Princess Kassandra of Nohr

I went to my new room after we'd freed the prisoners, hoping to catch some extra sleep, but I had too much on my mind to close my eyes. How could I even begin to digest all that I'd seen?

Father had looked every bit the ferocious king I'd imagined him to be. And after all the blood, sweat, and tears I'd spilled for him, I should have known better than to be surprised when he'd acted like a tyrant. But I had been.

Then there was Norton. I hadn't known he would be in the castle -- Xander had warned me that my blood brother was entrusted more missions than the rest of the family put together. Yet it had not been the case this time, and of all the reactions he could have given, he'd looked furious to find me standing in the throne room. Did he think this world belonged to him alone?

Where had the brother I'd once known and loved gone?

I sighed and turned over, finally closing my eyes. But it seemed like I'd only been asleep for a few minutes before I heard someone knocking on the door.

"Kass!" Elise called. "Wakey, wakey! Can I come in?"

I sat up and groaned. "It's so early."

She took that as consent and opened the door, bright-eyed and immaculate. "Come on, sleepy head! This isn't early when you live in Castle Krakenburg!"

I groaned again and sank back onto my pillows.

"Kass, this is important." She trotted up to me. "Father's gone into the throne room, and that means he'll be free to talk. We should go and apologise now, before he gets busy!"

"Apologise?"

"Yeah! You know, for what you did yesterday. Father doesn't take well to disobedience. The sooner you apologise, the better!"

I frowned. "Elise, I could never apologise for saving those prisoners. To slaughter them when they were defeated was wrong."

Her face fell. "But you don't know what Father's like, Kass. Please -- will you apologise to him for me? You don't have to mean it."

She looked so upset that I knew I couldn't refuse. "Fine. Could you summon Felicia to help me dress?"

"Sure! Right away! I'll meet you outside the throne room!" She skipped out the door.

I flung my covers aside and forced myself to leave the comfort of my four-poster bed. My room was just as dark as the one in the Northern Fortress, but it was much bigger and much emptier. No clutter was strewn across the floor, and the big trunk in the corner was not even half full. Most of my clothes would arrive sometime in the week by baggage train.

Felicia had unpacked what luggage I had while I'd been in the throne room last night, so a handful of my personal effects were tucked away in the chest of drawers. I opened and closed each one, checking their new placement. I hadn't packed much: some books, my sheet music, and a few sentimental knickknacks.

In the bottom drawer, I found one such thing -- the rose Xander had given me after Norton had left; a promise that he would never let me down. I'd pressed it and kept it on my bedside table in the Northern Fortress ever since.

I took the flower in my hands, thinking of the look in Xander's eyes as he'd raised his blade against me last night. He hadn't wanted to do it. That had been plain for me to see. And yet, he had still chosen to.

I would do well to always remember that he was the Crown Prince of Nohr. We'd met each other in my world, but I was in his world now.

The door opened behind me, and I dropped the rose and turned around. Felicia was crossing to the fire. "I'm sorry, my lady! After our late arrival yesterday, I overslept!"

"It's all right." I went to my trunk and threw it open. "Could you help me dress, please?"

The fire now lit, Felicia dutifully came back to me. "I'm so sorry, my lady. You're shivering."

Cursed with the ability to always feel cold no matter the season, I shrugged and wrapped my arms around my thin chemise. "I'll be warm once I'm dressed."

I layered up in several tunics and a pair of leggings, and Felicia pinned a heavy cloak around my shoulders. She combed my hair while I laced my leather boots, then took her leave. I wished that I could go with her.

When I stepped out my room and shut the door, I also wished that I'd asked her for directions. Last night, Elise had taken me everywhere, but now she was waiting by the throne room and I had to find my way alone.

The corridors were so dimly lit that if I hadn't seen the dawn for myself, I could have been fooled into thinking it was still night time. The shadows made them all look identical, and I wandered helplessly.

"Are you lost, little princess?"

I startled and turned on my heel. Xander was standing behind me, his face half in shadow.

