Jourdon returned the morning after Sabine's news. I did everything in my power to avoid him, mulling over the spy's words.

I knew I could only avoid him for so long.

I leafed through King Aurel's advisor's book--Marquess Jean, looking for any mentions of Queen Giselle. Sabine and I had been up late the night before looking at the Vidame's book, and I could not bear to look at it a moment longer.

The details unnerved me. There were instructions on how to drain the blood from a human body since they believed our blood was connected to the Gift--that and they were convinced a witch would keep moving even with their head chopped off because of our partnership with demons.

Their ideas were all things born of fear. And I couldn't say it was completely without cause. Even though I had never used my Gift, I knew its power. There was a reason Garnette demanded for it to be locked away.

Sabine sat beside me, on the other side of the table. She pored over a book she had found in her own search of the library. She's returned with many I had never thought to consider. Some Fairy Tales from Perle. A Testament to the Goddess of Cristaney. She silently considered them, at times referencing pages in the Vidame's book, a furrow in her brow.

Shafts of rare Garnetti sunlight fell across her shoulders in a pale halo, illuminating her from behind, catching on tones of gold in her dark hair. I had dismissed all my other handmaids for the day. It was just us. Alone.

A comfortable rhythm settled between us, both of us searching for answers to questions we didn't know to ask.

After catching myself staring at the spy yet again, I returned to the book in front of me. I had come across a curious bit of information, though I wasn't sure it was anything more than some interesting gossip.

"King Aurel's heir was not born of his wife," I said, catching Sabine's attention as she reluctantly pulled away from her research.

She considered the piece of information. "And he naturalized him? Interesting. Any word on who the mother was?"

I shook my head, sighing deeply as I glanced at the book, pushing it away. I had thought it was useful, but it had been mostly details of past balls and what the royals had to eat for their many meals and many courses. King Aurel's early years were considered a golden era in Garnette's history.

He was the first and only king before Gilroy to attempt any peace or relations with Rosailles. But Queen Giselle had hardly shown up in the journal at all. There had been one account of her dancing with the king at one of his balls. An attempt on Queen Giselle's part to seduce the king under her spell, as the Marquess put it.

I had dismissed the entire account based on his flagrant sexism and Aurelian regard for Rosailles and it's queens. He had called her all sorts of names— harlot, seductress—in only a few brief mentions of her.

"No. It seems the king was smart enough to not entrust such information with the Marquess—the judgmental loose-tongued man that he was. Can't say I blame him."

A trace of a smile ghosted upon Sabine's lips. I found myself drawn to it. Similarly, to how Pierre's eyes drew me in. I glanced away, frowning. I had yet to hear from the younger Prince since that day in the garden. I wondered what he knew about all of this. Did he suspect his brother was involved in such things? I knew if the culprit wasn't so obviously Jourdon, Sabine would have been more than happy to place blame upon Pierre.

"A shame. But I doubt any affair he might have had is all that significant. Unless it was with the Queen?"

I laughed, Sabine joining me. It was exactly the type of scandal the Garnetti would exploit had there been even the briefest whisper. But I knew their play was just that: a play, a mockery. There was no way such a thing carried any flout. I pushed the book away. "It would have been impossible to hide such an affair, especially from the Marquess. My guess is that it was one of his maids." I shook my head. "The poor girl."

Sabine nodded. Gazing over her own books. There was an awkward pause, and I suspected she was thinking up ways to discuss Jourdon. I panicked, searching for something else to talk about.

"What have you found?"

Moreau studied me a moment before pushing the fairy tale book and the Goddess's Testament towards me.  I carefully avoided her gaze, thankful for the reprieve.

"They are all the same," she said. I watched as she opened to a marked page in each book. Both featured the Queen of Angels. I would know her anywhere, having grown up surrounded by her image.

The two images were slightly different. One featured beams of golden light around her pale, nearly colorless hair and a soft-featured face. The other one was more or less the same, only it featured an oceanic background and seashells. I was used to seeing her with her wings spread wide, the heavens around her, but it was unmistakably her.

But then I looked a bit closer, remembering they weren't in Roserian books. These were not Angelic Scripture, nor did they feature the divine words of the Great Queen Mother. I looked up at Sabine, brows furrowed. "What is the Queen of Angels doing in these books.?

She pushed the books closer to me. "Look closer." She tapped the bottom of the Image in the Testament, and I read the curved words underneath.

