Erica

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Every person has had a dream at least once in their lifetime. It does not matter who you are or what background you may come from. Having a dream is one of the basic parts of being human.

Sibyl Alvore was no different. Like many girls her age she dreamt of beauty, status, riches and handsome charming men. She could spend hours lost in her head dreaming of one dashing man in particular, King Aleric.

He was all she ever wanted. He could give her everything that she desired, and she knew she would be pampered and spoilt with all the power in the kingdom wrapped around her little finger should he chose her to be his.

Sibyl did not know that being Queen was no easy task. She merely assumed that the King would do all the work and she could sit back and relax while spending her days however she liked. She believed that being Queen would grant her all the freedom and money she desired.

It was an added bonus that the young King was dashingly handsome. He was in fact the most handsome man she had ever seen, and this lit a spark of desire in her.

She desired Aleric but she knew that many other nasty ladies felt the same way, so she needed to change that. She needed to show her claim and get them all to back off. She was after all going to be their future Queen.

Sibyl was fortunately blessed with beautiful looks so many ladies were already intimidated by the girl, and she knew this. It made her feel superior and more deserving of being at Aleric's side.

Sibyl rarely came across any woman prettier than herself and when she did, if she felt that they threatened to take what she believed was hers, she would personally go out of her way to ruin them.

The Trencent ball had been a huge slap in the face to the vain girl when all of a sudden, all eyes were no longer on her, when there was an even more beautiful girl in attendance.

She felt highly threatened when she saw that awful face of the one person, she resented the most.

Erica.

Sibyl almost did not recognise her at first, but it did not take long before the familiar feelings of jealously and anger arose.

Sibyl would never admit it, not even to herself, but she had always been jealous of Erica.

Erica was always so pretty and so much better than her at everything. She was always the centre of attention when she entered a room and for a long time was father's favourite.

Sibyl had often wished she would just die or wake up really ugly one day. She believed that Erica did not deserve any of the natural talents that she had so when little Erica lost her voice, Sibyl had been delighted as ever.

Sibyl knew that Erica would no longer be able to dull or her light. Now she could shine, and Erica could just fade into the shadows where she belonged.

Sibyl wanted to cry with joy when her disgusting selfish sister got arrested. It served her right for ruining Sibyl's evening.

She hoped that Erica would really die this time. Erica was a useless girl with nothing to live for. It served her right when she tried to take Sibyl's future husband away from her. Erica had no right and now she was paying.

The Countess seemed to be in a good mood as well. A couple of hours after they had gotten back to the Alvore manor, she was quick to have Sibyl's favourite sweets made to enjoy over tea. Sibyl was pleased with her mother's actions and victorious smile.

It did not take Sibyl long to stuff her face in a very messy unladylike manner. She was eating like a pig with her mouth wide open spitting food everywhere with each bite.

The Countess who sat across from her had been in too much of a good mood to correct her mannerisms and chose to ignore her daughter's gobbling and grunting.

"Pardon my interruption Countess Alvore and Lady Sibyl." A servant cleared their throat drawing the attention of the two women before him. He could not help but inwardly cringe in disgust at Sibyl's messy face.

"Speak." The Countess ordered.

"I am afraid that the Trencent guards have arrived." The servant bowed.

"Trencent guards?" The Countess was slightly confused. The only thing she could really think of was that they were there to receive her testimony against that wretched brat Erica.

"Yes." As the servant lifted their head, six guards pushed passed and surrounded the Countess and Sibyl.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Countess demanded startled and enraged.

"By order of decree from the Trencent household, you are under arrest." One of the guards informed while two of his colleagues were quick to place shackles on both the women before them.

"You have no right to barge into our household and do this." Sibyl shrieked out, her face still littered with crumbs and now chocolate icing.

"What is the charge?" The Countess glared as they hoisted her to her feet.

There was silence as the guards proceeded to ignore her and began pushing her and Sibyl to the door. Sibyl tried to fight back and resist, but her attempts were futile.

The Countess did not say a word after that. She rather decided to remain silent and cooperative so that she could observe.

As they made their way through the courtyard she looked back at the large manor and caught sight of her husband watching them with a blank face from his study window.

She could tell that he was not happy at the situation and that made her relieved but something about his cold eyes told her that he was also angry with her.

She looked away and faced forward again. Her relationship with the Count was strained but she still loved him and she knew that the hardened man did hold some feelings for her whether they were good or bad was another matter.

She knew the Count respected her and that was enough. She told herself that would be enough, but she always craved more from the hardened man. She knew that she should not, but she could not help it.

The Countess's lips turned into a small frown. She had hoped that her husband would help them and stop the Trencent guards, but the man had not moved.

A bitter taste filled her mouth. She had always known the man would not come to her aid when she needed him, but she had never wanted to accept it believing that he was a decent person and at least would fulfil his husbandly duty of supporting her.

It was not long before the familiar gates of the Trencent estate came into view. She lifted her nose and wiped all emotion off her face as she walked in.

She would not let these people do anything her or her beloved daughter Sibyl and for that to happened, she needed to have a clear head; she needed to think.