I lean over a boiling pot, curling tendrils of thyme scented steam wafting up to my face. I consult my book for the third time before throwing a stalk of dittany in the mixture and sitting back on my heels as I watch the brew turn a dark green. Satisfied, I use a ladle to pour a small amount of the liquid into a cork stoppered bottle and begin to clean up the remainder of my ingredients.

Ever since genevive died, its been harder and harder to sneak out. One, because shes no longer here to cover for me, and two, because father and eleanor have been more overbearing than ever. Hopefully, a couple of drops of this draught in eleanors next drink will make her hazy and forgetful, making my next trip out that much easier.

As i sweep away the remnants of my cut up herbs, aloud knock echos through the herbology room. I quickly tuck the bottle under the folds of my skirt before calling out.

"Come in!"

The doors slowly creak open, revealing a guard standing stoicly in the doorway. He crosses the threshold in a single step before speaking.

"Princess Etharen, the king has requested your presence in the council hall."

I furrow my eyebrows. Father has never included me in his meetings, nor has he ever told me what theyre about. Part of me suspects that this has something to do with Genevives murder, but i dont see how i could be of any help to them. I already told him everything i know.

"Received, thank you. Please tell him that ill be there in a moment." i say

The guard turns to leave, but i stop him before he can leave.

"Wait! Do you..uh..know what they need me for?"

He shakes his head. "No, ma'am. All i know is that they asked you to come, and quickly. He didn't seem very happy though." he adds as an afterthought.

I look off to the side deep in thought. Father is hardly ever angry, so if a meeting has him all riled up, then it must be serious

I notice the guard lingering uncomfortably, and dismiss him before rushing out the door myself.

I make my way towards the council hall, and just as i am about to push open the wide doors, palms planted firmly against the elaborately carved wood, im stopped dead in my tracks by a shriek..

I whirl around, startled. Eleanor stares back at me, a shocked expression on her face. I shake my head at her.

"What?! Why did you scream like that, you nearly scared the living daylights out of me!" i exclaim.

"You were about to go in there looking like that?!" she whisper screeches.

I look down self-conciously at my dress. The skirt is crumpled from being kneeled over and the hem is smudged with brown dirt. Turning to the wall, i catch my reflection on the huge golden mirror hanging from the wall. My white hair is wild and tangled, and my nose is traced with blue and yellow powders.

I sigh in defeat. "Fine. Take me away."

Eleanor whisks me off to my bedroom and pulls out one of my dresses. A tight bodice with golden laces crisscrossed across the chest gives way to a long white skirt with golden embroidery at the hem.

"Put this on, quickly. Don't keep King Ivius waiting!"  Eleanor says.

She gently pushes me behind a white screen taking up the right corner of my room and presses the dress into my arms.

I quickly shimmy out of my current clothes and pull on the new, clean one. Much to my chagrin, I cant reach the buttons at the back, so i grudgingly allow eleanor to do them up for me before she begins to wipe the dirt and soot from my face with a wet handkerchief.

I squirm under her touch, and instead take the thing from her hand and do it myself. As i scrub away the remnants of my experiments in the herbology room, eleanor braids my hair into two long strands that meet at the back of me head, leaving the rest of my hair cascading down my shoulders.

I wince as she yanks and pulls at my head, trying to make me look presentable in a short period of time. She must sense my discomfort, because she begins to make small talk to distract me.

"Why do you think they called for you?" she asks nonchalantly.

I twist around in my chair to face her, giving her an odd look. "How do you know that they called me?" i ask, narrowing my eyes.

She freezes like a deer caught in lights, her face betraying all her emotions. She's just realized her mistake,  but now it's far too late.

"Oh..well, when i..uh.. Saw you going in...i figured...you know... they needed you.." she stammers unconvincingly.

"Eleanor..." i say in a low voice.

"Fine! I was listening when the guard called you." she says sheepishly, guilt written all over her wrinkled features.

"Do you always eavesdrop on my conversations?!" i thunder. I stand up abruptly from my chair, letting it clatter in my wake. My hands ball into fists at my side.

"I wouldn't call it eavesdropping..I'm just making sure that youre okay!" she explains desperately.

I exhale sharply, angry that I'm never alone, even when I think I am. I shake my head and make towards the door, wanting to leave.

"Hey!" Eleanor exclaims. "I'm not done yet!"

"I don't care. It's good enough." I said impatiently as i tuck the remaining strands of hair away.  "I need to go before father gets mad."

i know that i'm being rude and unreasonable, but right now, i dont really care. A heat rushes through my body, and I clench and unclench my hands.

I watch as her face falls, but I walk out before I can yell or apologize. Eleanor is the last person i want to see right now. I stalk towards the council hall, feeling eleanor's presence behind me, sulking like a kicked puppy.

"Good luck." she offers hopefully as i place my palms against the door for the second time today.

I ignore her as i push open the door to the Council Hall and walk inside.

Im met with a bunch of unwelcoming stares from people im not very familiar with. Im sure ive met them at some point in my life but right now, the only faces that stand out to me are Father's and Roman's.

The people in the room stand up from their seats and bow low to me, muttering greetings and compliments.

Father looks at me sternly. "Etharen. What took so long?"

"I got caught up with Eleanor." i say quickly.