Soleil.

I glanced back up at Sabine. "Isn't Soleil another name for Cristaney's Goddess?"

Sabine nodded, gesturing to the Perlisian book. That one, now that I looked, said it depicted "Marisol."

"Who is Marisol?" I asked, not really sure what to make of the two images.

Sabine's lips were set into a straight line. "According to this book, the Queen of the Fairies."

"Why...do they all look like the Queen of Angels?"

Sabine let out a long sigh. "Your guess is as good as mine." She stared down at the image of Soleil, tapping her fingers on the table.

A thought occurred to me. "Are you actually from Cristaney?" Jourdon wasn't the only person who had been lying to me. "Or was that another lie?"

Instead of appearing offended, a soft smile curved Sabine's lips. It was more playful than I was used to. "Would you be upset if it was?"

I frowned at her, warmth flushing my skin, likely leaving it splotchy under all my powder. "I just would like to know how much of a stranger you truly are."

Sabine's expression sobered. "I was born in Cristaney, but as I told you back in the carriage, I know little of my heritage. My mother welcomed the Church of the Great Queen Mother, and I was raised under Her word. It is all I have ever known."

Even as she said it, she ran a finger over the image of Soleil, as if imagining a life where she had not been surrounded by Angels, but instead the Goddess Light. Did she wonder what it would have been like to be raised under Soleil and her teachings? What would it have been like to grow up with the same faith as her ancestors?

My chest panged. What would it have been like for me had I come to Garnette much younger? Before I knew the Angels, the Great Queen Mother's ways. How different would it have been for me? To not even know what it was I was forgetting.

Sabine sucked in a breath. "Regardless, I can't help but think these three women—each portrayed in three completely different places on the continent—are one and the same."

The notion sounded preposterous, but I could not deny the evidence before me. Though the similarities were striking, each depiction had been created by different artists, yet all managed to remain familiar.

"And there is no mention of her in Garnette?"

Sabine shook her head. "Hard to say... I know little of their religions. Their ruling class is mostly secular, and I didn't find much mention of their smaller, regional religions. I suspect that few of their remaining followers have access to libraries such as the palace's, nor the means to record their tales. But I would be interested to hear of their small hedge gods. I've seen a few of the palace maids keeping totems." She paused, flipping through the Vidame's book. "But this is interesting."

She placed it over the other two books, and I looked down at an image. It wasn't of the Angels or their Queen, but ours... The Great Queen Mother. Queen Roselle the First. I stiffened, staring down at the image.

It depicted her standing over the battlefield, a mirror to a painting in the Verenice Palace that decorated our private dining room. Only this one was its dark, evil sister.

It was Inked into the page, so hard in some places the paper was torn. The colour was a dark brown, and it left the pages brittle like dried blood had been used to paint the image. Instead of red blooming flowers at her feet disjointed limbs and pieces of gore splattered the ground, painting everything in flesh and blood. The Queen stood, red eyes pouring blood.

In the image I was used to, the queen was often depicted with a pair of wings—as was rumoured could be seen on her back as she stood victorious over the battlefield. This painting showed the same, but it was a macabre, horrendous sight. White feathers were covered in blood and had ripped through her skin so she appeared half human, half angel. A monster made of human flesh.

My stomach turned, the area between my shoulder blades burning. I looked away from the image quickly, unable to bear it. I swallowed. No one knew how the Gift truly manifested... no one but those that were heirs to the Rose line. Like my mother. Like me. It would be my same duty to pass the secrets of our legacy to my daughter should she be born with the mark of the Rose.

I pushed the book away. "That's vile."

Sabine shrugged closing the book, hiding away the image, even if it remained burned across my vision. Distantly I heard a trilling laugh, which made my skin crawl. It hadn't come from anywhere in the palace.

"Rather monstrous, not sure there's anything to be found in there. Interesting though."

"Indeed." I kept my voice steady, gazing back at the other books. "Well, perhaps you should put some of that...work of yours to use. See if any of those maids that worship the old Garnetti religions have a figure similar to the Queen of Angels. Though I'm not sure it means anything, it could be important."

A small smile flitted across her lips. "As you command, Your Highness."

A silence lapsed between us. I looked down. I knew what she was going to say next, but this time I did not stop her.

"You will have to act as if you know nothing."

I gritted my teeth. Not at Sabine's harshness, but because I could not deny she was right. "It is not safe for me here."

