Prince Jacob stood over the sink in his vast bathroom and stared intently into the wooden mirror hanging above it. He wanted to practice his thoughtful mourning look until it was perfect. He had already donned an all-white outfit as soon as he heard the news, and it occurred to him that it would be a good show of strength for him to instill an ordinance commanding everyone in Hathorsha to wear the mourning color as well. He’d have to write that one down.

The prince picked his private agenda up from where he’d left it on the shelf behind him, and flipped open to the last page he’d written in. He carefully added his idea for the ordinance to the list. As he entered his bedroom and passed over the rest of the items he had planned for the night, one of them caught his eye for its importance. It said, “Meet with the daughter of Yun’ha.”

Ah, yes. The final member to draft into his uneasy assembly. He wondered what price he would need to pay to win the girl over, and how much she was worth in the first place.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Carter had only stepped into the hallway when a few maids with combs and damp cloths pounced on her. “You can’t approach His Majesty looking like this,” one of them said. “It would be extremely disrespectful.”

Sephia stood by, blank-faced as ever. “We have to see him directly. A minute to clean up won’t hurt, though,” she said.

“Like hell it won’t!” Carter ripped away a towel that was being smushed into her face and backed away from the maid mob. “Step off. I look fine.”

They were mostly discouraged by her outburst, except for one maid who persisted in trying to comb a path through the tangles in Carter’s long black hair. Carter snatched the comb away and followed Sephia, who had started to walk ahead.

They descended another set of stairs and eventually came to a massive pair of gilded doors. The royal emblem was engraved in them, and a design of winding branches and flowers was carved into the iron handles. Iron, of course. It was beautiful but it was still completely Hathorshan.

Sephia paused and turned to Carter. “Wait right here,” she said, before pushing open the doors and disappearing inside.

Carter stood there, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. She glanced around and saw that the maids were still watching her from around a corner. Creeps.

How should she greet the prince? It should probably be something like, “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Prince Jacob...” What was his full name again? Ah yes, it must be "Prince Jacob Dean." No one had brought up the presence of a last name, but if you knew his parents then it was easy to put the pieces together. 

King Dean, husband of Queen Mawara, had died before her years ago, and thus had his name passed on to their child. He'd been killed in a vie for power— he'd wanted to replace the queen and become the new ruler. As was customary for such power struggles, he’d been placed in a duel to the death against the queen’s representative. She could have nominated herself, but understandably she had picked one of her knights.

Wait a second… a knight? Could it be?...

At this moment Carter noticed that Sephia had left the doors open by about an inch. She scooted a bit closer and strained her ears to listen in.

“We sent another EM to the stronghold with news of my mother’s death,” someone was saying. Carter assumed that was the prince. “It connected, but there was no response this time either.”

Sephia said something that Carter couldn’t hear.

“What could be going on out there?” the prince wondered aloud. “We shall find out soon enough. Anyway, go ahead and send her in, please.”

Before Carter could react, Sephia came out. Her eyes widened upon seeing Carter so close to the doorway. She glanced at the doors and a cringe passed over her face, but she simply gestured for Carter to come in.

Carter entered the throne room and stood, blown away yet again by the decadence of the palace. Beyond the open door and atop several steps was the throne, which laid flat and was a red as deep as blood. Prince Jacob reclined upon it, solemn mourning face in place, a hand on each arm of the throne and his legs stretched out before him, grazing the step below. A guard in sparkling, silvery armor stood on either side of him, and silk banners hung from the astronomical ceiling.

“Hello, Carter Noelle,” said Prince Jacob. “Welcome to my home.”

Carter swallowed hard and looked up at him. “Hi.”

Sephia shot her a disapproving look. The prince, for his part, was busy dismissing the suits of armor. “The royal guard will leave the room now— except for you, Sephia. The matters we need to discuss are very sensitive, I’m afraid.”

The two guards filed out, and the doors to the throne room were shut.

Prince Jacob seemed to undergo a transformation as soon as it was just the three of them in the room. He put a leg up and leaned to one side so that he was practically lying down sideways on the throne, resting his head on his hand and ruining the symmetrical positioning of his steel wire crown. His waist cape crumpled, his furrowed brow smoothed, and his mouth curled into a languid smile. Carter was startled at how quickly his air of a stern and reliable leader had dissipated.

Jacob opened his mouth to speak. “So, Noelle, how do you like it here? Since you’re immortal, you must have seen a lot of things. I wonder if my palace withstands the test of time.”

“I’m only twenty-one, and I’ve never left the capital,” Carter replied.

Jacob rolled his eyes. “I figured. It was a joke. You’re so clearly starstruck, it’s honestly touching.”

