Elestra and Alaraec had a long bout in the gym. Alaraec insisted on looking dejected about not being present to hear what Flauvic wanted. Elestra ignored him.

They had been fencing for about two hours when they heard voices outside of the gym. Instinctively, both lowered their foils and tried to listen to who was out there.

A woman's voice was protesting loudly about something. From what Elestra and Alaraec could hear, she was being sent to her rooms to rest.

A familiar male voice tried to calm her down and explain that she needed to take a break for her health. Elestra and Alaraec bit back a laugh as they realized who was out there.

The woman sighed loudly out of exasperation and said, "Well all right, but you and I are going to have a talk about this later."

The gym doors opened and their father, the king, walked in. His eyes were laughing, but tired.

Elestra said, "Father, maybe you should take your own advice and take a break. You look very tired. But before I send you to your room, tell us what happened when we left."

Her father smiled a little and asked, "Hey, who's king around here? Don't tell me you're trying to overthrow me…"

As they were talking, they made their way to the benches off to the side, where the audience sat for a duel, or performance, or something of the sort.

Once they were sitting, he sobered up and told them what had passed in the meeting with Flauvic.

"Well, firstly, he introduced us to—"

Just then, the doors to the gym swung open again. In walked Flauvic. But this time, he came with only the other male member of his party.

Elestra paled a little, but pulled on the court mask so that nobody could see exactly why. She had a bad feeling about the other man, but couldn't place her finger on it. She frowned inwardly as she tried to figure it out.

Meanwhile, they had been spotted and were being quickly approached. Elestra stole a glimpse of Alaraec and her father's faces. Both were covered by the court mask.

Elestra became nervous. She wasn't sure why. She was aware that her father and brother were standing up to greet the newcomers. She stood up, too, not wanting to let anything show. Alaraec and her father gave small bows while she nodded her head, not curtsying because doing so in her tunic and pants would look ridiculous.

Flauvic and his friend bowed as well. Taking her by surprise, Flauvic spoke directly to Elestra saying, "I don't believe that you've been properly introduced to my companions. This is Lord Galen who walked in with his twin sister Lady Brenna. The woman I walked in with is their cousin Lady Jenna."

When his name was mentioned, Lord Galen gave a nod to her and then Alaraec. His aqua eyes were friendly and encouraged conversation, but Elestra couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong about him.

Elestra's father said, "We have invited Flauvic and his friends to stay at the castle until the Merindar estate is cleaned up and ready to live in." Elestra looked at her father, who was able to read her like a book, even with the court mask. She, in turn, could read him like a book and could tell that he was laughing at her incredulity.

She spoke to Flauvic and Lord Galen saying, "I hope that you and the Ladies will accompany me for a ride, then, at least once during your stay."

Flauvic looked as though he was about to say something, but Lord Galen cut in, "We'd love to. I'll tell the girls later." He smiled a handsome smile at her. Elestra smiled back, but hers was forced. She hoped it didn't show.

What did I get myself into? She groaned to herself. Alaraec was her hero right then. "I think Elestra and I should get back to our rooms to freshen up. We've been fencing for a long time and we're rather smelly." Elestra, knowing Alaraec, knew that his way of trying to lighten her mood was by trying to bait her into getting mad. She smiled weakly at him, hoping he could see her thanks at his brotherly stupidity.

She would get him back….

When they left the gym, Alaraec was grinning evilly. Elestra was suspicious of him. She knew he was planning on either doing or saying something irritating.

They reached the door to her room. Alaraec couldn't resist. Grinning, he said, "El, you don't suppose that the Merindar estate can be fixed up in a week, do you?"

She was confused. "Why a week?" Alaraec grinned even wider.

"Well, your Name Day party is next week, remember? As long as he's a guest, he must be invited, mustn't he?"

Elestra glared at him. Sometimes, she could hate Alaraec with a passion…