"Have a seat, and next time, try to be on time."

Heat rushes to my face as i take a seat to Father's left. The seat on his right is occupied by Roman, who gives me a meek smile.

"Now that Etharen is here, I would like to address the matter at hand." Father says in his booming voice. "As we already know, Genevive has been murdered by the Lunabriar's assassin. The assassin in question is now back in Xeoria, although in multiple pieces. His dismembered body parts were sent back as a warning that the Lucerbriars will not back down without a fight."

I inhale sharply at the mention of dismembered body parts. It occurs to me that I may have underestimated my father.

"My daughter's death will be avenged," he continues. "Which is why I propose sending our own spy to kill the eldest son of the Lunabriars."

Members of the court of light nod approvingly, seemingly agreeing with the idea. I see one man wave a fist in the air enthusiastically. He looks old and half-senile, but if hes a part of my father's court, then he must possess some valuable skills.

"Will Malcolm agree to the idea though?" another man calls out.

"No. Not Malcolm. His position is too valuable to jeopardise." Father responds curtly.

Malcolm. The name is foreign to me, but so was the fact that we had spies in Xeoria, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. But I'm still a little confused as to what I have to do with all of this.

"So who do you propose sending out?" The others call.

Father pauses for a moment. "Etharen."

I blink, convinced that I heard him wrong.

"Excuse me?"

"I believe that we should send Etharen to assassinate Caelinus, the eldest son of the Lunabriars." Father repeats, enunciating each word.

Council Hall erupts into a cacophony of voices and exclamations.

"She's only 17! She's hardly had any training at all!"

"She's not going to be able to do it!"

"She'll get caught!"

"But won't they recognize her?"

My head feels heavy, my ears stuffed with cotton. Outside sounds seem muffled, and I grip onto the edge of my chair to keep from toppling over. I still don't believe that I heard him right. My father, the one who worked so hard to prevent me from doing anything the tiniest bit dangerous, is now sending me into the enemy's land to assassinate their child? I would have never in a million years guessed that this is why they needed me. I feel like I'm going to throw up.

"SILENCE!" Father thunders. Immediately, the court of light silences, and retreats back into their seats like scorned children. Heads bowed, they wring their hands in their laps, anxiously biting back millions of opinions and thoughts.

"That is a good point." Father says calmly, addressing the last comment made. "I've been corresponding with Malcolm, and he has confirmed that the Xeorians are not familiar with Etharen. They are aware that she exists, but have never seen her face nor her name. Since she was born in the war, she did not have a proper ceremony and they were not notified." he says.  " If they weren't so busy inventing their useless contraptions, maybe they would have had the common sense to inquire, but for now, this is to our advantage."

I scoff. He's one to speak, considering the fact that Eoria has virtually no clue about Xeoria. I would love to learn more about the other side of Faewell, but the books in the palace library hold limited knowledge, and it's not like I can blatantly ask about them. Showing curiosity about them would certainly raise some suspicions.

Roman leans over and nervously raises a hand. "But sir, why send her when you could send someone far more experienced and skilled? If she were to get caught... I highly doubt they would treat her kindly."

Father flashes him a look. "I understand your concerns. However, I believe that this is the best decision. I have reasons I do not need to explain to you all."

I sense him using his power to silence others, something that he doesn't do often. The court members furrow their eyebrows and frown in distaste, clearly unhappy with the decison. Some of them glare at me, as if they are trying to find out what makes me so special. They should save their efforts though. I don't even know myself.

"It's already been arranged. For one month, Etharen will train with Caspian in physical combat, and with Silas in espionage. At the next full moon, she'll be sent over to Xeoria to act as Malcolm's younger sister."

I follow fathers gaze to a man sitting gravely in his chair, dressed in leather combat clothes. He sits pin straight, as if ready to bolt at a moments notice. His hair is cropped close to his head, and a grizzly scar crosses his left eye, starting from his temple and reaching the middle of his cheek. That must be Silas.

I feel a surge of indignation. "And I don't get a say in this? What if I refuse to go? Everyone's talking like I'm not even here, but you do realize that none of this will work if I don't comply, right?"

Father leans over and whispers in my ear. "I have something that will ensure your "compliance""

I look back at him, bewildered. I've never heard my father speak so coldly, so unmovingly. The man that tickled my feet when I was little and played with me when everyone else was outside running through the woods has disappeared, replaced by a heartless businessman.

I bite the inside of my mouth to keep from saying something stupid. I still feel completely and utterly shocked at this revelation. The wild part of me is giddy with excitement at the chance to see Xeoria, to finally get away from this place, but the rational side is telling me that i'm no murderer, no spy, and that i have no idea what i'm getting myself into if i agree to this.

But I've already caught on. I know why father is sending me of all people to do this. Even if I get caught, I most likely won't be killed, because my black blood will fool them into thinking that I'm one of their own. I'll most likely end up with a lifetime in jail, but it's certainly better than being dismembered. However, if they send a real Eorian who gets caught, the colour of their blood will reveal that they are a spy, and after being dismembered, the Xeorians will no doubt retaliate. This puts the rest of Eoria in danger, and the choice is easy. Risk one person, or risk an entire nation? The only thing that unnerves me is the fact that Father has a lot less love for me than I thought.

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Word count: 2243