'Tell Shanna that she can't tag along to meet Klein's family!' Thea rolls her clothes into tight cylindrical bundles to squeeze into a knapsack.

'What's all this about?' The oldest of the three sisters, Juno, enters the room holding a baby girl. The baby has Captain Zealot's black hair but Juno's violet eyes.

'Ever since Thea started writing letters to General Klein, she's become such a snob!' Shanna shakes the metal frame of the bunk bed, 'I can't believe you were secretly packing so you could disappear without me!'

'It'd only be for a few days,' Thea mutters while thinking: I'll just need a fur layer to leave the Ilian snow any then Etruria will be warmer, 'instead of being such a baby yourself, why don't you help Juno look after her daughter instead of expecting me to play with you all the time?'

'You always talk like I'm a bother!' Shanna's boyish pixie cut is a ruffled nest as she screams, 'fine! You can go off an marry General Klein! Forget all about your mercenary squad in Ilia, about Juno and me! I hate you!'

'Girls, please!' Juno spoon feeds her baby daughter before trying to pat Shanna's head, like she used to after their parents had died during a joint mission, 'Thea, you know how hurtful it is for you to suddenly disappear on us like that. I know it's natural to get carried away with romance, but you can't forget about family.'

'Sister!' Thea clenches her worn-out blanket in a fist.

'See, Thea?! Even Juno thinks you're being a meanie!' Shanna sticks out her tongue while hugging Juno.

'And, Shanna!' Juno raises her voice over Shanna's jeering, 'you need to understand Thea's feelings too. This meeting is very important to her. You can't beg to follow along. That's up to Thea.'

'You mean it's fair for Thea to be ashamed of our family?!' Shanna leaps down from the top bunk with a loud thud, 'you're both horrible!' She storms out of the small cottage. A few moments later, Juno and Thea hear Shanna's Pegasus braying, beating its wing to soar into the sky.

'Shanna! Get back here!' An icy gust blasts into the room when Thea pushes open the window, but Shanna has already disappeared. Juno's baby starts crying.

'Thea, close the window, please,' Juno swaddles the baby in more clothes, 'shh, it's alright… This will keep you warm.'

'Sorry, sister.' Thea shuts the window, then stares out at the storm outside, 'I… I'm not ashamed of my family at all, by the way.'

'I know, Thea. You're just anxious about making a good impression on General Klein's family,' Juno sits beside Thea's packed belongings on the bed, 'but General Klein got to know you when you were a contracted mercenary working under his command. There's no need to feign nobility or class. He loves you as you are.'

'I know – still, I'd rather go alone, or if you accompanied me instead of Shanna,' Thea rearranges the items to fit more snugly, 'otherwise, she'll get overexcited in front of Klein's family and make it obvious that we're strangers to aristocratic life. Klein's younger sister Clarine will say that I'm too low-class to marry into the family. It'll be a disaster!'

'I want to go visit my potential in-laws, but I can't be flying so far in the cold with a baby,' Juno fixes Thea's fringe before patting it into place, 'besides, you'll need to make peace with General Klein's sister if you plan on marrying him.'

'Maybe I'm really not good enough for Klein,' Thea pushes her palms against her hairline, exposing three acne spots along the forehead, 'a handsome skilled sniper like him can pick any girl he wants…'

'Chin up, Thea. You'll never win Lord Pent Reglay and Lady Louise with a negative attitude,' Juno pulls the drawstrings of her sister's knapsack closed, 'why don't you bring Shanna to keep Clarine distracted? They're about the same age and both joined General Roy's army in its infancy.'

'That's a crazy idea!' Thea plunges under a blanket, curling into a ball, 'please… Tell me this is just a bad dream.'

'What a beautiful garden!' Shanna dances in her white dress among the alternating rows of yellow and pink roses. The brackish smell of a coastal breeze combines with the Reglay estate's floral scent. A perfume named Reglay's Fragrance would sell out immediately!

'Can you stop causing such a fuss?' Thea grumbles while treading the grounds. The pearl earrings, her only jewellery, are weighted armour plates on her earlobes. The perfectly pruned plants are soldiers, arranged in a precise geometric pattern to watch her, the intruder.

'Oh yeah, you're trying to play it cool in front of General Klein,' Shanna walks with her hands behind her head, 'I'm just here to enjoy myself.'

'Shanna, that's no way for a lady to walk,' Thea hisses just as a butler approaches, 'put your arms down.'

'So you're such an expert at noble etiquette because you're seeing General Klein,' Shanna waves her arms in the air like she is pretending to be a ghost, 'well, make me!'

