Your schedule is as follows: 07.30—Breakfast 08.00—Protocol 11.30—Lunch 13.00—Lessons 18.00—Dinner.
Lucas will take you to all your agenda. This schedule is not up for negotiation.
Her Majesty Queen Elara of the Merandus Clan.
THE LETTER WAS SHORT AND to the point, not to mention rude. My mind imagined five hours of lessons, remembering how poorly I did at school. With a groan, I threw the notebook back onto the bedside table. The paper landed in a pool of golden morning sunlight, just to taunt me.
Like yesterday, three servants slid in, quiet as a whisper. Fifteen minutes later, after suffering through a series of tight leather leggings , long flowing dresses, and other strange and impractical outfits,
we finally decided on the simplest clothes we could find from our wardrobe of wonders. Stretchy but tough black trousers, a purple jacket with silver buttons, and polished gray boots. Apart from the shiny hair and thick paint on my face, I almost looked like my true self again.
Lucas waited on the other side of the door, one foot tapping on the stone floor. “One minute behind schedule,” he said as soon as I stepped into the hallway.
“Are you going to babysit me every day or only until I know enough about the ins and outs of the kingdom?”
He took a step back behind me, slowly guiding me in the right direction. “What do you think?”
“Hopefully we will have a long and happy friendship, Mr. Samos.”
“You’re welcome, Lady.” “Don’t call me that.” “As you wish, Lady.”
After last night’s celebratory banquet, this breakfast seemed boring. The “smaller” dining room still looks spacious, with high ceilings and views of the river, but the long table is set for just three people. Unfortunately for me, the other two people were Elara and Evangeline. They had already finished half the bowl of fruit when I entered. Elara barely glanced at me, but Evangeline’s sharp gaze was enough for both of them. With sunlight reflecting off the metal of his costume, he looked like a dazzling star.
“You have to eat quickly,” said the queen without looking up. “Lady Blonos does not tolerate tardiness.”
Across my table, Evangeline laughed. “You still taking Protocol lessons?”
“You mean you don’t?” My heart leapt at the thought of not having to sit in class with him. “Fun!”
Evangeline snorted at me, deflecting the reproach. “Only children take Protocol lessons.”
To my surprise, the queen actually sided with me. “Lady Mareena grew up in a very bad situation. He doesn’t know our ways at all, the expectations he must fulfill at this time. Surely you understand the need, Evangeline?”
The rebuke was so calm, slow, and threatening. Evangeline’s smile faded, and she nodded, not daring to look the queen in the eye.
“Today’s lunch will be held on the Glass Terrace, with the Queen Selection contestant girls accompanied by their mothers. Try to refrain from boasting.” Elara added, although I would never do it. Evangeline, on the other hand, was embarrassed until her face turned pale.
“They’re still here?” I heard myself ask. “Even after—not being selected?”
Elara nodded. “Our guests will be here for weeks to come, to pay proper respects to the prince and his fiancee. They won’t leave until the Farewell Dance is over.”
My heart sank in my chest until it bounced around my toes. That means there will be nights like last night, with pressing crowds and thousands of pairs of eyes. They would also ask a series of questions, questions that I had to answer. “Very good.”
“And after the party, we will go with them.” Elara continued, turning the knife. “To return to the capital.”
Capital. Archeons . I knew the royal family would return to the Palace of White Flames at the end of every summer, and now I was leaving. I must leave, and this world I don’t understand will become my only reality. I won’t be able to return home. You already know that, I thought, you already agreed to it . However, it still hurts.
Once I was back out into the hall, Lucas led me down the hall. As we walked, he grinned at me. “You have watermelon on your face.”
“Of course,” I said curtly, wiping my mouth with my sleeve.
“Lady Blonos’s classroom is that way,” he said, pointing down the hall.
“What is he? Can he fly or grow flowers from behind his ears?”
Lucas smiled, comforting me. “Not exactly. He’s a healer. Well, there are two types of healers: skin healers and blood healers. The entire Blonos Clan are blood healers, meaning they can heal themselves. I could
throw himself from the roof of the Hall and he will walk away without a scratch.”
