“Show us.”

  The order was sharp and clear. Queen Terran even raised her hand in anticipation.

  I pulled out the letter, coupled with the invitation, and handed them over.

  The king’s voice was as cold as Father's ice when he pointed out, “You signed this.”

  I met his fierce amber eyes for only an instant before casting a demure gaze down at my own clenched fingers. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “She was very excited when the letter came in.” Mother said, lightly chiding, “the folly of youth. I punished her for her reckless behavior and canceled her week's activities to reflect.”

  Countess Primrose had actually canceled all of my original plans for this week because I needed to prepare to leave as soon as possible if I was going to cross the continent in less than five days time and reach North Sumbria… but the king didn't need to know that.

  Queen Terran placed the papers on the table.

  “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” She stated, “You will bring the Crown Prince Deryl with you.”

  My skin crawled just imagining traveling in the same carriage with the elf prince– he was the epitome of rude, selfish, and petty. Outward, I placated with a gentle smile and bobbed my head. “Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  “You must do everything we say, girl.” The queen huffed and looked down her nose at me. “No more acting on your own without royal consent. North Sumbria is our most treacherous enemy. Between Crazy Callisto and those Servalt sorry-excuses-for-royal imposters, you will have to tread lightly and be prepared for anything.”

  With the amount of dresses, accessories, and magic arrows Mother was ordering, I was definitely going to be prepared for anything. “Yes, Your Majesty. I understand.”

  “She’s certainly polite.” The king stated, as if I weren’t sitting right there.

  Countess Primrose smiled too-sweetly, accepting the compliment. “You are too kind.”

  “You’re right, I am.”

  There was a pause, and then the king frowned as he concentrated on something they couldn’t see. “Our son has accepted the quest.”

  As was the norm, the royals used the kingdom quest system to level up themselves. The crown prince had almost never set foot into combat, let alone seen a real monster, and had only climbed to his current level through kingdom quests issued by his parents.

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  “Excellent.” The queen eyed mother and me and said, “Now leave us. You have until tomorrow to prepare - the prince is leaving at sunrise and your daughter must be packed and ready to join him...”

  Mother stiffened at the short notice. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  We stood, curtsied, and quietly left the room.

  When we were finally safe, side by side in a carriage riding home, Mother said, “Peregrine.”

  “Yes?”

  She reached out and took my hands.

  “Promise me one thing while you are away.” Mother urged. “That no matter what, you will do what you think is right.”

  “I can do that.” I assured her.

  And then my mother did something unexpected– she reached out and wrapped me in a hug. The comfort was nostalgic and wonderful.

  We stayed like that until our carriage arrived home, where we had to go back to being respectable nobles from the House of Fern. Strong, confident, and empty inside.

  We parted ways at the entryway to Oak Lilly, to go strip off our court finery and wash off the heavy makeup.

  Luckily, there were a couple hours until dinner, and I had a book ready and waiting for me. In light of the heavily political and stressful day, I chose pure unadulterated fluff to escape into.

  The Duchess of North Berkshire had been on my to be read list for quite some time. The author, a famous dragon known for her steamy romantic adventures, was my favorite author of this century.

  I devoured the book, stopping only to refill my cup of glademint tea with a splash of maple for sweetener.

  The story revolved around Miss Hana, a demoness who just wanted to find love. Instead, she was trapped into a binding magical contract to wed the Duke of North Berkshire by her evil uncle bent on marrying her off for power.

  There was only one way out of the contract; marry the man, or die.

  Her uncle meant business.

  The duke sent a knight to fetch her, but as they journeyed together the girl and her knight grew closer and closer. Before they could reach the duchy, their carriage was beset by a roving band of displaced humans who tried to steal her magical enchanted ring – the proof of her engagement!

  After escaping and getting turned around, they’d wandered into the Dark Enchanted Forest. There, they'd had a lovely brunch with the lizardkin villagers and resisted a selkie's cries as the creature tried to drag her knight escort beneath the waters of Kith Bog.

  They’d arrived at the duke’s estate and were immediately separated.

  Miss Hana had only just been welcomed into the duke's home when she discovered her that tea was poisoned and she collapsed to the floor!

  …I blamed the butler. He was definitely the man seen talking to Miss Hana’s uncle! He matched the description perfectly,

  I was crying when the duke burst in to find the demoness dying from poison. She was delirious, and everything was fading to black… and when the duke tried to feed her the Antidote, she turned her head away saying that she was going to die either way.

  She couldn’t go through with the marriage, for she loved another.

  I clutched the book to my chest, sobbing.

  “My Lady!” Lishinia was in the doorway, her face aghast.

  “I, I'm fine.” I tried to say, but the words were interrupted by a hiccup.

  “I'll fetch you a cold compress and some cabbage leaves for the swelling– oh my lady, I understand.” Lishinia’s eyes glazed. She looked like she was going to burst into tears herself, before she sniffed once and hurried away.

  She must have read the book already.