Maeva drifted over to them. She was all too aware of the stares being sent her away. She paused beside Mother, Father, and the king and queen of Jora. The queen’s dark eyes locked on Maeva as she gave a small bow to them. “Good afternoon,” she said with a forced smile. It came out naturally, even though the last thing she wanted to do was play nice. Maeva had a role to fit, and she wasn’t going to mess it up. 

“Good afternoon,” King Nafni replied. 

Queen Kata examined her carefully before smiling. Her smiled didn’t reach her eyes, no matter how angelic she appeared to be on the outside. Like a doll, she was even faker than King Nafni. “Good afternoon. I hope the accommodations were to your liking.” 

“They were, thank you. I’m still in shock at how beautiful Jora is,” Maeva lied through her teeth and smiled like a saint. “I can’t wait to call this country my home.” 

“That’s wonderful. The faster you get used to Jora, the easier it will be.” The queen cocked her head to the side and examined Maeva from head to toe, “That dress is beautiful on you.” 

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” 

The queen motioned towards the side of the room, where an array of empty couches was scattered. Light danced off the giant diamonds glittering on her thin fingers. “How about we have a small chat over there? I’d love to get to know Haruk’s bride,” she said as she turned to her husband. “I’ll only be away for a little while.” 

“Of course,” he said with a wave, before turning his smile on Maeva. Something akin to amusement made the corner of his mouth flick up before it disappeared beneath his professional mask. “Have fun.” 

The queen rose to her feet and headed towards the empty couches. Mother and Father exchanged glances, but otherwise they said nothing; Maeva spotted Darri giving her a look, but she was too preoccupied with following Queen Kata, who was at least a head shorter than her, and who glided across the room like a true queen parting waves. It was hard for Maeva to take her seriously because of her tiny frame. That was another issue with Jora; it wasn’t that the people were necessarily short, but they weren’t as tall as the people of Krashna. Maeva wasn’t an exception. She had noticed that most of the men here were around her height, but not much taller. So with the queen being so small, it wasn’t hard to imagine breaking her wrist with a single swipe, or even snapping her neck if it came down to it. Monarchs should be strong, both physically and mentally. 

The queen took a seat on one of the couches. It was red and velvety with plush pillows adorning the corners of the seats. She rested her bejeweled hand on the armrest and watched Maeva coolly before waving her hand to the spot next to her. Maeva hesitated before gingerly sitting down; her innocent facade in was place.

“Have you met Haruk yet?” 

“No, I haven’t,” Maeva said. 

“Pity.” The queen sighed and waved to a maidservant who rushed to her side and handed her a teacup. Steam curled around the cup and disappeared in the air to intermingle with the rest of the crisply scented room. It carried strong notes of vanilla and spice. She sipped on the tea before setting it down on the low table in front of her. She didn’t offer a cup to Maeva before waving the maidservant away. “I think the two of you suit each other.” She leaned into the seat as the furniture’s thick pillows made her appear even smaller, “Don’t you agree?” 

“I’m not really sure. I haven’t met him yet.” 

“Ah, yes, how could I forget?” her laughter tinkled softly. “But you’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? Just by going off of that, I can see that you suit each other.” 

What was that supposed to mean? “Rumors are simply just that: rumors. Until I meet him personally, I won’t really know if we suit each other or not.”

Queen Kata’s lips twitched and her smile faltered. “Well, you know what they say, people should marry someone from their own status. A lowborn will always marry a lowborn. It’s just the nature of things.” She tilted her head to the side, “What are your intentions with this marriage?” 

Maeva stilled. What was she trying to imply? She didn’t appreciate the tone, nor the words spilling from her mouth. “As the princess of Krashna,” she said slowly, “It’s my duty to marry a Jora prince and secure an alliance for the betterment of both kingdoms.” 

“No need to sugarcoat things. I know you want power.” 

“Pardon?”

“Power.” Queen Kata narrowed her eyes. “It’s clear that Krashna seeks power with this union.” 

