Karnstein was not, in anyone's opinion, that particularly beautiful. It was, however, quite intimidating. With sprawling grounds, a multitude of towers and fortresses, hardy walls and well-worn roads, the land was clearly a land of wealth and power if it wasn't one of beauty. The castle was quite large, especially for the rank of people who lived within. It was surrounded by a large wall with imposing gates at the front which would open to reveal the castle's majestic front. It certainly was an admirable building, what with all those towers and halls and arches. It also served a great deal of purposes, the most important being the home of the Karnstein family. The Karnsteins were not on the highest rung of the noble class by any stretch of the imagination, but they were a mighty and noble family nonetheless and their large castle was a testimony to that fact. It was a good thing the castle was large as well because, along with housing a count and countess, the many gray walls also contained seven heirs. All of them were female. To the count of Karnstein, Ferenc, this was more than a slight disappointment.

Ferenc had always been incredibly fierce, a true warrior at heart, and to have as many children as he had, all female, was almost an insult. He would've thought himself so masculine that every last child of his should have been a son, but no, they were all daughters. But perhaps he was already so tough and strong and masculine that it left nothing for his children, hence why all of them had been women? This was what the arrogant and aggressive count told himself in order to placate his ego and disappointment.

But even so, Ferenc was still not pleased when he realized that his 12th child was also a daughter (although only seven children were ever alive at once, Ferenc had sired a total of 12 children in all). That 12th little girl became his last because he swore off ever trying for children ever again. Given the luck he'd already had, any further offspring would probably all be daughters and he already had seven. He didn't need more.

"Surely the fates are mocking me!" he muttered angrily when the midwife came to him, telling him that this child was a girl as well. "If that is the game they wish to play, then I swear I will never have another child! Seven will have to do…"

The countess of Karnstein, Jusztina, received the 12th child a little bit better than her hotheaded husband.

"Perhaps it is a disappointment that she was not born a son, but I suppose that since there is nothing we can do to change it, we must be happy with what we have," she said as the newborn suckled her.

"What will you name her?" the midwife asked. Jusztina thought quietly for a moment before deciding upon a simple name.

"Mircalla. Mircalla Karnstein. The 12th and final child of our line."

Meanwhile, the other six daughters were all a-buzz in one of the other rooms of the castle.

"When do you think Mama will let us see her?" one asked. Her name was Magdalena and she was the second youngest now that Mircalla was here.

"Probably not for awhile," a second replied. Her name was Margareta and she was the middle child.

"But I want to see her now!" a third demanded. Her name was Maria, she was the third eldest and the most aggressive.

"Me too! Me too!" the fourth agreed with the third. Her name was Maximiliana and she was the fifth eldest, only a year older than Magdalena.

"Be quiet, Maria!" a fifth chided. Her name was Matilda and she was the second eldest.

"You be quiet!" Maria shot back.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Margreta warned, eyes darting back and forth between her two older sisters.

Only one sister did not speak. It was Marcia, eldest of the Karnsteins. She was already quite mature for her age and to be the eldest in the room meant that there wasn't much someone like her had, or wanted, to say. Instead, she sat quietly by the window, staring languidly out at the other girls in the room. She would only intervene if fists flew. If not, however, she was more than content to watch passively in silence. In truth, however, behind a calm visage, she was just as eager and anxious to meet her new sister.

As for the other five daughters, each had succumbed to various ailments over the years. The first to fall was Mary, dying in the womb. She would have been second eldest had she survived. After her, Martha died. The girl was only three when a particularly nasty disease took her away. She was just a year younger than Matilda. Next was a set of twins, Mildred and Miriam. Mildred died before she'd even reached one year of age but Miriam managed to make it all the way up to six years before passing away. Then, the last Karnstein child to die was Margherita. Her death was very similar to Mary's. She did not die in the womb, but she died during the birthing process, having been born too early. The strain of her first few minutes ended up proving to be too much to bear and she died while she was still half inside the womb.

So of 12, seven girls survived with Mircalla being the seventh. The other six Karnstein daughters were anxious to meet their youngest and last kin, but they had not yet been granted permission. Unlike their harsh father, they found the wait to be most unbearable. The mother, however, felt no rush and did not intend to bring her other six daughters in until the seventh had gotten the chance to acclimate to life outside of the womb.

"Don't worry, Mircalla," Jusztina cooed to her infant. "You will meet the others soon enough, but you are a Karnstein either way."

So, in some strange sense, the Karnstein family was complete. Ferenc, Jusztina, and their seven children: Marcia, Matilda, Maria, Margreta, Maximiliana, Magdalena, and Mircalla. The castle was a very noisy place after that, each of the girls bringing their own type of liveliness to the table. For the most part, they were well-behaved and well-liked in the opinion of everyone else in the castle, except Ferenc of course. True, the girls each had a mean streak and could be incredibly spoiled, but they not bad compared to most nobles. At least not yet.