Rosacrea was both the title of the Duke and also the name of his domain. It was a vast one, just after the Green mountain. Rosacrea laid after the colline and was secured by its relief. It had the size of a vast city but its security could be compared to that of the capital, the topography of the region playing a big part in that. So, even though the war was raging at the western side of the country, this place was quite peaceful.
The Duke's manor was located on the mountain itself, hidden by its forest. From her windows, Annabeth couldn't really see the city that lay beneath the mountain but she hoped that if she asked, she would be granted the authorization to go and see it for herself.
Harrison Page, Duke of Rosacrea, but still most known as Duke of Tulips -for Rosacrea was a place full of tulips of all species-, stood behind his window, seeing the retreating figure of his granddaughter by the glass. The man was sixty-two, though he didn't look them for, despite his all-white hair due to age, he was still as robust as when he was forty, if not better. These past two months, his grandchild -now, the only one left, sadly- had gotten better and he could let this one worry go. Though he failed his other family's members, this one, he would protect her until his last breath. He must. The Duke's manor was located on the mountain itself, hidden by its forest. From her windows, Annabeth couldn't really see the city that lay beneath the mountain but she hoped that if she asked, she would be granted the authorization to go and see it for herself.
Once her figure disappeared into the stairs, the duke went near his small table, lifting the letter he had read the previous night. It was Ed's answer to his own missive. He had sent a letter to his son-in-law, explaining the little one's state. The general didn't say much, going straight to the point, thinking it better to let her not remember for now; at the end, he hoped that the duke could keep on taking care of his child. Like this Duke needed him to remember that!
How cruel though, that the child couldn't even recognize her own mother in the paintings and didn't ask even once after her brother. Did she really forget all about them? Despite that, she still looked happier so he was really hesitating on what to do.
“Maybe it’s for the best that she had forgotten the Duchesse,” the Duke had once caught the whisper of his pageboy when waves of laughter of the little girl entered their ears from the living room all the way to the duke's office; and indeed, Harrison had silently agreed at the time. Else, knowing their bound, wouldn't she have been devastated? She was now so full of life and energy, that was exactly how he wished she would stay.
Those memories, they wouldn't force it into her. If she remembered then she remembered and they would help her deal with the grief. For now, it was good to see her laugh and run and talk some more. It was enough that the grown-ups remembered.
The duke sat on the desk, and dragging the letter he was holding to the side, he took another blank paper from the stack at the top of the desk, dipped his feather in ink and started writing to the general.
The duke sat on the desk, and dragging the letter he was holding to the side, he took another blank paper from the stack at the top of the desk, dipped his feather in ink and started writing to the general.
***
The mealtime was always set perfectly. Every morning, the breakfast would be served at seven-thirty, the lunch was for one pm and the dinner was for seven pm sharp. Snacks, though, were served at her will not that she was authorized to have that many.
Annabeth wore the simple blue and white long dress that Iris left on her bed and let the aforementioned maid dressed her long vibrant hair, holding them with two blue ribbons. Looking at herself in the mirror, she found that she was really a pretty little girl and couldn't quite resist pinching her own cheeks just to see the effects. It was so bouncy and her skin so easy to mark. Just a little pinch and the place already became pink.
Coming down the stairs, Annabeth found the duke was already seated behind his reserved chair in the dining room.
“Good morning grandfather,” she greeted happily, reigning in with great difficulty the desire to rush and hug him tight.
Even though he wasn’t that talkative, she quite liked greeting him loudly, every morning, before smiling, flashing him her dimples. She did that because every time it was as though he was ready to rebuke her but then seeing her smiling so innocently at him, he would restrain himself again. His stern expression would soften a little and he would smile a little bit. This time too, wasn't that different from the lasts.
He lifted his eyes from his book to look at her. The creases on his face slowly disappeared, his frown, momentarily leaving his face as he answered,
“Good morning, Annabeth, how are you?”