He smiled at my surprise. "Good morning. What are you trying to find?"

"The throne room."

His eyebrows rose. "Why?"

"Elise wants me to apologise to Father." I couldn't keep the bitterness from my voice.

"A wise idea. Let us hope he will listen to reason."

"And what reason would that be?"

"That you're his daughter." Xander held up his hands. "Relax, little princess. I'm not saying that what you did last night was wrong. But, as I have said, one day an act of kindness will kill you. I wouldn't want it to be today."

I frowned. "Father would kill me for insubordination?"

Xander's silence was my reply.

"That's absurd!"

He glanced around us quickly. "Quiet, Kass. I'll guide you to the throne room now, and I suggest that you do whatever is within your power to make Father accept your apology."

I sighed. "Fine. I will."

***

When Xander had taken us down a series of identical hallways and we finally reached the black double doors that marked the throne room, we found that the rest of our siblings were waiting for us: Elise, Camilla, Leo, and even Norton.

Although my twin brother looked right through me, my spirits lifted.

Elise turned around and knocked on the doors. "Father! We have something we need to talk to you about!"

Booming laughter echoed through the wood.

I placed my palm against it, swallowing my sudden anxiety. "Father?"

Xander drew me away. "It sounds like he's with someone, Kass. Perhaps we should come back later."

"Who's there?" Father bellowed. "What do you want?"

"Father, we're here to apologise," Elise said. "Right, Kass?"

"Yes, that's correct. I'm sorry for questioning you."

There was a nerve-racking pause. I wondered if that was all I had to do.

Then Father said, "Enter."

I pushed against the double doors and stepped inside. Dozens of black-robed servants stood around the room, guarding the King of Nohr. He was sitting atop his throne, his chin propped up in one hand and a dark scowl on his face.

A skinny mage with long, black hair stood beside him. Iago. He'd occasionally visited the Northern Fortress on Father's behalf.

When we stopped at the bottom of the steps, Father stood up, so that I had to tilt my head back to look at him. "Kassandra. You disobeyed a direct order from me. Ordinarily, you would not still be alive."

Xander tensed beside me.

I lowered my head. "I understand."

"No!" Elise cried. "Father, I can explain --"

"Silence!" he roared.

She closed her mouth with a whimper.

"As you are my child," Father continued, "I will grant you some leeway. I have something in mind for you: a mission. If you complete this task successfully, I will pardon your crime in full."

I perked up. "Really? What manner of a mission?"

"There is an abandoned fortress perched on the Hoshidan border. I wish to know if the building there remains serviceable. You are to travel to the site and inspect the premises. No battle will be required. Do you understand? I will not tolerate being disappointed twice."

"Yes, Father. It shall be done."

Camilla put her hand on my arm. "Darling, are you going to be all right out there? Perhaps I'll have to come along and keep you safe."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Iago said.

"Why ever not?"

"King Garon intends his expedition to be a test of sorts, Your Highness. He would like to know whether Princess Kassandra is worthy of her place here. Therefore, your assistance would simply muddy the results."

"Understood." My heart sank. "Camilla, I need to do this all by myself."

"Not all by yourself, Kassandra," Father said. "Your retainers will go with you, of course. And I will allow two others to accompany you. Bring in Hans!"

The doors opened behind us, and we all turned around. Two of the castle guards entered, flanking a soldier with a glower even fiercer than Father's. Scars crossed his face. Huge muscles bunched beneath his uniform.

Xander inhaled sharply, his eyes dark.

"This is Hans," Father said. "A veteran warrior. He will ensure that no trouble befalls you -- and so will Norton."

My twin brother snapped to attention, his military posture turning even more rigid. "What?"

"Norton is my most obedient son," Father continued. "As you mirror him in blood, Kassandra, I hope that you will learn from him. He will be in charge until you reach the fort, but you will make the survey alone."

I nodded. "Understood."

"But, Father," Norton said, "I thought you had another mission in mind for me! Who will attend to that?"

