The palace continues to breathe around me, soft chimes of routine, guarded silence, veiled smiles but my mind is far from its ancient walls.
My law studies return with full force, and as always, they consume me like a tide. Pages upon pages of constitutional theory, case precedents, and legal interpretations clutter my reading table. My tutors don't go easy on me, and I don't expect them to. Not anymore.
I welcome the distraction.
It gives me something else to focus on; something rational, solid, unlike the vague darkness I stumbled upon in the Queen's chamber.
I haven't told Cassian about what I saw.
It's not out of fear, no. It's something more complicated. I don't want to come across as petty or paranoid. He loves his mother in his own way, and I… I don't want to start a fire I can't control. Not yet. Not without proof. I keep telling myself that.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was just some harmless ancient rite…one of those old Matican healing customs passed down in secret.
But something about the way Cher vanished into the shadows… the way the Queen's eyes burned into me afterward…
No. There's more. But until I can name it, I keep it buried.
Between study sessions, I start making plans to visit my parents. It's been too long since I saw them, too long since I breathed in the dusty air of my childhood street or tasted Mama's apple pudding fresh off the oven.
I miss home.
I miss Ray.
Just the thought of his lanky figure rushing out of the gate to lift me into one of his bone-breaking hugs makes my lips curve into a soft smile. He'll probably have a dozen questions about the palace, about Cassian, about whether I get to carry a sword as Crown Princess, and I'll answer every single one of them with exaggerated drama just to hear his laughter echo through the house.
But underneath the excitement is a dull ache.
Madam Jesse still hasn't reached out.
She has no idea about the accident. No clue that I almost died.
We haven't really sat down to talk again, not like we did when I helped draft her will and she stood firmly by me during the conspiracy that nearly ruined my life. That woman was a rock when the world turned its back on me. I owe her more than silence. I need to pay her a visit soon, not just to say thank you, but to reconnect with someone who once reminded me of who I am when everything else tried to erase it.
For now, I bury myself in books, court cases, and long hours of study, trying to keep the palace shadows from closing in.
***
Perfect setup. This is the ideal moment for a quiet but powerful revelation, where Celeste, under the guise of a simple visit, stumbles on a hidden truth through casual conversation. Let's write the scene with suspense and layered dialogue, in Celeste's first-person present tense POV, showing her growing awareness that Madam Jesse isn't just an old friend, she's a well of royal secrets.
***
I finally make it to Madam Jesse's estate, tucked quietly in the hills like a woman who no longer wants the world to find her but still sees everything.
She receives me in her rose garden, wearing one of those deep purple shawls she loves, the kind that always makes her look like royalty herself. She smiles as though she's been expecting me.
"My Crown Princess," she says teasingly, stretching her hands out. "Still carrying the world in those eyes, I see."
I laugh softly, hugging her. "And you, still sounding like an oracle."
We settle into soft cushioned chairs, and her maid brings chilled fruit juice and fruit cakes. We talk for a while about school, politics, and the accident, which she claims she only just heard about, though I'm sure that's not true.
"I should have come sooner," I say, gently patting her hand. "We haven't really talked properly since Liliana's scandal... and everything that happened after."
She nods. "You were meant to survive that storm. You're only now stepping into your purpose."
I smile but say nothing. Her cryptic confidence always catches me off guard.
Then casually, while slicing a piece of pineapple with her dessert fork, she says, "So… how is the Queen holding up with all her nightly summons and rituals? Must be exhausting at her age."
I blink. "You heard about that?"
She shrugs, unfazed. "The palace has ears, dear. But I know things others forget."
"What sort of things?" I ask slowly, watching her.
Madam Jesse pauses, setting down her fork.
"Shea."
The name freezes something inside me.
"What about her?"
"She's not just some palace girl. Never was. You should've known from the moment no one could say exactly what her job was. That kind of ambiguity is never accidental in the palace."
I lean forward. "Do you know who she is?"
Madam Jesse watches me for a moment, eyes sharper than they were a second ago.
"I know who she's not," she says. "She's not a maid. She's not a staff. And she certainly doesn't take orders the way you think."
I whisper, "Then who is she?"
She gives a small, strange smile. "That's a story you should hear from the Queen herself… though I doubt she'd ever speak it. Some truths are buried because digging them up would tear everything apart."
I sit back, chilled. "Why do you know all this?"
Her smile fades. "Because once upon a time, I was like you — clever, curious, and too close to power. The difference is, I walked away."
The silence between us stretches, thick with implications.
Finally, she says, "Be careful, Celeste. In the palace, things aren't always what they seem. And the people closest to the crown are often the ones holding the blade behind your back."