Chapter 30

•City of Mountains•

•Kaniva - Capital of the City of Mountains•

•Ravier House•

Reta hurried to the dining room, the ornaments in her hair falling to the side, Aleya and Taluka were right behind her, trying to straighten the mass of jewels falling off and at the same time hurry their lady on.

"How did we manage to lose track of the time?" She asked worriedly, her black robes swaying, it was already time for dinner and the rest of her family had been waiting on her presence. "Aish! Mother is going to scold me for this." Reta pouted.

Aleya smiled fondly, knowing that the Lady of the House was a lovely soul who couldn't be mean to any of her children and that her Lady was just overreacting.

"I'm pretty sure she'll forgive you my Lady, you always try to be on time."

"Yes, that's true." Reta agreed distractedly, hurrying down the carpeted hallways that led to the huge dining halls.

Guards were situated outside the doors in full regalia and fancy spears in their hands, they just acted like door openers though because no one in their right mindset would ever think to attack the House of Ravier.

The Guards open up the doors for Lady Reta and her personal maid servants remain outside, the only place they couldn't go in was a private gathering of the family.

Butler Hart was there to announce her presence. "Her Ladyship, Lady Reta Ravier!" He announced grandly like he wasn't just introducing her to the rest of her family.

Reta murmured her thanks to Hart, scurrying on to take her seat beside Rem, they all sat at one end of the table, her father taking the head and Shinere and her mom sitting at the right hand side of her father while she and Rem took the left.

"I'm sorry I'm late." She murmured quickly, settling down.

"It's fine." Her father said shortly, clapping his hands to signal the servants that they were ready to be served.

Reta glanced to to see her mom staring at her with a bewildered expression and she wondered what could be wrong, she glanced at Shinere to see him hiding a tell tale smile behind his hand and she frowned, glancing to the side to get a face full of Rem with shaking shoulders in silent laughter, his wild hair the same red shade as hers.

She glared at him. "What?" She whispered furiously, upset at the private joke that she wasn't being let in on.

"Nothing." Rem shook his head, chortling louder.

"Your hair is a mess, my love." Gem Ravier, Lady of the House finally relieved her daughter from her brothers cruel teasing. "Stop picking on your sister." She warned her boys gently.

"Here, let me help you." Rem offered, still getting over his laughing fit.

Reta glared at him suspiciously but let him access her hair anyway, her maids had no time to do it right and she kept on prodding and poking at it so it was no wonder that the hairdo would fall apart.

Rem just took out all the haphazardly put in pins and brooches, piling them on the table beside her, when he was done he brushed out the tangled in her hair and just let it stay down, the wild curls everywhere.

"You shouldn't let your sister look as rough as you prefer to be, she's a girl for His Majesty's sake." Her mom complained, her perfect stick straight black hair in their severe hold atop her head, not one wisp of hair was out of place.

"I don't look rough." Rem complained, a sleeve of his black robes falling off one delicate shoulder, while Shinere was the pride of the house, all stoic and severe, Rem was his opposite, delicate and ditzy it was hard to imagine that they were twins.

"That's right." Reta supported her brother who always had his long red hair up in messy pony tails and didn't understand how robes worked. "Rem doesn't look messy at all, he has his unique look." She patted down his unruly locks and adjusted the slipping sleeve, even though he was years older than her, she always babied him and Rem let her.

"We shall all be going to the Castle in a fortnight." Jiva announced, all the while conversations had been going around he remained content to quietly eat his food and observe his loving family.

Reta looked up at this, before the current King fell in, they occasionally went to the Castle for balls and parties but that was a long time ago.

She had a lot of questions at the tip of her tongue, was the King better now? Or was he dead? But she couldn't ask any because it wasn't her place to know these things.

Her brothers wouldn't ask either because either they already knew or were going to find out later on when they all congregated for a smoke in their father's study.

Rem had expressed his dislike for the nights of smoking because it took him lots of hot soaks to get the stench out of his hair.

Everyone expressed their acknowledgement of the Head of the House's words.

"Reta darling, we both need to visit the spa before then." Her mom said as a way of informing her husband and daughter at the same time of her plans.

"Make sure to carry more guards when you do." Jiva said shortly, his only declaration that he had heard his wife's words.

"Very well, my Lord." Gem answered politely, inclining her head to show respect.

Reta frowned, confused, they had never needed guards before plus the owner of the spa was the wife of one of the faction members, Lady Durian and she was a very good friend of her mother's.

"Why would we need to do that, papa?" She asked before she could stop herself and her mother made a soft sound of disapproval.

"Let her be, Gem." Jiva interrupted his wife who was obviously about to string up a long sentence of reprimand of how Reta shouldn't question her father.

"She won't ever change because you keep pampering her." Gem pouted but acquiesced to her husband's wishes.

"Because Ret, there are people who would wish us harmed or worse so we must be of care from now on." He told her plainly.

Reta was grateful that her father didn't hide things like these from her and as the meal progressed on she couldn't help but be worried about her father's words.