"You have many other capable siblings. Xander will lead your men while you are gone." Father waved his hand. "You are all dismissed. Kassandra, you are to leave for the border immediately."

I backed away from the throne. Norton hesitated for a moment. Then he followed.

Once we were all out of the room and the doors had shut behind us, I turned to my twin brother and offered him a hopeful smile. "At last, we can spend some time together! Perhaps --"

The look he gave me was so cold that my lips froze in place.

"I may be accompanying you," he said, "but it changes nothing. Stay the hell away from me, Kassandra. As your acting superior, that's an order."

Leo stepped forwards, his jaw clenched. "Norton!"

My brother walked away.

"Leave him, Leo," Xander said. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed so tightly that it hurt. "Kass, may I have a word? Alone?"

"Of course," I said faintly. "We'll go to my room so that I can pack...if I remember how to get there."

He released my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll lead the way."

***

When we reached my room and I let Xander inside, I was suddenly grateful that I hadn't yet made a mess in there. He'd seen the state of my quarters plenty of times in the Northern Fortress, but things felt different now. I wasn't just a young girl locked away in a tower. I was a soldier, and I wanted him to see me as one.

But he swept his gaze over the space with a frown. "This isn't you at all."

"What isn't me? Being tidy?" I threw open my trunk.

"Yes. I miss the clutter of your room in the Northern Fortress."

"Really?"

"Of course." His expression was sincere. "It was you."

I blushed and turned back to my packing. "Well, I'll probably make a mess again when my other things are delivered."

While I gathered clothes, Xander opened my chest of drawers. As a child, I'd often asked him to help me find things in my messes, and so I was used to him looking through my belongings as he pleased. I ignored him, smashing a fist into my bag to push everything down and wrestling with the fastening.

When I turned around, I saw that he'd withdrawn the sheet music and was spreading it across the surface. "You should ask Felicia to arrange for you to have a piano in here. I miss hearing you sing. How long has it been since you last played for me? Six months?"

I slung the bag over my shoulder. "It feels more like a year, although I know it hasn't been."

"Hmm. Hold on, isn't this...?" He was looking at the flower half hidden beneath the sheets.

"The rose you gave me." A lump formed in my throat as I moved towards him. "After Norton left the fortress."

Xander tore the rose from the forest of music, sending papers cascading to the floor. "Which brings me to the reason I need to speak with you. Father could not have picked two worse companions to ensure your safety. Norton and Hans?"

I bit my lip and glanced down at my boots. There were no words I could say on the matter that wouldn't sting. The way Norton had looked at me outside the throne room...well, not even the Hoshidan prisoners had been treated to so icy a glare.

"I cannot pretend to understand your brother, Kass," Xander said tersely. "At times, he seems to care. At others, he looks as if he wishes you dead, and he avoids the rest of us as if we carry a deadly sickness. As such, I have no idea of his trustworthiness. The fact that Father sings his praises means nothing when I consider that he is also sending you with Hans."

I looked up. "Father said that Hans is a veteran warrior."

"He is. He is also a murderer and a scoundrel. I arrested him myself years ago. Father seems to think that he's rehabilitated, but I'm not so certain."

"Father's entrusting me to a murderer?" I clenched my hands around the chest of drawers.

"Indeed, and not just a murderer of men, Kass. A murderer of women and children, too."

Nausea curled in my stomach.

"Nohr has a tradition of hanging the bodies of its enemies from the walls of its forts and temples," Xander said, "or impaling their heads on the spikes. They act as threats to enemy countries and rebels alike. Hans copied this. He spiked the heads of the children he killed on Windmire's temple."

I pressed a hand to my mouth.

"A man like that is not a man who rehabilitates, Kass. Between him and your brother, you would be best keeping your eyes open on this mission. The real world is nothing like your fortress. Be on your guard at all times, and trust no one but your retainers. Understood?"

I looked into his dark eyes and saw the sheer, unbridled concern that lay there. It sent a chill through me. "Understood."