The rays of the sun lingered inside the premises of the room. An imposing man is sitting in one of the sofa seats reading the newspaper. His black hair has faded into that of an ashen gray due to his age and his figure indicates the experience of rigorous training throughout the years.
He hands the newspaper to one of the servants and calls out to me. "Sit down, Eysia."
I hurriedly sit on one of the seats across him and try my best to maintain eye contact. His eyes are a shade of faded amethyst. He looks at me incredulously with a glare that could only mean I did something wrong. "What are you doing?"
Sitting down?.... Like you asked?
I was about to answer when he waves his hand and dismisses my response. "Let us not waste time on excuses. I have something to discuss."
He reaches for a letter on a tray provided by another servant. "As you know, the social season is nearing. Now that you are of 16 summers, you can now attend and debut in the upper echelons of society." He hands the letter out for you to receive.
The letter is sealed by a purple wax with an insignia of an eagle with a snake on its talons.
"You will be given additional lessons and classes to prepare for it." He glances up to meet your eyes and dons a stern look. "Do not disappoint the family and dishonor the duchy."
He stands abruptly and the servant signals the guard to open the doors. "Seeing as you did not greet me properly, you are to study etiquette until late at night."
He gives me one last look. "You are dismissed." Then, he strides out of the room, leaving me behind with an unopened letter.
I guess I should open this.
One maid that escorted me handed a paper knife and I gladly accepted it. "Thank you."
She let out a short gasp as if I was not supposed to thank her and I could not help but raise a brow. She starts to realize what she did and profusely muttered a silent apology.
The perturbed maid bows slightly once again and takes three steps back to where she was standing before.
My eyes drift towards the letter. The envelope itself is is gold with elegant patterns and the center of it is the purple wax with the insignia. If my memory serves me right, this is the family symbol of the Havan family, which is also the royal family. With the knife, I try to open the the top of the letter but in a moment, my clumsy forefinger was in the way.
A prick of pain and the streak of red did not matter. The servants in the room panics and inquires if I was okay but my mind was elsewhere.
Why do I feel pain? Is this not a dream? What the hell is happening?
My breathing paces a little faster and my palms start to sweat. Everything around me feels so heavy and all of my senses are starting to overwhelm me.
With a whir of static hanging above my ears, a numbing headache catches on. With that, I fell unconscious. Again.