LOGINShare
Nightmare in the inn
Last Updated:
2021-06-04 12:35:54Inside the carriage, she was as comfortable as someone could be after long hours of travel. But it was freezing outside, and she noticed just trying to look through the crying windows.
Could this mean that they would see snow soon? A winter like this was rare, and she only remembered it happening once when she was still young. It was the day of her seventh birthday.
That, too, was quickly approaching, and it was going to be the first birthday she spent away from her family.
She thought about Milan, who had come several hours after the party was over. Apparently, sleep did not come easy for her little brother that night either. It was a very unusual thing, but Milan asked her if he could sleep there with her, and then made that remark. “It’s so cold in your room
Related chapters
Lady of House Alba The ladies of House Alba
For the past two hours, she avoided conversation pretending that she fell asleep again after they left the inn and got into the carriage. It was embarrassing to look at Ivar after he’d witnessed her breakdown in the middle of the night. And then the carriage stopped, and she knew there was no escape from facing him or the new world she was becoming part of from that day on. “We have arrived.” She had been in the Grand Duchess palace once, during her debut in society, but it had been at night, and that year she wasn’t exactly in the mood for socializing with people or admiring the beauty of the city. This time, however, she could appreciate the immaculate walls of the White Rose of Vallas, the most beautiful building in the city and the whole country, where kings had been living for centuries before the war.
Last Updated : 2021-06-06Lady of House Alba By the fireplace
The sense of not belonging was stronger at night, after Laila finished undoing her hair and left her to rest, Elena struggled to fall asleep for hours, her mind started replaying every single thing that happened during the day. What helped her in situations like this was making a nice cup of tea for herself, but how could she do that now? She was at a big palace and didn’t know her way around it yet.“Do you know that eye color you have it’s very rare? Only the people from the ancient era had those emerald eyes. It’s very interesting indeed.”That was what Miros, the second son, said right before Ivar told him to shut up. This family was definitely odd, were all the people from Raeden like that? (Although technically, the younger ones were from Vallas and Miros was only five years older than her, it was easier to attribute
Last Updated : 2021-06-08Lady of House Alba The first snow
The difference between letting her do as she pleased and standing by her side if she wanted revenge was like the distance between the earth and the skies, and something she had never expected from him, but he sounded sincere when he said those words. When it came to understanding Ivar, Elena thought she was barely scratching the surface. He didn’t trust her enough to tell her what he was looking for so desperately, or how exactly she would help him, but he extended his promise of protection to an offer of avenging her father’s actions towards her. Family, was this so important to him as to become his weak spot? He felt more real when he shared just that little piece of his life. He had a grandmother he’d lost to enemies, parents who left him too early, and an adoptive family he loved enough to go to war for them. Now, after learning just another outrageous thing her father had done to her, it was en
Last Updated : 2021-06-10Lady of House Alba The Gift of Life
Countess Valverde did not care about growing plants that bloomed in winter, so at that time of the year, there wasn’t much color around the manor. The year when it snowed for the first time, the white was a nice change, but, like an empty piece of blank paper, Elena had that brief thought back then… it would be more beautiful if there was more color there. You made pink flowers grow, that’s what Saray said. Could it be that it was really her wish that made that miracle happen? All that time, it had been magic. “But even sorcerers cannot make things grow out of thin air.” She remembered suddenly. Those who used water magic or those who used earth magic could change the conditions of the element, improving the soil, making it rain, all things that helped crops to grow in ways it couldn’t happen under normal circumstances, but they did not just make someth
Last Updated : 2021-06-11Lady of House Alba 'To wish you well'
It turned out that creating some small flowers out of nothing was just a simple task. After spending a whole day trying - without success - to give shape to a doll, shouldn’t she get it by now?“I could create anything, in theory, that’s what Her Grace said…”“If you want a doll, my lady, why don’t you just buy one?” Laila asked.“It wouldn’t be the same.”When she was younger, she’d wanted to have that kind of pretty dolls other young girls had, but it was something out of her reach, there wasn’t a version of the world where her parents would even think of giving her something she didn’t absolutely need. Dolls and any other toys were things that belonged with beloved daughters of nice f
Last Updated : 2021-06-16Lady of House Alba The Heart
“It was very touching to learn that you even gave your opinion about tonight’s banquet when you’ve been so busy these days.”Everyone had retired for the night, and Elena supposed she too should stay in bed, but only a few minutes later she found herself walking to the drawing-room where she knew he would be, just like the last time. He looked pensive, looking at the fire without even glancing in her direction until she spoke.“I was dealing with some issues on the east coast.” He said in response. “From time to time, pirates from the islands come to pillage and cause havoc in the villages of the area.”“Pirates? During this season?” Elena sat by his side. She was intending to talk about something completely different, but this caught her attention.
