Daises are Wildflowers

Chapter 1 - Part 3: Mermaids Have Many Secrets

The first question Leanna asked the new maid was "Will you become my ladies maid, or abandon me like the rest have." Delaney looked at her new master with respect and answered kindly "I thought I already was, your Grace." Leanna smiled, a warm smile, one she had once locked away in the vaults of her heart. "Then let us get started. Please draw a bath for me, and prepare some nice oils as well. After that, we will look to my closet to see what is...wearable." Delaney nodded and replied "Yes your Grace. I will prepare that right away." Some time later, Leanna relaxed in the bath, letting the warm water wash away her troubles for the moment. The temperature was perfect, and Delaney had added rose oil to the bath, which added a pleasant and luxurious scent. Delaney had already washed Leanna's hair, and she finally felt clean. Cleaner than she had been in many years. As the years washed away, Leanna started her plan. She was sick and tired of Charles, and wanted out, but the only way to get a divorce was through one of two means. She could either be divorced for committing a scandalous act and damaging the Sihnegh name, or by divorcing Charles for his scandalous acts. Leanna had no intention of being divorced and left with nothing. In order to divorce Charles, she needed the proof of his infidelity, approval from the head of her family, and approval form a royal family member. While courtesans freely came and went, She had no concrete evidence that Charles had slept with any of them. Without that, given that she and Charles had consummated their marriage, Leanna was a bit stuck. As she pondered the issue with the evidence, Leanna thought about her brother, the Marquis of Gresser. Leanna hadn't reached out to her older brother, Edmond, much in the 4 years she had been married. She had been so obsessed with chasing her husband, and then ashamed by her actions, that she had barely written three letters to him. Edmond had taken over as family head before their father had passed, and had always made sure Leanna was taken care of. His wife Charlene treated her like a sister, and wrote to her occasionally. Leanna knew she would have to push past the shame and write to her brother. Fear and excitement welled up as she thought about his possible response, and seeing her beloved brother again. Steeling her resolve, Leanna turned to her next hurdle. The biggest problem was that Charles was the nephew of the Queen. Queen Carlotta Umbra Freuin. Charles' mother, the queen's sister, had passed away when he was only 8, and so the queen had very much been like a mother to him. He had grown up in and out of the palace, and she and Prince Courdon were as close as brothers. King Andimion Vermillion Freuin, despite being the sovereign ruler, loved and trusted his queen so much that her decisions were considered law. He never approved anything she denied or did not agree on. Getting a divorce approval from them would be equivalent to pigs growing wings and flying. The only solution was the Crown Princess. Crown Princess Emilietta Cordova Freuin. A beautiful young woman with dazzling curly black hair and sapphire blue eyes whom countless men and women fell for. Crown Princess Emilietta was known as a woman who courted men, and fortunately for Leanna, women. Leanna knew she would need quite a bit of material to make everything come together, and in order to get the rarer magic imbued contracts she needed, there were people that she would have to bring to her side. Magic existed, but it was rare, and limited to the magician's tower in the royal capital, and the occasional roaming magician or town healer. Charles's younger brother was talented in the magical arts, but while he had been sent to the tower at a young age, had disappeared three years ago. He was also the final key to Leanna's success. With Correy Sihnegh found, she could use him to take down and replace Charles. Leanna knew that there was an elderly man with magical capabilities two towns south of the ducal estate, and began to form a plan to acquire his services. The pieces of the puzzle were making themselves known.