The guard in front of her remained impassive, his right hand resting on the hilt of the long sword he carried at his side. Not a threat, of course, but just a symbol of his vigilance.

He was just doing his job, Shenya knew, but she still found it unnerving that a mere guard would prevent her from going where she wished; she fought the urge to huff and start tapping her foot impatiently, merely crossing her arms over her chest and masking her face in an expression of perfect calm. But she did not lower her gaze, continuing to stare into the pale blue eyes of the man in front of her in an attempt to intimidate him.

But the guard was not, after all, a mere guard: above his dark blue livery, embossed with a white moon, he wore the silver crest of the royal house's crescent moon.

He was not just a guard, he was the captain.

Shenya moved her long blond hair off her shoulder, letting it fall softly down her back, and looked more closely at the man.

The hard, square face, marked by the first wrinkles was a darker shade than that of the usual soldiers guarding the castle, probably tanned by the sun. The short-cut hair was brown, streaked with gray at the temples, and the aquiline nose and tight lips reminded her of the man's name: Terwin Brach.

Shenya furrowed her brow for a moment before hiding again in apparent tranquility. What was the captain of the royal guards, who was usually found all over Orios carrying the Queen's Peace, doing lurking in front of the royal bedroom?

Mother Moon will show me the way, thought Shenya. Or at least the Queen will, she added with amusement.

But she felt nervous now in the presence of the man. Not about the man himself, but about the news he would bring. She had been away from Firstfall and the Queen for too long; she absolutely had to talk to Mariam and learn about recent events.

If only the Queen had deigned to open the door and let her in.

With a slight sigh she shifted her gaze from Brach, she had surrendered to the reality that she could not get his eyes down and now she understood why, to the dark walnut double-doors decorated in relief with wrought-iron spirals.

She was about to start getting impatient and ask Brach to announce her again when the Queen's muffled voice came to her.

"Go ahead," Mariam said, her voice barely audible but her tone of command clear.

Brach nodded, as if the queen could see him, and turned to open the door wide before stepping back and allowing Shenya to pass. He did not say a single word.

Shenya showed her first emotion since she had met the man: she smiled softly and bowed her head in his direction as a sign of respect. If the man has even a little brain, she thought, he will notice the venom behind my gestures.

He cast one last glance at the captain but the man's face was like stone, emotionless.

When she crossed the threshold, the heavy doors closed behind her without a sound, the hinges well oiled.

Shenya gathered her robes, the red silk slipping through her fingers, and made the deepest reverence befitting her rank.

"My lady," she said with her head bowed, without looking at her, in submission.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the rustling of silk, then the Queen's fingers brushed her chin, inciting her to raise her head.

"Does my First Lady need these formalities?" asked the Queen, without any expression even though the tone of her voice was warm.

Shenya looked up and her face broke into a wide smile as she met Mariam's dark eyes. For the first time since she had set foot in Firstfall again, she finally felt at home.

She pursed her lips to greet her cousin when another rustle, which this time did not belong to the Queen, made her notice the other people in the room.

She immediately recognized old Selenna, the Queen's servant since Mariam was still a maiden, impeccably coiffed from her hair to her severe dark gray robe with the white crescent moon embroidered on the heart. Selenna kept her eyes downcast, but when she felt Shenya's gaze on her she bowed impeccably.

The other maidservant, on the other hand, was new or, at least, Shenya had never seen her: a young girl with light brown hair, some strands had escaped from her bun and fell over her face; she judged that at least she wore her robe well, the same as Selenna's. However, overall she considered her slovenly, unfit to be in the Queen's service, and the slowness with which she bowed increased her disappointment.

She brought her eyes back to Mariam and raised an eyebrow slightly in a mute request. The Queen's face was still impassive, but Shenya immediately noticed the way the woman lightly bit the corner of her mouth to prevent herself from smiling.

"You are dismissed," the Queen said with a flutter of her hand, without even looking at them, and the two servants gathered their skirts in a final bow before leaving.

Shenya waited quietly for the doors to close again before launching herself forward and throwing her arms around Mariam's neck and holding her tightly to herself.

The Queen laughed loudly at her crystal-clear laugh, but she returned the embrace, hiding her face in the crook of her cousin's neck, letting out a small sigh of relief.

"I missed you," whispered Mariam, squeezing her for the last time before letting her go.

