The atmosphere was so incredibly tense in the room that if one were to enter it, one would feel like they were suffocating. Despite the clock on the wall showing that it's mid-afternoon, it was very dark and gloomy inside, with only minimal light filtering through. All the tables and chairs were cleared to one side, except for four of each which were placed in the middle of the room. Sitting on those four chairs were four men whose faces showed a dark expression, as they propped their elbows on the desk.
For what felt like an eternity had passed by, finally someone was the first to break the silence.
"Gentlemen... I believe you know the reason why we're holding this meeting" a lilac haired young man spoke grimly.
"... Indeed, Chairman. This is a serious matter" the strawberry blonde replied.
"Y- yes I agree!"
"Are we throwing a surprise party?"
The other three men sighed at the blond bimbo who was still confused at why he was brought here during study period. Perhaps they should have excluded Ezekiel out of the meeting after all.
"No, Your Highness. We're here to talk about my sister Charlotte"
"This was your fault for closing all the curtains in the room. It's not like we're going to do something suspicious in here" Caspian scolded as he drew open the nearby curtains to allow sunlight to penetrate into the room. Finally, everyone's faces can be seen clearly.
"It's not a secret meeting if people can see us" River grumbled back.
When they've all settled down back into their seats, Caspian brought up the topic that they've been hesitating to talk about for the past week.
"So... I guess there's no hiding the fact that all of us can see the strange dialogue box around Lady Charlotte?"
"Yes. So far, I think the only ones that can see it are all in this room" (River)
"D- does anyone have any ideas why this is happening and why it is limited to the four of us?" (Kit)
"I've tried searching up for answers in the academy's library, but I haven't made much headway" (River)
"Same here. I've even approached my magician friends, but no one knew what I was talking about" (Caspian)
"I've taken a look into the royal library last weekend. However, I too, couldn't find anything. But, I will ask the royal magician when he comes back in a few months" (Ezekiel)
"He should be the most knowledgable about all magic matters within the land so perhaps he has the answers we need. In the meantime, should we tell Lady Charlotte?" (Caspian)
Before anyone could throw in their opinions, River slammed his hands on the table causing everyone to become startled by his sudden actions.
"What the hell, man? I almost had a heart attack. Don't go slamming tables in the middle of a serious conversation like that" Caspian looked at River bewilderedly. His heartbeat was still erratic and he wanted to chastise him some more but he paused upon seeing an agitated look on the normally calm River Bellarose's face.
"What's the matter?" Ezekiel questioned.
"We absolutely CANNOT tell my sister about this"
"Why? Shouldn't the person in question know? She'll be upset if she knew that we've unintentionally invaded her private thoughts" (Caspian)
"You don't know my sister as much as I do"
"W- what do you mean?" (Kit)
"Despite how she looks, she cares deeply about her image AND she gets embarrassed easily"
"I thought the lady does not care for rumours?" (Caspian)
"Rumours are different because it's based on unfounded truth and if there's no truth to it, my sister will not care. However, if there's actual evidence to the fact, it's a different story altogether" River pupils were shaking violently. He took a deep breath as he began narrating his tale.
"When we were kids, there was a time when my sister used to be obsessed with magical girls who performed in the public square. She was deeply captivated by their songs and dances and really wanted to become one"
"Isn't that ... really cute?" (Caspian)
"She kept it a secret from everyone because she knew she had many eyes on her. Being the lady of the family, she was expected to act demure and graceful. However, this didn't stop my sister from dancing and imitating them in private so, she would do these things far away from the manor whenever she had free time"
"That doesn't sound so bad" Ezekiel murmured.
