In Belcourt, they rear weapons no man can contend with: women.
Sasha was never meant to be in the Court of Flowers, one of the most sought-after courts in Belcourt, but when she is suddenly placed there without warning, she discovers a world far fro...
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West was aware that Belcourt hid many secrets.
He never thought that it hid something as humongous as this.
Tanner was the last person he would believe when it came to certain facts about Belcourt, but did his friend not once say that Belcourt had two gates?
Rider and West never believed the man, but as West had just passed the first gate and had now been traveling a road, nearly a mile long, he could see the second one in the distance.
Hating for Sasha to see the surprise in his eyes, he nonchalantly looked out of the window. Beside him was a vast plantation of winter wheat. He turned and saw the same plantation on the other side of the carriage.
Sasha was quiet as they approached the second gate and when the carriage drew to a stop and four green-cloaked women approached, she spoke, "Your carriage driver will have to be escorted to a designated place. We shall be taking another carriage upon entry."
"Lady Sasha, welcome back to Belcourt," a woman's voice greeted Sasha when the carriage door opened.
West barely had time to react, more so ask his question as to why they would need another carriage into Belcourt.
One green-cloaked woman took the reins from the driver. Giving his driver a reassuring nod, West followed Sasha inside another carriage driven by another woman wearing the same cloak.
He stared at Sasha as the carriage pulled away from the gates, his own carriage taking the opposite direction. Driving on, his question was soon answered as they passed by a large manor.
His eyes followed the view outside the window. They had just driven past the driveway into the manor when he expected them to stop.
Sasha's voice filled the small carriage. "We call it The Manor, formally known as the Common Court." He turned to look at her. She recognized the inquisitive look on his face. "The orphanage," she answered his unspoken question with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I have given you warning. Belcourt is not what you think it is."
As they were just passing by the side of the manor, West caught a glimpse of a few young girls playing in a pile of snow, their laughter ringing in the cold winter air. A few of the girls were carrying little ones in their arms as they talked and laughed.
"It is where we all have to spend most of our days until we reach our eighteenth birthday." His gaze returned to hers. She was looking out the window at the now disappearing manor, a reminiscing look in her eyes. "It is where all Belcourt girls are taught on subjects such as arithmetic, science, housekeeping, economics, physics—even astronomy. Geography was my favorite before I stumbled upon the science of the mind."
West hesitated to ask for he would have wanted her to believe he cared not about a woman's life in Belcourt, but the curiosity had already taken over him. "And once you turn eighteen?"
