The next few weeks Lysandra spent every waking hour of her free time up in the attic to find anything that had to do with the North. But besides some old clothes, that looked absolutely ridiculous, there hadn't been anything else. The talk between her and her mother that she had dreaded was an emotional conversation filled with tears.
Mother had first pulled her into a tight hug upon hearing the news of her daughters engagement, it was clear that she had been crying. Seeing her mother like that only made Lysandra cry too. Despite the entire engagement, her mother had tried to stay positive. "What if the rumours are false? He can't be that evil. He and his troops protect the borders, that has to mean something." Her smile was forced, Lysandra could see the tremble in her bottom lip.
It had been a waterfall of emotions. The crying had given her a headache, likely caused by dehydration. The next morning when Lysandra woke up the headache persisted.
Cancelling the engagement was out of the question. Having read the letter from the Emperor himself, it wasn't a request, it was an order. Meaning that if Lysandra would defy the order not only would it mean that she herself would be sent to death. It would also include her mother, her father and her sister if she were to return from the fronts alive. The whole Atar family would end with them.
The Emperor was not known for his kindness. Things in the Empire didn't add up, the stories her grandfather told about foreign lands did not match the descriptions of those found in the public library. It only made the Empire more and more suspicious in Lysandra's eyes. It was why Ambra had requested to go to the fronts she wanted to see for herself whether the stories were true.
Two weeks had passed in the blink of an eye. Lysandra was set to leave for the North tomorrow morning. She stood in her room looking at the empty trunk in front of her. "What about this dress, Milady? Maybe the Duke of the North would appreciate this style?" Daisy held up a wine red strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline.
Her father had gotten her this dress for her birthday last year—That felt like a lifetime ago. Lysandra had hoped to find true love in her lifetime. Even with her background, as someone of mixed birth, she knew it would be hard. She wasn't even looking for a duke. Maybe a lord who would have fallen for her and lived out a simple life together.
"Yes Daisy, who knows maybe he will. Please pack it." Lysandra tried to smile but her smile didn't reach her eyes. Well—then at least if he'd murder her in this dress it would fit with the aesthetic. A soft grin graced her lips.The morbid humor of it all wasn't lost on her.
"Milady? What about your books? Would you like to bring all of them?" Daisy asked as Lysandra turned to her bookcase. . Right—her books need to be packed too. Reading fantasy books was perhaps her one true escape. The books published in the capital always contained love stories set in the Empire. Secretly though, she had obtained a few books about other subjects. To be fair Ambra had acquired them for her. Her sister never did tell her how she acquired them or how much the books had cost.
"I can't bring all of them. I was instructed only to bring a maximum of three trunks." Lysandra replied, annoyed with that fact. The duke himself had written to her father, not even to her. The letter was short and felt cold. Her father let her read it too.
"Dear Marquis Atar,
One of your daughters is to be engaged to me, as per his Majesty's command.
Only bring a maximum of three trunks of luggage for the journey, knights will be waiting at Mary's inn on the tenth night.
Duke Sepreth"
That was it. There were two whole lines, no thank you, no safe journey.
It's a miracle the man knew how to write as gracefully as he did. For a man deemed to be a barbaric demon he at least had nice handwriting.
"I will choose a total of twenty books and we will fill the rest of the trunk with jewellery, shoes and my other possessions. Have the new dresses arrived?" Lysandra questioned as Daisy nodded.
"Yes Milady, the new dresses have arrived this morning. They were especially tailored for cold weather." Daisy spoke with a bright smile on her face. "They are very beautiful Milady, my own dresses have also arrived. I'm sure that with the new clothes you will catch the duke's eye." Daisy had been trying to cheer Lysandra up for the past two weeks. The other maids had also tried to help out but only Daisy would be joining her on her move to the North.
It had always been expected that Daisy would join Lysandra to the estate of the man that she was set to marry. Nobody, however, could have predicted that it would be to the demon that ruled the North. It also meant that two of the three trunks would be filled with her belongings when Daisy would only have the smaller trunk. Lysandra felt bad about it.
Would the North still have that town her grandfather wrote about? Would she be able to buy clothes there? Would her own new clothes be warm enough? Her mind was filled with doubts.
"How's the packing?" Lysandra's mother had gently knocked on the door and entered the room without making much of a fuss.
"I see you're taking some of your most beautiful dresses with you." She remarked kindly, her voice was shaking slightly as she looked at all of Lysandra's belongings that were curated for the journey.
"Are you sure you will be warm enough? I surely still have an extra fur coat somewhere."
Lysandra turned around seeing her mother step into her room. Her mother was considered of low birth because she wasn't born a noble. Yet she seemed to have been made for the life of one. She was always dressing up in lavish dresses. She truly enjoyed that part of being a noble.
"It's going well mother, I have packed the most important things that are able to fit in the trunks. I don't think the fur coat will be needed. It can't be that cold." She said looking down at the one trunk of dresses. It only contained six outfits, three of her new dresses were made for winter climate. The tailors had been confused at first when the request for winter clothes was made.
Nobody knew how to dress for a winter climate, let alone make clothes for it. Since the capital only had one climate which was pleasantly warm all year round.
The news of Lysandra's engagement had made the rounds in high society during the past two weeks. Whenever she had gone into town, people would whisper and look at her, making crude comments about how she was now cursed. Bumping into Blanche and her spawns at the tailors might have been the worst of all, they informed her they were picking out funeral dresses for when her corpse would return from the North.
"Do you think I need anything else besides my dresses, books and jewellery?" She asked her mother. Her mother seemed to ponder for a moment but then reached over to Lysandra's dresser and grabbed the butterfly hair clip.
"A good luck charm." She said with confidence. "The man would be a fool not to fall in love with you." The woman cupped her daughter's cheeks and gently put their foreheads together. "You're smart, strong and beautiful. Whatever will be, will be. I know you'll figure it out." Her mother didn't seem to be disillusioned by the prospects which her daughter was facing. "Keep your head high and speak your mind, even if the duke doesn't want to hear it." With a gentle smile the mother pulled back. "And know that this will always be your home to return to if you need it."
Holding the hair clip in her hand a soft smile appeared on Lysandra's face remembering grandfather's diaries the last couple of days she had skimmed through every single one of them. Hoping to find any bits of information about the North she may have missed. However, she found nothing. The other places Grandfather described intrigued her, was the world outside the Empire really that different from what she had known so far?
"Thank you mother." Lysandra held the hair clip and hugged her mother tightly.
By the end of the evening her trunks had been packed including all of her grandfather's diaries that contained information about the North. The carriage had been loaded. Tomorrow morning she would leave at sunrise to start her journey to the North. Or at least to the inn that was at the edge of the forest.
Dinner felt strange knowing very well it might be her last family dinner—ever—