The next morning, King George received a letter from the Cunningham family, who were distant cousins of theirs. It was from the head of the family, Lord Cunningham, stating that his only daughter, Annalise, was to visit for a few days, as their home was being remodelled and she had a sickness that made her allergic to dust. Upon hearing the news over breakfast, Isaac looked pleased; he then explained later to Ingrid that he and Annalise grew up together and had many similar interests. Ingrid simply rolled her eyes and went back to her breakfast, uninterested. She had never made any female friends her age, and found them too much of a nuisance.

Lady Annnalise arrived in a white coach. She had long, flowing blonde hair, almost as yellow as the sun. Her skin was so fair it almost shone, with naturally red pursed lips and clear blue eyes. Though they were the same age, her body had blossomed already to that of a young lady. She looked so delicate and doll-like.

Ingrid, dressed in her usual shirt and pants with a messy bun, felt a sickening feeling in her gut at the sight of her. She was beautiful, and watching Ingrid take her hand and kiss it made her feel even worse. They smiled at one another in a way that made her want to puke. She looked back at Isaac tenderly, and Ingrid felt like pushing her away. Her mind began to race with all these new feelings, that she didn't notice Annalise was standing in front of her. 

"Princess Ingrid?" she asked. Even her voice sounded like the soft tinkling of distant bells. She was much too perfect, and Ingrid forced a smile to the point her cheeks hurt. Ingrid shook her head and curtsied to her. "How do you do?" she asked politely. Her low, rough voice sounded out-of-place compared to hers. 

Annalise smiled. "I am doing well. I hope to make your acquaintance," she said sweetly, Ingrid felt even more annoyed. Father would go crazy if he met her, with her perfect manners and her pretty face, she thought to herself bitterly. Isaac offered his arm to her and she took it and they walked ahead, eagerly speaking about the latest scientific discoveries. They all sounded like gibberish to her and she hated every second of it. 

And for the first time since she came here, Ingrid looked at Isaac and felt upset, but now she couldn't understand why.

Ingrid and Annalise walked together to the library, talking animatedly about the latest developments in herbal medicine across the land. Ingrid walked behind them, feeling more out-of-place than she had ever felt in her life. She hated how close they walked together, their hands almost brushing. Isaac smiled like he never had before; how could he smile at her like that and not at me? She thought bitterly. She wanted more than anything to find an excuse to get out, but she could barely get a word in as they both talked like old friends. 

They talked so much that they didn't even notice when Ingrid stopped walking, unable to take how Isaac smiled and clearly loved talking to her. She ached to turn and walk away, feigning something if asked, when Isaac turned back to glance at her. "Ingrid!" he called from several feet away. 

Ingrid trudged towards them, but she put on an obvious fake smile for the sake of Annalise. "What is it that you both need? Would you both need a glass of water? Some wine? Some candles to set the mood?" she joked, though there was an edge of annoyance in her voice. 

Isaac smiled; his smile was still wider than anything Ingrid had seen since she arrived. It made the pit-like feeling in her stomach growing. He glanced at both of them. "How about you two spend some time together? I just need to check on something in my study," he proposed. Ingrid felt her skin crawl, but Annalise looked pleased. 

"I'd love to get to know the princess," she responded cheerfully. Too cheerfully, Ingrid noted. She grinned once more. "And I would love to be acquainted with Lady Annalise," she replied back. "Oh please, call me Annalise," Annalise replied back courteously. Ingrid felt like she was thrown back to when she was younger, being forced to talk to fellow princesses and ladies during parties thrown by her mother. They all smiled when her mother was around, but ignored her completely and made fun of her once she was gone. 

After Isaac left, she turned to face Annalise once more. Her skin had no blemish, her eyelashes were perfect, and she smelled faintly of lavender. She hadn't done anything, and it infuriated her.

"So, Annalise, how long have you known Isaac? you two seem very close," she began, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. Mother, would you be proud of me now if you saw me schmoozing like you always do? she thought to herself rather bitterly.