"And then one day, it happened... Not knowing that the stable boy had came back to take his forgotten belongings from the day before, he stumbled upon my sister in the middle of performing for the horses in the stables... "
" ... "
"The weeks that followed were terrifying (to the stable boy). My sister was incredibly embarrassed that she was discovered. Without a warning, the first thing she did was grab a horseshoe on the ground and threw it to his face ... And all the while, still maintaining a perfect smile on her face"
"Th- the lady almost attempted murder!?" (Kit)
"And then when it failed, she hired people with her own money to ki- gently persuade him into silence"
"Hey! You were gonna say kill weren't you?" (Ezekiel)
"He had probably used up his lifetime's worth of luck in efforts to dodge her assa- negotiators. He ended up abandoning his home and running away to a nearby town"
"Assassins! You clearly wanted to say assassins! She drove the poor boy into becoming homeless" (Caspian)
"After failing in her plans, she somehow ended up finding where he had escaped to and made a personal effort to travel all the way there with only a few guards and a couple of horses. The entire trip took 2 days but she was relentless so they only stopped to sleep and eat. And then she finally reached the town. While he was sleeping, she dropped a ... decent size rock on his head. Oh! But don't worry! He survived the incident. Luckily he forgot everything from before he ran away to the town ... otherwise she would have still hunted him to this day"
"Amnesia... She force-induced amnesia on him!!" (Kit, Ezekiel, Caspian)
"And all of this happened when she was just 11 years old. I still don't know where her funds had came from"
" ... "
The men went silent as they ruminated on exactly who is Charlotte Bellarose. Certainly someone you couldn't afford to get on the wrong side or embarrass. The rumours of her being a terrifying villainess might be closer to the truth than the men had initially believed.
"Ahem ... Alright. Let's just look away if her thoughts are too personal, and continue our search in curing Lady Charlotte from her predicament without her knowledge. Are we all in agreement?" (Caspian)
"Agreed" the four men nodded to each other in unison. It was the first time they had agreed on something since they started this meeting. While they all held admiration for Charlotte Bellarose, they had now developed a little fear towards her.
"By the way, how do you know about Lady Charlotte's secret obsession? I thought she kept it well hidden from everyone?" Ezekiel questioned. It had been bothering him since the start of the story.
"Yea, I was also wondering about that myself. I remembered that Lady Charlotte had previously told me that you had given her the silent treatment for the past 6 years. Yet you've said that this happened when she was 11 years old" Caspian added.
River's eyes shone as he answered.
"Ah! That's because I was still watching her every move even when I was giving her the cold shoulders. And if I was busy, I sent someone else in my stead to observe her. Look!"
River dropped a dictionary size book on the table causing it to shake from its sudden weight.
"This is an observation diary of my sister from the start of this year to the current day. The previous years are kept in my personal study room at home" Contrary to the things he was saying, his smile remained virtuous as if he had done nothing wrong.
"YOU'RE JUST AS TERRIFYING AS YOUR SISTER!" Caspian shouted.
And thus, the first ever 'Gentlemen's Convened Meeting for Lady Charlotte' (GCMLC) had come to an end. It was unknown to their current knowledge that this was only the start of many more meetings to come.
For what felt like an eternity had passed by, finally someone was the first to break the silence.
"Gentlemen… I believe you know the reason why we're holding this meeting" a lilac haired young man spoke grimly.
"… Indeed, Chairman. This is a serious matter" the strawberry blonde replied.
"Y- yes I agree!"
"Are we throwing a surprise party?"
The other three men sighed at the blond bimbo who was still confused at why he was brought here during study period. Perhaps they should have excluded Ezekiel out of the meeting after all.
"No, Your Highness. We're here to talk about my sister Charlotte"
"This was your fault for closing all the curtains in the room. It's not like we're going to do something suspicious in here" Caspian scolded as he drew open the nearby curtains to allow sunlight to penetrate into the room. Finally, everyone's faces can be seen clearly.
"It's not a secret meeting if people can see us" River grumbled back.
When they've all settled down back into their seats, Caspian brought up the topic that they've been hesitating to talk about for the past week.
"So… I guess there's no hiding the fact that all of us can see the strange dialogue box that had suddenly appeared around Lady Charlotte?"
"Yes. So far, I think the only ones that can see it are all in this room" (River)
"D- does anyone have any ideas why this is happening and why it is limited to the four of us?" (Kit)
"I've tried searching up for answers in the academy's library but I haven't made much headway" (River)
"Same here. I've even approached my magician friends but no one knew what I was talking about" (Caspian)
"I've taken a look into the royal library in the palace last weekend however, I too couldn't find anything. But, I will ask the royal magician when he comes back in a few months" (Ezekiel)
"He should be the most knowledgable about all magic matters within the land so perhaps he has the answers we need. In the meantime, should we tell Lady Charlotte?" (Caspian)
Before anyone could throw in their opinions, River slammed his hands on the table causing everyone to become startled by his sudden actions.
"What the hell, man? I almost had a heart attack. Don't go slamming tables in the middle of a serious conversation like that" Caspian looked at River bewilderedly. His heartbeat was still erratic and he wanted to chastise him some more but he paused upon seeing an agitated look on the normally calm River Bellarose's face.