Shenya passed his hands from her neck to her shoulders in a gentle caress and left them there giving her a slow glance in an attempt to glean as many details as possible.

At least physically, Mariam seemed to be doing well. Her hair and dress were as flawless as ever, and she seemed to have a healthy glow to her cheeks, which were always too pale.

She should get out more, she thought absentmindedly, but she knew it was impossible.

The queen was to stay at the palace.

Mariam took her hand in hers and led her to the white velvet-covered bench near the fireplace, Shenya moved uncomfortably on the bench, it was too hot in there for her taste, but she knew how chilly Mariam could get.

"Tell me everything!" urged the Queen, turning to her, without letting go of her hand.

Shenya sighed exaggeratedly, sad, and said, "You don't even ask me how I am? Really, Mariam, you hurt me. Here" And she put her free hand over her heart, in an unnecessarily theatrical gesture.

Mariam chuckled amusedly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand and shaking her head slightly.

"You know what I would ask of you if I were to follow my wishes."

"Dress or husband?" huffed Shenya as she rolled her eyes.

"First, don't be nasty to your queen. Second, both things, really."

Shenya bit his tongue in an attempt to suppress a nasty response. She pondered what to answer first and decided to go with the most innocuous one.

"I already told you, about the dress. I prefer bright colors, they look better on me."

"The reigning Whitmune lineage by tradition-"

"Oh, but I am a Freyrdt. Or even better, a Burg," replied Shenya promptly, before realizing her mistake.

When she saw Mariam's smirk of victory she realized her mistake and sighed sadly, mentally preparing himself for the lecture that was sure to come.

"Your lord husband is a good person, Shenya, and-"

"I know Virtholm is a good man, wonderful even, but you already know our situation," Shenya said offhandedly before realizing her second mistake in that brief conversation and chilling.

"This is the second time you have interrupted me, my Dame, make sure there is no third," the tone of her voice had not changed but the accompanying smile was icy. In her eyes was the unspoken warning.

Shenya swallowed and lowered her gaze. She and Mariam were only one year apart which made the Queen older than her, but they had grown up together and together they had become women, they had always been inseparable and it had only been natural that Shenya had become the Queen's First Lady when Mariam sat on the throne. But she always had to remember that before a cousin, before a sister, Mariam was her Queen.

Although it was difficult at times.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," Shenya murmured, and in Mariam's smile warmth returned.

"Come on, let me see this dress of yours. It's new isn't it? And the silk doesn't look Oriosian to me!" the Queen clapped her hands and motioned for her to stand up.

Shenya took the blatant way out she was giving her. She knew he would not ask her about her husband again, for now at least, and that this was a silent excuse for using her power on her, After getting to her feet, she began to spin around making her skirt rise and rotate with her movements. The silk seemed to be iridescent, revealing golden streaks with each movement that were hard to notice otherwise. It looked like liquid fire and the Queen laughed delightedly, clapping her hands again in encouragement.

I am dancing in the flames, thought Shenya with a smile before stopping breathlessly with her back to Mariam, then winking at her from over her shoulder.

"Solis silk," she said simply, returning to her seat with one last flutter of her dress.

"Solis! What were you doing there?"

"I heard rumors of how beautiful King Calis was and wanted to see it for myself."

"Shenya! I send you on a mission for the Crown, and you think of men!" she widened her eyes in scandal, but Shenya could hear the amused tone in her voice.

"I bought it in Lapis when I passed through Deepsvale, being practically on the border it is easy to find textiles from Solis," chuckled Shenya, though for a moment she wondered if she had gone too far, joking like that.

But Mariam did not seem to resent this; on the contrary.

"So you're not sure the King is as beautiful as they say?" she said playing along.

"Unfortunately, not yet. But I have seen so many things! I don't know where to begin to tell you about them all!"

"I have things to tell you too, my dear Dame," whispered Mariam and for a moment she seemed lost in thought, the smile, however, continued to veil her lips.

"What things?" asked Shenya curiously.

In the Silver Palace nothing ever happened, they all lived in a perpetual cycle that always played out the same way. It was quite boring and that is why, when Mariam had asked her to travel all over Orios and beyond, she had readily agreed. All to avoid monotony.

And the embarrassment of living with her husband.

"You first. Talk" suddenly the smile disappeared, and before her Shenya no longer had Mariam, the sister, but Mariam, the Queen.