"Good morning Evangeline! The sun outside is shining bright and it is indeed, such a beautiful day!... You are still breathing are you not?" Arogon nudged me playfully, then continued, " you haven't just died on me, for you appear not to be moving?... Do I need to tickle you?" my eyes shot open suddenly at that. I hated being tickled. I watched as he skipped merrily over to the large windows and drew the heavy curtains hanging above them.

I sat up groggily and squinted at the light that came streaming in through the windows, but looked away as my eyes readjusted to the brightness of the sun, when they settled on the luminescent patterns that had been created on the dark walls, of where light reflected off almost every surface in the room, and the pale shadows the snow created as it fell in soft, transcendant movements towards the already covered ground.

"How are you this morning, did you sleep well last night?" I looked over at my brother and sighed tiredly. The ball was this evening. Guests would be arriving late afternoon, if indeed they could make it through the snow, and I had a dress fitting midday, yet all I wanted to do was sleep. I sat up groggily. "Ughh. Out of all honestly, I feel awful. I slept terribly last night and had such a horrible dream. There was this wom-" I was interrupted mid sentence by a light knock on the door. Lily, my maid shortly followed, carrying a tray holding the contents of my breakfast.

" G'mornin miss Evangeline. I trust you slept well?" Lily asked, although, it was more of a statement than a question.

"No. Indeed I did not." I said absently, crossing my arms tightly around my chest. My brother glanced at me for a moment, but chose to ignore the comment.

"Your visitors are waiting for you in the breakfast room, sir. Would you like me to pass a message on or anything?"

"Ah. Umm, right. No thank you..." he looked confused and unsure of what to do, but looked at me before changing his mind, "Actually, if you could be so kind as to inform them that I will be with them shortly."

"Of course sir." Lily turned to leave, closing the door quietly behind her, but soon came rushing back in, apologizing for taking the tray back out with her. Nobody minded though, and both myself and Arogon told her not to worry about it.

As soon as she left again, I gave my brother a pointed glare. "Visitors?" he gave me a sheepish smile in response, "Yes. The ones that arrived late last night.".

My jaw dropped.

I sat there for about a minute trying coax my mind into conjuring a reasonable response. I could not think of anything to say. My mind was a maze and I did not know where to search for the exit, or even, where to begin.

I mumbled, stuttering slightly. "But... I... I thought That it was just a dream or something... I mean... I mean... That woman?"

"Our aunt-" My brother cut in, but I didn't let him finish what he was saying. My mouth had run away with me again before my mind had even managed to process the words themselves. "Our aunt?! We have an aunt!? Since when have we had other relations, for I cannot remember ever meeting them...or her?" my voice sounded angry for some unknown reason, more so than I intended, but I was struggling to process everything all at once. I was so confused and scared, and I had no idea what to do, or think even.

My brother looked at me dully and responded rather matter of factly. "Since... Always, but you wouldn't remember her, or them should I say. Last her husband and herself visited, you had recently been born, although they did not come to celebrate your birth, moreover, to grieve for the son they had lost. She was heartbroken and sought our mother for comfort. But that was not enough, she needed a real distraction... She was a time bomb waiting to explode I suppose, but she always swore she was fine. It was clear that she wasn't though. Everybody could see it. She was quiet and she isolated herself from everyone. Then, after a few weeks had passed by, she suddenly upped and left. No goodbyes. Nothing. They just left and never came back. They never even wrote us after that... Well, that is until now."

To say I was shocked would have been an understatement. I was disgusted and ashamed and... Even more confused. Why only now had they had the decency to come? What was it that they wanted? Surely there had to be some justifiable explanation for all this.

I was hungry for information and answers, but was too afraid to ask. Too afraid of what I might learn, or not. Was that all my brother knew... There had to be more to it than that.

He sighed and slowly shook his head. "I need to go, I am expected downstairs." he looked at me inquisitively and asked- "would you come downstairs in a while to meet them. I know they should probably like to see you, and possibly explain the to you the events of last night... Evangeline. Do not look at me like that."