Ingrid couldn't tell if it was just the clouds that just then covered the sun that brought a change in the atmosphere, but something different appeared on Annalise's face. Her gentle, delicate smile and eyes seemed to have been tainted with something else. She started to twirl her hair in a finger, looking around them as if Ingrid was a mere chair in front of her. "Umm, since we were really young, I think," she responded, talking as if she was forced to. Her once pure voice now seemed grating. Not once looking at Ingrid, she turned around and kept walking. Ingrid, confused, walked fast to catch up with her. 

"Oh, really? Then you must have a lot of stories," Ingrid replied back, feeling suddenly like she was talking to someone else. Still not looking at her, Ingrid replied back, "Oh yeah. He's my first crush!" She laughed, and Ingrid stopped in her tracks, coldness filling her gut. 

Annalise stopped and looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. She looked Ingrid up and down. "And why do you care to know?" she asked Ingrid, looking at her as if she was a suspicious person.

Ingrid felt an alarm go off on her head. She knew this type, she had to come across dozens of them whenever there was a ball: these rich, spoiled girls who felt entitled to everything, who would smile and bat their eyelashes to get what they want, who would drop someone as soon as they no longer required them.

For a moment, she felt concern for Isaac. Did he know how fake she really was? She raised an eyebrow but continued to look like it didn't bother her. "Oh, I was just curious. He is my betrothed, after all," she snapped back, looking her up and down. She never thought she would use their arrangement proudly until now.

"And what are you trying to imply?" Annalise scoffed, crossing her arms. Her eyes were cold and calculating, looking almost as if she was trying to read into her.

Ingrid felt a mischievous grin slide across her lips. Annalise's reaction fed her like she was a starved man eating for the first time. "Oh dear oh dear, have you not heard? Has he never mentioned that I am here because we are to be married? And I thought you were such a kindred friend, oh that's a pity," she said rather sarcastically, trying to sound like she pitied her, when clearly she revelled in her confusion. 

"Perhaps, no matter how smart you are, you won't be able to know everything. Why, you never once asked about me. All you did was latch onto him. Our feud as kingdoms aside, that's just quite rude, don't you think?" she questioned her.

"Anyone with a brain can tell you and Isaac are completely mismatched. I know him, he would never like a barbarian from the north," Annalise snapped back. Ingrid felt her anger rising faster than ever, and she could feel her cheeks growing warm, her hands turning into fists. 

"Oh and by the way," Annalise took a few steps towards her until they were right in front of each other. The air was electric with tension. She looked Ingrid up and down once more, and Ingrid had to stop herself from shoving her away. "I have no time for losers like you," she finished spitefully, a triumphant grin now on her perfect face. Ingrid gritted her teeth, but before she could say anything, Annalise flipped her blonde hair and walked away. "I'll be in the library. Ta-ta!" she said in an obviously fake cheerful voice. 

Ingrid watched her bitterly walk away, shaking her head. "How dare she?" she thought to herself angrily. She looked down at her clothes and her hair. Was she really looking like a barbarian? She checked if she smelled and she didn't. She glared at the direction Annalise went. There is no way I am letting her win this, she thought to herself.

 Ingrid quickly followed Annalise to the library. She was so mad about being slighted, she never really thought of why it affected her so much that someone else was here now.

Ingrid opened the library doors, not caring how loud they banged against the walls. She saw Annalise, who was standing by the windows, nearly jump in surprise. Ingrid felt the same vengeful feeling she had watching a rabbit she continuously missed during hunting finally being cornered.

"I don't know how you didn't get it, but I don't want to spend time with you. So shoo," Annalise spat at Ingrid, waving her hand outwards as if shooing a fly. 

"Doesn't matter what you want or don't want. After this, you're going to be going back home, and I will be the future Queen. So who really is going to do better, hmm?" Ingrid challenged her confidently. "So you can drop this sweet friendly childhood friend act, darling, because it's never going to work."

