This was the part my grandmother had warned me about. I was about to meet the disgusting usurpers who had stolen her throne- the two filthy excuses for rulers I was ashamed to call my parents- and I could not afford to lose my cool. 

I remember being suspended in the middle of a lake, kept alive only by the Aural tubes drawing air from the surface straight into my lungs. The water all around me blurred the edges of my vision, holding me in a loosely upright position and turning my hands and feet into shriveled prunes. I could barely make out the fuzzy, bluish details of my grandmother's figure floating a few feet away from me: her eyes were closed, sparing me her intense, violet gaze and her dark hair was spread out around her head like a halo. Her chest slowly rose and fell as she sucked air from the Aural breathing tube at her lips, looking utterly at peace with herself. Watching her brought a momentary scowl to my face- I was growing rather impatient, and had no idea how this 'exercise' was supposed to help me with my Aural control. 

My frustration seemed to trigger the power source at my core as I felt a small surge of energy run down my arm and escape my fingertips in the form of what couldn't be more than a few molecules of Aura. Almost instantly, my grandmother's eyes snapped open and she leaned forward, tapping my arm and gesturing to the bluish light of the surface above. We swam upward side by side, surfacing near the shore. I stumbled out of the water, shivering, and grabbed the towel that lay folded on the ground, slinging it around the sleeves of my sopping dress. Across from me, my grandmother tutted with disapproval as she did the same. 

"You have no control," she shook her head. "No judgment. You think, and then you strike. There is nothing more." 

"What's wrong with that?" I crossed my arms defensively, blowing a strand of wet hair out of my face. "I believe it's called bravery." 

"No!" the former Queen hissed, looking at me as if I were a small child. "It is called juvenility! Anybody can attack...but to know when to wait- that is maturity." 

"Now tell me," she began ominously, leaning in closer to observe my face. "When you go to Lessaenes- when you meet my traitorous daughters- what will you do? Will you strike and be expelled by their guards...or will you wait to see their long-awaited destruction."

This was the thought that came to me as I sat between Swan-Rose and Prince Lerrel, directly across from King Thorel and Queen Tara. Queen Tara...it was absolutely mortifying to think that anyone other than my grandmother should be Queen, should sit in her seat, should eat delicacies with the silver utensils she paid for with her people's blood. I barely suppressed a burst of Aura, replaying my grandmother's words in my head. 

Wait, Nemesis, wait. 

"You must be new to Glaisse." The King's- my father's words were an unwelcome pull back to reality. His smile was almost jokingly warm, reminding me of the many stories my grandmother had told me about his prank-filled youth. His gaze was so instantly endearing that I almost smiled back. 

Don't forget why you're here. 

I steeled my expression, feigning nervousness. "Y-yes, Your Majesty- I am."

How did he know. 

"You're using the wrong fork for your salad," Lillae shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, twirling her own fork between her fingers as she watched it catch the light from the colossal silver chandelier above us. "But there's no need to worry," she beamed, her words dripping with condescension. "You have barely been at the IAYN for a month. It takes time for the less fortunate to attain a Glaissean level of sophistication. Consider yourself lucky that Swan brought you here- this is your chance to learn from the best." At this, the crown princess nibbled daintily on a piece of lettuce, looking infuriatingly pleased with herself. 

"Now, now, Lillae, there's no need to overwhelm our guest with antiquated conventions," came a merry laugh from the left corner of the table. Its source was too far away for me to see any more of her than an elegant raven topknot decorated with a tiny diamond tiara and a tiny pearl hanging from her delicate earlobe by a single silver thread. Yet, I could recognize her almost instantly: of all the royals my grandmother had told me I would meet here, she was described in the most detail. I had learned that, beneath layers of calculating rationality, my grandmother harbored an almost fanatical obsession with exacting her destruction. According to my grandmother, she was perhaps the reason for the end of the Iceheart regime. She was also my aunt...Princess Viviana. 

"No, it's perfectly alright," I mirrored Lillae's saccharine smile. "I do enjoy your instruction in the art of appearing to be classy." 

"Nemesis!" Swan CT'd, nudging my foot under the table. "The entire royal family is here!" 

"And therefore, your Victorian era doll of a cousin is permitted to embarrass me, but I am denied the opportunity to return the favor?" 

"Yes, you got it. That's how it works around here. Lillae does whatever she wants and the whole world eats out of the palm of her hand. You get used to it." 

I looked up at Swan-Rose, shocked by the turn of our conversation, and the expression on her face was so forlorn that I felt a slight stirring of genuine pity in the depths of my cold heart. Initially, befriending her had simply been a part of executing my grandmother's master plan to take back the throne, but the more I learned about her life, the more I was truly angered by the horrendously unjust dynamics within the royal family. No wonder my grandmother didn't want these people ruling her empire! 

Perhaps I was deviating too far from my grandmother's instructions by fostering a bond with my young, exploited cousin and hoping to someday teach her to stand up for herself like the true Arystenn she was, but it was coming time for me to accept the fact that I was not simply a younger version of my grandmother. I was much more than that. I had never been an Iceheart of the old tradition- I had never subscribed to their synchronous, unemotional ways. Yes, I would do my part to ensure the success of my grandmother's plan...but I would do it my way.