I woke up early in the morning just to take a warm bath and change into a leisurely dress. After that, Kath and a maid helped me prepared my long hair.
"Your hair is so long Milady, do not you want to cut it?" Kath asked while tying some strands of my hair.
"It is such a waste if I will cut it. Is not it still healthy and beautiful?" I asked her. I really did not want to cut my hair because I want to be in par with my brothers and father. Their hair were also long but not as long as mine. Their hairs reaches up to their shoulder blades and it was always tied down so they would not be mistaken as women.
I was wearing a green dress and was topped with a thick cape.
After helping me prepare, Kath and I immediately went at the front door. When we got there, my father and brothers were already there, waiting for me who was the last one to arrived.
"Is everything ready?" Dad asked when he saw me and Kath got out from the doors.
Four carriages were on standbys and some Knight who would be accompanying us were almost done preparing.
I was glad, they seem to forgot to ask me about what was the reason of the scene at the Holarosa's Garden.
I first mounted the first carriage before Dad followed me inside that made me confused. Was not Kath the one who should ride with me in this carriage?
Dad must be on the other carriage but why was he here instead?
My father might have felt my confused stares I was throwing at him because he glanced back at me. I could feel that he felt satisgied at the moment.
He looks handsomely young in his uniform and his eyes looked lively since the day I woke up from coma.
He suddenly diverted his eyes outside the carriage as if there was something interesting to see. Was he trying to avoid me from asking him the reason why he was in the same carriage as me?
Brother Millian popped out infront of our wagon's door and was about to ascend inside when four pair of hands pulled him back outside.
"What the -" Millian almost swore but after glancing at my direction, it made him stop midway. Looks like they were refraining swearing infront of me.
"I should go first! I am second from the youngest!" I heard Maxwell protested. I peeked out outside the carriage to watch them arguing would go with Dad and I in the same carriage.
Usually, whenever we went out altogether in the past, I and Kath were in the same carriage Dad and Brother Millian in the other, Maximo and Maxlein and Maxillary and Maxwell were partners.
"I should go because I can protect Maxine with Dad." Brother Millian uttered coldly.
"I can too, 'ya know!" Brother Maximo also presented while pointing at himself.
"No! No! I will protect her!" Lein said with rage and immediately ran towards our carriage to cheat but four hands grabbed his back and were restraining him from ascending.
He was holding in the baluster while the others were pulling him back.
"I am the strongets! I can protect her the most!" Maxillary said while pulling Brother Lein who was holding on the handrails too tight so he would not lose his grip.
"Unhand me! You were ruining my clothes!"
"That is fine. You are ugly anyway!"
"Lein, get out there. The time is running."
"No! Let me in!"
"Ugh! Brothers, I already told you that I am the one who must mount the carriage!" Maxwell shouted frustratedly af if he was pissed by his playmates.
The maids and Knights wanted to stop their fight but they do not have a nerve to.
My five brothers were going bersek and I was a little confused because Brother Millian was even participating with who should have a place in the carriage Dad and I were in.
The carriage could only mount thre persons so they were fighting over the remaining seat.
I looked at Dad, asking for help but I only saw him holding his temple and looked problematic but he do seems not to have a plan to stop my fighting brothers. Think about it, Dad never meddled with their arguments ever since except when I started to get involved.
"Dad... Brothers." I called my father's attention. When he finally looked at me, I pointed my brothers' direction. The carriage was jerking because of them.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Stop it!"
"The carriage!"
And because of pushing and pulling each other,
"KYAAAAAAH!"
"Milady!"
"Your Grace!"
"Young Masters!"
The carriage I and Dad were in suddenly tilted. I screamed in horror and closed my eyes. Before I could even feel my body bumping in the carriage, I felt Daddy's arms wrapped around me and his one hand protected my head from crashing or anything that would fall.
My brothers were able to get away from the carriage before it tilted.
When I opened my eyes, Dad's broad chest welcomed me. His strong and nice smell immediately lingered on my nose. We were lying on the floor or should I only say him beacause Dad protected me from falling off. Because of his big figure, he managed to embrace my whole body.
We could hear them bustling with worry from the outside of the tilted carriage. They could not concentrate because they did not know what to do. Their voices were vague because they were talking in chorus.
"Maxine, are you okay? Are you injured? Is something hurting?" Dad asked worriedly even I knew that he was the one who hurt himself because of protecting me from the fall.
My heart tightened. He was more worried about me than his own well-being. I was moved with his sincerity and worry.
I looked down and clenched my hands on his coat. I suddenly remembered his death when they were blamed for the Crowned Princess' ambush. I know, Dad and Brother Lein would never do that knid of horrible thing and it was just a set up for us to overthrow our House.
Our House has always been a threat for those who wanted to gather more power. Because our family has been just since it was built, they wanted to overthrow us using dirty tactics to rise up in ranks even if it means killing a whole lineage.
Dad may not showed his love to me or I just did not noticed it before but there was something I was sure of.
One night in the past, I was awakened when I felt someone caressing my head softly. The warm hand stopped for a moment, maybe because that someone thought I was awakened by him which was really true but I pretended to be still sound asleep
When that person stood up, I opened my eyes a little to see who was it. That was when I found out that it was Dad.
He wad always with me, sneaking out in my chamber at my bedtime every night, I always felt him caressing my hair . How could I forget the size of his hand when he was already doing it since I got engaged privately with the Crowned Prince?
"Maxine?" Dad called but I stayed still.
I just opened my mouth to say something but my tears were immediately racing to roll down from my eyes. "Dad... Why?" I asked him in a low voice. I hardly stopped myself from stuttering when I asked that.
"What do you mean by 'Why'?" He asked. I could not look at him becuase I was embarrassed at the moment but I could not help myself from sniffing that he probably heard.
"Wait...are you crying?" he asked and immediately distanced me from him. That was when he saw my face full of tears.