"Ugh!" Annalise rolled her eyes and walked away. "Just leave. I don't want your stench rotting dear Isaac's books." Ingrid felt even better watching her look so infuriated. She purposely walked close to her to spite her, and Annalise's fair face started to turn red with fury. "Get away!" Annalise shoved at her.

Ingrid shook her head, feeling barely anything with Annalise's weak shoves and pushes. "Ohhhh you, you have no idea what you're up against. Scared that someone's suddenly better than you now, huh?" Ingrid taunted her. 

She grabbed Annalise's hands and pushed her away. "Save the energy for when you have to go home crying," Ingrid said confidently, before giving her an exaggerated low curtsy, and walking away. "Oh and make sure you take a bath, it reeks of desperation here!" she added as a final clapback.

"How dare you talk to me like that?!" Annalise cried out angrily, quickly walking towards her and blocking her path to the door. Her perfect golden hair looked messier, and her doll-like features looked wrinkled and red. "Apologize!" she demanded hotly.

Ingrid looked at her like she had said something very dumb. "Brave of a pawn like you to command a queen. Do you really think just because you knew Isaac as a child, that gives you anything more?" she asked her, talking to her like she was stupid. She grabbed Annalise by the shoulder and shoved her away, heading towards the door.

"Oh you are so wrong for making me mad. You will regret this!" Annalise continued to threaten her hotly as Ingrid left the room. "Apologize to me now!" Annalise jumped up and down in rage, much like an angry toddler.

Ingrid paused and looked back at her. Realization hit her: had she ever been this bad? this demanding? This spoiled? For some reason, despite hating Annalise, Ingrid found herself relating to her. Still, her attitude was rotten, and needed to be dealt with. 

She made signs with her hands as if crying, saying, "Boo hoo, you're mad? Aww, will the world stop for you if you are?" she glared at her. "You're pretty, you're smart, you have a great friend in Isaac even if you have a terrible personality. You won't find anyone else like Isaac, so you better treasure that," she continued, feeling like a mother scolding her spoiled child.

As she said the last line, warning bells rang in her head. Why was she praising Isaac now? What's going on? She grits her teeth and runs away from Annalise, rushing to her bedchamber. She lays down and hugs a pillow, thinking of everything she just said. 

As Ingrid mulled over her words, Annalise reached Isaac's personal study at the far western end of the castle. She knocked on the door. "Isaac~" she called out in a sing-song voice, making sure to sound hurt and sad. "It's me, Annalise."

"Come in, Anna," Isaac said from the other side of the door. As Annalise walked in, he didn't look at her, instead he was closely analyzing a tiny plant on a pot by the windowsill. "Would you believe this? I watered it just an hour ago and it's already grown by an inch," he noted, face deep in concentration. 

The tiny plant was a project started by Annalise a few years ago, the last time she visited the castle. As the both of them were into horticulture, they decided to raise a special plant together. The seed, a hybrid of other seeds created by Isaac itself, was planted into a plot of land and then moved to a ceramic pot. Isaac had been regularly sending Annalise updates on the plant ever since. After nearly giving up on it, the plant had finally started to grow.

Wordlessly, Annalise held Isaac's arm and clung on to it, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder. "Can I sit on your lap?" she asked, her voice childlike and sweet.

Isaac looked at her, confused. "Sit on my lap? Won't you be more comfortable sitting on this chair?" He asked, pointing at a nearby chair. He turned away from her again, focusing on the plant. "And what's bothering you?"

"Okay fiiiine," she pouted as she sits on the chair Isaac is pointing at. "I used to sit on your lap before right? And you would pat my head, it's just...I miss it," she batted her eyelashes at him, making sure he saw her pout. 

Isaac looked at her, somewhat amused. "I thought we've grown a bit old for that?" He asked her.

"We might have grown but I am still your little Anna, right?" she asked him. Without waiting for a reply, she took his hand and, standing up, pulled him towards her and made him sit down on the armchair. She then promptly sat on his lap and, hugging him, rested her head on his chest. "I'm still light, aren't I?" she asked him sweetly, eyes closed, taking a deep inhale of his scent.