I’d love to see that tested, but wouldn’t say it out loud. “I’ve never heard of a blood healer before.”
“You won’t hear about it because they’re not allowed to fight in the arenas. There really is no point in having them fight.”
Wow . Yet another Silver human figure of epic proportions. “So if I, um, suddenly relapsed—”
Lucas softened, understanding what I was trying to convey. “He will be fine. The curtains, on the other hand ”
“That’s why they chose him for me. Because I’m dangerous.”
But Lucas shook his head. “Lady Titanos, they assigned themselves to you because your posture is bad and you eat as greedily as a dog. Bess Blonos will teach you how to be a classy woman . But if you electrocute him a few times, no one will blame you.”
How to be a classy lady… this lesson will be terrible.
He rapped his knuckles against the door, making me jump. The door opened on silent, smooth hinges, revealing a brightly lit room.
“I’ll be back to take you to lunch,” he said. I flinched, my feet planted, but Lucas elbowed me into the dreaded room.
The doors swung shut behind me, this time clearing the hall and anything that might calm me. The room was nice but plain with a row of windows on the wall, and completely empty. The buzz of cameras, lights, electricity , it’s so strong here, it almost burns the air around me with its energy. I felt sure the queen was watching, ready to laugh at my attempt to appear proper.
“Hello?” I exclaimed, expecting a response, but there was none.
I approached the row of windows, looking out at the yard outside. Instead of another pretty garden, I was surprised to find this window looked out not at all, but down at a giant white room.
The room was several floors below me, and a running track circled the edge. In the center, a strange contraption moved and turned, twirling with outstretched metal arms. Men and women, all in uniform, dodged the rotary machine. The thing went faster and faster, spinning faster, until only two people were left. They are nimble, swooping and dodging with agility and agility. At each turn, the machine picked up speed, until it finally slowed down, stopping. They had defeated him.
This must be some kind of training, for Security officers or Sentinels.
However, when the two trainees approached the target, I realized they were not Security officers at all. The pair shot balls of bright red fire into the air, exploding a number of targets that shot up and then fell.
Each was a perfect shot, and even from above, I recognized their smiling faces. Cal and Maven.
So apparently this is what they do during the day. Not learning to rule, to become a king, or even a nobleman, but to be trained to fight. Cal and Maven are murderous creatures, warriors. However, their battlefield was not just the front line. But here, in the palace, in the broadcast, in the hearts of every person they lead. They will lead, not only because of their rights as crown princes, but also because of their strength. Strength and power . That’s all the Silvers stand for, and that’s all it takes to keep the rest of us slaves.
Next, Evangeline stepped forward. As his aim flew, he alternately threw a fan of sharp silver metal arrows to knock each one out. No wonder he laughed at me because of Protocol. While I was in here, learning how to eat well, he was training to kill.
“Enjoying the show, Lady Mareena?” A voice croaked behind me. I looked away, my nerves tingling a little. What I saw couldn’t calm me down one bit.
Lady Blonos was a terrifying figure, and it took all my manners to keep my jaw from dropping wide open. Blood healer, able to heal himself . I understand now what that means.
She must have been over fifty, older than my mother, but her skin was smooth and unusually firm over her bones. His hair was perfectly white, combed back, and his eyebrows
seemed frozen in shock, arching his wrinkle-free forehead. Everything about him looked wrong, from his overly full lips to the sharp, unnatural slope of his nose. Only his pair of dark gray eyes seemed alive. The rest, I realized, was fake . Somehow he managed to heal or transform himself into this monster in an attempt to look younger, prettier, better.
“Excuse me.” Finally I said, “I was in, and you weren’t
—”
“I observed,” he interrupted, already hating me. “You stand like a tree in a storm.”
He grabbed both of my shoulders and pulled them back, forcing me to stand up straight. “My name is Bess Blonos, and I will try to make you a classy lady. You will be a princess someday, and we can’t let you act like a barbarian, can we?”
