Silvermark wishes to do their part, but we cannot. I cannot stress enough that we can only increase resources at the border with the much-needed Greenlander loan. Alder has denied an extension; our southern colleagues are simply not interested.

"You should have said something, Mama." Princess Alana glared at the Queen, her hands gesticulating widely. "Taking Seb and Nick to an execution after all they've been through. Papa has lost his wits!"

"Alana, calm down! The only one acting insane is you." The Queen slapped her daughter's hands on the table. "I don't agree with your father either, but Sebastian is his heir. He must learn what being King entails—both the good and the bad."

A single tear dangled off the tip of Alex's nose and plunged into the carrot soup she had barely touched. As tension between Princess Alana and Queen Crystal rose higher with every line that was shouted back and forth, the deeper she stared into the mirror of her own past.

Every quarrel with Mother suddenly seemed so futile. She raised her head to the Fourteen Gods that were looking down on her from the ornamental ceiling of the dining hall. The Goddess of Patience sent a friendly smile as she kept Wrath and Pride at bay, using nothing but a pointy finger to defy them.

Oh, the many times she had stormed out of the door, chasing the brothers' temptations. More tears threatened to fall. She swallowed them back. Not right here, not right now. She was trying to be a virtuous girl.

"And Nick?" Princess Alana had jerked her hands from beneath her mother's and was now hiding them under the table. "He's only taking them because they are men, Mama. He's afraid I'll have nightmares because I'm but a feeble woman."

That had been her impression too. Earlier, after the King had interrogated her about the magician, she had mentioned that she had been one of Laneby's warriors, but he had not reacted, as if he didn't want to have that kind of conversation with her. Though not surprised by his reaction, her heart had filled with a hollow feeling. 

Lord Brandon would have never dismissed her like that.

"Alana, please." The Queen uttered a motherly sigh. "It's not true, and you know it. Your father loves having you around in his office, commenting on his musings while you steal his biscuits. You should count yourself lucky. Grandpapa Alder never hired me any tutors to teach me about history and politics. Everything I learnt about our world is because of your father."

The Princess got up. "It's all useless. Nobody cares about what I know. All the world expects me to do is be pretty and marry some stuffy Prince or General."

Alex shot her eyes towards the royal women, a gasp escaping her lips. With the diamond tiara and dress more elaborate than wedding dresses in Laneby, the Princess looked like she couldn't wait to tie the eternal knot, but it seemed they were more alike than appearances would suggest.

"Alana, could you for once in your life stop being ridiculous. Sit down, now! We have guests."

"No, we have a guest. The rest don't care about us." With full force, she shoved the chair under the table. "Face it, Mama. I'm nothing but a prize-winning pigeon that you and Papa  keep in this marble cage until he has found the best deal for the kingdom." She laid her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Come, Alex, let's go outside. I'll show you the nicest parts of the city."

"You are not leaving the castle tonight." As the Queen pronounced every word distinctly, Alex slowly rose from her chair. The warning finger of Mother flashed before her eyes. In honour of her memory, she obeyed Patience and sat down again. "I won't have it. They've arrested one drunkard. There might be more people out there who wish us harm. Besides, it's not your place to tell Miss Alexandra what she should do. She stays here, and—"

"Fine, keep Alex!" The Princess strode away with giant, unladylike steps. "But you can't stop me, Mama."

"Michael." The Queen glanced at the sturdy brown-haired guard who had been standing by the door since shortly after the men had left. "Please escort my daughter to her chamber. Stay there to make sure she doesn't sneak out again."

The Princess stomped her foot on the floor. "Ugh, you can't be serious! I'm not a child anymore."

"If you act like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum, I will treat you as such."

"I swear to the Gods, Mama. Just marry me off already then, because no husband can be worse than you." Princess Alana turned around, almost biting Michael as she snapped, "Don't you even dare touch me. I haven't lost the ability to walk to my own room."

Michael alternated looks between the Princess and Queen Crystal, who beckoned him to follow her daughter.

After the giant gilded door was slammed shut with a bang that rattled the cutlery and the glasses on the table, silence returned to the hall. At last, Alex was able to hear herself breathing again.

