At the other side of the palace.
Sunlight spilled across the marble floor in hazy amber sheets. The scent of parchment and wax clung to the quiet hum of courtly work as Queen Kaeyla leaned over her cluttered desk, quill in hand, marking amendments on a trade charter with precise, confident strokes.
Despite the long hours, her posture remained regal—shoulders square, hair pulled back in a loose twist that revealed the elegant line of her neck. Her crimson curls caught the light like fire, a crown of their own.
The heavy double doors creaked open.
Kaeyla didn’t look up. “You’re walking too loud, Uncle.”
Vaelen’s boots paused a half-beat. He shut the door behind him with more care than usual.
Kaeyla lifted her head, eyes narrowing with amusement. “Ah. You’re upset.”
“I’m not upset,” Vaelen replied coolly, though the tightness around his eyes betrayed him.
“You only say that when you’re extremely upset.” She leaned back in her chair, pen tapping rhythmically. “Did one of the ministers call your logic ‘outdated’ again?”
“I am not here to talk about the court,” he said flatly.
“Well, clearly not to laugh either,” she said, and smiled. “You need more hobbies.”
She gestured toward the cushioned chair across from her. “Sit, unless you’d rather loom and glower in silence.”
Vaelen did not sit.
Kaeyla sighed and folded her hands. “You know, you’re stubborn one. Never listen to the queen’s order nor do you answer any of my question if you don’t want to.”
“Like?”
“Like…the girl,” Kaeyla said. “Your so-called ‘daughter.’”
She raised an eyebrow. “Fifteen years ago, you came to me with a rare request. You said there was a child, someone precious to you—someone you couldn’t bear to send away. You asked me, as my advisor and kin, to let her stay here.”
Vaelen’s lips pressed into a firm line.
Kaeyla tilted her head. “And then you never introduced her.”
“She’s not ready.”
Kaeyla chuckled. “I keep hearing that. You’re starting to sound like one of your riddles.”
“She will be, one day.”
“When the stars align, right?”
Vaelen didn’t respond.
Kaeyla’s expression softened, just a little. “Is she alright?”
There was something quiet in her voice—genuine concern, hidden beneath her teasing tone. Kaeyla is a smart girl, a queen at five. She is not an idiot either. Both Vaelen and she know who is that girl.
Vaelen paused. “She was injured. She’s recovering.”
Kaeyla’s smile faded. How is she now?“, she rushed. “You’ve trained her well, haven’t you?”
“She is capable.”
“Capable,” Kaeyla repeated, eyes narrowing. “That’s not what I asked.”
He looked away.
“I approved her stay because you asked me,” Kaeyla said softly. “And because I trusted you. I didn’t ask questions—not back then. But she’s lived in the shadows of this palace for a decade.”
Her fingers traced the edge of a scroll. “Doesn’t she deserve more than being capable?”
Vaelen was silent.
Kaeyla watched him for a long moment, then sighed and shifted the mood, knowing the conversation is not going anywhere. It has been fifteen years. “Speaking of hidden people—do you think it’s time to bring Yuan back?”
That finally made him look at her.
“You’ve been suspiciously quiet about him,” she added, almost too casually. “The empire now is calming down with their prince with us. There’s no point wasting a great general at the boarder now.“ I haven’t seen him since I was what—ten?”
“You’ve seen reports,” Vaelen replied.
“Not the same.” She smiled faintly. “You forget, I grew up tailing him like a shadow. Pretty sure I used to declare I’d marry him when I grew up.”
Vaelen raised an eyebrow, surprised. “You remember that?”
Kaeyla’s cheeks turned faintly pink. “Hard to forget. You used to tease me mercilessly.”
“You made it easy.”
She didn’t laugh. Just looked down at her parchment and murmured, “He is kind of cool...and sometimes, there’s little sympathie he silently offer when he looked at me. Plus, the court getting noisy about my marriage recently.”
Vaelen’s gaze lingered on her face, watching the way her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
After a beat, he said, “What are you planning to do with Prince Theon?”
Kaeyla looked up again, brows raised. “Trying to distract me?”
“Answer the question.”
She shrugged. “He’s interesting. Sharp. A little too relaxed for court life—but clever.”
“That’s not a plan.”
“We’re not in love, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Vaelen frowned. “You’re the Queen of Solhara. Your marriage will shift political balance.”
“I know,” Kaeyla said, voice steady. “Which is why I don’t take it lightly.”
She leaned forward. “I like Theon because he doesn’t treat me like a queen. Not all the time. Sometimes he’s just… a person beside me. I don’t get that often.”
“He should be punished for it.”
She laughed lightly. “Of course you’d say that.”
Vaelen then continue, something is off with him and the empire. I seems to cannot pinpoint what is. He seems to be too good for someone who is in unfavourable situation. The empire’s deal is also too good to be true.
Kaeyla, turned, the spy we sent confirmed the fact. So far, I do not sense malicious from him either.
Then, quieter: “You’ve spent so long protecting me, Uncle. Sometimes I wonder who protected you.”
That caught him off guard.
He opened his mouth, then thought better of it. His eyes drifted to the parchment, then back to her.
“Yuan,” he said slowly, changing the subject. “Would you still bring him back… if he wasn’t the same?”
Kaeyla looked away.
“If he came back different from the boy you knew?”
She took a long breath. “I think I’ve changed too.”
Then she stood and walked to the window, her silhouette framed in gold light. Her reflection in the glass shimmered like something out of memory.
“People change,” she said softly. “But sometimes, that’s the only way they survive.”
Comments (0)
See all