Barbarian. For a brief, illuminating moment, I thought about spitting in Lady Blonos’ ridiculous face. However, what will the consequences be for me later? What will be achieved by that? And that would actually prove what he said. Worst of all, I realized I needed it. His training would prevent me from slipping and, most importantly, keep me alive.
 |
“No,” the empty shell of my voice answered. “We can’t allow that.”
Exactly three and a half hours later, Blonos freed me from his grip and returned to Lucas’ care.
My back ached from the posture lessons on how to sit, stand, walk, even sleep ( leaning on my back, arms at my sides, always still ), but that was nothing compared to the mental training he forced me to undergo. He drilled the rules of the palace into my head, filling me with names, protocols, and etiquette. In the last few hours I’ve received a crash course in everything I need to know. The hierarchy among the Leading Clans is slowly starting to read out, but I’m sure I’ll still mess it up. We’ve only just touched on the introductory part of the Protocols material, but now I can go into the queen’s ridiculous agenda with at least some idea of how she’s going to behave.
The Glass Terrace was relatively close to my study room, only one floor down and one hallway to cross, so I didn’t have time to prepare myself before facing Elara and Evangeline again. This time, when I entered through the doorway, I was greeted by refreshing air. I was outside for the first time since becoming Mareena, but now, with the wind filling my lungs and the sun shining on my face, I felt more like a Mare again. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend none of this had ever happened. But this does happen.
The Glass Terrace is just like Blonos’ empty and empty classroom
lives up to its name. A glass canopy, supported by clear, art-cut pillars, stretched above us, refracting sunlight into millions of colors that danced to match the milling women. The atmosphere is beautiful with an artificial feel, just like everything else in this world of Perak.
Before I had a chance to catch my breath, a pair of girls stepped in front of my face. Their smiles were fake and cold, just like their eyes. Judging by the color of their dresses (dark blue and red on one girl, dark black on the other), they were from the Iral Clan and the Haven Clan. Silk and shadow , as I recall, harkens back to Blonos’ lessons on abilities.
“Lady Mareena,” they greeted in unison, bowing stiffly. I did something similar, lowering my head according to what Lady Blonos had shown me.
“My name is Sonya of the Iral Clan,” the first one said, jerking his head cockily. Its movements are flexible and resemble those of a cat. Silk men are agile and silent, have perfect balance and are agile.
“And I’m Elane of the Haven Clan,” another added, his voice barely a whisper. The Iralian girl is dark, with sunburned skin and black hair. Elane was pale, with shiny red curls. The dancing sunlight illuminated her skin in a perfect halo, making it appear flawless. Shadows, benders of light . “We would like to welcome you.”
But their cynical smiles and narrowed eyes didn’t seem welcoming at all.
“Thank You. That’s really good.” I cleared my throat, trying to sound normal, and the girls sprang into action, exchanging glances. “You guys are also participating in the Queen Selection?” I said quickly, hoping to divert their focus from my lame pleasantries.
This seems to make them even more annoyed. Sonya crossed her arms, showing pointed nails the color of iron. “We’re coming along. It’s clear we weren’t as lucky as you or Evangeline.”
“Sorry—” the words came out before I could stop them. Mareena won’t apologize. “I mean, of course you know I had absolutely no intention of—”
“Your intentions are yet to be seen,” Sonya purred, looking more and more like a cat with each passing second. When he turned away, snapping his fingers so that his nails cut into each other, I flinched. “Grandmother, meet Lady Mareena.”
Grandma. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that I would see a kind old woman rushing over and saving me from these pouncing girls. But, unfortunately my guess was wrong.
Instead of a wizened old hag, I was faced with a tough woman made of steel and shadow. Just like Sonya, she had coffee-colored skin and jet black hair, but her hair was interspersed with white streaks of gray. Even though he was no longer young, his brown eyes glowed with life.