The Queen took a sip of wine,  dabbed her lips, then placed the napkin back on her lap. "I wish to apologise for my daughter's behaviour, Alexandra, and for my husband abandoning the dinner table. This is not how I had imagined tonight's events. I had hoped for a much grander and more pleasant welcome to this castle."

"The Gods have decided another outcome. They'll have their reasons, Your Majesty." Alex grabbed her spoon. The knot in the pit of her stomach was still there, but not eating would only make it worse. Growing hungry while an abundance of food was within reach was rather ridiculous too.

In an ideal world, she would have wanted to spend dinner with her family, including Father. Those dreams had long been shattered. She was the odd one out now. Mother, Ben, and Charlie would all be dining in the Gods' halls tonight.

"I love Thomas with all my heart, but when I look at my daughter, I can't help but wonder if I married the wrong husband," The Queen stated, seemingly out of nowhere. "Had Alana been born in Scoria or on the Jade Islands, she would have been Crown Princess."

"Erm... my father was a Jade Islander," Alex said the first thing that came to mind, "not from Socota, but one of the smaller islands, Hamra. Most have never heard of it."

"I'm not most people." The Queen chuckled. "Your father was called Vanya, wasn't he?"

"How do you know him?"

"Brandon wrote to Thomas about the incident. The bear." She bit her lip as she scooped some rabbit stew onto her plate. "Awful, especially for your mother—losing her husband halfway through a pregnancy."

"We managed. Lord Brandon and Lady Karen were a big help." The weeks after Charlie had been born, she and Ben had lived at the Lord's home. It was then that Lord Brandon had noticed just how skilled she was. "Father had taught me how to hunt with bow and arrow, so there was always food on the table."

"Archery?" The Queen sounded impressed. "Vanya did raise you like a proper Jade Lady. Have you ever been there—to the Islands?"

"There were plans... once upon a time." She breathed in, almost able to smell the grass she and Father had been lying in that one beautiful spring afternoon. While they had waited for the carps to bite, they had dreamed about building a boat and sailing away to Hamra, just the two of them. "It didn't matter anymore after he died. We didn't have a lot of gold, so it never happened."

"Tom and I have powerful friends all over the world, including the Islands. It is not my intention to chase you away, but since you lost both of your parents, I see it as my duty to find you a good husband. You need not settle for a Greenlander man."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Something stirred inside her. The Goddess of Humility would understand if she spoke up now, wouldn't she? "But, not to mean any disrespect. Marriage doesn't appeal to me at all."

An awkward silence filled the hall as Queen Crystal chewed on her food, her eyes uncomfortably fixated on Alex. Just as she feared that her loose tongue had insulted the Queen, she took a nip of water, then licked her lips. "My child, have you bled already?"

Alex's cheeks turned hot. Thank the Gods the boys weren't present anymore. She could already picture Seb yelling that she had scraped his knees and elbows more often than babies learning to crawl, but she was well aware that the Queen wasn't referring to that.

She shook her head.

"Though marriage is nothing to fear, I do understand your reluctance. I will offer you the same deal as my daughter, in accordance with one of the few Ician traditions that Tom has allowed me to keep: I won't start searching until your first moonblood has flown."

Alex looked up at the ceiling, muttering a quick thanks to the Goddess of Chastity. "That's a deal I'm definitely taking, Your Majesty. Three times yes."

"You're welcome, child." She clapped her hands in excitement, her mood shifting as if she was secretly already planning the entire wedding in her head. "With you, I won't have Tom disapproving of every candidate. He and Alana drive me absolutely mad, yet I love nobody in the world more than them."

There was something contagious about the way in which Queen Crystal cooed about her husband and daughter. While the men were still out, and The Princess was sulking in her room, she and Alex spent the rest of the evening chattering and trying out bits of the various dishes; even of all the desserts.

"I love mint," Alex cried out as she took a bite of the green cake with white frosting. "It's such a useful plant. I had to go deep into the Forest of Lane to get it, but it was all worth it. Cold medicine or draughts against bloated feelings—Mother used it for everything. Helps you think too."

"You're such a clever girl, Alexandra," The Queen said. "You're precisely the type of person Healer Mark is looking for to bring potions all over town—athletic and with a decent knowledge of herbs. How would you like to be an errand girl? He pays a bronze coin per day."

