Alex and his family traveled with the merchants until they reached Larton, where the groups went their separate ways. From there, Alex, his mother, and the maids traveled on the main road to Lapis City. After a night of camping, they managed to reach the city shortly thereafter.
The city was one of the largest in this region of the Empire, which made Alex, Anna, and the others have to adjust. After they walked through the guarded gates, they started to walk around the city, trying to get any semblance of where they had to go.
"Mom, where does Lyanna live?" Alex asked his mother.
Anna had to think for a second before saying "I believe the house she's at is near the shoreline."
"Alright, first we'll head there. Hopefully Aunt Lyanna knows some information about the wedding." Alex said. "I also want to find out where the Tarren Mansion is."
"I thought we were going to act during the wedding? Why do you need to know where the Tarren Mansion is?" Kaede asked.
"Know your enemy. I want to learn more about the Tarrens before we act; that way, we may have more cards to play than we think." Alex said.
"Well, we should go see my sister first and get our bearings...plus we all need showers." Anna said.
"Agreed." Mary said nodding.
"Yeah, we haven't properly bathed in awhile..." Eve said.
"Yeah, agreed. Information gathering can wait a bit." Alex said, nodding in agreement.
The group headed to the shoreline in order to find Lyanna's house. Once they got there, they saw an isolated area away from the city. It had purple banners around the small walls that surrounded the house, along with two guards standing out front.
"Subtlety is not your sister's strong suit, milady." Mary said with a slight smile.
"Yeah...that's for sure. Anyway, let's get going." Anna said.
Then Eve said "She really has a nice place, though."
"That's my sister... She's definitely one who can't live without luxury." Anna said, sighing.
"At least we'll be comfortable." Alex said with a chuckle.
Once the group got to the gate of the house, the guards stopped them.
"Stop, identification, and purpose for visiting Ms. Morrigan." one of the guards said.
"My name is Anna Blackwood." Anna said. "I wish to visit my sister."
Then guards nervously looked at each other and said, "Sorry, ma'am, we didn't know you were coming. Please just let my subordinate here confirm whether or not she was expecting you, and I can let you in."
"That's fine." Anna said.
One of the guards walked inside and, after a minute or two, ran back out, nodding his head.
"Alright. Welcome to the Morrigan Vacation Home, Mrs. Blackwood." the guard said as he bowed.
Anna nodded before her, and everyone else walked inside. They took their shoes off at the door and were escorted inside the house by a maid. The maid took them to a large room with a L-shaped couch, a large dining table, a well-made fireplace, and clean, beautiful marble floors.
"Wow..." Eve said.
"SISTER!"
Everyone's attention was turned to the kitchen, where Lyanna was standing, wearing one of her usual beautiful dresses.
"It's good to see you've finally arrived." Lyanna said as she ran up to hug her sister.
"Sorry it took so long, but traveling by foot took longer than expected." Anna responded.
"I wish you would've let me send a carriage for you." Lyanna said.
"That would've drawn too much attention; we needed to be as discreet as possible when entering the city." Anna responded.
"I heard the Blackwood estate burnt down, killing Edmund and another." Lyanna said.
"We don't have to worry about the Blackwoods anymore; Edward is who knows where, and the others are gone. One less problem for us in the future." Alex said.
"Well, I'm glad all of you got away from that man." Lyanna said it with a smile. "Hey Alex, why don't you go and say hi to Amelie? She's been excited to see you again."
"Alright, I don't mind." Alex said. "But where is she?"
"Her room. First door on the left." Lyanna answered.
Alex walked down the hallway and knocked on the door that Lyanna had mentioned.
"Who is it?" the voice behind the door asked.
"Your favorite cousin." Alex said with a chuckle.
Alex heard a crash behind the door, like she had tripped or something, before the door opened. Her red hair was slightly a mess, and she was wearing a black shirt, some jeans, and a choker around her neck.
"Hey Alex! It's been awhile!" Amelie said it with a smile.
"Are you alright? It sounded like you fell." Alex asked.
"I-I'm fine." Amelie hugged Alex with a smile on her face, and her cheeks blushed. "It's good to see you're okay. I heard what happened at your house and-"
"I'm fine, Amelie; everyone is." Alex said as he returned her hug.
"How long are you going to stay here?" Amelie asked.
"I don't know in all honesty, and there's a lot to still be decided, but I'll be staying here until at least after we save Raven." Alex responded.
"Right, by the way, I heard a few things about the wedding." Amelie said.
"You did?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, there's a lot of talk about it at my school since Oliver is also a student there. Apparently, Oliver has plans to have a giant parade the day of the wedding to celebrate it. The parade starts at the beach and ends at the church of Lapis, where Raven will be waiting." Amelie explained.
"What can you tell me about the Tarren family? I only know that Oliver is an asshole." Alex asked.
Amelie chuckled "Well, that part is true; he's well known to be quite an asshole in school. But basically, Duncan Tarren, the patriarch, is all about trying to gain prestige, and the matriarch, Ellen Tarren, doesn't even love him."
"Hm, that sounds like quite a family so far." Alex said.
"Yeah, and the two kids are complete opposites. Oliver, you know already, and he's Duncan's favorite, the heir to everything in his name. But his other son, Randall, inherited his mother's personality. He's a nice kid for what it's worth." Amelie said.
"So, one son is taking after his father in all the wrong ways, and the other is a momma's boy...I can work with that." Alex said it with a smile.
"What do you plan to do?" Amelie asked.
"Can you tell me, where do the Tarren's live?"
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