head of this family, and Ishira’s uncle. My niece as well as my cousin, Counselor Oroun, mentioned the Princesses were interested in meeting me.”
Tessandra and Cessilia exchanged a surprised glance. Didn’t Ishira mention their Family Leader was the one who wanted to meet them, not the other way around? Upon glancing once more, they noticed the Queen Candidate was staying silent, as well as keeping her eyes down. They felt a bit wary of this odd situation.
That man’s attitude and tone were a bit different from what they had expected. He was barely looking them in the eye and was already busy eating, as if this meeting had little to do with him. Next to him, Ishira hadn’t touched the food, either, and was simply sitting with her hands on her lap, seemingly a bit tense, as if she was cautious of her uncle herself. They didn’t look like close relatives, more like master and servant.
“Our m-mothers were p-part of a t-tribe called the Rain Tribe,” said Cessilia. “We b-believe the Hashat Family is familiar with these p-people.”
“That is true,” said the leader. “My wife was one of their people. She died a few years ago, though.”
His bluntness shocked Cessilia even more, and she frowned.
“We had no idea th-there had b-been other survivors in the Eastern K-Kingdom. Our m-mothers d-devoted a lot of themselves t-trying to find more of their relatives.”
“Not many. Most were sold as slaves, and our tribe bought some of those slaves. Some fled, the others were killed.”
Despite the leader’s aloof and cold tone, Cessilia felt her heart accelerate a bit. So there really were some of her mother’s long-lost relatives in this Kingdom. According to her mother, the Rain Tribe wasn’t composed of a lot of people, even before they were attacked. To hear there were any survivors at all had been a huge relief when they expected them all to be dead. Although she had never met those people, Cessilia was well-aware this was half of her heritage, half of her family’s story, the half that wasn’t from Imperial Dragon blood, but from the sad history of a dying civilization.
“We’re sorry about your wife,” said Tessandra, “but are there other members of that tribe still surviving?”
“What for?”
The man finally looked at them, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
“So your people can plunder that village again? Rape those women?”
Cessilia was so shocked, she lost her words for a second. Tessandra was the first one to react, clenching her fist on the table.
“Are you mad, old man? Didn’t you listen? Our mothers are from the Rain Tribe! They went through that shit too!”
