A toast!

"How did you manage to be late when we all came in at the same time?" Lindsey scowled as she took her seat at the long dining table.

"You can't tell me you didn't enjoy your few minutes of heaven without her?" Lana giggled as she stated outloud her distaste for my company. She leaned in and fake whispered to Lydia, "She'll be out of our hair soon enough." Lindsey smirked while Lana laughed out loud, but Lydia looked at me with that same pitying look that she did while we were in the carriage. She didn't laugh nor did she encourage the teasing.

"Now, now, girls. Remember your table manners." Mother said which quickly shut them up.

Ethan bowed slightly and released my grip from his arm, "My apologies. I talked Lady Louisette's ear off for a few minutes. I taught her about the Vetiti Lands and the Great old king." He smiled as his eyes landed on Lindsey. She seems to bring it out of him too much for my liking.

"Did someone say the Vetiti lands?" A deep voice thundered through the room and I looked for the source. A heavy set man walked into the room after us. Each step looked like he was dragging his feet to take another. He held his hands under his belly that spilled over his trousers and big gold rings shimmered on his fingers. His smile was almost bare, spare a few rotten teeth and gold replacements that filled his mouth. With his wife by his side and two other sons trailing behind him, I could tell that this man was the Duke. It wasn't hard to tell even if it had been years since I last saw him.

He sat at the head of the table with a grunt and his wife sat in the seat to the right of him. His two sons, Alex and Xander, took their seats and Ethan signaled for me to sit beside Lana while he took his seat beside his brothers. As if on cue, maids came pouring into the room with platters in their hands. The first course was just an appetizer that I've never tried before. I tried to keep myself from gagging once the duke said that it was a soup made of leeches and jellyfish. It was custom in the land of Oameni, land of the Oameni Pești. The fish people.

I didn't know why the Duke tried to make show of his riches by feeding us leeches and jellyfish, but no one else seemed too bothered by it. If Mother didn't engrane table manners into our heads, I was sure Lana would've been drinking straight from the bowl. I played with the soup while the Duke started his story about traveling to the Vetiti lands. After a few fake sips, I decided to actually try the soup and realized that it mostly tasted like watered down garlic and something a little fishy.

As the Duke started talking about the not interesting parts of the story, I let my thoughts wonder. Confusion filled me when I thought about the things my mother and Ethan said. What were they going on about? I pushed the thoughts out of my head with the comforting thought that I'd soon find out, and instead tried to focus on more exciting thoughts. Thoughts like who I was going to marry.

There were two choices for my future husband. Though I'd prefer Ethan, his younger brother Alex was also an option. Alex was just my age, but I've never been interested in him. He was thin, seemingly malnourished, and the way he liked to torture small animals when we were younger made me shudder just thinking about it. He paid a lot more attention to me than Ethan, but it felt like he didn't see me as a person. For some reason his gaze always made me feel like one of those small animals he'd put through hours of agony. I made it a goal to always avoid being alone in a room with him. His gaze met mine and he smirked. Oh no. I immediately looked away and my eyes found the duchess. Her lips were sealed tight and I was sure she was looking down the whole time during dinner. Her eyes didn't look up once. Not at the guests and not at her husband. I also noticed that the maids came and replaced her plates with the next course even though she didn't touch any of them once. She was beautiful for her age. I could tell she was just about in her forties and there were barely any wrinkles around her eyes, but there were a few above her brow. She must've had a stressful life.

We were two courses in when the Duke finally got to the part of the story that explained where he got the ram's skull. I started to tune in because I was genuinely interested in the mysterious object.

"I had traveled across the land of Khanaria because rumors had spread of strange sightings near the land of Vetiti. I had discovered that the traitor that was banished there had a son!" He seemed satisfied once he earned a gasp from his audience. I caught myself almost leaning my elbows on the table in interest, but quickly fixed my posture.

"Yes! A son! His son must have been planning revenge for his father and started messing around with the dark arts. He was bringing back what should've been left behind." He made large gestures while he told the story.

"What do you mean he brought things back?" Lana questioned the Duke which earned a disapproving stare from mother. I would've been striked right then and there for interrupting someone as important as the Duke, but of course Lana got away with just a glare.

He leaned in, and squinted. "He brought the dead back to life, child. Which is some extremely dark sorcery."

"Woah." Lana said in awe. I looked over at Alex and it seemed as though he was pleased with the thought. Ew.

"Yes, woah indeed. But needn't worry. I slayed the traitor's son. I broke through his guards of dead men and drew my sword, HA!" He stood unexpectedly and pointed his imaginary sword at an imaginary enemy across the table, "He didn't stand a chance. I ended his life with one swoop of my sword." He traced his thumb across his throat for added dramatics before continuing, " He wore the ram's skull as some type of crown. After I killed the sad excuse for a man, I took the skull along with me on my journeys in hope that someone could explain to me what exactly it was. The material is something I've never seen before."

He sat back down as the next course was presented to us. It was some type of meat, barely cooked may I add, stuffed with a creamy vegetable sauce. I'll pass. "One village way down south threw a fit. Told me to take the skull and get as far away from them as possible. They said it belonged to an ancient demon and would bring great misfortune. Another group of people from across the sea said that I should respect the ram's skull. That it belonged to a God. They said that I should respect the skull and it shall respect me in return." He shrugged.

The story of the ram's skull was a great one. It made me even more interested in its history. How could two groups of people have completely different views on it? It was simply amazing. Even though I enjoyed the story, and enjoyed the food less, I was still confused on why we were here. Did we come here to eat uncooked food and tell stories? It was like the Duke read my mind when he started to speak,

"But I know we aren't gathered here today to tell old tales." His gaze settled on me and he smiled, "We gathered here today with news for both of our families-"

"Excuse me. I'm feeling a bit unwell. I'll retire for the night." The duchess dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin even though she didn't eat anything and spared me a glance before quickly leaving the room.

The Duke cleared his throat, "Well, Lady Gloria, I'm sure you'll like to announce the news." He lifted his glass of whiskey and tilted it towards her before taking a big gulp.

"Oh this is gonna be good." Lana giggled and slid down in her seat.

Mother sat up straighter and looked around at everyone before speaking, "We gathered here tonight because we have news. Our families will be joined together at last at the Duke's request and at our great pleasure." I felt my heart slamming against my rib cage as she continued. "Today we'll be happily joining my beautiful daughter with the Duke's son, Xander." She picked up her glass and raised it in the air.

Oh my Goddess. Did she say what I thought she said? I'm going to be marrying Xander!? I looked over at Xander. I couldn't help but feel a mix of joy and pain. Yes, I'll be sad that I didn't end up with Ethan, but this is the Xander! He was a few years older than me and definitely a lot more mature. He was taller and broader than Ethan and let's not forget the next possible Duke! He's the best marriage I could possibly have ever dreamed of!

"Mother I-" I started happily, but Mother cut me off, "Not now, Louisette. Don't interrupt your sister's toast." I thought my soul left my body. What did she mean by my sister? I looked at Lydia who was giving me the same pitying stare that she had been giving me the whole night.