Tyrion set off back for ho since it was no use waiting around for Cassius to show up. He suspected that even if Cassius were present, Quinn would do anything to keep his brother away.
Tyrion took his mind off of Cassius for a mont and thought about Quinn. The older brother was even stranger than the younger one.
It ca as a surprise that Quinn was old enough to be around the town during Simon’s killings. Quinn appeared younger than Cassius at first glance. Perhaps it was the height.
Tyrion tapped his fingers on his leg.
What Quinn revealed made everything more odd that they had a hard ti finding who he was related to unless Quinn changed his na, but Tyrion wasn’t certain that was the case.
"My father didn’t let leave," Tyrion repeated.
This wasn’t of much use to Tyrion since there were plenty of families who hid children who were bastards or for other evil reasons.
If Tyrion was going to solve the mystery of the two brothers, he needed to find who their parents were, which was a job left to Mark. Only the courts would have such records unless Tyrion ca across soone who rembered Quinn by chance.
"Back at step one," Tyrion muttered.
Tyrion’s plans to kill Cassius had not changed, but rather, they now included Quinn. Everything about Quinn was a surprise, like the fact that he was the one who killed the guards Tyrion sent.
Tyrion did not for one second think that Quinn was taking credit for what his brother did.
"I need to see them together," Tyrion decided.
To confirm if his guesses were right, Tyrion needed to see how Quinn and Cassius interacted with each other. After speaking with Quinn, Tyrion believed Quinn held power over Cassius, and it wasn’t because of his age.
Tyrion rested back on the cushion of his chair. He needed to place more guards around Penelope.
Quinn had not succeeded in convincing Tyrion that Cassius had moved on.
Away from where Tyrion rode to return ho, Alia was desperately searching for a dress to wear to the queen’s gathering in the palace.
Alia placed a dress before her and twirled around for her mother to see.
"Do you believe it, mother? The prince sent an invitation with his na on it. I knew I would gain his affections in due ti," Alia said, beaming with excitent.
Alia’s hard efforts were quickly paying off.
Though Alia lost one prince, she had quickly gained another.
Jade was proud of her daughter. She knew that Alia could aim high and succeed.
Already, Jade could imagine herself as the mother of the queen, but before she spoke of it to anyone, Alia needed to secure herself a proposal.
"Do not let it get to your head, Alia. The season is long, and one small mistake could cost you a proposal from the prince. Now that you have his attention, you must do your best to keep it. Portray yourself as a remarkable lady, especially before the queen," said Jade.
Jade wished she could attend the palace to be at Alia’s side. She didn’t trust Alia to focus only on the queen, but it was only an invitation for young ladies.
"The queen is separating young ladies from their mothers to witness if you can stand on your own. Sitting with you will be other ladies eyeing the crown prince. You mustn’t let yourself be caught up in other things like Penelope," said Jade.
Alia frowned.
Why did her mother have to spoil the mont by ntioning Penelope?
"I wasn’t thinking of her until you brought up her na. I have long moved on from thinking about Penelope. She thinks highly of herself since she got married at the start of the season. It won’t be long before she is not the only married lady," said Alia.
Jade liked that Alia was moving on, but she didn’t fully believe it.
"You must be nice to Penelope when you see her-"
"Mother!" Alia whined.
"Her husband is a prince, her mother is friends with the queen, and the duke has been well acquainted with the king since they were young. She can influence the Castros since she is close to them. Play nice," Jade advised Alia.
One wrong argunt and Alia could lose everything.
"This will not be the only ti you have to play nice with soone you don’t like. This is how life would be as a queen. You must start getting used to it now. Penelope needs a friend, so apologise for all that you have done and move forward," said Jade.
Alia hated her mother’s suggestion.
Apologising to Penelope would make Alia look weak. How could she befriend the sa lady she had talked about poorly to the other ladies?
Jade stood up from where she sat. "I know it will be hard, but you must do this to secure your place. Perhaps, you should have pretended to be a friend to Penelope long ago. You could have used her ties to get ahead, but it isn’t too late now."
Alia stayed silent. Her mother was proud of her, so she didn’t want to ruin it by speaking of how much she hated her mother’s plans.
Jade walked over to Alia and touched her face. "This is your only chance. If you fail, your father will pick a husband for you, and it will be a man you will need to push yourself to fall in love with. Don’t ss this up when you are doing so well."
"I know, mother. How did father take the news? Is he proud of as well?" Alia asked, yearning for her father to applaud her.
"Get the prince to propose to you, and then we can speak of your father’s feelings. He is proud of you, but you need to show that you can do well. Once you have succeeded, he will spoil you. Now, let us get back to your dress," Jade said, moving on.
Jade had to keep Ronan away so he wouldn’t ruin Alia’s excitent. Until a ring was placed on Alia’s finger, Ronan would not shower Alia with complints, and there were still suitors arranged to et with Alia.
Alia was disappointed. Nothing she did seed to please her father.
Alia lost Ronan’s trust after she failed to get married to Tyrion, but how was she to know that Tyrion would run off with Penelope?
’I’ll get it this ti,’ Alia thought.
Soon, Ronan would be proud of Alia.
Alia smiled, getting back to her earlier spirits. "If I am so fortunate to see the prince when I visit the palace, I might be lucky to have the ring on my finger then. Trust , mother."
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