Whispers among the Witch Hazel

I stood before the gates, my eyes wide as I took notice of the massive estate before me. The buildings climbed into the sky, its towers reaching beyond the clouds like a medieval castle, the stone walls drawing me towards them. There's an attendant at the gate, greeting others as they approach, a guard stationed next to him with a blank expression. A boy approaches, handing the attendant his letter. After a moment the attendant turns to the gates. " Lord Esmond of House Corylus!" The crowd on the other side erupts into cheering, the boy entering the gates with a smirk. One after another, people entered the gates. " Lady Angelica of House Laurel" He says " Lord Alexander of House Valerian" As the line gets shorter, my nerves continue to grow. All of those people seem to be from the upperclass. Am I in the right place? " Next up," the attendant says He looks around, noticing me. My eyes immediately looked down at the letter in my hand, uncertain of how exactly to present it to him, when suddenly... " May I?" I nearly jumped out of my skin as his hand gently grasped the letter and, before I knew it, he was analyzing its contents. After a moment, he glanced up at me with a wondrous look in his eyes, a smile appeared on his face as he turned to the gates and proclaimed loudly. " Lady Astella of house Solani!" The crowd suddenly fell silent, all eyes staring at me. What in the world is going on? " Please, enter the gates, my lady." the attendant says," you needn't be worried, you are perfectly safe, someone will greet you on the other side" "o-ok." I took a deep breath and crossed through the gates to the estate beyond. An unexpected tingling sensation washed over me as I did so, and upon reaching the other side, another attendant stopped to stand before me, lowering himself into a bow with his left arm in front of him and his right arm behind. " My dearest Lady," he said,"My name is Enoch Algany, would you please follow me?" I gave a slight nod of my head, causing him to smile, before walking towards the castle-like structure, following him quietly. People stared at me as I passed, whispers filling the crowds. Just what is going on? "Allow me to explain, my lady" Enoch says. Unsure of how to respond, I simply nodded for him to continue. Why does he keep calling me that? " Though your enrollment at this academy has long since been finalized", he says, "No one was expecting you to arrive here today." "h-how come?" "Because the Solani family disappeared long ago," he says," though it's unclear exactly what became of them, since no one of your lineage had been seen in ages, we had assumed they'd died out... that is, until now." "But wait, if no one has seen my family in ages" I say " how could I have received this letter?" He smiles at me warmly, his steps echoing on the stone floor. "Our legacy families have something of an automatic acceptance for any new member of their families". He says," this means that magic was cast upon your bloodline so that, upon the birth of a child, an acceptance letter would naturally appear soon after, created using the bearers' mana. Thus, finalizing your place within this academy long before our faculty learns of your existence." "Did you say... Magic?" "Yes, that's right." Noticing my expression, he pauses, as if realizing it for the first time, his mouth drops open in shock. "M-My lady". He says "Do you mean to tell me... you've never used magic?" "No, never." I reply. "Why would I? Magic isn't real." He looked like he was about to faint. Just what is all of this? "My lady. Magic is very real". He says "and you do have it. You're a Solani, magic is in your veins." "That's ridiculous. I think i'd know-" " Lady Solani!" a voice yells. I turned to see a girl i've never met before. She was rushing towards me with a smile. "It's such an honor to meet you, Lady solani" "Oh, um... the pleasure is all mine, Lady-" "Oh my, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself!" she says "My name is Victoria Sativum of house Sativum." "Lady Sativum" " How lucky am I? To think you and I would be in the same class!" she says "I was preparing myself for the worst: being surrounded by incompetent losers! But thank the Heavens there's a Solani here. But enough of that. So tell me, Lady Astella, what's your attribute?" "My-" "Pardon the interruption, Lady Sativum," Enoch cuts in. "But her Ladyship is very busy right now. She's on her way to greet the Headmaster." "oh? My apologies! I had no idea!" "Come along, my lady, we mustn't keep him waiting!" "Y-yes." I say "It was a pleasure, Lady Sativum. Perhaps we can continue this discussion at another time?" I have no idea if I'm doing this correctly... Gods help me. " Of course! Perhaps you could join me for tea tomorrow afternoon?" "What is my schedule for tomorrow, Enoch?" I ask "You have much to do, I'm afraid," he says. "However, Tea should be fine." "I shall see you tomorrow, Lady Sativum", I say "Until then, Adieu." I was getting ready to attempt a curtsy when Enoch gently touched my back and gestured me forward. I did as he directed and continue down the corridor. " You need not curtsy to her" He whispers " My lady." "how come?" I whisper "Because you are a Solani," He says " your social standing is amongst the highest ranks." "it is?" "yes. You are the Emperor's niece, after all." I nearly fell over hearing those words, but luckily, Enoch sensed it and caught me, using the floorplan to make it seem like he was directing me down a hallway. "I-I'm the Emperors... What?!" I exclaimed quietly. "We'll explain everything in here, My lady" He opens a large set of doors for me, gesturing me to enter through them. Just who the heck am I?