"What's the matter?" Ezekiel questioned.
"We absolutely CANNOT tell my sister about this"
"Why? Shouldn't the person in question know? She'll be upset if she knew that we've unintentionally invaded her private thoughts" (Caspian)
"You don't know my sister as much as I do"
"W- what do you mean?" (Kit)
"Despite how she looks, she cares deeply about her image and she gets embarrased easily"
"I thought the lady does not care about rumours?" (Caspian)
"Rumours are different because it's based on unfounded truth and if there's no truth to it, my sister does not care. However, if there's actual evidence to the fact, it's a different story altogether" River pupils were shaking violently. He took a deep breath as he began narrating his tale.
"When we were kids, there was a time when my sister used to be obsessed with magical girls who performed in the public square. She was deeply captivated by their songs and dances and really wanted to become one"
"Isn't that … really cute?" (Caspian)
"She kept it a secret from everyone because she knew there were many eyes on her and she was expected to act demure and graceful. However, this didn't stop my sister from dancing and imitating them in private so, she would do these things far away from the manor whenever she had free time"
"That doesn't sound so bad" Ezekiel murmured.
"And then one day, IT happened... Not knowing that the stable boy came back to take his forgotten belongings from the day before, he stumbled upon my sister in the middle of performing for the horses in the stables... "
" ... "
"The weeks that followed were terrifying (to the stable boy). My sister was incredibly embarrassed that she was discovered on the spot. Without a warning, the first thing she did was grab a horseshoe on the ground and threw it to his face … All the while still maintaining a perfect smile on her face"
"Th- the lady almost attempted murder!?" (Kit)
"And then when it failed, she hired people with her own money to ki- gently persuade him into silence"
"Hey! You were gonna say kill weren't you?" (Ezekiel)
"He had probably used up his lifetime's worth of luck in efforts to dodge her assa- negotiators. He ended up abandoning his home and running away to a nearby town"
"Assassins! You clearly wanted to say assassins! She drove the poor boy into becoming homeless" (Caspian)
"After failing in her plans, she somehow ended up finding where he had escaped to and made a personal effort to travel all the way there with only a few guards and a couple of horses. The entire trip took 2 days but she was relentless so they only stopped to sleep and eat. And then she finally reached the town. While he was sleeping, she dropped a … decent size rock on his head. Oh! But don't worry! He survived the incident. Luckily he forgot everything from before he ran away to the town ... otherwise she would have still hunted him to this day"
"Amnesia… She force-induced amnesia on him!!" (Kit, Ezekiel, Caspian)
"And all of this happened when she was just 11 years old. I still don't know where her funds had came from"
" … "
The men went silent as they ruminated on exactly who is Charlotte Bellarose. Certainly someone you couldn't afford to get on the wrong side or embarrass. The rumours of her being a terrifying villainess might be closer to the truth than the men had initially believed.
"Ahem ... Alright. Let's just look away if her thoughts are too personal and continue our search in curing Lady Charlotte from her predicament without her knowledge. Are we all in agreement?" (Caspian)
"Agreed" the four men nodded to each other in unison. It was the first time they had agreed on something since they started this meeting. While they all held admiration for Charlotte Bellarose, they had now developed a little fear towards her.
"By the way, how do you know about Lady Charlotte's secret obsession? I thought she kept it well hidden from everyone?" Ezekiel questioned. It had been bothering him since the start of the story.
"Yea, I was also wondering that myself. I remembered that Lady Charlotte had previously told me that you had given her the silent treatment for the past 6 years yet you've said that this happened when she was 11 years old" Caspian added.
River's eyes shone as he answered.
"Ah! That's because I was still watching her every move even when I was giving her the cold shoulders. And if I was busy, I sent someone else in my stead to observe her. Look!"
River dropped a dictionary size book on the table causing it to shake from its sudden weight.
"This is an observation diary of my sister from the start of this year to the current day. The previous years are kept in my personal study room at home" Contrary to the things he was saying, his smile remained virtuous as if he had done nothing wrong.
"YOU'RE JUST AS TERRIFYING AS YOUR SISTER!" Caspian shouted.
And thus, the first ever 'Gentlemen's Convened Meeting for Lady Charlotte' (GCMLC) had come to an end. It was unknown to their current knowledge that this was only the start of many more meetings to come.