I wake up, perspiration trickling down my back.

'It's just a dream, it's just a dream,' I reassure myself, making a mental note not to surprise Jude in her apartment in the future.

The violet glow of the evening passes through my curtains and illuminates my room with a dark sort of ethereal glow.

Since it's pretty early to wake up, I take advantage of the empty hallways and sneak out to go on a walk. 

I slip out of the back door and into a mostly hidden grotto. The whole secret garden is filled with luminous plants and tall, wispy, colourful trees. The grass is peppered with smooth stepping stones and the area is broken up with statues of the Greenbriar royals and smooth marble benches.

I sit down on one of the benches that's right below a willow tree. I take a deep breath of the fresh and floral scents.

Totally at peace, my mood plummets when a voice startles me out of my daydreams of Jude.

"Cardan.. I didn't see you there.." A painstakingly familiar voice says.

My fists clench as my jaw set and I turn around.

"Can't I live in peace without you distur-" I stop, peering closer at her.

Her usually pink cheeks are now pale and tearstained.. and her eyes, once gorgeously blue, are red and puffy from.. crying.

I walk to her side, "Nicasia? What happened?" All annoyance melts away as I take her slim hands

She looks away and crumples in a heap on the ground in front of me.

I kneel down in front of her, eager to coax the truth out of her.

"M-my.. my m-mother.. she's dying.." she says thickly, trying to control her sobs.

"What?" Queen Orlagh has lived thousands of years!

"The Court of Termites attacked her for sending spies to their camp. She was impaled by a spear and she's not going to live.. l-like definitely not going to l-live," she breathes, getting paler by the moment.

My eyes widen.

"But its not a big deal and plus you'll be Queen! Isn't that a comfortin-" I start.

"YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN LOVED BY YOUR PARENTS OR EVEN LOVE THEM- BUT I DO!" she screams, tears streaming down her face quickly now.

She gets up and runs out of the garden, appalled at my lack of empathy.

I sigh and sit down, why does she have to be so harsh- no,I shouldn't have been so harsh.

I put my thinking cap on, unsure of what to make of this.

An absurd idea floats to my head, but I quickly shove it out...

...but it comes back.

What if I kill two birds with one stone: I comfort Nicasia and expand my land and power with the throne by courting her?