Sabine's expression hardened. "I know, but we cannot simply up and leave."

I tensed. "Why? Still have more information to acquire for my mother?"

Sabine sighed. "It's more complicated than that. The Prince was not the only noble at the meeting. There is no knowing who are friends and who are foes. If you tried to leave now, they would suspect what you know. No, we need to slip you out in a way that can go unnoticed so that hopefully we can have you across the border before any alarms are risen. You know there would be repercussions either way."

My jaw was set. The desire to flee ignited in my blood. As it was I hardly wanted to leave my room, but so long as no one suspected my knowledge of the darker links between the palace and the Aurelian cult, they might not act. I feared now that Jourdon had returned their plans would be set in motion.

Still, whatever he was doing, based on his earlier distant behaviour, he likely did not plan to act fast if he was to seduce me. He had done a terrible job so far.

Maybe he thought it would be easy, but now my life depended on proving him wrong.

"Very well," I agreed reluctantly. "I will act the best I can..."

I clenched my hands to keep them from trembling. What if Jourdon saw right through me? What if we were wrong and he went about his plans the moment I next saw him? What if I could never escape this gilded prison?

Sabine must have sensed my fears. She reached across the table and her hands took mine from where I had them balled before me, drawing it to hers, brushing her fingers over the back of them. Her gaze was soft. Gentle. My breathe caught in my chest.

"I will keep you safe," she said. "I will always be there, even if you can't see me. Just don't do anything rash. Darren and I will see about getting you out of here as soon as we can."

I nodded. But even my escape was not that simple. "But what of the agreement? Between Garnette and Rosailles?"

It was ridiculous to even think of peace now, but I had to know for sure it was over.

Sabine's lips twisted. "The Queen never trusted Garnette to follow through. Though I have yet to find evidence that the King is involved, there is no denying his son is. It seems it will be broken either way, I just prefer the version where you are safe back in Rosailles."

I breathed a slow breath, letting it all sink in. She was right, but turning my back on everything I had always believed in. The fate that had been written for me. It was like the book had halted, mid-page, and I no longer was sure of how it ended. It was a strange feeling. Like I was stranded, lost, with no idea how to move forward.

"Thank you," I said.

Sabine's hands tightened over mine before pulling away. She stood, stretching out her tense shoulders.

I smoothed out my dress, feeling unsure of what to do with them not that Sabine had let go. "I suppose I should get ready for dinner."

Sabine made no move to assist me. My cheeks flushed, but then I caught the grave expression on her face.

"I know it is not my place to command you, princess, but you must do one thing for me. For us."

I frowned. "And that is?"

Sabine's eyes were fierce. To imagine I had ever seen her as anything but what she truly was: a soldier.

"You must not trust anyone aside from myself or Darren. Nothing we have discussed leaves this room. If it gets in the wrong hands, even I cannot protect you."

My lips tightened. Rich of her to discuss trust. Though I knew what she meant, I could not help the irritation that flickered through me. "And how should I trust you, when you are one of the biggest liars of all?"

Sabine approached, eyes fierce. I was forced to look up at her.

"Because for as much as I have lied, my goal has always been the same. To keep you safe. I cannot say the same for all the other liars that surround you. I fear there are secrets beyond those that pertain to your prince, each one dangerous in its own way. No one can be trusted. Not the other maids, not even the men that came with us. Especially not that Prince Pierre."

Her words made my heart flutter. I refused to break eye contact first.

"You still suspect him?" I asked, exasperated. "There is no evidence he is a part of this."

"Especially him. They are still brothers."

Half brothers. But for some reason, I decided to keep that to myself. Sabine likely knew anyway.

I tore my gaze away from her. "Fine."

After how things had ended between Pierre and me, I assumed I wouldn't likely see him again anyway. Not alone, at the very least. Still, aside from everything that had happened, he felt like my only friend within this palace.

Sabine looked me over and closed her eyes. She appeared resigned, but to what I wasn't sure.

"We all turn to fools when faced with what we find beautiful."

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HI! So you may have noticed I've been updating a lot lately! My goal is to have this story up and complete by the end of the month because I'll be doing my practicum over the summer. We are roughly halfway so far *wipes forehead*

For anyone who has been reading along so far: THANK YOU! I appreciate you finding something interesting in my story. It would really make my day if you could vote or leave me a comment letting me know what you are enjoying.

-Kat xx