Last Updated : 2021-06-19Lady of House Alba Be bold
The morning had started wonderfully, with the whole palace in a hustle to prepare for that evening’s main event. During the weeks leading up to the engagement party, Elena had spent her time between practicing her magic skills with the Grand Duchess, and attending some of the social gatherings she had been invited to. Laila’s reading and writing skills had improved a lot, and Saray had taken it to herself to help the other girl with this task as well. And she saw Ivar from time to time, the late encounters by the fireplace became almost a routine, only that she had started to prepare her tea before going to make him company. He didn’t seem to mind, even if the conversation was scarce, only a short exchange about her progress with magic, and then they would remain in silence, sitting side by side. Up until that point, people had treated her well. Elena even ha
Last Updated : 2021-06-20Lady of House Alba Human Touch
Once upon a time, this was a magical land where all kinds of creatures coexisted peacefully, but one day, men from the unknown Diamond Islands arrived in their ships, and that peaceful existence came to an end. Ivar’s mother told this story every night when she tucked him into bed, and although several decades had passed from that far away childhood, he remembered it well. Humans were the great evil of the continent. The humans who came to destroy and force the owners of the land into submission because of their greediness, and the humans did not help in time when the men from the islands revealed their true intentions. Ivar believed this, even when he barely knew humans. He was the last one, they said, the lucky one who got to live without the shackles that kept the rest of the dragons from the time before, but the only way his parents could protect him when he was young was to hide away from people.
Last Updated : 2021-06-22
Latest chapter
Lady of House Alba Long Live
Raeden looked like a land of fairytales (although, to be fair, all stories of fantasy and magic had come to be true after she met Ivar). It was summer here, but a thin layer of snow covered the ground all the way to Jade City. She could see it all from above, the magnificent views that changed first when they crossed Eir until they landed at their destination, and for the first time she thought about how frustrating it could be for him to ride on a carriage when he could always do this instead. People looked in awe when they landed, but few of them seemed to be afraid. Elena couldn’t help but ask why. “Some people tell stories around here. Their parents must have seen it during the war.” Here, it didn’t matter if he wasn’t really the brother of the Emperor and the Gr
Lady of House Alba Heritage
Her father had lost his mind. What did he think would be the result of this? He kept repeating that they couldn’t win, that he wouldn’t let them win, but the commotion was enough to have Danna come into the room, and she grabbed Enmanuel from the behind, pulling him away from Elena and sending him flying towards the room's desk.“Your Grace! Are you okay?”“I'm fine, Danna, don't worry.” Elena swallowed with difficulty, feeling her throat sore. Free to think and use her magic properly, she grew vines that imprisoned her father. She tolerated him for too long. “Call the others and take him to the cell for criminals. He can stay the night there.”“You can't treat me like a mere commoner.”She strode towards him an
Lady of House Alba With a family like this...