'Um…' The butler wears an immaculate grey vest and has his hair slicked back, 'are you two Master Klein's lady guests?'

'Yes.' My hair is a mess and dress so drab, Thea thinks, even compared to this butler. How will I face Klein's family?! She regurgitates the introduction she had rehearsed a hundred times over in front of the mirror last night, 'I am Thea, a captain of the Ilian Pegasus knights. This is my younger sister Shanna.'

'Hey!' Shanna grins with a wave from behind Thea, 'nice to meet you!'

'Ahem!' Thea blocks the butler's view of Shanna and straighten up unnaturally. Her ears feel ready to tear under the earrings' weight.

'Just this way ladies,' the butler motions for us to enter through a huge gate. Klein himself comes in a velvet coat and silk gloves.

'Thank you for coming all the way from Ilia,' Klein takes Thea's hand and kisses it. The broach on his cravat blinds her under the midday sun, 'you're both in time for tea. My sister and parents are looking forward to seeing you.'

The tea table is in an outdoor garden at the back of the estate. Patches of purple and white flowers punctuate the fruit orchids. Gardeners on step ladders pluck fresh apples and peaches like huge baubles on a festive tree. The entire population of Ilia could fit here!

'We have some jam from when Erk was over yesterday.' Lady Louise takes out a tray of jam and scones. Even though she is Klein and Clarine's mother, she only looks about Juno's age. Now, Thea knows where Klein's and Clarine's wavy blonde hair and porcelain skin come from.

'Thank you, Lady Louise,' Thea tries to mimic Clarine's upright posture but keeps slipping in the cushioned chair. The frills of Clarine's dress sleeves emphasise the smooth curve of her arms that are folded with contempt.

'Clarine, please say "hello" to Thea and Shanna,' Klein glares at his sister who finger combs the ends of her silky ponytail, 'our comrades from the Lycian army came all the way from Ilia to see us.'

'Hmph!' Clarine squeals as a butler fills her gilded teacup with earl grey, 'my brother living in the snow?! You'd have to cover up your dashing self in bulky coats like a marshmallow. Or Thea marrying you when she doesn't even know to tie her hair at the table?'

'But my hair is so short,' Thea suddenly becomes aware of the puffed sections in her bob. She had always found it infantile, but Juno still insisted on cutting it. Short hair was cute, Juno insisted. Why does sister always try to treat me like a baby?

'Still, a proper lady at least clips her hair away from her face,' Clarine remarks, sipping her teacup with one pinky, 'otherwise, it looks unkempt and messy!'

'O-Oh...' Thea automatically reaches to comb out a tangle at the back of her head.

'Clarine, apologise to Thea now,' Klein tries to touch his sister's arm, but she yanks it away. He turns to Thea and sighs, 'I'm sorry, Thea. Don't mind her.'

'It's... Nothing.' Thea wonders: Is this really what I might marry into...? She looks at Shanna who has already finished gobbling up half her scone.

'This is the yummiest scone I've ever eaten! Maybe I can ask my big sister Juno to make these.' Shanna dusts her fingers off on the plate with a loud clapping sound. Clarine winces while her mother simply laughs, 'you know, Lady Louise, my sister Juno makes the best stews!'

'I'm so glad you liked the scones, Shanna,' Lady Louise ruffles Shanna's pixie cut, just like Juno, 'some time, may I come over to your house so Lady Juno can teach me how to cook a good winter stew?'

'Of course!' Shanna grins. Thea sighs: I'm supposed to be the potential daughter-in-law, yet somehow, Shanna is outshining me.

'Enough!' Clarine bangs the table. The cutlery to jumps up like scared rodents.

'Clarine, my sweet,' Lady Louise coos, trying to put her hand on Clarine's head, 'what's gotten you so upset?'

'Why're treating Shanna better than you treat me?!' Clarine leaps out of her seat, 'first, Thea has to steal my brother and now Shanna's stealing you!'

'No one's stealing anyone,' Lord Pent joins them at the table in his purple waistcoat and wool trousers. A green ribbon holds his silver hair into a low ponytail, 'Thea and Shanna are our guests and your former comrades. Show some grace and apologise.'

'Why can't you apologise to me for keeping me cooped up in this house like – like a little doll?!' Clarine's heel stamps against the patio with a loud crack, 'it's not fair! Thea and Shanna get to roam wherever they like and get your attention! Why is my only option to remain in the mansion, even after I contributed to the Lycian army too?!'

'Because you haven't learnt anything!' Klein's shout causes her to flinch into silence. His cravat looks crooked as he gestures wildly at her, 'you talk about becoming like Mage General Cecilia but all you care about are her noble clothes! Why complain about being treated like a doll when the world is just one huge dress-up game to you?!'

