In the Shadows

II

Amrulette helped princess Kiana into a flowing olive green dress, and fixed her hair in an elegant updo. Kiana powdered her face and put on a simple pair of black flats. She gracefully thanked Amrulette and headed out of her bedchambers.

The hustle and bustle of the castle had died down since the late afternoon, and only a few servants and guards passed Kiana as she walked to the dining room. The sounds of chatter grew louder as she got closer. Finally the the entry to the dining room, Kiana nodded at the guards at their posts and entered. 

The king, seated at the head of the table, was laughing heartily and helping himself to a freshly buttered roll. Although he seemed happy and light, Kiana knew that he could be incredible stern. In all honesty, she was very scared of him. The queen, seated to the right of the king, smiled as she chatted with her eldest son. Brooklin was on the left, casually eating his steak and engaging in conversation with both his parents. To Kiana's surprise, a beautiful blonde young woman also sat next to Brooklin. 

"Mhm mhm." Kiana cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the royals at the table. 

"Kiana!" her father called in his booming voice.

"Hello dear!" said the queen. 

Kiana walked over to the table and sat at her mother's side.  She and Brooklin shared weird faces and burst into small fits of laughter. The woman next to him awkwardly started to laugh, obviously she was desperate to keep up with him. Kiana gave Brooklin a look that asked who the girl was, and he cleared his throat.

"Kiana, this is Eloise. She is a french princess who will be joining us for the next few weeks." Brooklin said diplomatically, however Kiana sensed a bit of awkwardness. The king smiled proudly at his son and winked.

"The french princess." The girl said, slightly laughing playfully and slightly bragging. Kiana instantly didn't like her.

"I- I thought that the princesses weren't joining us until tomorrow." 

The king's booming voice sounded once again. "Yes, however France is a close ally of ours, and I invited the lovely Eloise to come a day early." 

Eloise wrinkled her nose in a fake smile directed at Kiana. She shot a glance at Brooklin who told her with his eyes to calm down. She took deep breaths before returning a smile. 

The royal family (and their guest) at somewhat quietly for the rest of the evening. Kiana avoided eye contact with Eloise, and for the most part, Brooklin as well. He was very hurt that she felt so distant from him. 

Dessert rolled around and the kitchen staff brought out a delicious chocolate cake. Everyone grabbed a slice except for Eloise. 

"Eloise, don't be shy!" the king bellowed. "The cake is delicious." 

"Oh, no thank you." she replied. "I find that too much chocolate causes me to bloat." Eloise stared directly at Kiana, who was enjoying herself eating her cake. Kiana made eye contact with the french princess for the first time in a half and hour. She swallowed and set down her fork louder than usual. 

"I'm done with dinner. Goodnight everyone." Kiana angrily walked out of the dining room and into the hallway. She was fuming with rage and wanted to smack Eloise across the face. Fast footsteps approached behind her. 

"Kiana, wait-" Brooklin chased after her.

"What?!" Kiana whipped around, staring at Brooklin directly in the eyes. "That girl is terrible! She's absolutely wretched! She insulted me in front of my entire family! She wants to marry you and she doesn't know anything about you! All the other stupid girls are going to be just like her, and you're going to fall for one, and be crowned king, and forget all about me!" 

Brooklin took a step back. Hurt filled his eyes. Kiana wanted so badly to apologize, to hug her older brother and tell him she didn't mean it, but she did. She meant every word, and Brooklin knew that. 

"Goodnight." Kiana turned around and marched down the hall. 

"How dramatic." Eloise leaned up against the wall behind Brooklin, chuckling ever so slightly. 

Brooklin blood boiled. He turned around and faced Eloise, glaring. "Kiana is my sister. She's my best friend. Don't you ever  treat her that way again." he growled the last few words through his teeth and stormed off towards his study. 

Kiana lay in bed crying. She didn't want things to change. She didn't want Brooklin to get married or become king. All she wanted was to hug him, for him to tell her everything was going to be alright. However, Kiana knew that wouldn't happen. She knew that everything wasn't going to be alright. And therefore she sobbed silently under her covers, wishing for a miracle. 

-–-

"WHAT?!" Kiana could hear Brooklin's rage even from her chambers. She woke up with a start and sat up right away. Wiping her eyes, she slid out of bed and walked over to the door. The cool metal doorknob felt wonderful on her palms, and she almost didn't want to let go as she stepped into the corridor. 

There stood Brooklin and Eloise. Eloise was crying and Brooklin looked confused and angry. They both turned to face her and Kiana swore she saw Eloise flash a small smirk. 

"What-" Kiana yawned. "What's going on?" 

"Kiana, I'm sorry." Eloise started to 'cry' again. "I- I had to tell Brooklin what you did." 

"Wh- What?" Kiana took a step back. "I didn't do anything!" 

Brooklin gave Kiana the nastiest glare he ever had. "Oh, stop lying Kiana! We both know that after you yelled at me, you found Eloise and hit her!" 

Kiana inhaled sharply. A tear fell down her cheek. "Br- Brook. You d- don't think that- that I-" Kiana broke down into harsh sobbing. She couldn't form any more words. 

"I didn't, at first. But then I saw this-" Brooklin turned Eloise's face to reveal a red mark, clearly in the shape of a hand. 

"Kiana," Eloise began, obviously trying not to smile, "This could put a dent in the partnership between our countries. That is of course-" She put a hand on Brooklin's cheek. "Our countries join another way..." 

Kiana saw the hand on her big brother's cheek and an idea popped into her head. She stepped forward with the wavering confidence she had left, and asked to see Eloise's wound. Eloise was hesitant, and Brooklin had his guard up, however Kiana knew if her plan worked, Brooklin would forgive her and never look at Eloise the same again. 

Kiana saw the handprint and smiled. She gently put her hand on the slap-mark and grinned even wider when her hand was smaller than the red spot on Eloise's cheek.