Twist and Turns

Vasillis looked at the papers that Aaron handed to him. All the women who frequently drop by the place that Alexandria found special were always a lady of a noble House in Antares. They all had surnames that show their nobility, as they know that commoners or people who do not belong to a rank do not have last names.

His gaze dropped to the old lady that he included in the list for Aaron to have a background check.

"Her husband died and she went to the middle. She stayed there for five years, but whatever happened to her or where she lived before those five years are unknown."

Aaron was only able to gather little information on the old lady, she does not look like she would play an important role in the investigation, but there was something about her that Lloyd Vasillis could not just ignore. Perhaps the mysterious air around her intrigued him, making him sense that he needed to find more about her.

He slid the paper on the desk towards Aaron and the latter turned in his direction and looked at what Vasillis was pointing at, "Look at her name." he said, and so his partner did.

"Elois Ingram." Aaron read, his brow furrowed, "What is the matter with this grumpy old lady?"

Vasillis intertwined his finger near his chin, looking at the paper with a serious expression. "Why does she have a last name?"

Aaron noticed it and he slowly nodded while staring at the last name of the old lady, Elois. "Perhaps she was once a noble before she went to live in the middle of Arcturus and Capella." he responded.

Vasillis nodded in agreement, it was possible. Recalling the time he first met Elois Ingram, despite wearing an old raggy outfit, the vibes that she gave off was not that of a commoner. The old lady being a noblewoman once are not that hard to believe judging by how she talks and moves.

"Do you know a family with the name Ingram? I have never heard of House of Ingram before." Vasillis asked.

Unfortunately, even Aaron has no idea that Ingrams exist. He threw his cigarette again into the ashtray and shrugged, "Never heard of them as well." he responded.

He raised his finger, implying that he has an idea, "Maybeee, after his husband died, the House of Ingram no longer have the power to live."

"Even if he died, their children or even Madame Elois herself could have ruled over the family."

"Maybe something happened that made the Madame lose everything. It must have made her decide to just go away and live in that place."

"What do you think happened?"

Aaron scratched his cheek and grinned, "That is what we have to find out."

Vasillis wore a forced smile and looked at Aaron, "Right, that is what you have to find out." he repeated, putting emphasis on 'you'.

It made Aaron frown but he had no choice since it was his job. "All right, Master Lloyd Vasillis." he responded with a tone of sarcasm.

Sometimes, the people whom we thought played only a little part in our lives could actually be preparing for the big role in the twists of Fate. Even people passing by could return in our life and be connected to the story, yet we never knew that we once passed by each other.

Life is full of twists and turns, we never truly know what will happen until we get to the bottom of the story, to the very last page.

~~~~~~~~~~

Before the chaos,

The Duchess smiled at the moment she saw his second son, Clifford Lockhart. Alexandria and his butler could see the similarities between him and the duchess, especially the eyes. But he must have looked more like his father as the other features of the duchess are not present.

Now it made Alexandria curious what relationship do the two brothers have. Could they be in conflict because of the position as the heir or are the two of them close? The answer to the question might be helpful in the future.

Duchess Frances returned her gaze to Alexandria, "My dear, this man right here is also my son." she introduced with her hand on Clifford's back.

Alexandria curtsied, "I am the daughter of Marquess Anthony, Alexandria Midford."

The lady did not raise her head and heard no response from the man. The man stared at Alexandria and he might not have realized that he was frozen in place, forgetting to introduce himself.

The hand of the duchess that was on his back moved away for a bit then returned with force, hitting his son on the back. Clifford seemed to have snapped back to reality as he let out a grunt, he glanced at his mother who was looking at him in the eye.

Frances Lockhart's grace could not be beaten by anyone, but even though that is the case, the Duchess is such a bully. Clifford almost frowned when he got hit by his mother's hand again, she was always like this.

She has done worse things like sending Clifford to Canopus to be a guard just because he lost the game they were playing. Just a little slap on the back already hurts, as expected of a war hero. The Duchess is known throughout the kingdom for her appearance that had retained the beauty of their youth. She is clever and strong, liked by a lot of people.

Even though she puts her family through hardships, their family can be considered as the only family that is close to each other, unlike the others whose members are distant from each other. Just like Alexandria's family.

Bastien glanced at her lady thinking that she would be envious of their relationship if only she had feelings.

Clifford cleared his throat and extended his hand. Alexandria raised her head and put her hand on his hand. "I am Clifford Lockhart, the second son of Lockhart House." he introduced and pressed his lips on the back of Alexandria's hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Alexandria."

Alexandria nodded as a response. Not even a slight smile could be found on the lady's face, it piqued his curiosity but he did not want to ask, it might be a sensitive topic that would ruin the lady's mood.

"Clifford, I will leave Alexandria to you. I need to meet with Mathias." she said. "Guide her to where Alistair is, he is waiting."

Clifford nodded and they watched as the Duchess walked away until she was out of their sight.

"Shall we go?" Clifford asked.

"Yes." Alexandria responded shortly.

Before they all continue, Alexandria stopped when she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure from the corner of her eye. She looked at the window and her heart raced all of the sudden from the sight of a lady.

It was the lady she met on the field of daisies.

Who would have thought that she would see her so soon?

Life is truly full of the unexpected.