Carter reddened. “Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Sephia looked to the sky as though she were seeking deliverance from the heavens. Carter balled her fists. “Your Highness, can you answer one thing for me?” she asked.

“Shoot.”

“Why the hell am I here?”

Jacob flipped through his agenda disinterestedly. “That’s easy. I told Seph to bring you.” He leaned forward suddenly and addressed the guard in question. “This is definitely the right person, right? Matches the physical description? And immortal and everything?”

“Yeah,” Carter said before Sephia could reply. “Blew my head clean open just to be sure.”

She had expected him to be quietly apologetic like everyone else, but instead his face froze. “Really?” he asked. Sephia nodded.

Slowly, a wide grin spread across Jacob’s face. “Gosh, I wish I had been there to see it!”

“What!” shouted Carter. “Unbelievable. You people meet one immortal, and death is suddenly a huge joke!”

“Aw, don’t be like that. Think of it as practice! On our trip you could be doing a lot more dying.”

"‘Our’ trip? Who else is coming with me? If I accept, that is.”

Jacob leaned back in the throne and crossed his legs. “Let’s see… it’ll be you, me, Seph, and Ambassador Faizah. Not a big group, but we have to keep it small to conserve resources and cross the Northern Strait safely.”

So the blue-haired woman Carter had met earlier tonight would also be coming.

The prince continued. “Like I said earlier, your main job will be protection. You will be a human shield. First in the line of defense if it becomes necessary. And I understand that you immortals also have great survival skills, so we’ll require your guidance in that as well. As for—”

“Hold just a moment,” said Carter. “Why are you trusting me with your life in the first place?”

Jacob snorted. “Trust me, we can handle any danger you can ever possibly hope to pose. For practical reasons it's customary to have an immortal on royal missions, and we received a tip about you. From one Yun'ha.”

Carter choked. She hadn’t heard that name in years. “You... met my mom?”

“I guess you could say that. She worked for the royal family for a long time. But the point is—”

“Where is she now? What did she say about me? What work did she do?” The questions spilled out of Carter like an overflowing glass of water. Her day was getting more surreal by the minute.

“Noelle. As much as I’d love to do a detailed recap of our respective childhoods, I am kind of a big deal. You know, what with being chief executive of an entire country and everything. So maybe I’ll tell you everything if you join up with us.”

Carter took a step forward. “You…” She was about to lunge at Jacob and give him a taste of her right fist, but Sephia was on her in a flash. Before Carter knew it, her arms were yanked behind her and her head was snugly locked into Sephia’s elbow.

Sephia murmured, barely audible. “You really have no brains at all, huh?” She smelled infuriatingly sweet, like flowers. Carter struggled to free herself, but the lock only became tighter. 

Jacob laughed. “See? Nothing to worry about! Now, where was I? Payment?” He folded his hands behind his head, completely at ease as Carter struggled. “What will it be? A hundred ferras? A thousand? A hundred thousand?”

Half-smiling, Carter hissed, “I should do it for free because it’ll give me a chance to leave you for dead.”

“A hundred thousand it is. See you on the road, Carter.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Later that night, the two guards escorted Jacob to his bedroom once more. Advisor Thornwillow and Ambassador Faizah followed close behind. 

“Your Majesty,” Thornwillow was saying. “I respectfully advise you to kick Noelle off the delegation. She is simply too volatile. She can’t be trusted.”

The prince nodded. “Thank you for your insight, Advisor. I see much truth in your evaluation. However, I believe the value of her services far outweighs any potential threat she poses. Furthermore, I am inclined to believe the trust Yun'ha placed in her.” The cards agree as well, he added to himself.

Thornwillow spluttered. “B-b-but, Your Grace! You should have seen her in the deliberation chamber… the disrespect… no sense of decorum—”

The prince whipped around suddenly and addressed Astrid. “What do you think, Ambassador? You should have a say in who comes with us. Is Carter Noelle worth the trouble?”

Astrid hesitated for a moment and then bowed her head. “I’m sure whatever decision His Majesty makes will be the right one,” she said.

The prince resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned away. “Very well, then. The girl stays. Good night.” He continued down the hallway, leaving Astrid and Thornwillow behind.

Along the way, he paused in front of the bust statue of his late mother. The guards waited patiently as he considered it.

Fools, he thought. It's all part of the act. 

As expected, nothing really changes.

He noticed for the first time that he and his mother had the same high, imposing nose. But her eyes were distant, calculating. Like her methods of ruling. A numbers game. Was this how he looked?

This… even this, your death, I saw coming. Not specifically, but there was that omen of upheaval. Now I'll shovel it back into place. Don't worry, Mother. Maybe I didn't know you so well, but that doesn't matter. Let's have some fun, and then return my life to its rightful balance.