The sun shone bright, but one could never have guessed it from the inside of Lady Kremijs' drawing room. Emerald green drapes had been pulled shut, letting barely any light through. Therefore countless candles were assorted around the room, making it just bright enough for a salon.

The first time I had come to the gathering, I had been fazed and very much confused. Why spurge on unnecessary candles, when the sunlight was good enough? Franciesse had barely a cloudy day, so all the artificial lighting was clearly a waste.

Lady Kremijs' lighting arrangements were an impressive feat, a statement so cleverly done. Whoever doubted her power would see that the Vrya'a was allowed anything.

Some had already arrived for Lady Kremijs' famous gathering. I recognised all of the faces, for they were the most important matrons. However, I was surprised to see Lady Heerundly sitting in their midst.

Although quite high up in social standing, Lady Heerundly lacked the physique required. Contrary to all ladies attending, her face had never been remotely beautiful. Therefore, she must have had something other of greater value for the Vrya'a.

"Good day, Lady Bettreas, I hope you are well," I greeted Lady Kremijs' right hand, who stood by the fireplace nestled between two windows, an influential circle around her. A servant was quickly to appear by my side with a tray already missing half its glasses. I took one with the most imperceptible kind nod to the man. As all serving Lady Kremijs, he was quite handsome and around his mid-twenties. It was another ploy to demonstrate her power.

"Miss Sephir," she acknowledged me with polite delight. "I am well, thank you. Yourself?"

"Better," I said, knowingly keeping my answer vague. It surely didn't make me more trustworthy in their eyes, and they weren't the most trusting. I proceeded to exchange pleasantries with all the Ladies in the group, but as soon as the formalities were out of the way, Lady Jossean, a small fox-like woman, asked Lady Bettreas with a lowered voice. "Do you know why Lady Kremijs invited her?"

Needless to say who she meant. I assessed the new addition quietly while sipping from a glass of champagne. Her rise to the highest class was somewhat vague, no one seemed to really know when and how it happened, not even Lady Bettreas, who was otherwise a wealth of information. Their whispered conversation only reproduced information I already knew.

The woman in question had been born into a lower Dreo'y in an unimportant region in Tharnercy. Her political power had been limited by that, but she seemed to have climbed up the ladder successfully.

Just as I was thinking of how to approach her – she didn't seem to like me that much at the last event –, Lady Kremijs finally made her fashionably late entrance.

One couldn't deny that she possessed a lush presence, her whole appearance viciously enticing. Clad in a red velvet gown, which emphasised her every curve, she walked in with a territorial confidence. It was her kingdom and she knew it. As if to prove it, every one present turned their attentions to her as soon as she stepped into the room.

"Welcome, Ladies," her voice came out in a husky purr. "Today I have a delicious treat for you, but let me first introduce you a Lady you're all surely familiar with – Lady Heerundly."

She mentioned to her woman in question, a warm smile playing on her lips. But her eyes were cold. Oh, now I was certain something was going on.

We all greeted her, some animatedly hiding their apprehension, others blatantly sceptical. Either way, I could tell everyone had their suspicions.

"Now," Lady Kremijs again commanded all attention to herself, "while we enjoy our usual refreshments, I thought to add a bit of entertainment. Please follow me."

As soon as she turned her back and headed for the door, whispers ensued.

"I wonder who will it be this time…"

"We haven't had one in a while…"

"…maybe because of Lady Heerundly…"

"Would she dare?"

"She has never not dared."

I was unsure of the particulars of what is about to go on, but I knew for a fact that this was a common event. Although I had yet to experience this most coveted treat, some details had been whispered around and to me since I barged into the capital three months ago. It was another of Lady Kremijs' ploys to assert her power and it apparently involved gory action. What it actually entailed, the gossipers didn't disclose, leaving enough just to feed the imagination. The mystery around the treat only added to it and I found my skin buzzing from excitement and dread. I had to be alert.

We followed her through the candle-lit halls, a journey that seem interminable as we were lead down a couple of levels into the basement. We turned a corner and at the end of the corridor, there was a massive wooden door guarded by two men. For a change, both were burly and not handsome – so different from Lady Kremijs' other servants. They sprang into action and opened the door, a creak reverberating into the silent corridor, sending shivers down my spine. From what I could see between the heads of the Ladies in front of me, the room was mostly dark and there were about three wooden poles lined up on the right hand of it.

We filtered into it. There were rows of chairs on the left side of it, about six rows with six seats each. Lady Jossean took my elbow and led me to the second row, right behind Lady Kremijs and Lady Bettreas, sparing me the trouble of having to look for a seat. I wasn't sure if that meant I had been accepted into the group, or if there was another reason to keep me close during what this was.

