The adrenaline from the hallway hadn't faded, but Elaine walked with a regal calm that terrified her brothers. She didn't look like a girl who had just escaped a basement; she looked like a conqueror.
She entered the main dining hall of the Alice Dome, Carmine trailing closely behind her like a shadow with sharp edges.
Her three brothers were sitting at the head of the long table, looking cocky and comfortable, sipping wine as if they hadn't a care in the world. But the moment Elaine stepped into the light, the atmosphere shifted. They saw the fire in her eyes, the messy short hair, and the blood on her dress.
They stopped crossing their legs. The air in the room grew cold.
The oldest brother cleared his throat, his voice cracking. "Wh-where were you? We searched for you all night."
Elaine walked to the table. She pulled out a chair—the one at the very center—and sat down, leaning back. She didn't look at him; she looked at the fruit in the bowl, picking up an apple.
"Gladis," Elaine said casually, biting into the fruit. "That bitch had trapped me in a basement. It's okay now. Carmine sorted her out."
The brothers exchanged terrified glances. They knew Gladis was mean, but Elaine looked lethal.
"What... what did you do to them?" the middle brother asked, his voice trembling.
Elaine chewed slowly. She swallowed, then looked up, her eyes scanning the three men who had tormented her for years.
"I want all of the estates," Elaine said calmly.
The brothers choked on their wine. "What?"
"I want to rule Velloria," Elaine stated, her voice cutting through the air like a knife.
The oldest brother laughed nervously, sweat beading on his forehead. "Well, that obviously can't happen." He looked at his brothers for support, and they forced out weak, shaky chuckles.
Elaine didn't smile. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.
"You all aren't getting the Alice Dome," she said softly. "Or any of the Velloria estates. Or the Vellorian properties."
"That's absurd!" the oldest brother shouted, finding a sliver of courage. "We are the heirs!"
Elaine reached into her pocket and slammed a heavy, leather-bound ledger onto the table. It was the ledger she had stolen from the study before coming here, the one Arnold had told her about.
"Read it," she commanded.
"Because all of this," she pointed a finger at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, "was under the name of my late mother, Viremont Baskian. Not Wood. Baskian."
The brothers froze. The name Baskian carried weight—a lineage of pure matriarchal power and wealth.
"Check the details," Elaine said, leaning back. "It's all in the name of the Baskian family. And since she is gone... it is now mine."
The brothers scrambled. They pulled deeds from the drawers, they called the scribes. They flipped through pages, their faces growing paler with every passing second.
It was true. Every inch of the Alice Dome, every trade route, every coin in the Vellorian treasury—it was Baskian property. And Elaine was the only living Baskian heir.
The brothers were truffled. They looked at each other, panic setting in. They were penniless. Powerless.
Elaine stood up. "Outside of Velloria, you can have anything you want," she said, her voice final. "The small houses. The old farmland. Take it. But the Dome is mine. The throne is mine."
She didn't ask for their agreement. She told them the reality.
The brothers looked down at the table, defeated. They had no choice. They had no money to fight her.
"Fine," the oldest brother whispered. "It's... it's yours."
Suddenly, the double doors burst open.
Gladis and Lady Tisdale came barging in. Gladis looked disheveled, her hair a mess, her dress torn. Lady Tisdale looked manic, her eyes darting around the room.
"Brothers!" Gladis cried out, running to the table. "Has the deal been sealed? Did you sign the papers? Did you give her the house?"
She looked at her brothers for support, expecting them to fight.
But the brothers just looked away. They stared at their plates, unwilling to meet Gladis's eyes. They were truffled.
Gladis stopped. She saw the defeat in their posture. She saw Elaine sitting there, calm and regal, holding the apple.
"No..." Gladis whispered.
Lady Tisdale let out a scream of pure frustration. "You useless men! You gave it away?"
Elaine stood up. She walked around the table, ignoring their wailing. She reached out and grabbed Carmine's hand.
"Come on," she said. "We're done here."
She pulled Carmine close and kissed her, right in front of her brothers, right in front of the screaming Tisdale and the crying Gladis. It was a kiss of victory, of freedom, of love.
Carmine laughed against her lips.
Hand in hand, they walked out of the hall, leaving the chaos behind them. They walked through the corridors, out the heavy front doors, and into the bright sunlight of the courtyard.
The wind blew, fresh and clean.
Elaine stopped on the pavement of the Alice Dome. She took a deep breath, turning to Carmine.
"Do you want to do something crazy now?" Elaine asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.
Carmine raised an eyebrow, exhaling sharply. "With you? Always. What is it?"
Elaine's smile softened. She looked at Carmine with all the love she had held back for so long.
"Will you marry me?"
Carmine froze. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She looked at Elaine, then at the Dome, then back at Elaine. Slowly, she dropped to one knee, still holding Elaine's hand.
"Well," Carmine said, her voice thick with emotion. "I... I would love to. But you have to grow your hair out for that."
Elaine chuckled, a bright, happy sound. She reached up and touched her short, jagged locks. "Deal."
She pulled Carmine up, wrapping her arms around her. They held each other tight, swaying slightly in the breeze.
The Lioness had claimed her kingdom. And she had claimed her heart.
To be continued.