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Their foreseen future?
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2021-06-24 10:00:22The peaceful days did not return to the palace after the engagement party. With only two weeks before the wedding, the dressmaker that the Grand Duchess had found for Elena was practically stationed in her chambers, given how much time the woman and her team spent there to make Elena try on the dresses after each small change.
Some of the guests that had been invited to the party also extended their visit until the wedding ceremony, those who lived far away and were important enough to be granted such a privilege, such as the Marquis of Miraval and his third wife, or Lord Bilory, the president of the Siena Bank and his daughter, Miss Bilory. Elena understood that, although it had been around 30 years since the Empire was established, there was still enough tension with the nobles and important families in Vallas that the House of Alba needed to deal with them in the most diplomatic manner possible.<
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Lady of House Alba The first time
When Elena entered the bedroom, the music from the ballroom and the congratulatory toasts from the guests were all replaced with quietude and the half lights of a few candle lamps.Moving from her childhood bedroom to her chambers in the palace had already been a big change for her, but sleeping in the nuptial chamber was a whole other level of awkwardness. The maids had stripped her of her ball gown and dressed her in a simple white nightdress and silk robes. This way it was impossible to forget that, even if nothing happened between her and her new husband in that room, everyone outside had expectations of what the first night for a groom and his bride was supposed to be like.Thankfully, Ivar wasn’t there yet.Elena poured herself some wine and sat on one side of the bed, suddenly she reca
Last Updated : 2021-07-01Lady of House Alba Willing to walk on a thin line
His gaze fell on Elena, who’d fallen asleep once more. She’s most beautiful with that serene expression on her face, as if no worries cloud her dreams, as if she had nothing to fear lying by his side.She curled up next to him, and the feeling of her soft curves molding against his body was new to Ivar. And it was nice.‘What have I done?’He’d tried to indulge his lust when he was younger, although it had been so long ago he barely remembered the girl, only that she too got scared when his touch became too painful for her human sensitiveness, and that brought him back to his senses. Two different species shouldn’t mingle.Besides, humans were dirty and so easily corrupted, he learned it by witnessing horror after horror all t
Last Updated : 2021-07-03Lady of House Alba Childhood Sweetheart
The Vallas Varsity was truly a grand place. It was the first time Elena was visiting it, accompanied by Saray and Miros to attend a charity event that was meant to give more funds to scholarships for young talents. As the carriage entered the gates of the institution, she was already thinking about how good it would be to visit during a normal day with students attending their classes. Surely they would allow her to see the facilities of the law school or the medical school now that she was a Duchess… she’d ask Ivar later. “Are you impressed, sister? You will really like the schools at Eir, then.” “What about the academies you supervise, Miros? Do they compare to this?” “Our academies are much better, of course.” “Your Grace, Lord Miros. Princess, Duchess, it’s an ho
Last Updated : 2021-07-05Lady of House Alba Spring Ball
The palace’s library was full of all kinds of books, but Elena wasn’t informed about the condition of the library in the Alvor Palace. Besides, the journey to get there would take at least ten days, even if they stopped only during the night, that was what the knights had told her when she asked about their upcoming return to the northern region of Vallas. It was necessary to have something to entertain herself during that time, so she and Laila had their fun shopping in the big bookstores of the city.“The Fairy Queen’s Secret Lover.” The girl giggled as she read the title she had in her hands. “Your Grace, it sounds like this is interesting, but is it really okay to read this kind of thing if you’re going to share a carriage with the Duke?”“He won’t mind. Besides, I might read this even before we pa
Last Updated : 2021-07-07Lady of House Alba When on the road. Part 1
Dragons lived much longer than humans, and this was just one of the many reasons why they never mate with different species. While one was barely becoming an adult, the other would have been born, lived and gone back to ashes all in the blink of an eye. Although dragons could take on a human form to socialize and establish contact with humans, and some temporary friendships could be formed through the course of their lives, dragons still preferred to be free in their original form.Shapeshifting was a gift given by the Emerald Heart, it had not been part of them from the beginning. It was only Ivar who managed to come to the world in different circumstances.He was born from parents that had been imprisoned in the human shells, long after they had been hiding, long after the last eggs were destroyed, a miracle on its own. He’d also been born the same way
Last Updated : 2021-07-12Lady of House Alba When on the road. Part 2
On the fifth day, they stopped to change horses and get some proper rest in a nice town. Elena was just happy that she would sleep in a proper bed, have her hair washed, and eat something that wasn’t dried meat. The massage in her temples and shoulders was also an additional blessing. “To be honest, my lady, when I received your letter with the offer to go to the Duke’s estate, I became very worried about you. But I’m relieved, after seeing with my own eyes how he treats you.” It was a good thing that Mariela had finally joined her at last. There were many days left until they reached Alvor, and she would be a good company to Laila. Besides, now that she was going to a foreign place, the old familiarity and warm feelings from the person who’d been serving by her side for more than six years was something that gave her some assurance.
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Not a monster, just not human. The Duke of Alba’s orders weren’t questioned, so the blue-skinned baby was taken back to the camp. Elena did not ask Ivar about the nature of the child until they left the child sleeping safely in Mariela’s arms. (She and Laila fed the baby and took care of him without question, even if the latter looked a bit afraid, making Elena proud of her people).“Do you know what he is, if not human? Is that perhaps the reason why he was abandoned?”Ivar nodded, “I believe the child is a mixed-race, half fairy.”He started unbuttoning his shirt and sat on the bed, looking completely nonchalant after a statement like that.“Fairy?”Did something like th
Last Updated : 2021-07-19Lady of House Alba Welcome to Alvor
Elena did not see Ivar the next day either, while she was getting acquainted with all the servants and learned about everything there was to know about the city of Aurora, the most important trading market between Eir and Vallas even in times before the Empire.A trip to the heart of the city, its schools, academy, and orphanage was the first thing on her list. Getting to meet the noble families that lived nearby came second.If the nobles around the capital or down in the south had their apprehensions about the Alba family and Ivar in particular, then it was a well-known fact that the nobles in Alvor just hated him.This duchy was built over the destruction of many old names that used to rule in the north of Vallas, and even some southern
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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.