"I would love to." She dug her fork into the thick slice of cake and scooped it into her mouth. It may not be archery or sword fighting, but it would be easier to pretend she was a Lady if she could roam around instead of sitting still all day long and focus on a piece of embroidery.

When the clock struck eight times, and the men hadn't returned, the Queen ordered the servants to clear the table. She picked out a few dishes to keep in the kitchens, then told them to bring the rest to the orphanages. Tonight the orphans of Laneby had feasted, but tomorrow the orphans of Sundale would too.

After Queen Crystal had escorted Alex to her new, private chamber—a room bigger than her house in Laneby with a bed in which she, Nick, and Seb would all fit—she found herself tossing and turning, trapped in a state where long lost memories mixed with scenes of Laneby's massacre.

One moment, she was kneeling by her brothers, crying over their burnt bodies. Then she heard her tears falling into a pool of water. Except it was no pool, but a clear blue sea that washed the bodies away. She was all alone, on a wide sand beach, small fisher boats sailing by, the smell of their decks filled with fish wafting by. The sun shone high in the sky and dried her tears.

The Jade Islands. Her father's home.

A rhythmic knock pounded on the door and shook her back to the darkness of Sunstone Castle.

"Alex," whispered Nick's familiar boyish voice loudly. "Alex, are you behind this door?"

"No, Muttonhead," she groaned. Unless Nick came to apologise, she didn't want to speak to him. The invisible scar left by his words still throbbed in her heart. "I'm in the bed, sleeping like a real Lady. What do you want?"

"Erm... I've been a real puddingbrain."

"That's not very different from your usual state of being."

"Can I come in? I need your help."

Keeping one eye closed, she sat up on the bed and sighed. Perhaps she and Nick needed some distance to process their grief separately, but him asking for her help in the middle of the night moved her more than she dared to admit. She touched her cheek—only dried up tears. "Get your butt in here, Pudding Boy. Tell me—how did you manage to mess up the execution?"

"I didn't." The mellow light of the candle he was holding revealed that he was still wearing the army uniform. He shuffled to the nightstand, where he placed the candle. "It took a lot longer than I would have thought, but none of it was my fault."

"Hmm... why do I doubt that?" She grinned.

"It's not funny, Alex. Captain Jonathan brought me to my room already an hour ago, but those things that the magician said to Seb and His Majesty, I keep hearing them over and over again. He hated the Greenlanders with the passion, and he hinted about something, like the real reason that Lord Brandon wasn't King."

Alex pounded her fist against Nick's upper arm. "Because his older brother is, Dumdum."

"Didn't you notice?" He edged closer and whispered like he was letting her in on a secret. "King Thomas is younger than Lord Brandon. I've asked the Captain, and he confirmed it. Don't you think that's strange?"

"Yeah." She yawned, unable to get as excited as Nick. Whatever reason they had, it must have been a good one. Lord Brandon had always known what he was doing. "But I bet you didn't come here to tell me that."

"No. I'm here because I failed to resist Greed's temptations, and I'm still fighting him." He dug his hand into the pocket of his uniform and got out a small silver-sealed scroll. "But I can't do it alone."

"What's that?"

"I think it's a letter from King Ariel." Nick pushed his fringe from his forehead. "It was in King Thomas' office, and I took it."

"Do I even wanna know how you ended up there?" She picked up the scroll and brought it closer to the flame. A crowned roaring lion on a grey sigil. Of course Nick knew it belonged to the King of Silvermark.

"That's a story for another time. I need to do something about that letter." He slouched down on the bed. "It's like I've just spent an eternity staring at it, debating whether to follow Greed and break the seal, or listen to Humility and do the right thing, but never learn what it says."

"Do you think he'll say something about Fox?"

Nick brought his hands to his temples. "Aargh, don't you even dare, Alex! I thought you'd be the more sensible one. I don't know, and maybe I don't even wanna know. There's nothing he can say about Fox that isn't bad news. Either they've killed him or imprisoned him, or they're training his fire skills, and then..." He shuddered. "Fox can never come here. He'll definitely be killed."

She placed the scroll on Nick's lap. The Gods of Virtue were on her side, chasing away Nick's sins. "Then don't read it. Bring it back to the King's office."

"Come with me then." He paused. "I'm serious—it's now or never. The King has left the castle."