“It’s an alliance,” Maeva spit out as all their niceties slowly withered away. “Alliances are for both parties.” 

“Yes, yes. We’re both using the threat of war and its implications to bring the two countries together. The war will eventually pass, but what of our two countries? We will forever be bound.” Queen Kata laughed softly, though it pierced through Maeva like arrows. “Which is exactly why Haruk was chosen for you, rather than the other two. Did it not occur to you?” 

Silence stretched between them. Maeva sat like a statue. If she wanted to, she could grab the queen by her thin neck and squeeze the life out of her. She could slap her face, throttle her, or strangle the smile off her face, but she couldn’t do that. Not when she lacked true power. 

“Out of all the three princes, Haruk has the least power,” Queen Kata purred. “Why would we want to give power to you? Naturally, you’d marry the least influential prince. Don’t even think you can weasel your way into court and draw power. You’re an outsider, don’t forget that.”

Maeva forced a smile on her face. “I’m proud to be a Krashna—,”

“My son, the crown prince, can’t afford to muddy the pure Jora bloodline by marrying someone such as yourself. And of course, between Bekan and Haruk, it was pretty obvious which would do the least amount of damage to our future generations. After all, the royal family of Jora should consist of only Jora blood.” The words rolled off of her serpentine tongue and dripped with sweetness. She reached for her teacup and drank from it slowly as she stared at Maeva. 

Maeva’s expression faltered for a split second. Her fingers twitched into fists and heat flushed over her cheeks. Her eyes narrowed to slits and her smile slipped away. Old hag. How dare she condescend to her like that? “I didn’t know Prince Haruk wasn’t your child,” she said instead. She couldn’t let the old hag see that she had frazzled her feathers. What had she done to deserve such cold treatment? Was it simply the fact that she was from Krashna? Did she see Maeva as a threat? Was it because she was marrying Haruk? Did the queen dislike him? 

“Ah, yes. Only Rafn is my child. The other two aren’t.” 

“You keep saying that Prince Haruk is the least influential, but any prince of Jora has power, does he not?” Maeva smiled thinly—dangerously. “By your words, it seems that you aren’t fond of him. The only explanation of such behavior is that you see him as a threat. Perhaps he’s not as weak as you continuously try to make him out to be. Maybe the reason you’re acting like this is because you know he has the potential to be a threat to the throne—and a threat to your son.”

They were all assumptions, of course, but she struck a chord. Queen Kata’s face pinched together and her laugh was too shrill to be sincere, “Haruk, a threat? How laughable.”

“Hmm, if I’m not mistaken, Jora has a custom that any of the princes are fair game for the throne if there are doubts about the crown prince’s ability to rule.” Maeva leaned in closer as a red curl escaped from her hairstyle. Maeva wrapped her fingers around the strand to draw attention to its redness before tucking it behind her ear. It was the color of Krashna. “How funny would it be if a Krashna royal was suddenly put on the throne?” 

A muscle on Queen Kata’s jaw convulsed. “How funny indeed; too bad Haruk spends his days hiding away instead of being useful. Not even the public can trust him to be competent. He will never be a threat to the throne.” 

“A woman can always change a man,” she said with an airy laugh. “I wonder what I can do to motivate him?”

They both coolly held each other’s gaze before the queen broke eye contact and slammed the teacup on the table. The contents slushed around the rim and spilled across the table. She paid it no mind as she jerked to her feet. “You’re a hilarious, naughty little girl. Naïve, stupid, and uninformed. As your elder, it’s my duty to teach you. Come, child. Let me introduce you to Haruk. You’ll see just how ridiculous your claims are when you meet him.”

She stalked away without a backwards glance. Maeva hurried to her feet and trailed behind the woman. She kept an eye on the queen while also examining her surroundings. The nobles of Jora were laughing and speaking amongst themselves while scrutinizing her family. Were they all looking down on them just like their tiny, yet venomous queen?