The newcomer

"How did you come to be at the Fairy Knoll?" inquired Old Alma.

Carlene stiffened, a position closed to outrage but she knew she couldn't win an argument with Old Alma.

Her brother doted on the older woman since she took care of him from birth.

Frustrated but trying not to show it, Carlene, did her best to tamper down on her outrage since this wasn't her Fairy Knoll and she was only a mere guest here.

Old Alma wasn't asking to be rude, she was just genuinely curious why Prince Maxixe's only sister would show up unannounced at the Fairy Knoll without her husband in tow.

"Do I need a reason to visit my younger brother," said Carlene as she looked around the place and somehow seemed completely different from the last time she visited.

"I was just in the area so I decided to stop by, instead of arguing with me," Carlene said loftily, "go have a bedchamber ready for me to sleep in later."