Maeva sat pertly in front of the mirror while the maidservants fussed over her hair. Her freckled skin was dusted with cosmetics. The servants had wanted to layer her face thickly with cosmetics until her skin was pale and completely free of freckles, but she hadn’t allowed it. Her sun-kissed complexion wasn’t a reflection of their beauty standards, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t trying to become a Jora princess; she was a Krashna princess and she wouldn’t change herself for them. 

The maidservant clipped the last of her red curls behind her head. “Perfect,” she said as she pulled back to examine her work. “You look beautiful.” 

Maeva was dressed in a thick dress that clung to her waist tightly before flowing over her legs loosely. It was moss green and gold in color, which complimented her skin tone. Tiny flecks of gold shimmered in the light and reminded her of sunlight filtering through green leaves and trees. Maeva ran a hand over the dress and made a face. “The dress is too heavy; it’s pretty, but heavy.” 

“Most clothing in Jora is thick since the weather here is cold,” she explained. 

“Honestly speaking, I don’t like it.” 

“I…see.”

She sighed. There was nothing that could be done about it. “Whether I like it or not doesn’t change anything. Anyway, just make a mental note to order thinner dresses for me.” She rose to her feet and examined herself in the full-length mirror before twirling. The skirt swished and arced in the air before settling around her legs. “It’s pretty, I’ll admit that.”

The maidservant nodded, “It suits you beautifully.” 

“Everything suits me,” she sniffed. “Anyway, where’s the other servant that was with me? The lanky one.” 

“Oh, Halla wasn’t feeling very well. She was talking about some sort of nonsense when she woke up, so she has the day off.” 

“Nonsense?” 

“Yes, apparently,” she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and laughed uncomfortably, “she saw a ghost.” 

“A ghost?” Maeva raised her eyebrows. “Do you actually believe that?” 

She shook her head. “I personally don’t. I think she was still half-asleep and mistook a person or a shadow for a ghost. She was spooked nonetheless, so the head maid let her take the day off.” 

Maeva thought back to that small shadowy figure she had seen yesterday. Was there a possibility that she saw something like that? No, it sounded like nonsense. Besides, it didn’t sound like the maid had been choked with ice. There couldn’t be any connection between the two. It must’ve just been a hallucination or something similar to that. 

“Should I lead you to the tearoom?” 

“Yes. I might as well get this over with and take a peek at my husband-to-be.” Unlike the Jora royal family, she didn’t intend on ditching them. Besides, who knew whether or not a tiny transgression could break the marriage alliance? The alliance, after all, wasn’t set in stone until she married Prince Haruk. 

The thought of him sent a shudder of excitement through her spine. What would he be like? She could hardly contain the bubbling curiosity foaming within her. He was her victim in all of this. She could entrap him and secure Krashna’s future through him, but other than that, he would be the man she would spend the rest of her days with. What would he be like? 

The maidservant rubbed rose oil on Maeva’s wrist before ushering her out of the room. The halls of the palace erupted with various colors as they walked down one of the pathways. Paintings and immaculate furnishings greeted them. All the luxurious backgrounds blurred together as the halls twisted and made it impossible for Maeva to remember where they were headed. Everything looked too familiar, as if the palace was designed to confuse people. And maybe it was. She wouldn’t have put it past Jora to create a confusing palace to undermine assassination plots.

When they reached their destination, her maidservant bowed and left Maeva. Two guards stood beside the double doors. They gave her a small nod of acknowledgement before pulling the door open and allowing her inside. The room was surprisingly plain and had various pillars situated around the room. Couches were haphazardly strewn in the room and they served as the only indication that the room wasn’t a mini throne room or hall. 

She spotted Darri’s bright red hair; he stood out among the darker-haired individuals in the room. He was lounging on the couch with a teacup pinched between his fingers and a poorly masked expression of boredom on his face. People seemed drawn to him since he attracted so much attention, even when he wasn’t doing anything. Father and Mother were a few seats away from him and they were chatting with a woman whom Maeva presumed was Queen Kata. Unlike Mother, who was boldly beautiful and fierce, this woman reminded her of a timid and simplistic sheep. Her face was round, despite her reed-thin petite frame, and her black locks were loosely curled around her face. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips were parted slightly as she listened to the people around her. King Nafni sat beside her. He wore the same plastic smile from the previous day. His smile was so unlike his wife’s innocent smiles and soft chuckles. 

If Queen Kata held such an innocent beautiful look, did that mean that Prince Haruk did as well? Did he look like her? She prayed that he wasn’t as short as her, but she wouldn’t have minded if he was as attractive as her. Or was he polished, fake, and calculating like his father? In appearance, King Nafni wasn’t bad to look at, but he wasn’t as captivating as the innocent queen.