Winry bowed to her as she left, staying until she was on her way back to the Grand Hall. Her escort guided her, for in get mad escape she had gotten herself lost. It took awhile, but they did hear the buzz of chatter from the feasting nobles.

Winry strongly reminded her of someone she once knew, but she didn't know why. It couldn't be that they looked similar, for he had been a dark man with silvering hair.

As she walked in, she mentally stopped. Realization had hit her like a bomb. The servant only believed in her because she was from Earth, despite the fact that majority of the people here thought of humans as lesser-- or, perhaps, because if that. But the thing that shocked her most now was that she could communicate with her.

There was only one possible explanation: Winry had been to Earth herself. How else would she knew that humanity is not as dumb and primitive as people thought it was? How else would she know how to speak English?

How else would she speak English?

"Princess Nora! Come back to join us!" she heard Scarr call out.

Only then did she notice that she had stopped walking. With a cheery bounce, she went over to where they were standing. Dinner must be over now and time for socials and drinks, for everyone had moved to the area nearby. "Did I miss anything?" she inquired, not cause she cared, but to be polite.

"Not at all! We were just discussing who you should appoint as your handmaiden," Zina perked up, looking a bit tipsy already.

A servant came by offering drinks, but Izatha refused even when Theod tried to hand her one. He gulped both down himself instead.

"A handmaiden? Such as a lady-in-waiting?" she wondered aloud.

"Rightly so."

"And do I get to choose anyone I want?"

It was Vance who sent her a questioning glance as he answered, "Yes, any lady in the houses. Of our generation, that is. You must choose carefully though, for the maiden you appoint shall serve you until one of you dies."

That was kinda cool. Once she choose one, she could probably dismiss the escort for good without hearing complaints from the court.

Then again, she felt as though things were moving a bit too fast. She had only just entered this world a few hours ago and people were treating her as though she should get completely caught up on all the traditions and news in one night.

While she enjoyed being told everything all at once, given her impatient nature, she had the tendency to get the wrong impression on things if she jumped in too quickly. Though maybe, just maybe, having a maiden would make her life a bit more interesting. Depending on who she choose, she could get herself a lifelong companion.

Of course, if she ever was to leave, it either leave her maiden shamed, or force her to accompany the princess to Earth.

I could choose Zina. Zina seems like she would love to be my maiden. We both think alike, we both have warrior's hearts, and Zina would adore coming to Earth with me! Plus, she seems like the only one not brainwashed into this hierarchy of men and their skills.

"Come along, Princess, we must introduce you to all the eligible ladies. While we're at it, you might as well meet the lords too. You'll have to meet them sometime if you're going to be apart of the court!" Zina said excitedly.

Seeing Zina like this, it was easy to tell that she currently didn't even see herself as the handmaiden as an option. Ah well.

"In all, the court currently has one hundred forty-seven ladies of our generation, although eighteen of them do not live in the castle or the city. We'll have to summon those baronets for you to meet."

That was a lot of numbers to go through. She didn't even know what a baronet is, much less would she remember meeting them. Nervous, she asked, "And how many lords are there for me to meet?"

Zina chuckled, which only made her more nervous.

"There are sixty-five lesser lords from our generation and twelve reigning Lords of the House. You needn't worry about the current baronets, for they'll be replaced with the lords at the king's coronation. Hopefully, we'll have big games to decide the next rulers!" she said excitedly. "Soon after, the noble men can take the noble women as their brides, but many have already laid claim to certain ladies."

Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. How does she even remember all this stuff? Is this what the ladies of the court do?

Wait, did she say hopefully? No, no, no, not you too my Zelda!

She understood that the court was small compared to others, seeing as how one probably had no real power if they are not in the High Court. The only thing a man could control then was that which went on under his own roof.

There couldn't be more than five thousand Enages in the city, most likely a million in total. They were small compared to the human race, but then again, their strength was a thousand to one. That was still only one million to seven billion.

Izatha got a headache just thinking about it. She swiped a water off of a passing servant, downing it as Zina led her around. The men had left at some point while they were talking, getting mixed into the hundreds of people present.

The first thirty people she didn't even notice. Her head still hurt as she heard one name after another. She was currently only being introduced into the High Court houses, some of which she had seen earlier. It was good to put names to the faces of the lords and ladies, although they seemed to like her just as little now as they had then. All except one.

"What's with Lady Tasekki? She recognized me when no one else could," she asked.

Zina's eyebrows arched at the question.

"It might be because she was most likely the only Enage that ever met you before. She was with the queen when you were born, as her handmaiden. After the queen died, she raised Leonard as her own, just as the vow of the maiden told her to. Technically he is a Tasekki, but sons follow after their fathers, not their mothers."

The words sunk in slowly. Lady Tasekki was my mother's handmaiden? Maybe I could ask her about Siad-Nora. 

As much as she tried to convince herself that she didn't want to know, she would love to figure out why she was sent to earth and what her mother was like.

Her head gave her another throb. How she wished she had some essential oils now! Quickly, she drank down two more glasses of water, hoping it would help to quell it. Her companion's face lit up as she watched her.

"Don't down those so quickly! You'll get drunk for sure," she exclaimed.

Izatha stared at the empty glass in her hand in confusion. The liquid smelled like water and tasted like water--or maybe it didn't. She hadn't even noticed anything about them, actually. As her brain started to pound even more, she realized why her headache wasn't subsiding. There was only one thing she could do now.

"I want to meet everyone here!"