I noticed that Lady Heerundly was sat right behind us and that there were a few seats left empty. Before I could wonder why, a group of Dreo'ys make an entrance, Lady Kremijs' son and, surprisingly, Lord Swangard in-between them. Lord Imharve wasn't one of the invited. They took the empty seats, which had been carefully left unmanned. The Vrya'a's son dutifully sat next to his mother, as then only one seat was left – the one next to Lady Heerundly –, which Lord Swangard promptly occupied.

The subtle choreography of the seating arrangements impressed into my mind and I would remember to try to analyse it later, for at that moment another group entered the room. At the front was a guard, followed by three naked men, shackled to another. They were led in front of the poles and the guard at their rear, unshackled them to tie them again against the poles.

A small gasp escaped Lady Heerundly and I took note of the prisoners. They might be then stripped of their garments, but their skin spoke of idleness. Their features weren't young, the youngest most be in his mid-forties, but they had rarely been touched by the sun, speaking of life spent indoors. Now, what was their relation to Lady Heerundly?

Looking at Lord Swangard, I noticed his discomfort. He, too, recognised the men before him. His expression closed off, then, and I was left to my suspicions.

Lady Kremijs stood up, commanding all eyes to be trained on her. "Welcome to all." Her smile was deliciously sweet, her continence too perverse to ever affect innocence. "Here before us are criminals of the worse sort. They tried to insinuate themselves into our courts, pretending to be who they are not. Now, we do know what to do with Dreo'ys too foolish to try to take what is not theirs." She looked to the guards. "Proceed."

Every lady was at the edge of the seat, as both guards surrounded one of the prisoners. One went behind him, grasping at his hip, steading it. Then, I saw the scalpel-like object in the other guard's hands. I suppressed a shiver and affected a curious but reticent mask. Inside, however, my heart throbbed, syncopating at high speed, as the guard drew down the sharp object on the Dreo'ys manhood. His cry filled the chamber; Lady Kremijs sported a smile and the other two prisoners blanched, sweat dripping down their faces. Lord Kremijs sank in his seat, arms crossed to hide the tension of his body. I couldn't help but glance at Lord Swangard and, surprisingly, his features disclosed little. The only motion I could capture was the stress around his eyes and mouth, a sign that he was hiding his true reaction.

If I was to play my role well, I probably would have react as an innocent would, that is, to be sick. It wasn't that hard to pretend, as the smell of blood rose the bile to my mouth. I could feel the skin on my face turn green and forced myself to look at my lap, tensing my body into a form of discomfort. I stayed this way for the rest of the "event", occasionally lifting a helpless glance around.

When it was over, the unconscious men were dragged out by more guards, and Lady Kremijs let out a delighted cheer. "Wasn't that quite a treat?" She smiled, her eyes surveying the crowd and landing on me. "Don't you think, Lady Heerundly?"

As everyone else, I turned to the form behind me and it was really a form. Whatever trace of woman had left her and she was a bundle of anger and fear, but mostly she was shocked.

Her thin lips moved, her mouth opening and closing, still nothing came out. And then I understood the ploy. This was the ultimate assertion of power. Those men had been important to Lady Heerundly, whether in her court or personally. Knowing Lady Kremijs, she would try to destroy those essential to Lady Heerundly's place in society.

My mouth went dry and once again I wondered about the reasonableness of my mission. The webs surrounding the capital and the Vrya'a at its centre were tightly knit. To unravel a thread without breaking the other was an impossible task, but one I was chosen to do.

I was a young lady experiencing her first display of violence, so I round my eyes even bigger and stare at a shaken Lady Heerundly. Her attempts to speak up go on for a while, until her eyes rolled back to her head and she fainted into the lap of her lady sitting next to her. I watched incredulously, as that lady, Lady Mardoth shoved Lady Heerundly off herself, into the stone ground. Her face was scrunched up in distaste and I glanced up inquiringly to the other ladies around to find the same disgusted sentiment in their eyes.

At that point, I had already suppressed a myriad of emotions and I could feel my grasp on them dwindling. With one last helpless and excusing look, I got up and left the room. I had barely reached a corner to the side of it, when I cast up all my accounts, my body shaking from the exertion. I had not realised I had been followed, but hands held my locks up until I had nothing left in my stomach.

As I looked up to thank my helper, I realised there were two ladies: Lady Bettreas and Lady Jossean. Her faces were kind and understanding. Lady Jossean even said: "It's alright, dear. The first time is hard to stomach."

Lady Bettreas lent me her handkerchief. "The shock I had the first time…! You will get used to it."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to get used to it. But I smiled sheepishly and thanked both for their concern and support. "Do you think Lady Heerundly will be alright?" I asked in a small voice, still shaken.

Both ladies supported patronising looks, but it was Lady Jossean that spoke. "Lady Heerundly will get what she deserves. Now, it's time to go back."

I let everything roll down my back and acquiescing with a nod, I followed both ladies not back to that room, but up the corridor to the drawing room.