She beamed, "really, really good," and twirled just to show it. See, see, I am good and this happy, smile a little more for me, please.
However, the duke wasn't a telepath to know what his grandchild was thinking about. Instead, he closed his book, the servant by his right side came closer and he passed to him the book. Holding it, the servant retreated to his place again and the duke's attention returned to his daughter's child,
"By all means, take a seat, don't just stand there."
She pouted mumbling, “Do you never laugh, grandfather?” She was so happy. He should be happy with her!
"Don't mumble", he reproached, "talk intelligibly."
"Yes, grandfather," she said with no sincerity whatsoever but a delicate smile on her face still.
The old man's lips twitched debating between smiling and being angry. In the end, he coughed and pretend he didn't hear, just looking at the butler, who, understanding, tugged the chair for the little miss.
It wasn't that Annabeth was being insolent, but rather, with her grandfather, it was never a formal relationship and she didn't want in this world for it to become a formal one at all. Though she understood she wasn't in a normal family but in an aristocratic one, she still needed to feel familial warmth like before. So, though she wasn't sure what it was like before her arrival in this world, she hoped to bend their relationship to a more relaxed one. Little by little and who knows, maybe in the coming months she would be able to freely hug him every morning.
He was her sole relative -in this manor anyway- and Annabeth had always been particularly close with her grandfather, so, this person who looked so much like him, she couldn’t help herself associating them and it was quite easy to be open with him actually, contrary to what she feared. She didn’t talk all that much but whenever she did, he actually listened. He would pause whatever he was doing and give her his sole attention. In the two months time, she had spent here -in which just the recent two weeks and a half she had been reasonable- he never lost his temper with her, being patient.
It wasn't that Annabeth was being insolent, but rather, with her grandfather, it was never a formal relationship and she didn't want in this world for it to become a formal one at all. Though she understood she wasn't in a normal family but in an aristocratic one, she still needed to feel familial warmth like before. So, though she wasn't sure what it was like before her arrival in this world, she hoped to bend their relationship to a more relaxed one. Little by little and who knows, maybe in the coming months she would be able to freely hug him every morning.
He was her sole relative -in this manor anyway- and Annabeth had always been particularly close with her grandfather, so, this person who looked so much like him, she couldn’t help herself associating them and it was quite easy to be open with him actually, contrary to what she feared. She didn’t talk all that much but whenever she did, he actually listened. He would pause whatever he was doing and give her his sole attention. In the two months time, she had spent here -in which just the recent two weeks and a half she had been reasonable- he never lost his temper with her, being patient.
The butler tugged the chair and she sat, softly thanking him. She was on the chair near her grandfather looking with a bit of a frown at the multiples spoons and forks in front of her. She raised her head then, to look at the man, waiting for him to start just so she could see which one was used for what. The long and richly decorated table was way too full for only two people but when she once voiced that previously, she was told not to mind, that it was, after all, for her to choose with ease whatever she wanted to eat. The servants came and opened the previously closed plates. A waft on multiple aromas came to her nose, tingling her and opening her appetite. In what she thought to be a sneaky glance, she returned to observing every gesture of the Duke.
The old man had the faintest smile as he remarked what she was doing for days now. When he raised his brow at her, she would just smile sheepishly and kept on imitating him. Although there was no need to be strict with manners in the house, he still couldn't let her forget everything, so, after he finished eating, this time, he announced,
Annabeth frowned. Would she be going to school? A hint of excitement spread in her heart.
"Courses, grandfather?"
"History, geography, mathematics and etiquettes."
"That...", the last one didn't sound all too great, "in school grandfather?"
He frowned, "No, the royal academy is open for those of twelve and forward. You can't go yet, you have to master the basics to be able to understand what they will teach there.
Her excitement died, and she said flatly, "that's so?"
The Duke's eyebrows twitched. Weren't her emotions too easily displayed?
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