"Huh, why would he do that?"

"You should have been there in the throne room, Alex." He stuffed the scroll back into his pocket. "The magician insulted King Thomas, time and time again. He made Seb cry."

"Seb never cries." Not in public anyway. Any tears he had were usually reserved for when he thought nobody was looking, so he could shamelessly bury his head in his father's embrace.

Nick pressed his folded arms against his body. "You may think he's the lucky one because he still has a family, but he's not the same Seb as in Laneby. The news about Fox, and then the execution—it pushed him over the edge. We should talk about Abby, but I think he'll punch me in the face at the mention of her name."

"Yeah, we're all here now. It can wait until he feels better." She inched closer to Nick and wrapped her arms around his neck. The second she pulled him into a hug, he relaxed against her. Never had he been this vulnerable. "First we'll return the letter, then we'll figure out where Seb is sleeping so we can cheer him up."

"I knew I could count on you, Alex. And about what I said in the stables and at the Captain's house, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. I was a real pig."

She brought her hands to his cheeks and shook his head, pursing her lips. "Just a little muttonhead."

He pinched his nose. "I'm not little."

"Then you're a big muttonhead." She patted his cheek. "So what are you waiting for? Let's go before the King returns."

After she had slid back into Isabella's dress, she followed Nick as he snuck out of the room, and crawled from corner to corner. He knew precisely when to hide behind the statues and when to order her to hold her breath. The guards patrolled the hallways, yet they were always on the move. All in all, it wasn't that different from hunting down animals, except this time they were the potential prey.

Nick didn't need her. Muttering silly names and pointing at paintings and sculptures, he guided her through the castle. Yet despite this, he had come to her and just that thought filled her entire body with a warm and fuzzy tingle.

The world could perish, but he was still her friend.

"Go now! The door with the sycamore," he whispered loudly as two guards turned around the corner, "that's the King's office."

"Hang on."

"What?"

She brought her finger to her lips, beckoning him to keep quiet. With two faraway voices, they weren't alone in the corridor. One of them sounded like the slow and husky voice of the General, but she hadn't heard him talking enough to be sure. She looked to her left and right, then concluded that there was nobody in the vicinity to spot them. "Okay, now we go."

Slowly she pushed the handle down and entered the room. In awe, she stared at the view the King had over the beautiful moonlit river, in its reflection the millions of stars that were smiling down. Four stars in a row twinkled. Mother and Ben had found Father, and Charlie would have gotten to meet him for the first time.

"There, home again. Nothing happened." Nick placed the letter in between two giant heaps of sloppily stacked documents. As he retreated his hand, his thumb accidentally touched the bigger of the two piles. 

Papers fell down at rapid speeds, a heavy book catapulting the scroll into the air. As if fell down on the floor, it rolled and rolled, only to disappear under the couch.

Alex dug behind the scroll, her belly flat on the ground. She stretched out her arm, able to touch the seal, but not getting enough grip to grab it.

Letting out a groan, she bashed her shoulder into the couch, which moved just enough so she could reach the string and pull it closer.

"Crisis averted. I got it." As she rose back on her feet, Nick was still gathering all the documents to recreate the paper mountains. She picked up two more drawings that had fallen on one of the chairs in front of the desk. For a split second, she studied the sketches of ovular-shaped buildings before handing them to him. "Here."

"Thanks, I think I'm almost done. Then I'm gonna pretend this nev—"

"What in the seven hells!" 

Alex froze as the King's booming voice reverberated around the room. He pressed his hand against his sweat-stained shirt and looked as startled as she was feeling.

"Your Majesty. We were... erm... just looking for a book," Nick quickly lied.

Alex suppressed the urge to slap Nick in the face, and on second thought, it was better that she had not given in to that temptation. Anyone who had ever met Nick knew that he loved books so much that he did anything to get his hands on new ones.

"A book?" The King frowned. "You might want to try the library, Nicolas. This is my private office."

"I apologise, Your Majesty." Nick lowered his head. "Princess Alana brought me here this afternoon, and we read a book together. Alex and I couldn't sleep, so I told her about the story, and... well... we really wanted to read it too."

She nodded along, keeping a completely straight face, which wasn't easy with images of Nick and the Princess flashing through her mind. Charity, not Greed. Him spending time with another girl didn't mean anything. Her eyes darted to her hand, still clutched to the scroll, and hid it behind her back.

