1 Chapter 1
Rialle Winterbell had gone through many things in her twenty years.
She was the second child of a very wealthy count, but she was an illegitimate child.
Brought to the house when she was only ten years old, she had gone through a lot of humiliation and torture at the hands of the servants and her stepmother.
Fear had run in her veins for years and she was quite used to squaring her shoulders and walking into the situation to get things over with.
The setting she stood in now could not be one she could ever have been prepared for.
She stood at the doors of the chapel, her whole body shivering in fear.
Cold sweat dripped down her neck as she breathed heavily.
Although inwardly, she was shaking; on the outside, she looked stunning.
Dressed in the most exquisite white gown, her skin looked beautiful under the delicately embroidered lace. Her soft curves were hugged beautifully by the fabric and her hair was done up into gorgeous curls.
A heavy veil hid the colour of her dark hair and her entire face with only her chin and slender neck visible to all.
Rialle stood outside the heavily packed chapel, trembling.
In her hands was a gorgeous bouquet of pink flowers picked out specifically because they were the groom's favourite flowers.
Rialle felt faint.
She could not take it anymore.
The pretty girl just wanted to sleep and never awaken again.
What would happen next?
She did not know.
Where was her stepmother?
She did not know.
What had happened to her stepsister?
She was not sure of that either.
Rialle bit her lip subconsciously, her soft lips becoming very red as she did.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned around so quickly, she would have almost fallen over if it were not for her father catching her immediately.
"Stella, my darling!" He laughed, "What is the matter with you? I have never seen you so nervous in my life, my beautiful sunflower."
That was it.
Rialle had to faint, she realized.
How else was she going to escape this disaster.
Her father was not a cruel man. But he was not someone Rialle liked very much.
Frione Winterbell was… a dishonest man and when things were hard, he ignored them.
The way he ignored Rialle and all the misfortunes that her stepmother, stepsister and servants of the manor planned for her every single day. He acknowledged her at meals and Rialle was thankful for it. If he did not, maybe her position would be so much worse.
But now, in the dangerous and confusing situation she was in, he seemed like someone she could rely on for once.
She knew Frione Winterbell was very much in love with his wife. And she knew he would do almost anything for his daughter Stella Winterbell.
Stella Winterbell was the oldest daughter of the Winterbells and the most loved. She was tall, beautiful with golden curls and bright blue eyes. She was a talented songstress and a wonderful conversationalist.
She was the very best woman for marriage among nobility and was naturally arranged to be married to the handsome, intelligent, and successful duke of the east lands.
A marriage proposal that had thrilled the Winterbells into shock.
Even Rialle had been happy for her sister.
It was a match like no other and an enviable future for any young girl who had to depend on marriage to decide her status for the rest of her days.
Rialle swallowed hard.
She knew what she had to do.
Her stepmother would kill her later but she had to tell her father what was going on.
Only he could ensure nothing would go down a disaster now that her stepmother and stepsister were no where in sight.
"F-Father, I-"
Frione Winterbell was in a happy mood, humming, "Hmm? What is it my dear? I can hardly hear you through that heavy veil. Is that really the one we chose? Surely I could see your eyes through the lace of the one we had chosen for your wedding. Did your mother change her mind in the last minute?"
He chuckled.
Clearly, he was in too good a mood to be too concerned with the fact that the wife he was talking about was clearly missing and only a few moments remained for the bride to be escorted into the chapel.
"F-Father," Rialle said a little louder, her throat clearly strained from the tension she was feeling.
Her father jolted clearly realizing that the voice inside the veil was not that of his first daughters.
"Wh-What?" He stammered first. All the colour was leaving his face and the jolly man from a few minutes ago was gone, "Wh- Rialle? Is that you?"
Rialle took a shaky breath, "Father, it is me. I- I- I shall tell you what is going on."
Her father was too pale to speak, his left hand starting to shake, "Rialle… what- What is wrong with you?"
His shout was so loud that Rialle was afraid people within the chapel would have heard.
"Father, please…" She pleaded, "Please listen to me!"
Her father was shaking with rage, "Rialle, whatever abomination you have thought up to do, you better stop it right now. You never gave me trouble, R-Rialle. But I swear to you, child, if this is some complicated scheme of yours to steal your sist-"
"Father, please!" Rialle's voice was louder now and a crack in her tone showed her emotion.
Frion Winterbell stood silenced.
"Father, Stepsister Stella is missing." Tears were streaming down Rialle's face now, "Stepmother thinks she has run away. W-We do not know for sure so she has taken the servants to go search… F-Father, she does not want the wedding to stop and the duke to be angered… F-Father, I am so scared. She has asked me to stand here in my sister's place so that no one grows suspicious."
Frion Winterbell would not speak.
He could not.
All that his second daughter had said whirled around and around in his mind.
And all he could think about after was the blood stained sword of the duke of the east lands.
