Celestine strode down the hallway, her skirts swirling as she hurried away from the scene of the crime. Any minute now, according to her vision, someone would find the king dead, sitting up in his throne as though he was meeting his peasants at three in the morning.

From what Celeste had heard in the marketplace earlier, King Rupert had not met with his people in a long time. Whispers had slowly shifted King Rupert from the war hero of old into a sagging old man, passive in his ruling and rumored to take three naps throughout the day. Some who'd met him mentioned that he stared at the wall the entire time and barely spoke.

But she wasn't here for the king.

As Celeste made her way to the kitchen, she passed the throne room. And as soon as she passed the doorway, she was hit with the strong scent of magic – it was so powerful she nearly fell over and was forced to catch her breath.

Did the king have magic? she thought, peeking into the long room. As it was dark, she could only see Rupert's silhouette, drooping in the chair. If he was this powerful, why didn't he conquer every neighboring kingdom?

If he was this powerful, how did an assassin sneak up on him?

Because the scent was so strong, she could almost make out the exact type of magic it could be. Whatever it was, she'd never used it before. She couldn't put her finger on the specific use. It was nearly like the thick, sticky-sweet perfume of a dirt field after a storm, which was what Nature magic smelled like, mixed with something deeper, darker, and dangerous.

Celeste ignored the urge to look closer, even though she longed to know why he stank of magic. She could already hear the guards meant to find King Rupert, so she marched down the corridor toward the pantry and away from them.

One of the guards yelled.

Celeste entered the kitchen.

This time she made out words they shouted – "The king is dead!"

She reached out for the door.

The emergency bell began to ring, the sound bouncing down the stone corridors and assaulting Celeste's ears.

"Who are you?"

Celeste's heart skipped a beat, but she turned, relaxing her shoulders and acting like she belonged in the kitchen, cursing her unreliable visions (which had clearly shown her that there was no one in this room when she entered).

A lie slipped easily out of Celeste's lips; she didn't even have to think about it. "I was hired yesterday. I just want to check out the kitchen before my first day of work tomorrow."

Her captor was a slip of a girl, with curly hair and big brown eyes barely darker than her skin. She looked young, and easily manipulated. Maybe Celeste wouldn't have to add to her body count today – she didn't feel like hiding someone, and she needed to leave quickly. Though the girl seemed to believe her lie, Celeste didn't want the girl to recognize her face.

Celeste waved her hand in front of the girl's eyes, willing her to forget she ever saw anyone tonight, even as she whispered, "I'll just look around and be on my way, I promise."

Because it was a simple spell, it only tickled, and Celeste pouted. She'd rather the bigger spells, with their rush of power and devastating consequences.

It helped that the younger her victims were, the easier it was to manipulate their minds. Even as she watched, she could tell it was working, and her pout became a grin.

The girl's jaw dropped, probably at Celeste's eyes. It was usually the initial reaction, because usually eyes didn't glow.

The girl yawned.

Then she dropped to the floor. Her quiet snoring assured Celeste that the magic had worked.

Celeste smiled, leaving before anyone else could barge in. Only one more night at that horrid inn, and then she would be living in the lap of luxury.

Numb.

Cold.

Empty.

If Hira could pick three words to describe herself currently, those were it. Memories attacked her, of mornings sneaking away from royal duties to ride horses with her father; her and her father playing hide and seek in the castle far beyond her bedtime; her father holding her seven years ago as she cried for the first time in ages, after her mother died.

She wasn't crying now, curled up in her lounge chair. She was just gazing at the wall, dreading the coming day. It was to be filled with appointments and planning and talking and duties and condolences and no time for mourning. If the victim had been anyone else, doing her tasks would have been easy.

But her father had been all that she had left.

To top it all off, her favorite advisor had been found in bed, dead. It had been proclaimed that she had died in her sleep peacefully. Even now, Hira could hear the mournful music that her advisor's son, Lucas, had been playing since before the sun had risen. It was so terribly beautiful that it made her want to cry, or punch something, or command him to stop playing, but she couldn't muster up the strength.

Now Hira was left with only Melianchor. She trusted him with her life, but she couldn't help wishing he was a little bit younger. He was more like a wise old grandfather than someone she could imagine helping her with her day to day duties. Though, she thought with a cynical grin, I suppose a wise old man would be quite nice as an advisor.

Surely, he would soon begin to tire of the hectic castle life soon. He would leave her, whether by choice and retirement or by death, and she would be left alone once more.

Yes, it would be best to be left alone now, rather than after getting attached to someone who will leave eventually.

Footsteps signaled the approach of the day's duties and her servant Aneira, and finally Hira rose, smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress. Today they would plan the funeral, two days later they would have the funeral, and the day after the funeral, they would announce the new heir. King Rupert had confided in Hira, before his spiral into slothfulness, that he would be rewriting the law. In his will, he'd commanded them to pass the throne to her.

In three days, Hira would be wearing a crown and commanding legions.

With a deep, shaky breath, Hira regained her composure. Her hands still trembled as she opened her door, but she straightened her back and lifted her chin, letting her well-worn mask slip over her features.

She was born for this.

Alright, here is the beginning! It's mostly boring setup, but I feel like it was a good starting point. Don't worry, I'm already working on the second chapter :D all the characters will show up soon! I'm just trying not to rush it (though I might have anyway). Love you guys, your encouragement is truly amazing, to be honest. Don't be afraid to tell me if I messed something up about your character! And to also point out things I could fix, because that would be helpful to me as a writer

Characters

Celeste Opeli ~ Definitely-Lost

Princess Hira ~ Cynarr

Lucas Avftyr (mentioned) ~ sapphire10fun