“Seriously? Cessi, there won’t be any shop owners this time. If that bitch talks to us like that again, I want something to slice her damn tongue with!”

“I hope it won’t get that bad...” muttered Nana.

“It will b-be fine,” chuckled Cessilia. “There’s no need t-to scare th-them.”

“...Oh, do you think our beignet-addicted dragon is too subtle?” scoffed Tessa.

“D-don’t t-take your swords,” insisted Cessi. “D-didn’t Auntie t-teach us we c-can win fights without a b-blade?”

“...I guess we’re not talking about the auntie who brings a new sword every day to morning court?”

Cessilia chuckled, grabbing her cup again and putting her feet back on her chair.

“D-didn’t you say it t-too, earlier? We have m-more weapons t-to show.”

After finishing their breakfast, Cessilia and Tessa began getting dressed, and for some reason, it felt like the green-eyed Princess was picking a prettier dress than the previous day, but her cousin didn’t ask about it. Meanwhile, Nana happily dove through their belongings, with their permission.

“What is this?” she asked, pulling out one of their coats. “That white fur is so pretty!”

“Snow leopard fur,” said Tessa. “Only Cessi’s family can hunt them, they are one of the most dangerous animals in our Empire, after the dragons, of course. We’ve got tons of coats like this one, you can take one if you’d like.”

“Oh my god, you have snow? Real snow? I’ve never seen snow!”

“We will t-take you t-to see it someday if you want,” smiled Cessilia, busy combing her hair.

They had both refused to let the triplets help them get dressed, so they were just helping each other instead. In fact, even back home, they rarely had servants to help them out. Cessilia’s little sister or her mother were the only ones to comb her long hair, and she didn’t like anyone to dress her, either.

“I’m a little bit jealous,” admitted Nana, caressing the white fur. “I’ve very rarely been outside of the Inner Capital! Everyone says it’s too dangerous out there. Some of my uncles and cousins do travel to sell our merchandise in the nearby cities, but there are so many horror stories about merchants getting attacked, it’s very complicated. They have to travel in big groups, hire some people to protect them and everything...”

“It can’t be that bad,” frowned Tessa. “What about your King? Didn’t things get better after he took the throne? At least that’s what old Yassim said.”

“Oh, it’s definitely better!” exclaimed Nana, nodding frantically. “In fact, when I was young, even the Capital was dangerous to live in, but now, the King has chased and still chases all criminals out. I just hope he’ll be able to do it for the other cities too...”

“Everything seemed p-pretty q-quiet,” said Cessilia. “When we c-came here, we d-didn’t see many cities at all...”

“We only have a few big cities here and there, but our population has decreased a lot because of all the wars, so some cities are mostly abandoned now... It wasn’t safe, either, so a lot of people left to build small villages and try to cultivate the soil, hoping it would be safer. It did bring back a bit of the commerce we needed, but... some villages are still raided or have to pay up to be safe from bandits, so it’s hard even out there.”

“You know a lot for someone who never goes out.”

“My uncle is the one who teaches me a lot,” nodded Nana. “I’m not very smart, but I really hope to learn more about our agriculture, and perhaps I’ll be able to come up with new ideas to help our citizens out there! My dream is to become the first woman counselor!”

“You mean there is no woman at all advising the King?” exclaimed Tessa, surprised.

“Uh, no... Except for his mistress...”

Cessilia’s hands froze hearing those words.

His mistress... She wished she had forgotten about that woman. Cessilia put aside her comb and finished getting ready, standing up and turning to the other girls, who hadn’t noticed her reaction.

“You should see our palace,” scoffed Tessa. “The Empress has almost exclusively women advisors, including our aunt and Cessi’s mom. The only man she really listens to is that old Evin who has been there forever!”

“That’s funny,” noted Nana. “Maybe I’ll go work for the Dragon Empire if I can’t succeed here!”

“We’ll put in a good word,” chuckled Tessa with a wink.

“Let’s g-go,” said Cessilia, smiling too.

The three girls left the Cerulean Suite to follow Nana, acting once again as the guide.