Pregnant…“Congratulations, my lady!” Mariela clapped her hands in excitement. “Congratulations, Your Grace!”They kept staring at each other in silence, just waiting until they were left alone in the room.Something like that should be impossible for them, and yet, it wasn’t. Elena wasn’t really human, but the vessel of the Emerald Heart, and someone who could already use the Gift of Life in extraordinary ways in spite of lacking experience and control over her magic.Viviana Lagrave was convinced her son was only born because Elena pitied her and felt sad for the kind of treatment she received as a wife who couldn’t bear a male heir. It seemed far-fetched considering that Elena was only a child and unaware of her powers
Lady of House Alba 'Changing the world to be ours' Part 2
Two doctors arrived in the morning, quickly installing themselves in the house that Elena had been staying at those days, and with help of the Black Knights, the place became ready to attend to people in no time. Neither Laila nor Mariela seemed to be really surprised seeing that their mistress and the duke had reconciled and came back with linked arms to tell them of their intention to fix the county.“We’ll open an academy here soon, Miros will work on it so that in the future we can send doctors and sorcerers to the small villages too.”“But for the moment, this is already a great relief to the people who couldn’t get medical assistance after doctor Marin left.”They were at the entrance of the house, ready to leave, when the men from the manor came to see what all the fuss was
Lady of House Alba 'Changing the world to be ours' Part 1
There was only one doctor in town, the same who attended the Valverde family, so it was a risky move as her father would learn about it and probably hand her to Ivar. But Mariela (who insisted on Elena staying in the house, her eyes would give her away immediately) came back from the Doctor Marin’s house with the news he’d left town weeks ago.“I went to the apothecary to get something for Laila’s fever, and it seems it’s a very contagious flu. Everyone is getting sick, but there’s no one to treat them. Doctor Marin left because the Earl hadn't been paying him for months, and there were many other lords in the region asking for doctors too.”Her father was a stingy pig.“He can’t be so deep into debt that he can’t pay the only doctor available in town
Lady of House Alba Hide and Seek
“Lady Elena, do you really think the Duke would try to hurt you?”Laila voiced this question when they were peeling apples for the afternoon snack, sitting near to the attic windows of the abandoned house they decided to turn into their temporary hiding place. It was quite convenient that Elena was able to grow most things they ate or used to cook, because it wasn’t as if they could go out of town freely these days. The black nights were still looking for them in the streets, knowing that they couldn’t make it very far in just a few hours.Eventually, however, they would give up and look elsewhere.“We’ve only known each other for a few months, Laila. Exactly the same time I’ve known Ivar. Maybe I’m not the one who knows him the best, I couldn’t, in such a
Lady of House Alba Mother's daughter. Part 2
In hindsight, Vivian should have known it from the moment the midwife exclaimed it was a girl. She couldn’t get pregnant before Elena, in the same way she couldn’t carry any of her pregnancies later, as if the whole purpose of having the girl was to continue hiding the Heart.When Milan was conceived, however, she knew that much like her mother before her, her daughter could access that magic. It was because of her misery and Elena feeling sad for her that made it happen.But should she be happy about it?“My mother and her mother before then, for hundreds of years, they lived that kind of life. Do you think I would have been anything else than a slave if they thought I had magic too? My father, the very generous, kind-hearted Baron de Lagos, would have kept me prisoner the rest of my life. The wor
Lady of House Alba Mother's daughter. Part 1
It was bound to be the talk of the town when the daughter of the Earl came back home less than a year after the wedding.“As expected, you are useless. Couldn’t you at least satisfy your husband? You have no shame coming back to this house alone!”“You are reading too much into this, father.” Elena breathed in deep and managed to keep her calm. “I just wanted to make sure my brother didn’t come home alone, and since I have the time to spare, why wouldn’t I accompany him? I didn’t know I’m not allowed to visit this house anymore.”Enmanuel Valderde glared at her, his frown deepening as he tried to find the mistake in her words.He couldn’t come up with anything, and that was the end of it. She instruc
Lady of House Alba A history of dragons
Given that it had come to this point, Ivar decided it was useless to keep hiding the truth.“Come with me,” he said, seeing that Elena wouldn’t move or say anything in response.But she still followed him to his office, walking down the stairs that led to the underground springs.“Why are we here?”“It’s the only place inside that palace that’s spacious enough. So you can see with your own eyes what I really am.”Elena barely had time to grasp what was happening in front of her, as he changed into a large, two-winged black creature so frightening that her trembling legs did not want to move when all she wanted was to step back. Just his head was the size of her whole body.