“Lady Mareena, this is my grandmother Lady Ara, head of the Iral Clan.” Sonya explained with a sharp grin. The old woman’s gaze swept over me, and her gaze was worse than any camera’s, piercing straight through me. “Perhaps you know him as the Panther?”
“Black Panther? I don’t-“
But Sonya kept talking, enjoying watching me shrink. “Years ago, when the war was winding down, intelligence agents
to be more important than soldiers. Panther is the greatest of all agents.”
A spy. I stood before a spy.
I forced myself to smile, trying to hide my fear. Sweat began to wet my palms, and I wished I didn’t have to shake anyone’s hand. “Nice to meet you, milady.” Ara just nodded. “I know your father, Mareena. Also your mother.”
“I miss them so much,” I answered, saying the words to please him.
But the Panther looked confused, tilting his head to the side. For a moment, I could see thousands of secrets, hard won in the shadows of war, reflected in his eyes. “You remember them?” he asked, poking at my lie.
My voice cracked, but I had to keep talking, keep lying. “Not really, but I miss having both parents.” The figures of Father and Mother flashed through my mind, but I pushed them aside. My past as a Red was the last thing I was allowed to think about. “I wish they were here to help me make sense of all this.”
“Hmm,” he said, studying me again. His suspicion made me want to jump over the balcony. “Your father has blue eyes, and so does your mother.”
And my eyes are brown . “I’m different in many ways, most of which I don’t even understand myself,” was all I could say, hoping that was enough of an explanation.
For once, the queen’s voice was my salvation. “Come, please all sit down!” He said, echoing through the crowd. That was enough to pull me away from Ara, Sonya, and the silent Elane, towards a chair where I could breathe a little easier. Halfway through the lesson session, I started to feel calm again. I address everyone correctly and only speak when necessary, as instructed. Evangeline did a lot of talking on behalf of both of us, regaling the ladies with tales of her “undying love” for Cal and the honor she felt at having been chosen. I thought the Queen’s Chosen girls would band together and kill him, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Only Grandma Iral and Sonya seemed concerned that I was there, although they did not press for further interrogation. But they clearly will.
When Maven appeared around the corner, I was so proud of my ability to survive through lunch that I wasn’t bothered by her presence. Instead, I felt strangely relieved and let a little of my coldness fade. He smiled broadly, approaching with a few long strides.
“Still alive?” he asked. Compared to the Iral clan, he looked like a friendly puppy.
I can’t help but smile. “You should return Lady Iral to the Lakelanders. He will make them surrender within a week.”
He forced a small-hearted laugh. “He is a very tough figure. He didn’t fully understand why he was no longer involved in war. Did he ask you questions?”
“More like an interrogation. I think he was angry because I beat his granddaughter.”
Fear flickered in his eyes, and I understood it. If the Panther had picked up my trail … “He shouldn’t have bothered you like that,” he muttered. “I’ll tell my mom, and she’ll get over it.”
No matter how much I didn’t want his help, I couldn’t find any other way to overcome it. A woman like Ara could easily find a crack in my story, and then I would be truly doomed. “Thanks, that would— that would really help.”
Gone are the Maven uniforms, replaced by casual attire made to prioritize form and function. The outfit calmed me down a bit, seeing at least someone looking so informal. But I couldn’t let anything about him calm me down. He is one of them. I can’t forget that.
“Are you free today?” he asked, his face breaking into an excited smile. “I can show you around if you want.”
“No.” The words came quickly, and his smile faded. His sad expression made me uneasy, as did his smile. “I still have the next lesson.” I added, hoping to soften the blow. I don’t know what exactly makes me care about his feelings. “Your mother doesn’t like her schedule being broken.”
He nodded, looking a little better. “Mother is like that.
Well, I won’t hold you back.”
He took my hand gently. The coldness I felt on his skin earlier disappeared, replaced by a pleasant heat. Before I could withdraw my hand, he had left me standing alone.
Lucas gave me a few moments to recover before saying, “Just so you know, we’ll get there faster if you really move .”
“Shut your mouth, Lucas.”[]