Isaac couldn't help but smile as he felt her sitting on his lap, her head on his chest. He was instantly taken back to when they were younger, how they were each other's closest friends, all the times they sat just like this. He stroked her hair gently. "Now, what's bothering you?" He asked.

"Hmm, maybe I'll tell you later," she said almost sleepily. "I just want to cuddle like this with you for a while." When Isaac was silent, she looked up, their faces only inches apart. "Could you only focus on me?" she asked him, pouting once more.

Isaac chuckled and placed a hand on her cheek. "Are you okay? I haven't seen you this demanding of me since we were kids," he said, smiling a bit as he recalled his memories with her.

Annalise reached over and hugged him once more. "I missed you," she said softly. "I missed you too," Isaac replied, patting her back. "Say, why don't we look at the plant together?" he added, trying to change the subject. 

Annalise looked at him once more, a sad look on her eyes. "Why is it like you don't wanna just cuddle with me?" she asked him. "Is it Ingrid? Is she limiting the things you can do with other girls?" she added, sounding more hurt. 

Isaac scoffed as if she said something odd. "No, she's not limiting me. It's just...we're not exactly children now, are we? And there's much more important things to do. But don't worry," Isaac said, walking to Annalise and picking up her chin with his hand. "I'll spend as much time with you as I can, alright? Ingrid is Ingrid, she can handle herself. You're my friend, and you don't always visit, so I'll find time. Okay?" He asked, smiling at her. He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly, before walking away again to the plant.

Annalise bit her lip, suppressing her frustration. She decided to go for the offensive. "You asked me what is bothering me right? It's Ingrid," she confessed. 

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Ingrid? Did she say something? She's always like that you know, the first time we met she insulted me right away. That's just how she is," he said, not really noticing how Annalise was trying to make him side with her.

"It's just, I was being nice to her earlier when you left and she just suddenly got rude to me, saying that she'll marry you someday so I'm lower than her," Annalise said, battling her eyelashes once more and combining it with a sad look.

Isaac laughed. "Really? Oh, she's just joking. She thinks insulting someone is common courtesy. Really, Anna, just don't let her get to your head. Tune her out, that's what I always do," he replied casually. He looked at her sad face. "Oh, did she really say something bad? What exactly is it?" He went to her, sitting next to her and rubbing her shoulder gently. "I apologize for her. She should have known better."

"A mere apology isn't enough. You have to do something for me!" Annalise said, perking up suddenly and smiling. "What is it?" Isaac asked her. "You've got that mischievous smile you always had when you thought of something. Come out with it," he urged her.

"Kiss me on the lips, just a friendly one. Like we used to do when we were little," Annalise asked, pointing at her lips and puckering up. Isaac rolled his eyes. "Do I really have to?" He asked her. "Please? Pretty please? A friendly kiss won't mean anything, right?" Annalise smiled sweetly, leaning her head to the side in a way she always did when she wanted to get something from someone.

Isaac laughed. "Of course it wouldn't," he said. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "That settles that, doesn't it?" He asked her, patting her head gently. "Are you feeling better now?"

Without warning, Annalise grabbed him and kissed him once more, deeper this time. Isaac felt her tongue enter his mouth, and an electrifying feeling ran through him. And just as suddenly as it happened, Annalise pulled away. With a mischievous smile, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "That's much better, right?" she asked him. She then stood up and practically skipping left the room. 

Isaac stared at the direction Annalise went. He touched his lips, remembering her intense kiss. He felt confused and thought of Ingrid suddenly. He shook his head and went to a desk, and took out a notebook. He began to write: "women are confusing. Annalise is acting strangely, and Ingrid has been acting strangely too. Note to self: be thankful you don't have sisters. Focus on the mission," he nodded as he ended it and walked back to the windowsill, examining the plant.