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"I have heard some… Interesting stories. Are you aware of what these information might be, my dear children?" 

Catherine stilled mid-bite into a strawberry at their mother's words. It did not come as a shock that Odelia Ginemoux knew of this already, but that certainly did not help clear up the clear tension in the air. 

Slowly, the twin sisters put their utensils down on the table, awaiting their mother's wrath that was not unexpected. But to their surprise, the elder lady did not proceed with her usual scolding. Instead, she simply ate and maintained a calm look, earning a confused and concerned look from the rest of the family, including Aldwyn, who found this strange as well. 

"Dear, are you feeling well?" He asked wariness and concern coated in his voice. 

The woman of the house raised her brows at the question. "But, of course. Is there a problem?" 

Aldwyn blinked, then shook his head, the bewildered look still painted on his face. "No, no. There's no problem."

As they continued to eat in a tense silence, Odelia suddenly spoke, "We will be having guests today, so I expect you all to be ready for them." 

Her words caused everyone to once again halt in their movements, confusion swirling at each one's eyes. While the Ginemoux family do get visitors, hardly anyone would come at a time as this; which was a day before the festivities. 

"Who are they, Mother?" Catherine politely asked. 

Odelia waved her off. "You need not worry yourself about that, dearest. Just be sure to be prepared." Saying these with a voice that clearly meant the end of the discussion, no one said another word of it anymore, and went on their breakfast.

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"Who do you think is our visitor, Catherine?" Without letting the blonde reply, Àimèe continued, "Perhaps it is Madame De Luca, or Sir Wardell. But it might be Aunt Palin." 

As she rambled on, Catherine eased into her outfit; a white blouse and a beige skirt. Àimèe, who was finished getting dressed, was wearing a pale blue dress with white lace and frills. Catherine payed little attention to her sister as she combed the brunette's locks, letting them fall naturally on her shoulders, as she did to her own hair. 

After the two of them were ready, they wore their shoes and bounded downstairs, laughing by themselves at their various theories as to whom the newcomers might be. As they knew not when these visitors would arrive, they opted to go to the gardens for the time being. 

Suddenly, Àimèe stated with a wary voice, "Oh, dear! I forgot to tell Father something. Wait here; I will return." Catherine watched as her sister hurried inside, shaking her head at her forgetfulness. 

Catherine then decided to continue on walking about in the garden, going by pillars made of marble, covered in flowers and leaves everywhere. It was spring, as the festivities alerted, and so the blossoms did bloom wonderfully. 

It was strange; how this year's springtime seemed to have more flowers than the past years. It was as if the world was alerting that something big will happen this year. What it is, no one knew. No one, but the nature itself. 

Catherine then arrived at the core of the gardens, where there was a marble fountain in the middle, clear water sprouting out of it. She then neared the structure and sat on the deck, absent-mindedly fingering the water inside. 

"Catherine?" A voice startled her. Losing her balance, the young maiden jolted backwards, and fell on the shallow fountain. "Hold on, I will get you from there!" The voice frantically said. Not too long, she felt herself being lifted from the wet position she was in. 

She sputtered a 'thank you' to whoever was holding her, and once she had calmed, she looked at her savior, who had also been the reason of her fall. 

"Derrick?!" 

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"Father? Father?" Àimèe called loudly, ignoring the looks given by the servants she passed. Thinking that her father might be at the stables, she went outside. 

When she arrived there, she was just about to call her father once more, when she saw a new horse that sh
e never saw. Looking at it, she was in awe at the creature. It was a pure black, just like Jet, but the astonishing being of it was that it had wings.

"Where ever did Father get to purchase a pegasus?" She muttered to herself. 

"Sorry to disappoint, Chicken, but he does not belong to your family." A voice stated, causing her to whirl around, startled. As she saw the owner of the voice, her light brown eyes turned into a glare. 

"You." She hissed with venom, sour from the annoying nickname given to her. 

"Yes, me, the 'theif'." Eric teased, causing Àimèe to pale for a moment, remembering the misunderstanding that she caused the day ago, but quickly schooled her features into one of nonchalance soon. 

"What are you doing here? T-this is private property, if you were not aware!" She changed the subject, internally reprimanding herself for her voice cracking in the middle of the sentence. She hoped that he had not noticed, but the smirk he wore stated otherwise. 

"I am aware that this is private property, thank you very much, but I am also not trespassing." Eric stepped closer to her, inwardly cooing at her feisty glare. 

'How cute– stop, Ericson! She is not cute. Not at all, got it?' He thought while struggling to keep a straight face. 

"Then why are you here?!" 

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"What do you mean 'they are staying'?!" Àimèe exploded, not at all caring for manners at the moment. 

"Àimèe! Manners, young lady." Odelia scolded her daughter. "It is the least we could do, child, since someone decided to make a ruckus yesterday."

"We don't really need it, Madame. We already have a place to settle down for the next week or so." Derrick tried to offer. 

"See, Mother? They would be alright--" 

"But, of course, who are we to reject such a valiant offer, considering the festival is coming up soon and all…" Eric trailed on after cutting Àimèe off of her sentence. Seeing past what he was doing, Àimèe gave him a lethal glare, which he compared to a kitten's. 

"Correct you are, Sir Eric. Now, stay as long as you both would prefer to; you are most welcome here." She then turned to her daughters. "Catherine, Àimèe, make sure that they would have a good stay alright?" She said, mostly to Àimèe. 

Seeing that the brunette was still grumbling to herself, Catherine replied, "Yes, Mother." 

Half-satisfied at the response given, Odelia went on to her husband's office, leaving the adolescents to themselves. 

"Now," Eric turned to meet Àimèe's eyes, which were still scowling at him, "Where were we, my dearest Chicken?" 

Letting out a very unladylike groan, Àimèe marched to the kitchen, Eric on her heels. Seeing that both their younger siblings went on, the two left alone looked at each other. While Derrick was feeling rather awkward not knowing what to say, Catherine quickly broke the silence. 

"Shall we go to the library? I lost the book I had yesterday, but maybe we could find something else there." After seeing his nod, she took his hand, not putting much thought on the action, and pulled him to the library. 

Meanwhile, Derrick was lost in the feeling of having her soft hand in his. 

What would happen now that they are staying at the Ginemoux Manor? Only one day until the Festival; what could possibly happen? And how will Àimèe act with the guests?

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Sorry for late chapter! My brain's been blank lately. Next chapter would be the festival, and I'm thinking of making it a POV. Or maybe not.

Picture up there is the pegasus.