Puppets and Puppeteers

Chapter VIII - Hidden Feelings

My reunion with my sister was exhausting but illuminating. Firstly, Cerys was far from the little girl I knew, who hid her feelings and stayed away from everyone. Now, she was much more expressive and open about her thoughts. Away from the Conwenna residency, she was able to flourish. I was proud of her. However, something kept me from telling her those things.

"I can't believe I spoke to him like that, I felt my hands trembling and was worried he could feel it too! I thought I'd faint at any moment", Ewan told me as he finished changing clothes. He was nervous and thought he couldn't lead the conversation with Marquis Laukkanen. It had been a long time since he acted as a negotiator and the last years were a blow to his confidence.

"Why do you say that? I'm sure you were amazing".

"You were not there".

"I didn't have to. I just know".

He laughed and sat on the bed next to me.

"More important, how things went on your side?"

I didn't know how to answer that. I fulfilled the objective, and at the same time I didn't. After a long silence, he spoke up.

"Don't worry, they'll be here for some more weeks. Take your time".

"If I really do that, it'll take forever".

"I can't force you to express your feelings, you need to solve it by yourself".

"I know". I hugged him. "But it's still so difficult".

"I can imagine".

When we met earlier, I took Cerys for a walk on the property. I wanted to show her how things were going and what we prepared for them. Ewan and I agreed to act on both fronts to convince them and bring them to our side. Cerys and I were sisters, but we barely saw each other during our childhood. Because she lived in the main house, she was brought up as a proper lady. She was only allowed to learn things like etiquette, embroidery, piano, dance, singing, party planning and child rearing. Only the things that could make a better wife.

In Glæma, the noble ladies customarily have two debuts: the first at sixteen, as an educated lady ready to enter society; the second at twenty-one, as someone seeking marriage. In her first debut, Cerys was considered one of the most beautiful and educated debutantes, with many suitors and marriage proposals. She never made it to her second debut, as she fled at the age of eighteen to marry her lover.

Therefore, all I know about the present version of my sister is second-hand knowledge. According to the information we gathered, she oversees the economic affairs of the Laukkanen House, especially purchases and budget management, and is an active member of the council of families. That means a direct line with all the Northeastern families – Counts Falk and Järvinen, Viscounts Åström and Korhonen, and Barons Hellström and Koskinen. My older sister really grew up to be an awesome person.

The connection she has with the council of families is vital for our plan. Although most of them are low-level nobles, they are important partners and could bring a change to our fortune and relationship in the national and international scenery. Falk are hunters whose techniques are legendary and ancient, with deep knowledge of all the creatures of the winter's land; Järvinen are fisherman that monopolize the selling of magic fishes, that have healing and aphrodisiac qualities; Åström are responsible for the trade routes and the transportation of goods through the Kingdom rivers; Korhonen, a family where all the members are born deaf, but with the strange ability to emit a loud scream that can incapacitate or even kill; Koskinen produce carriages, and all ways of transportation, being the main producer in the kingdom; and lastly the Hellström, the producers of furniture made of petrified tree, and also the called cursed family capable of seeing spirits and talking to the dead.