"It's good to see that you're okay. I was worried when I heard you were brought in as part of a truce exchange. It must've been devastating being all alone in an unfamiliar place," Marion said, his voice gentle, gaze soft and full of worry.
Amira gave him a smile, the kind you wear like armor.
"I'm doing fine. You don't have to be worried," she replied, but Marion's eyes caught it the sadness hiding behind the curve of her lips. It clung to her, quiet and heavy, like the aftertaste of grief.
He wished he could reach through the distance between them and wipe it all away.
"Princess Amira!" Nora's voice cracked through the calm, feet pounding across the stables' dirt floor.
Amira turned, startled. "Is something wrong?"
Nora stopped short, breathless, nodding and shaking her head all at once. Her hands trembled.
"It… It's…" she panted.
"Catch your breath, Nora. Don't rush," Amira urged, stepping forward.
"It's Consort Leyla.....she's furious!" Nora blurted out, still heaving.
"Why? What happened?"
"I don't know all the details but... I heard her diamond ring is missing."
"Missing?" Amira echoed, a chill creeping into her spine.
She turned back to Marion, dipped into a quick bow, and then swept out of the stables, skirts brushing against the straw-strewn floor. Her footsteps quickened the closer she got to the building.
The maid's quarters were in chaos tight and suffocating. Guards were overturning beds, ripping open trunks, flinging folded linens without care. The scent of old wood and panic clung to the air.
"Search all their belongings," Consort Leyla's voice rose like a whip crack. "I am sure you'll find it there."
Amira stepped into the room, eyes darting over the mess, the confusion, the fear. Novalie spotted her and rushed to her side, fingers grabbing at Amira's sleeve. Katia stood nearby, her expression almost smug far too pleased for the situation unraveling in front of them.
"What's going on?" Amira asked, confused and alarmed by the whirlwind of disorder.
"I'm not entirely sure," Novalie replied, voice low and tight. "But Consort Leyla's diamond went missing. She's been in a terrible mood all morning, and now this."
Before Amira could respond, the Queen herself appeared at the doorway. Queen Miranda moved like a shadow trimmed in gold, attendants trailing behind her, faces carved from stone.
"What is happening here, Leyla?" she asked, voice cold but composed.
Just then, a terrified shriek pierced through the air as a maid was yanked forward, shoved so harshly she stumbled onto her knees. Amira gasped.
Novalie's hand flew to her mouth. "That's my maid!" she whispered, eyes wide.
"What is the meaning of this?" Novalie stepped forward, voice cracking with disbelief.
"The diamond ring was discovered in her room," one of the guards said, holding up the glittering piece.
"No—no please, Consort Leyla, I swear I didn't do anything," Avery pleaded, voice breaking. Her hands trembled like leaves in wind. "I don't know how it got into my room!"
Novalie stepped in front of her maid. "That's not possible. Avery was with me the whole day she didn't leave my side."
"Quiet, Novalie," the Queen snapped, voice slicing through the tension.
"But Mother—" she tried again, but the Queen's glare froze the rest of the words in her throat.
Consort Leyla stepped forward now, fury dripping from every word.
"Such impudence. You think you can get away with stealing just because I have many? Just because it's small? Do you think I wouldn't notice when one goes missing?"
"Please, Consort Leyla, I have done nothing wrong," Avery cried, falling to her knees. "I never even stepped into your room. I swear it."
"She's been teaching Novalie to act out," Katia piped in with venom, stepping closer. "It's no wonder. Novalie's been acting less like a princess lately more reckless. Even trying to impose on Amira."
Novalie stood still, jaw clenched. Her silence wasn't from guilt it was from knowing anything she said would only make it worse. Pleading for a maid... was practically a crime.
Avery's sobs grew louder. "Please, Princess Novalie, I would never please believe me."
Some maids looked on with pity in their eyes. Others? Smirked. Maybe they were relieved it wasn't them. Maybe they'd seen too much to care.
"You will pay with your life," Leyla spat, her voice void of any mercy. "Take her away. Behead her. Hang her head beside the maid quarters for all to see what happens to thieves."
Amira's stomach twisted, nausea creeping up her throat. Behead her? Over a ring? Over a suspicion?
Avery was dragged away screaming.
"Come with me, Novalie," the Queen said and turned without waiting. Amira bowed as she passed. Novalie's eyes flicked to her once, then she followed, like a ghost.
Consort Leyla swept out after the guards, making sure the execution was carried out exactly how she'd commanded. Her dress whispered against the floor like a threat.
The maids dispersed, faces pale. Everyone went back to their tasks like nothing happened. Like a girl wasn't just taken to die.
Amira stood still, frozen. Then she noticed something a grin.
Katia.
That smug, poisonous grin curling her lips as she turned to walk away.
"You did this, didn't you?" Amira said, voice sharp and trembling as she stepped in front of her.
Katia stopped, turned, brows raised.
"What?"
"You did this to get back at Novalie. Her maid couldn't have stolen the ring she was with her the whole day. You're lying."
Katia's eyes narrowed. "Are you accusing me of a lowly act?"
"I'm saying," Amira said, standing taller, chin high even though her heart was hammering in her ribs, "if this has nothing to do with you… you shouldn't be offended."
The air between them tightened, brittle and crackling. Katia's jaw twitched, and she glared.