“Fine!”
She suddenly slammed her cup down.
“I will make sure those negotiations go well,” Kareen suddenly declared, “and I want to have a residence built in the outskirts of the city for when I come to visit, at least twice a year. A nice location, not too far from the Capital, with gardens, and plenty of light.”
Cessilia almost spat her tea out. So that was her grandmother’s real aim after all... to house-hunt and find herself a secondary residence far from the Imperial Palace. She remembered the epic fights between Lady Kareen and her daughter, constantly arguing about her being under surveillance. No wonder she found going on the other side of the border would be the best way to flee from her daughter!
“Of course, I should have a room here as well,” she added, grabbing a new fruit. “A suite akin to this one in terms of size and decorations would be acceptable.”
“Grandmother, the repairs are going to take a while...”
“So what?! Am I not welcome until then?” she protested.
“You can’t impose on the Dorosef Tribe for so long,” muttered Cessilia. “Moreover, all the families are going to be busy repairing what was destroyed in the battle, too... How about you stay with us instead?”
“With us?” she repeated, frowning.
Her eyes then turned to Ashen with a serious expression.
“Young man. Do I understand that you plan on having my precious granddaughter remain here?”
“Of course,” Ashen retorted. “I have no intention of parting with Cessilia again.”
“Really? I heard she came to marry you, so why haven’t I heard of any wedding happening yet? You wouldn’t possibly be thinking of keeping the War God’s precious daughter, the Dragon Empress’ niece, and the sister of the future Emperor as a mere concubine, would you?”
“Grandmother!” Cessilia blushed.
However, neither Ashen nor Kareen reacted to her. Instead, the two of them were fiercely staring at each other, the older lady with a smirk on her lips. She was obviously testing the King, and he was not having it.
“No,” he muttered, anger in his voice.
“...Cessilia dear, leave us alone.”
“What? But–”
“Go and find Tessandra, that child drank way more than she should have last night.”
Cessilia wanted to protest some more. The atmosphere between these two did not seem like the conversation about to ensue was going to be pacific at all. In fact, her grandmother asking her to leave made her even more nervous about all this. They wouldn’t fight each other or something, right?
“...Don’t worry, Cessilia,” muttered Ashen, his eyes riveted on the older lady. “I’ll come and find you later, I promise.”
This was his own way of saying he could handle the matriarch of the Imperial Family on his own. Cessilia glanced at the two of them and slowly stood up, still quite nervous about leaving the table.
“Grandmother, please be nice,” she muttered.
“Always, darling, always.”
Cessilia sighed, but left a quick kiss on her grandmother’s cheek, and after one last glance at Ashen, she walked back inside, quickly grabbing a thicker shawl to cover herself with, and left the Cerulean Suite.
She couldn’t help but still be nervous while she went down the stairs. Her grandmother was probably here to play the role of proxy in her father’s stead, which was even more terrifying... It made sense that the War God couldn’t have come himself. Ashen’s relationship with her family hadn’t been left in the best state, but also the current geopolitical conflict between the two nations went far beyond the King’s wishes. Merely reopening the borders for trade would take weeks, if not months, and it would take far more than that for the trust to be reestablished between the two countries. While she kept walking down the castle’s stairs and corridors, Cessilia tried to imagine it. In a few years’ time, would the two nations find a common ground? Her brother was going to become the Dragon Emperor some day, probably in just a few years. If she became Ashen’s Queen, wouldn’t that make it all far easier? Although her heart was hopeful, Cessilia was also educated enough in politics to know not everything would happen soon. She now knew why her grandmother had come, instead of her father or aunt...
Walking down and outside the castle, into the fresh morning fog, Cessilia realized the damage done to the castle was worse than everywhere else, which was a rather good thing... Aside from the main streets, most buildings had held well against the attacks. Many doors and windows would have to be repaired, but the stone walls of the houses had remained sturdy. Where the fires had taken place, everything but the houses’ structures had gone up in flames. Which meant there was still something to rebuild on... unlike the collapsed parts of the castle. Cessilia glanced back. She had never really liked this castle, except for the Cerulean Suite. Maybe her grandmother was right, and they could rebuild something even better?
“Cessi!”
She turned around, surprised, and found Darsan running up to her. She would have been scared of her older brother’s giant figure if she wasn’t used to it. He hugged her like a gigantic bear would have, with his big arms circling her.
“Good morning, little sis!”
“Good morning,” she chuckled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for Grandma, she wasn’t in the room Nana gave her...”
“Oh, I just had breakfast with her, she’s... chatting with Ashen.”
“Oh! It’s all good then. Come on, Nana’s sisters are making us a crazy amazing breakfast! Did you know her uncles go to fish before dawn every morning? I heard them waking up this morning and followed them, it was so much fun catching fish!”
Cessilia chuckled. She could see Darsan having fun amongst the fishermen, happy to use his strength for something other than fighting and repairing his mistakes... Grabbing her hand, he took her back to the Dorosef residence. Despite the early hour, it was already quite noisy inside, as expected. The tribe was obviously used to having guests, and right as she stepped in the courtyard, Cessilia was blessed with the delicious and now familiar smell of fresh fish beignets.
“Cessi!”
Tessandra appeared, her mouth stuffed with half a beignet, the other half she offered Cessilia, who happily took it.
“You look tired,” chuckled Cessilia.
“I didn’t sleep much,” her cousin winked at her, “but that was one of the best nights of my life, until that big idiot of your brother decided to make the worst ruckus possible and wake everyone up in the damn house...”
“What, I was getting ready to go fishing!” protested Darsan.
