"How did you sleep?" Asked Pierre with a bitter smile.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Asked Alfonso.

Pierre scratched his head.

"Sorry for my fiancée, she can be quite… loud sometimes" A voice came from one corner.

Alfonso turned around and saw a familiar face.

"Felipe?" Asked Alfonso.

"We meet again, Alfonso Lockheart" Said Felipe.

*Thump* *Thump*

Alfonso and Felipe felt a beat coming from their cane and ring respectively.

"I knew it" Though Alfonso.

Another artifact of time!

Felipe looked at Alfonso with a stunned expression, however, it was only for a split of a second before returning to normal.

  "You two know each other?" Asked Pierre.

"Let's just said that Mr. Lockheart helped me with a family problem back in Arcadia" Said Felipe.

"…" Alfonso didn't say anything.

"I see.. Well, anyway, let's proceed with the issues at hand" Said Pierre.

"Shall I go on my way?" Asked Alfonso.

"No, you need to take part in this meeting" Said Pierre.

Alfonso had a bad feeling.

"As far as I remember, I don't have any business in the internal affairs of the Veritia family" Said Alfonso.

"Indeed, you don't, but this time, we might need of your… services" Said Pierre.

"I am just a blind one-legged man; I think that there is no much that I can help the great Veritia family with" Said Alfonso.

"Are you playing the fool, Alfonso Lockheart?" Said Pierre.

"Maybe, Maybe not, however, I want a proper reason to heard something that I might not want to heard" Said Alfonso.

Sometimes, knowing something that you shouldn't know was an incoming disaster, even if you don't actually do something about it.

"The proper reason is that the future of not only your little town, but all Leitol, might be decided in a couple of weeks" Said Pierre seriously.

Alfonso looked at Pierre for some seconds before sighing.

"Let's go"

Alfonso, Pierre and Felipe went to the meeting room, where, in a huge table, 12 seats were prepared.

"You are finally here, Pierre" Said the man in the main seat.

"Claude, I thought that you will still be hiding in your rat corner, to actually come here, I must said that you are… indeed a Boltor" Said Pierre with a sarcastic voice.

"Pierre, I have to remember you that you are not the queen of winds, don't be so petulant" Said Claude.

"And I have to remember you that you are in Storm manor, not in your Thunder manor, so mind your language" Said Pierre.

Claude stood up and looked face to face to Pierre.

Both lords looked at each other for some seconds before Claude sighed.

"Due to the respect for the queen of winds, I will tolerate this unrespectful behavior" Said Claude.

He sat down, however; he didn't leave Pierre's gaze.

"But remember this Pierre… the queen of winds won't always be there to protect you"

With that line, Claude sat down and didn't say anything else.

Piere looked at Claude and sat down as well.

"Anyway, thank you, everyone, to all of you, we know that you all are busy with your own matters; however, this concerns not only you but all Leitol" Said Pierre.

Sitting on the Leitol were all the powerhouse in the north, not the lords, the power full houses, those who make the north work and distribute their resources.

"Mr Veritia, it indispensable that we came even if we didn't want to, after all, who would have imaging that something like this could happen" Said A woman sitting on the left side.

"Thanks for coming, madam Spider" Said Pierre.

This woman was in control of the most luxurious brothel in Leitol, she lived in Tulip but Felio couldn't even compare to herself in terms of power and connections.

"Pierre, where is the queen?" Asked an old man sitting next to madam Spider.

"Elder, she isn't feeling well so I am taking her place" Said Pierre.

"Hmph, once again leaving her duties to you, that little princess doesn't change" Said the Elder.

This Elder was the head of the Raven family, Gilberto Raven, one of the few individuals that could talk with the Queen of winds freely.

"Oh? Who do we have here, isn't the f I mean, the lord of Wasteland Valley, Alfonso Lockheart?" Said a man at the very right of the table.

"Lord Binisuli, I didn't think that you would come" Said Pierre.

"Binisuli!" Though Alfonso.

The golden eagle, this was the emblem of the mysterious house of Binisuli, located at the very south of the north region, it was one of the few houses that neither the Boltor family nor the Veritia family had influence on, in fact, even the Lockheart family didn't have any influence on them.

It was a particularity in Leitol.

The Binisuli family didn't have any particular achievement, but… there was something that even the Lockheart family feared inside… as well of the other houses of course.

"Connections" Though Alfonso.

The Binisuli family was in fact, a family that came from Greycastle!

"Two generations ago, the Binisuli family came as amba.s.sadors from the royal family of Greycastle, the Laplace family, the only reason that we haven't go to a full war with Greycastle is because of the Binisuli family" Though Alfonso.

The relations.h.i.+p between Greycastle and Leitol was a very complex one, for one side, both sides attack each other, however, the true was that neither side wanted to actually conquer the other one, because both empires were almost equal in power, a full war while inevitably cause the winner a major lost, of course, this wouldn't matter if only this two empires existed…

However, there were other forces overseas, that could see this as an opportunity the Lockheart family and the Laplace family understood this very well, that was why, both families decide to… use a 'diplomacy' escaped.

Both empires send a family to represent them in the other empire, of course, this families had all the luxuries and privileges that any dragon family had.

Of course, to the eyes of others, this was an enviable position.

To the ones who understand politics however, there was only one word from these families.

Hostages.