Clarine's lower lip quivers like the surface of a pond. A few gardeners nearby turn to the tea table before quickly picking fruit again. She wails, 'y-you blame everything on me, brother! I hate you! I'm going to get my horse at the stables so I can ride far away and never come back!'

She sprints away. The patter of her feet against grass fades into the distance. Lady Louise mumbles 'dear me...'

'I'm very sorry, Thea,' Klein pours Thea some more tea, then pushes the last scone towards her, 'I'll speak properly to Clarine about her behaviour. It's not acceptable.'

Before Thea can answer, Shanna wipes whipped cream off her mouth using the back of her hand, 'I'll go find her!'

'Don't worry, Sha—,' Lady Louise reaches out but Shanna has already rocketed after Clarine, 'oh dear...' She giggles at Thea, 'the young ones are quite a handful. But it's alright. Shanna seems self-sufficient and one of the bodyguards will be able to find Clarine.'

'Claaaaarrriiiiinnne!' Shanna skips down a grassy hill to meet Clarine at the stables. The cool air smells like wild grass and pollen, 'where are you going?'

'Far away where no one will ever find me!' Clarine sobs. The tip of her nose and eyes are red like beets. The stench of damp hay and horse dung fills their nostrils.

'You know, big sister Thea tried to do that too. She was going to take off to see General Klein without letting me know,' Shanna nudges the snout of her Pegasus eating something out of Clarine's horse's mane, 'I was so angry. She treated me like I was an embarrassment.'

'Ugh, that's awful – I-I mean, she's just as dowdy as you. Who's she to act so uppity?' Clarine leans on her horse's neck over the wooden door and cries, 'but big brother is mad at me! And he says I don't deserve to go anywhere alone! It's not fair!'

'Say…' Shanna rests with her back against the stable door, 'could it be that… You're jealous of General Klein?'

'What're you talking about?!' Clarine screeches, causing her horse to jump back, 'I'd never be jealous of my brother! He's the most amazing, handsomest general on the continent. He deserves the best. How could I ever be jealous of him?'

'It just occurred to me while looking at your horse,' Shanna and her Pegasus nudge heads, 'that's a wild breed from the Lycian Plains, the one Rutger prepared for you to escape from the Bern forces after they kidnapped you.'

'Actually, Rutger just left me to ride it off to find Lord Roy. Can you believe it?!' Clarine blows part of her fringe off her sticky forehead, 'he didn't even bother escorting me like a proper gentleman! And now, he doesn't even have the grace to tell me where he is! How could he just leave me like this?! He's the worst!'

'Basically, you miss him,' Shanna waves away a fly, 'it's almost impossible for noblewomen to marry commoners. Even though noblemen face resistance for choosing "lower-ranked" women, there are still examples where it's happened in the past. General Roy's parents are Lord Eliwood and a former Ilian mercenary, Captain Fiora.'

'And in the same generation, Lady Priscilla of the Caerleon family was forbidden from seeing her lover Heath because he was a deserter from Bern,' Clarine dabs her sleeves against her eyes. The frills flapping about her arms turn her into an opera character, 'I am like Lady Priscilla. We're both mages on horseback who joined the Lycian army and were kept away from the men we loved. Her story makes me cry soooo much!'

'I'll bet Lady Priscilla was much quieter—but, anyway!' Shanna looks up at a bird flock flying above, 'where did Rutger end up?'

Clarine sniffles, 'he's… in Etruria. I've seen him. I'm sure we walked past each other. But I… I couldn't say anything because I was with my father. He either expects me to marry a nobleman who some dork like Erk.' She throws her arms around the brown horse, 'all I have to remember Rutger with is this horse, my only friend who takes me out of this stuffy mansion to see the world for myself! And so, I'll go again!'

'Where are you going?' Shanna asks.

'I'm going to check the arena. I'm sure that's how Rutger makes enough money to stay around these parts,' Clarine throws her fist to one side like a spiked ball on chain, 'I don't care if big brother has forbidden me from visiting the arena! I'm going to see it for myself!'

'Then why don't we take my Pegasus?' Shanna winks, unfastening the latch to release her beast, 'horseback is efficient, but wings will get us there in no time!'

AUTHOR NOTE: I hope you enjoyed this little episode about Thea and Shanna visiting Reglay House. The next one will feature Klein and Thea's panicked search for Clarine and Shanna. Will the search mission for their two younger sisters be successful? And what about Shanna and Clarine's hunt for Rutger? Stay tuned! ~ kafkascharm