Although, while walking through the castle’s corridors, she was careful to whisper. The corridors were sometimes a bit narrow so they had to walk behind each other rather than abreast, but Cessilia didn’t care. Actually, she was still in awe at how different this castle was from her father’s or any of those she knew at home. Perhaps because it was in fact the only castle of their Kingdom, it was particularly beautiful. A lot of thought had been put into the decorations, including the magnificent blown glass of the many windows, the colored candles, and even the beautiful seashells seemingly trapped in the walls in some parts.

“It’s one of the most popular styles around here,” explained Nana excitedly when asked about it. “According to the legends, this castle and all of the island we are on now were once under the sea, but the Sea God slowly took back the waves to give our people more land to live on.”

“So all th-this stone is not b-built, but c-carved?” asked Cessilia.

“We aren’t sure! Some think our ancestors built it to honor the Sea God, but many think the Sea God himself had this as just one, big rock, and we simply carved rooms and buildings into it. It’s a big mystery, and if you ask any stonemason, you’d better be ready for a long debate! Now it has become a real style a lot of people use for their houses; that’s why we love collecting seashells and we use them for all sorts of things!”

Cessilia was fascinated with how Nana’s people had turned the natural craft into a real work of art. The little bit they had seen upon their arrival couldn’t reflect the real architecture. There weren’t two rooms alike, and a lot of the stairs appeared randomly, without any form of symmetry, spiraling up and down, sometimes to lead them directly into another room, sometimes opening up to another corridor. In fact, this castle was a maze for anyone coming here for the first time. Without Nana and the triplets, Cessilia was afraid she might get lost during her stay here. She had a good sense of direction and could probably go back to her suite after a couple of trials, but it would take her days to remember every room here. A lot of them didn’t actually have doors, either. Except for the bedrooms, it seemed like each room was very open, with arches instead of doors, and sometimes, even windows opening into another room rather than outdoors.

“There isn’t much room for privacy anywhere,” noted Tessa as they were looking down on a little open garden below them.

“Oh, the rooms are fine,” said Nana, “but I think it was the previous King’s will to make sure there wouldn’t be too many, uh... places for private meetings. Only the Counselors and the King are granted offices.”

“Afraid of schemes?”

“...Probably. There were many political conflicts, so the King was more worried about his allies turning against him than external attacks... My uncle says many rooms are actually still completely locked because the King alone has the keys to those, so half the castle is locked, while the public spaces must be available to everyone.”

“That’s one odd concept, but our aunt did a similar thing when she became Empress. Kicked everyone out and aired the rooms! Our palace is much bigger though, it’s supposed to welcome hundreds of people easily... She allocated a lot of space to the scholars and such...”

As she was speaking, Tessa noted Cessilia’s dark expression. Her cousin was still at one of the windows, staring down at something she visibly didn’t enjoy much. Curious, Tessa joined her to quietly take a peek, Nana taking a glance at the next window too.

Due to the uneven structure of the castle, the windows often gave views of the lower floors, including some of its private gardens and patios. One of those was more like a promenade on what was the lowest floor of the castle, right above the sea. A little pathway of white stones had been arranged on some grass, and beautiful wood arches were spread out on that path, the green ivy growing on it adding some shade to the walkers. Further along that path, the arches were replaced by a natural rock arch, as the promenade turned into a corridor, and back into the castle.

“Oh, that’s the Sea Stones Corridor!” said Nana enthusiastically. “It’s so beautiful once you get inside, I’ll take you there next if you want!”

“Thanks, Nana, but it seems to be occupied by some annoying leeches at the moment...”

A bit confused, Nana frowned and looked down again to figure out what Tessa was talking about with such an annoyed tone. It took her a few seconds and a lot of squinting to see them.

It wasn’t because the three women were especially far, but because they were mostly hidden by the many plants covering the arches. In fact, without them moving and their colorful dresses, she might not have been able to see them at all. The three young ladies seemed to be slowly strolling down the promenade, and from the glimpses she could catch between the leaves, they were enjoying each other’s company. As she recognized each of them one by one, Nana grimaced more and more.

“Oh...”

“You did say we might run into some competitors,” groaned Tessa. “Who are the other two?”

“Lady Vena of the Pangoja Clan, and Lady Ashra of the Yekara Clan...”

“The same clan as that vixen from yesterday?”