"Are you ready?" Selia hums as she does my hair as I sit at her dresser in her room, having changed into my dress and most of my accessories.

"Ready to intrude on a royal ball, you mean?" I laugh nervously as Selia takes strands of hair from both sides of my head to pull them to the back to form a braid that rests on top of my long wavy locks.

"Please," Selia scoffs. "It's hardly intruding if you're invited."

"But I'm not invited," I frown.

"You are by me," Selia grins.

"I don't think that's how that works, but it's not like we have much of a choice if we want to try and figure out what's going on with Queen Iris," I sigh.

"A few of the council members will be there," Selia says. "We'll need to be careful around them, but perhaps we can gain information out of them about the change in Iris' behavior. You should be wary of one council member in particular, though. He's...cunning and charismatic. He pretends not to notice the little things, but he sees everything."

"Is he one of Asterithe's representatives on the council?" I ask.

"No," Selia shakes her head. "His name is Axas Gardenia. He's a representative from Maracoste. The other two representatives who will be there are both from Asterithe, Irene Ainsley and Jasper Lockwood."

"I see..." I trail off in thought. "What is Axas going to be doing at the ball?"

"Who knows?" Selia sighs. "Perhaps the Grand Master wanted him there for some reason. Although, he's known for going off on his own and against the Grand Master's requests from time to time, especially if it benefits his lord. While he serves the council, his true allegiance never wavers from that of Lord Dominic, ruler of Maracoste."

"You sure do know a lot about people in the political world," I give Selia a small smile, staring at my reflection in her mirror.

"I suppose it's because of how I was raised," Selia hums. "My parents wanted me to always be aware of the political world and those in power. As I got older, though, my father began to forbid learning about anyone whose views didn't align with his or that he didn't approve of. He was paranoid that I would rebel against him or that I would have different beliefs. He didn't realize he was only fueling that fire in me."

"I'm glad you didn't turn out like him," I smile once more before it quickly fades into a frown as my mind flashes from Selia's father to her mother. "Hey, Selia..."

"Yeah?" Selia questions and pulls back to admire her handiwork, giving me the opportunity to turn around on the stool and face her, making her raise her eyebrows in surprise. "I wasn't done, you know."

"Sorry," I laugh sheepishly. "It's just, I spoke to your mother yesterday."

"What?" Selia blinks in surprise.

"She really cares about you, you know," I say softly. "She asked me to make sure that you find your freedom, that you leave this place. I think, even though she doesn't know how to, she wants to protect you. She thinks you deserve better."

"And she doesn't?" Selia scoffs, clenching her hands at her sides. "She deserves to fade away to nothing as she drowns herself in wine all day in her library, shut off from a family who doesn't give a damn about her well being? It's not fair of me to leave her here all alone with them."

"I know she doesn't deserve that, and I know it's not fair to her. I suggested to her that the two of you leave together, but she said she couldn't leave," I frown. "I'm sorry, Selia."

"Yeah..." Selia trails off softly, crossing her arms against her chest as she looks towards her window. "Me too."

As I stare at Selia, I find myself wishing that I could help her and her mother somehow. It's not fair to her mother to leave her all alone with the rest of their cold and dysfunctional family, but it's not fair to Selia to keep her trapped in this terrible environment either. They both want to help each other, but it seems whichever option they choose will only end up hurting someone, and neither of them want that for the other.

"Turn around," Selia finally says, breaking the silence after a small sigh. "I still need to finish your hair, after all."

"Right..." I clear my throat and slowly turn back around, my eyes locking on Selia's figure in the mirror as she goes back to examining my hair, and I frown, still wishing I knew of a way to help her and her family.

***

"My, you clean up surprisingly nice for a commoner. You might even fool everyone at the ball that your blood isn't made of dirt."

I bristle at the sound of a familiar male voice, my arms that were already crossed against my chest as I was standing outside Selia's manor waiting for her tightening further. I glance over my shoulder to see Dietfried walking towards me in a dark blue suit, a bronze wrist watch flashing on his arm in the sunlight, his blue eyes as cold as ever.

"You clean up nice too," I nod, faking a smile. "Do you think you'll be able to fool everyone into thinking that your personality isn't as cheap as the watch on your wrist?"

"Cheeky," Dietfried clucks, his eyebrows raising as he tugs at his sleeves. "I can certainly see why Selia likes you. It only makes me detest you more."

"Why are you coming?" I frown.

"I could ask you the same question, only mine is valid. You aren't even a citizen of Asterithe, much less a noble," Dietfried sneers.

"And how do you know that?" I ask.

"Please, anyone looking at you could tell," Dietfried laughs. "Although, truth be told, I did a little digging on you. Better be careful, Miss Beaulieu, it seems you're a wanted woman these days. The only reason I haven't turned you in is because you're a fellow Specialist. As much as I would love to, I could never turn you in."

"Oh?" I raise a brow in surprise.

"If you're not loyal to your own people, you don't deserve your spot among them," Dietfried says, examining his watch before his eyes flicker up to me. "That is why I could never turn in a fellow Specialist, and that is also why I detest Selia. She is not loyal to our family, therefore she does not deserve to be a part of it."

"You're wrong. Selia was loyal to your family until you all treated her terribly. You shattered her loyalty all on your own. You expect her to still be loyal to you and willing to be a part of your family when you treat her so inhumanely?" I shake my head in disgust. "Selia is one of the most loyal people I have ever met. She would take a bullet for the people she cares about. You broke your loyalty to her first by treating her the way you did. She doesn't owe you or your family anything. To think, you just expect her to be obedient and take the mistreatment your family gives her? You think that's loyalty? You don't know loyalty."

"How dare—" Dietfried snaps.

"What's going on?" Selia asks, cutting off Dietfried as she walks towards us in a sweetheart-cut, dark blue, floor length dress with a white shawl and a pearl necklace, her hair pulled up into a ponytail with a pearl band, her eyes narrowing on her brother.

"Nothing," Dietfried huffs, brushing down his suit, seemingly deciding to not admit how he was humiliated. "Let us proceed to the ball. And don't bother interacting with me when we arrive. I know Father wants us to keep up appearances of a perfect family, but I'd sooner die. I have more important matters to attend to, anyway, such as keeping our relations with the council in good standing."

"As do I," Selia crosses her arms and scowls at her brother.

"What was that 'loyalty' you were talking about earlier?" I muse, batting my eyelashes at Dietfried. "Disobeying your father's orders? Seems to breach your code of loyalty, if you ask me. Not that I'm complaining, I wouldn't want Selia to have to interact with you, anyway."

Dietfried glares at me and I swear I could feel the air turn a bit colder under his gaze. Dietfried clenches his jaw and storms off angrily, heading off in the direction of the ball.

"I don't know what all that was about, but it sure is fun to see him finally lose his composure," Selia snickers as she moves to stand beside me, watching her brother walk down the street before she turns to me with a smile that reaches her eyes. "And, I get the feeling that you defended me earlier. Thank you."

"Of course," I smile warmly back at her, "that's what friends are for. Now, we have a ball to crash."

"Indeed we do," Selia grins and loops one of her arms through mine.