TheOtherNoble

“You are the least objectionable groom of all the ones I’ve seen,” Anaisa replied seriously. 

“Thank you for the glowing compliment,” Trace grinned, “but that didn’t quite answer my question.” 
___

Anaisa is an orphan and a pariah. In an ultimate act of betrayal, her father, a Count of the Realm, is accused of deserting and betraying the army in a time of war. Not only is he immediately executed for the offense, but the king declares he must have been a fake all along! His two daughters are stripped of their titles and inheritance, replaced by a distant cousin and cast out of their home with nothing. Anaisa swears someday she will get her title and lands back, but in the mean time, she and her sister Katia have to figure out how to survive. 

Trace is an anomaly among his people; instead of revealing their son as a magic user and thrusting him into the public eye, his parents kept it a secret to allow him to choose the kind of life he wanted. Trace found himself content to rest and play in his own dream world instead of invading the nighttime visions of others.

As an adult, his choice to remain unknown is thrown into jeopardy when a mysterious blackmailer forces Trace to enlist in the territorial war between nations, threatening to reveal his secret if the demand is not met. With the war now over, Trace believes he can finally go home to his farm and live the simple, unremarkable life he’s always desired. 

When Anaisa and Trace are thrown together by a royal edict, the sisters find themselves unwittingly tangled in the web of mystery and intrigue that surrounds the blackmailer’s escalating assignments for Trace. Anaisa begins to suspect it may be connected to the plot to replace her family in the noble court. As the scheme continues to unfold, lives, loves, marriages, and magic will be put to the test to see what forces in the world are strongest.

Dreamwalker's Bride

Trace left the king's chambers and lingered outside for several moments before addressing the guards.

"The king told me to take a walk, but didn't specify when to be back. Any ideas on how long I should go?" He asked.

The two men seemed to stare past him, at the wall behind his head.

"Ok, well then, I'll be back... soon, I guess." He nodded slightly and moved away. They said nothing.

He slipped down the hallway, not knowing exactly how long he had. There wasn't too much in this part of the palace that he was familiar with, so he walked carefully onward away from the direction he had come with the ladies.

Two hallways later, he entered a place that rang a bell in his mind. Darting a glance around, he went to knock on a door that looked familiar.

After having failed to convince the king he should be careful about mental attacks, perhaps planting paranoia in the mind of one of the lords would help.

A relaxing walk