Margaret is Nyo!France

Victoria is Nyo!England

Marie is 2p!Nyo!France

Madeline is Canada

François is 2p!France

Vladimir is Romania

Lukas is Norway

"So, Princess, how did you come to be trapped in that tower, if you don't mind me asking?" Victoria blurted out after some time on the rod. The two of them were riding on her horse, Margaret sitting behind Victoria and clutching her around the waist. It sounded almost romantic, but Victoria's armor was starting to cut into Margaret's skin, and she simply couldn't imagine what it would be like to wear it.

"Oh, don't you know? My father put me in there," Margaret said, carefully monitoring her voice to make sure it didn't break. It had been six years since it had, and yet it hurt just as much as ever. Margaret had figured that knowledge of her father's treachery had become common knowledge, but it seemed as if she was wrong.

"What? But why on earth would he do that to his own daughter?" Victoria exclaimed, aghast. Margaret could not see her face, but she assumed that it was pulled into an expression of horror, if to match her tone. She seemed to be very expressive like that.

"Because I look like my mother," Margaret said simply.

"Is there a story behind that? Forgive me, but I am not very well-versed in the going-ons of Gaul," Victoria asked, steering the horse down a wooded trail.

"Yes, there is," Margaret answered.

A few moments of silence passed, and then - "Well, are you going to tell it?" Victoria snapped. "I don't have all day, you know."

"Sorry," Margaret apologized. "I was waiting for you to say if you wanted me to tell it."

Victoria's tone softened. "The fault is mine, Princess. I should have said so myself - I can only assume that it has been many years since you have interacted with another human. It would only make sense that your social skills are dismall at best."

"Hey! Do you want me to tell you what happened or not?" Margaret objected, a laugh bubbling up in her throat despite the insult.

"Yes, of course I want to hear it, if only you would hurry up and tell it!" Victoria said overdramatically.

"Alright, alright!" Margaret giggled before quickly sobering. Victoria, catching onto her mood, quited as well.

"It started with my mother, Queen Marie. She was said to be the most stunning beauty in all of Gaul. But that wasn't enough for my father, as I learned when I was eight that there existed a child of one of the kitchen maids who was born of my father's infidelity. She was barely five, and yet already starting work at the palace! I did what I could for her, of course, ensuring that she was appointed as my lady in waiting," Margaret paused, chewing her lip nervously.

"God, I hope she's okay," she murmured before clearing her throat. "Her name's Madeline. Maddy for short - she thought Madeline sounded too fancy. Just in case you were wondering. Which, um, you probably weren't. Anyways. Maddy's mother was hardly my father's only case of faithlessness, and when my mother, found out…"

A long silence stretched between them as Margaret sought for the strength to continue. Finding it, she breathed in deeply. "When my mother found out...she was so devastated that she killed herself. My father claimed an assassin had poisoned my mother instead of she herself, covering up her suicide to save face."

It wasn't unusual for kings and queens to be faithless to their partners, as many of them were in loveless marriages solely to produce an heir, nothing more. Not so for François and Marie Bonnefoy, though - they had truly loved each other, once upon a time. But as time carried on and Marie's looks faded, so too did François's passion for her.

"But that's horrible!" Victoria gasped, processing the information. How could one who was laughing just a moment ago tell a tale so dreadful…?

"Yes, it is," Margaret agreed. "Even worse, my father tried to blame me for it, saying that Madeline had corrupted me, convinced me to kill my own mother just so I would be closer to becoming queen and Madeline, as my lady in waiting, would be in a position of power. Of course, that isn't at all what had happened, as I already told you. I think - I know that he did it because he couldn't stand to look at us, we reminded him too much of the he decided to turn to only after she was dead and gone," Margaret spoke with the bitterness of one much older than her eighteen years, recalling the day with near perfect clarity.

King François had called Margaret into his chambers to have a talk. He had always had a subtle flair for the dramatic, and it showed in the way he positioned himself so as to be tastefully obscured by shadow as he informed Margaret that she and Madeline would be tried for treason the next day. Their punishment had already been decided, he told her.

Margaret would be locked away in a tower guarded by a dragon, because she had been manipulated into commiting her crimes. Besides, he said, princes and knights would be practically lining up to rescue her, which would eventually land Margaret with a strong husband who would take care of the kingdom after François died.

Or at least, that's what would happen if François played his cards right, killing two birds with one stone. Madelin, though - as the supposed mastermind of the whole thing, she would be sentenced to death.

Madeline, resigned to her fate, had gone to sleep for the night, but of course the news was unacceptable to Margaret. Madeline was her dearest little sister, and the fact that they had different mothers would never change that. Of course, it wasn't like Margaret could do anything about it, as both she and Madeline had been locked in Margaret's chambers.

That changed when the royal sorcerer, Vladimir Popescu, appeared. He had spoken to Margaret in a voice that was loud yet comforting, and explained that he knew neither she nor her lady in waiting were guilty for the death of Margaret's mother. Indeed, he had said, he was more to blame than either of them, for the poison that killed the queen had been made by his own hands, and given to her without question besides.

He could not in good conscience let Madeline be killed for a death she played no hand in, Vladimir said. Besides, he had all but whispered, he knew what it was to have a younger sibling, and that was why he would help them escape.

Vladimir would assist them in joining his lover in Britania, far outside of King François's domain. Margaret had thought it was a wonderful idea, except for one thing - if she disappeared, it would be too noticeable. She was the princess after all. But Madeline? Well, Madeline was just a lady in waiting who'd always had a talent for being overlooked. It would be easy to spirit her away to Britania, to make her disappear. Not so for Margaret, however, for she had inherited her father's dramatic tendencies tenfold, and was always under the spotlight.

And besides, she'd added with a wry smile, being locked up in a tower and guarded by a dragon seemed like quite the experience, to say the least. An experience that Margaret was confident she could end whenever she wished.

Vladimir had nodded slowly, agreeing to leave her, and scooped up the sleeping Madeline in his arms. He was not a large man by any means, but even still he dwarfed Madeline, and Margaret was suddenly struck by just how small and fragile her sister was.

"Please, Sorcerer...make sure she is safe," she'd whispered.

"I will," he had promised, and then suddenly the two of them were gone, just like that.

But Margaret doubted that Victoria wanted to know all that, especially not in so many words, so she just told her that King François had sentenced her to imprisonment and Madeline to death, but the royal sorcerer had helped Madeline escape in a fit of sympathy.

"He said that she was with his lover in Britania, but I'm still worried about her," Margaret added nervously.

Victoria gasped softly at that, which surprised Margaret. "Your sister - would her surname happen to be Williams?" she asked.

"Yes, it is," Margaret replied, wrinkling her nose. Williams was such a plain name, in her opinion. A servant name, as dull and dirty as the work of the job itself. Bonnefoy was a far better name.

"I think I know where to find her, then! About six years back, the local mage, Lukas, took on a servant. We all thought it was strange - after all, they already had a younger brother, and that random brat that came out of nowhere, but we mostly chalked it up to them being a mage and mages being weird. Besides, mage work pays rather well - it wasn't like Lukas was putting any financial stress on the household by getting a servant," Victoria cleared her throat.

"But, well - the servant's name is Madeline Williams, and she's from Gual! She's the same age as your sister, as well, and never talks about what brought her to Britania."

"Let's go!" Margaret practically shouted with joy. Her arms were already tightly wrapped around Victoria's midsection, but somehow she made it very clear that she was hugging her anyways.

And so, with hope in their hearts and stars in their eyes, our heroes set out on their adventure to find Madeline and piece together Margaret's family. Stay tuned for the next update!