She felt blessed, like the Stars themselves had granted her this. There was no limit, no rules or constraints. She was boundless; she was home, safe and secure in his unbreakable embrace.
~
Shackled in an abrupt and demanding upbringing, Althera is...
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Lisabette's maid applied the last drop of perfume on the pale skin of her collarbone. It was the scent of autumn rose - the king's favorite. With a flourish of her hand, the young girl beckoned to her other maids who were sorting through her wardrobe of new gowns she received for her birthday just over a week ago. They paused their task.
"Prepare some of His Majesty's favorite desserts," she instructed, gazing at herself in the mirror. The plain, light purple dress would have to go. "And change me into a darker colored gown. His Majesty will never approve of this."
Her maids obeyed and one of them scurried out of her chambers to swipe a cake or two from the kitchens. She was lifted from her seat on the stool and taken into her dressing room where her maids swapped her current lilac gown for an elegant blue one that brought out the softest specks of turquoise in her light brown eyes. Her lady-in-waiting clicked her tongue in approval, admiring the satin ruffles of the sleeves.
"You will certainly please the king, my lady." The younger maids nodded in agreement. Lisabette spun twice before the full-length mirror, hoping they were right.
When the maid returned with the cake, the princess set off alone to find the king, her skirts swishing about the marble floors of the hallway. She disliked the patterns in the carpet, though she never openly complained about it to anyone.
The office was just a turn away when she heard the sound of footsteps coming up from behind her. She whirled around, finding herself facing the woman she constantly told herself she resented with all her heart. She was dressed in an even more beautiful gown of crimson damask, and her shiny, red-gold hair was twisted in neat curls that rested at her shoulders.
"Princess Lisabette," Lady Ranorae greeted, sinking into a low curtsey of recognition. Lisabette dipped her head. It was common for people to show such respect to her - she was the princess of the Second Kingdom after all.
In this palace, it was only her and Lady Ranorae who easily earned the king's favor, and because she was much younger than all the ladies of court, it was not exceptionally difficult for her to make her way to the top. It was now down to her and the lady, and it was a competition of wits and grace she had been made to practice since she emerged into this world from her mother's womb.
"Are you here to visit His Majesty?" The lady asked sweetly. Lisabette noticed she held a wooden box in her hands. The delicate carvings on the lid were foreign to her.
"Yes," she replied, deliberately raising the tray of desserts in her hand. "And am I wrong for believing you are as well?"
Lady Ranorae beamed brightly, and if Lisabette hadn't known better, she would've thought she was being friendly.
"I have just come back from visiting His Majesty." The princess narrowed her eyes. If Ranorae had come from the other end of the castle, it meant Valentine's wasn't in his office like every other day. "He said he would be busy for the rest of the day."
There was no sign of a lie in Lady Ranorae's pine green eyes, but Lisabette was still not sure whether she should trust what she said. The woman surprised her by placing a long-fingered hand on her arm. She held back from flinching.
"I'm sure His Majesty will make time for you tomorrow." Her voice was soft but scornful. "In the meantime, why don't you come with me to my rooms? We have much to catch up on."
Lisabette wanted badly to feel suspicious of whatever Lady Ranorae was up to, but she couldn't bring herself to question the unusually warm and affectionate sparkle in her eyes.
She was speechless as the lady grasped her shoulders and turned her in the opposite direction.
~
Eavesdropping was wrong, especially on nobility, and Althera knew that perfectly well.
Then why was she following the two ladies of court? She asked herself guiltily, though it was already far too late to turn back.
She'd returned back to her chambers after Rhaye dismissed himself, but she was too energetic to sit still for another hour in her room as she waited for him to fetch her afterwards. So all she needed to do was gather her skirts and set off to discover more of the castle. Her sense of direction wasn't as horrible as she'd thought, but she still needed time to completely memorize the different routes. The guard had vanished as well, which should have been more of a comfort than a worry to Althera.
She had been about to head back to her room from the gardens when she heard the ladies speaking in low voices. She'd moved past it at first, but when the sound of her name filtered down the halls, she had stopped dead in her tracks and decided to tail after them to find out what was so interesting about her that made two noblewomen want to speak about it.
Most of the windows had curtains draped over them, so the shadows hovering over the walls created enough cover for her to edge her way around without getting spotted. She had to admit, though, it wasn't as easy as she'd anticipated.
The most complex part of her task was actually picking out what they were saying. They spoke quietly, their soft voices submerged under the echoing footfalls, and it didn't help either that Althera was focusing hard on trying not to disturb them and get herself caught. She was already in a very difficult position as it was; the king, who never seemed to like her anyway, would surely have her head if he ever found out about this.
But their speech was still comprehensible. She managed to snatch snippets of their conversation and it was sufficient information to let her realize that their discussion was the very least harmful. And interesting.
She felt momentarily disappointed when they halted before one of the many doors that led to what Althera guessed to be the lodgings. Even with just one swift look she could say with unyielding confidence that the rooms were going to be much more attractive than hers.
"I assume you have knowledge of the lady's change in rooms?" The woman in the red dress said in a barely audible voice. Althera held her breath, pressing herself against the wall.
"Change in rooms?" The second, and much younger one, sounded puzzled.
"Yes, and it is Prince Rhaye who ordered it." Althera's throat went dry.
Prince Rhaye? She pushed down her frustration. How much longer had he been planning to hide his true identity from her? And why had she not been informed of this news?
She heard a gasp, which she guessed came from the second lady.
"Rhaye's back?" Her shock could be detected even from where Althera stood. Her spine was aching with the effort of standing against the wall, but she didn't care at that moment.
"Yes," the woman replied gravely - or at least she sounded grim.
"It isn't unusual for him to take interest in her." Her. It wasn't Lady Althera anymore. It was just her. "But the king does not approve." The words hung in the air for a suffocating moment.
"I pray it is just another one of his games," the first whispered, just loud enough for Althera to hear. The tips of her fingers went cold.
There was a short pause where she heard a sharp inhalation of breath.
"Then he is playing a dangerous game he cannot win."
But before any of them could say anything else, Althera stole back into the blackness and navigated her way out of the mess she'd placed herself in, her eyes wide and heart exploding with fury.
