A Family Reunion
Eirwen's life becomes a bit more interesting when a mysterious stranger arrives on her doorstep on New Year's Day: Grand Duchess Margaret Walter of Brindleton Bay... who claims she is Eirwen's aunt. What does she want, and why is she here? And will this get in the way of what Eirwen has planned?
"My name is Grand Duchess Margaret Walter. I am your father's sister, and I would like to talk to you."
Eirwen had never really asked about her father's side of the family, and he never brought it up. They'd had more than enough family from her mother's side, after all. A Duchess from Brindleton Bay, though? That was not what she had expected.
"Come in, then." Eirwen answered her. "Let's talk."
"I expect you didn't know about me, did you?" Margaret asked as they sat down together.
"No, I didn't. Never asked Father about his side of the family." Eirwen answered. "And he never talked about them, though I expect you're probably going to tell me why."
Margaret's lips twitched. "You're certainly a sharp one. I am, yes, but not right now. The short version of the story is that my father made a terrible mistake, and estranged Phillip from our family. I would like your help reconnecting with my brother."
"Why don't you reach out to him yourself?" Was Eirwen's immediate question. "Why through me?"
"My brother is stubborn, I'm afraid. He does not yet know our father has passed on. I have attempted to reach out, he has not responded to my letters. I believe it will be better to have you reach out and arrange something."
"I don't expect you to help me for no reward, either." Margaret added. "If you wish to visit my court on Wednesday, I will introduce you to the nobility and citizens of Brindleton Bay as my niece. And, if you like the court, we will host a grand ball for you to attend. Take the invitation, please, and think about it."
"I don't need to think about it." Eirwen dismissed, mind already made up. "I'll call my parents, I'll see if they'll meet with us."
"Thank you, Eirwen." Margaret smiled. "I appreciate you doing this."
Eirwen pinned the invitation up on her new pinboard after the Duchess left. A formal invitation to a masquerade ball, to be held on Friday if she accepted. She didn't plan on going all in on this nobility stuff, but since she had a way in, she may as well take it.
Having a connection in the royal circles would be useful in her line of work, anyway.
She decided to call Rose, rather than Phillip. As Margaret had said, her father was stubborn, and Rose was really the only person who could get him to do anything he didn't want to. Once she had gotten past the usual catch-up chit-chat, she told her mother all about the Duchess's visit, and what she had said.
Rose agreed to talk to Phillip about it, and told Eirwen to bring the Duchess to visit them the next day, around noon.
Eirwen had finally filled the shelves of her shop with nectars, and was almost ready to open. She would spend the next couple days cleaning up and making sure everything was pristine for opening day. She wasn't in too much of a rush, though- her criminal work was bringing in plenty of money now. This was just a side gig.
At noon on Tuesday, Eirwen walked up to her parents' house in Oasis Springs. Duchess Margaret had arrived shortly before her, and had waited for Eirwen to go inside. Rose answered the door, and welcomed them in warmly.
"It's always so nice to see you, Eirwen." Rose told her daughter warmly. "You should visit more often."
"I would love to, Mother, but I'm afraid Nordhaven's a long train ride." Eirwen chuckled.
"Yes, it's unfortunate." Rose sighed. "You must be the Duchess. It's nice to meet you."
"You as well, Rose. I'm sorry we didn't meet sooner." Margaret answered. "Is Phillip here?"
"Yes, he's upstairs. He'll join us in a moment."
Phillip came down a few minutes later, and joined them in the living room. "Hello, Phillip." Margaret smiled slightly. "It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has. Why are you here?"
"Firstly, I thought you should know: Father is dead. He passed last summer. I would have informed you sooner, but it's taken a long time to find you." Margaret explained.
"I see. I'm sorry to hear that." Phillip sounded slightly saddened, but not particularly burdened by grief. "I had hoped he would try to amend things before he passed."
"That is the other reason I am here, Phillip." Margaret told him. "I want to make things right with you, and your family. Father shouldn't have thrown you out like he did."
Here, Rose cleared her throat. "I'm afraid myself and Eirwen are still very much out of the loop. You two are going to need to explain."
"Of course, I'm sorry." Phillip agreed. "As established, Margaret is my younger sister. Our father, Henry, was the Grand Duke of Brindleton Bay. I was his heir, initially, and raised to that role."
"Father was quite stubborn, and didn't like how adventurous Phillip was." Margaret added. "He believed that assuming the throne was the only thing that his son should want in life."
"I wanted to travel beyond Brindleton Bay, to have adventures of my own." Phillip continued. "When I asked to join the military, it turned into a catastrophic argument. He refused outright, and I, in my temper, decided to run away."
"So you came to Oasis Springs, and met me." Rose concluded.
"That's right."
The conversation was interrupted by Carlos' arrival, come to visit his parents on his day off. He was also introduced to Margaret, and brought up to speed on the family history they had all recently learned. He was as surprised as Eirwen had been, but welcomed Margaret politely.
"I would be glad to welcome you back, Phillip." Margaret told her brother. "I have inherited the throne, now. There is a grand ball at the castle this weekend, and you are all invited. Bring a guest, if you wish. We have recently signed a trade agreement with Nordhaven, so we will be celebrating that."
"Thank you for the invitation." Rose acknowledged. "Eirwen and Carlos are free to make their own decisions, but Phillip and I will consider it."
The family spent a little more time at Rose and Phillip's house, just making up for lost time. Margaret had lots to tell them all about Brindleton Bay, a place none of them had ever visited before. Eirwen did know that Liliana had gotten engaged at the Lighthouse, though. She would be curious to see that at night, one day.
After a while, though, Eirwen was through with socializing and bowed out politely, heading home to rest before her work started in the evening.
When Eirwen got home, she'd only been there for a little while before her phone rang. When she answered, Sterling was on the other end of the line.
"Hi, Eirwen." He greeted her, tone anxious.
"Everything alright, Sterling?"
"What? Oh, yes, yes, everything's fine! I just- had something I wanted to ask you."
"Go on, then."
"I've had a crush on you for a while, Eirwen." Sterling blurted out after a couple seconds of silence. "Will you go out on a date with me?"
Well, that wasn't what she had been expecting. But why not? "Sure, we can try it." Eirwen agreed. "We'll see how things go, alright?"
"Alright, great. I'll find a place, let me know when you're available."
"Okay, Sterling. Goodbye."
With a couple hours to kill until nightfall, Eirwen spent some time fishing in the canal for collectibles. She'd found a few different bike parts so far, so who knew what else could be down there?
So much had changed in just two days, this was already shaping up to be quite the eventful year. She hadn't expected Sterling's confession, either, though looking back on it she probably should have. Whether she felt the same way, she wasn't sure. She didn't MIND the idea of him as her boyfriend, but she wasn't jumping for joy either like her cousins seemed to. Maybe love just came to her differently.
At nightfall, she locked up her apartment and slipped out under the cover of darkness. The other members of Nordhaven's smuggling ring would be waiting for her, now, and it wouldn't do to be late.
The heist they pulled off that night was a particularly impressive haul, and Eirwen's role in ensuring its success earned her the rank of Minor Crimelord. Impressive, given the relatively short time she had been with the gang.
Of course, it wouldn't do to come home without a gift for her crow, Loudspeaker. People were foolish to underestimate the birds, they were valuable allies and she intended to keep them happy.
Tonight's gift, a ruby from the load they smuggled in, seemed to particularly please her corvid companion. She would have to bear that in mind for future gifts.
Tomorrow, she would appear before the court of Brindleton Bay for the first time, per her aunt's invitation. It was bound to be interesting, she was certain.
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