"Lana," the King snorted while he removed the leather belt from his trousers.

Alex looked at Nick, who was staring at her too. They had to get out of there before the belt would be used on them.

Nick eyed at the couch. "Erm... I think I've found the book. Looks like we had been searching in the wrong spot the entire time. Silly us. Give me three heartbeats, and then we're out of here. We won't bother you any longer, Your Majesty."

"Next time you ask me before barging in. My daughter may believe this place is her second chamber, but my office is no tavern."

Nick nodded as he walked past her. While he leant over the couch, she kept an eye on the King.

He threw his belt on the only free spot on his desk, then ran his hand through his sticky hair and wiped sweat from his brow. He scratched his right ear, which moved the large black jewel just enough to reveal the tip of a thick scar. "Alex, would you mind passing me that letter you're keeping behind your back? I doubt it belongs to you."

"I'm sorry. We got curious." She handed him the scroll. "Nick said it might be from King Ariel."

"Hmm." The King pulled the string and broke the seal with two tugs. He headed for the window. In the moonlight, the frown that had been on his face the entire time only grew larger. Alex threw Nick a glance, but although he had the book clutched to his chest, he gave no signal to leave. "The other boy... Fox. He was a magician, wasn't he?"

"No," she said immediately. If Nick could lie to the King, so could she.

"Yes," Nick answered to her surprise. "We never realised what he was until the day of the attack. He was just, you know, good at building fires. It's because of him that we are alive—that Seb is alive."

"Magicians are good at hiding," he mused. "Unless something happens that shoves the fact in your face, you can live your entire life next to a magician and never know it. They are the Masters of deceit and trickery, and a danger to our country."

"Fox is still our friend." She planted her hands on her hips. Wrath showed in her voice, but she didn't care. The Gods had rewarded her for speaking up to the Queen too.

"I don't doubt that for a second, Alex. Seb seemed very fond of him. I'm sure he was a great lad."

"Was?" Nick squeaked. "Don't tell us that he was..."

"I'm afraid King Ariel is purposely vague, as usual." The King folded the letter into four and stuffed into his chest pocket. "If I were you, I'd prepare myself for the worst."

"But what is the worst?" 

Dead. Locked up. Trained to kill. Either one of Nick's scenarios was as bad as the next. As she felt bile rising in her throat, she regretted stuffing her face with the dozens of cakes.

Or maybe she regretted coming along. Nick ignored her as he joined the King by the window, his hands hidden inside the pockets of his trousers, the book pressed under his arm. "Your Majesty, I hate to be nosy, but I think the content of the letter needs to be kept from Sebastian. It will tear him apart if he finds out that Fox is dead."

The King nodded in silence, taking a deep breath, then placed his hand on Nick's shoulder. "You've impressed not only my daughter today, Nick. Both the General and Stable Master Richard praised you, and now that I hear you talking, I understand it too. Great Kings require nimble Generals, who stand close by their side and do what is required."

Nick's eyes turned big. "You want me to become Seb's future General? But that would mean..."

"... joining the army, yes. The latest batch of cadets have begun their classes a few moons ago, but with your intellect, it won't be hard to catch up. If needed, I'll arrange private tutoring sessions with Jonathan and George. The road to becoming a General is a long one, but you have all the qualities to do great deeds in my army along the way."

"I actually wanted to ask about any job opportunities in the kitchens." He grabbed the book from under his armpit and stared it. "But I did hear that the Military Academy pays you to learn books by heart."

"That's correct. One gold coin per moon in your first year, with plenty of opportunities to earn more." The King grinned. "And to be bluntly honest with you. Your brain will serve this country better than your stomach."

Alex shook her head when Nick glanced at her, Envy and Kindness teaming up to save him from making possibly the biggest mistake of his life. She was ten times the warrior he was. Nick didn't belong out there. He was too kind, too lazy, and... too small.

"Alright. I'll do it." As Nick and King Thomas shook hands to seal the deal, it was Greed that overwhelmed her. Her friendship with Nick had only just been restored, and now he would disappear from her life again.

That stupid Muttonhead. She wished she had stayed in bed and dreamt about the Jade Islands.