"Look at you like what?! Like you're suffering from some disorders of the mind. What do you expect. Arogon, I don't remember much about last night, but I remember clearly the look on that man's face. And one thing it was not, was kind and inviting..." I was starting to get annoyed, and unfortunately for me, my brother was too. If there was one thing I had learnt over the last few years, it was to never get on Arogon's bad side. His temper was much like our father's, not to mention he was also a captain in the kings army, but there were times when he would get annoyed and say things. Things that were hurtful, and things that would put you down. And even though those words were said out of spite and not a bit of it was meant, I began to realize that truth springs from the bitterest of words. And that was what hurt the most. My thoughts were cut off from the sound of my brother. "Evangeline! You are being completely irrational about this! You barely even met the man, anyway, you just said yourself you don't remember much! We have not seen these people for years, and now they have put in the effort to come and see us yet you will not do the same!"

"No! I shall not and I most certainly will not! I do not wish to meet them! I do not care whom they may be-"

Arogon cut in before I could say any more, his voice somewhat calmer than before. "Evangeline. They are our family. No matter what you think of them. No matter what they may do. You cannot change that."

"Our family!? You just said yourself that they have not taken any interest toward us for over fourteen years! So why should that just suddenly change now! Why should I take any interest in them when they have not shown any interest in us! So what. They show up at our doorstep and expected us to drop everything because we have neither seen, nor heard of them for years on end... In what world would I comply to that? Why should I?" I looked at him in annoyance, searching his face for an answer that may quench the hunger for knowledge that grew in the pit of my stomach.

"Because I have asked it of you." And at that moment, he turned on his heel and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

I could scarcely breathe. The corset which had been fastened and secured around my bodice pulled at my sides, molding me into the perfect hourglass figure. It hurt, yet Lily was still stood behind me trying to tighten it further.

Layers of ivory coloured silk framed my body. A short, stout woman stood to the left of me, sticking pins into the fabric which was secured tightly around my outstretched arms.

The dress was fitted around the waist, but the skirt hung loosely around my hips and had a short train at the back. Dark roses were embroidered in large patches around the skirt, while green-lace swirls entwined within them, imitating their thick stems. The sleeves were long and had a lot of fabric to them, they would have looked strange and bare should it not have been for the lace which was wrapped around them, and the tiny flowers budding from the sides to add extra effect and colour.

My hair was left hanging down to my waist in thick, dark curls, two sections from the sides had been pulled back and fixed into a loose braid which was decorated with small pearls and dark, delicate looking flowers.

I looked like a forest elf, but my brother and our servants all insisted I looked like a beautiful young woman.

I walked down the stairs to greet our guests, but was met by the two whom arrived last night. I was still ignorant of their names as I had not come down to visit them earlier.

Most of the guests had arrived earlier in the day, which I had missed for my final dress fitting. Not that it mattered anyhow, for it was always my brother who greeted the guests, I was normally positioned somewhere nearby to listen and look inviting. Much like the job of a servant really.

As I reached the final step, my hand was seized by the tall gentleman, who bowed and pressed it lightly to his lips. "Miss Evangeline. I am Celeborn, count of Meliano, and this..." he gestured to the woman positioned at his side "...is my lovely wife, Mirrabelle, whom also just happens to be your aunt." he looked at me. Those eyes that had earlier, seemed so cold were now replaced with a look of hope, but it seemed so fake. A sickeningly sweet smile crossed his lips. A feeling of pure rage began to well in my stomach, but I knew that I could not be rude. I needed to show at least some respect, so I smiled sweetly in return as he took my arm to lead me into the ballroom.

"And that's when she put her book down. And looked at me. And said it: 'life isn't fair, Bill. We tell our children that it is, but it's a terrible thing to do. It's not only a lie, it's a cruel lie. Life is not fair, and it never has been, and it's never going to be.'" -The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

A.N So sorry this chapter's a little later than expected. I've been drowning in GCSE coursework, but on a brighter note. School is closed. Because of the snow. Honestly... It's spring peoples! This weather should have been and gone. Although, on saying that, the weather has been an absolute joke since last summer. Anyhow, less school= faster uploads. Hopefully :) I really have to say though, this chapter isn't exactly the best I've ever wrote...I kept tweaking it, but whenever I did, it just looked worse, so I've decided to leave it and let you guys decide. Oh, and sorry if it's going a little bit slow, I promise there will be more action in the next chapter!

p.s. The dress Evangeline is described in, in this chapter is actually the cover photo for this story (just in case the description was a little off or something)