“I’m sorry, I tried knocking twice already but I thought you didn’t hear, these doors are so huge! So, my uncle said the dinner is almost ready, but he wanted to know if you prefer to eat in your room or in the tower with us since the weather is nice tonight! Oh, you should drink this later! It’s warm milk with honey, it will help you sleep! I’ll put it on your bedside table! Oh, you didn’t unpack yet? Do you need help with that? Oh, I can... Lady Cessilia, are you okay? You look like you cried!”
Cessilia quickly tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Her face felt all dry and salty from being exposed to the sea spray all this time, and her hair was a mess too...
“Nana, c-can I wash my face b-before dinner?”
“Of course! The bathroom should be ready, right? Oh, you should ask them to get you coconut butter! It does wonders for dry skin, all my sisters and I use it!”
“Th-thank you, I’ll b-be quick.”
Cessilia ran to the suite’s bathroom, trying to hide her face from Nana, a bit shy. Upon glancing at the mirror, she realized it wasn’t so bad. She took a deep breath and washed her face in the little basin first, hoping the cold water would wash it all away, and wake her up a bit better.
The memory of what had happened just minutes ago was still burning on her lips. Cessilia stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to see what he had seen in her... A liar? A traitor? She shook her head, chasing all those thoughts away. It didn’t matter much now. She knew there was still something between them... She could hold on to that, and it was enough for her. He hadn’t kicked her out of his Kingdom, and he hadn’t rejected her kiss either. The look in his eyes... Cessilia touched her lips, trying to grasp that feeling again. It was still so vivid in her mind, yet disappearing already.
“Oh, can I help you brush your hair?”
Nana’s voice coming from the doorstep made her jump.
“Sorry...” mumbled Nana, realizing she had scared her. “I just thought you might need uh... some help. The coconut butter is great for dry lips too!”
Cessilia smiled, thankful for Nana’s bright personality right now. If it had been Tessa there instead, her cousin would have surely insisted to know what had happened for the longest time. Naptunie didn’t seem to mind, and she was nice enough to pretend she hadn’t seen Cessilia’s crying. Although she obviously knew, she was being kind and was just trying to cheer her up. After Cessilia nodded, she merrily walked over to grab a comb and help her with her hair, which was too long for Cessilia to handle alone.
“Your hair is so pretty...” smiled Nana. “Do you have servants at home to brush it?”
“My little sister d-does it.”
“Oh right! You mentioned you have siblings! Do you have many sisters?”
“Just t-two, but we have five b-brothers.”
“Oh... Five boys, that must be tough! In my family, we always have more girls than boys! ...Do you miss your family? Or your home country? Is that why you were crying...?”
Cessilia chuckled. It seemed Nana was curious after all.
“It’s t-too soon,” she shook her head. “I j-just arrived t-today, b-but I am alright. Th-thank you, Nana.”
“Oh, you’re welcome! You know, when my uncle said you were a princess, I was very nervous to accompany you! I mean, I have never been friends with a real princess before, and the rich girls I know are all so haughty and mean... like that Yekara girl. I don’t get why they always make fun of my tribe the most. Without us, who would fish for all our citizens?! I don’t care, you know, we learn to ignore them. I hope she won’t become the Queen though. We really don’t need a bad person like that!”
“Why d-did you enter the c-competition, Nana?”
“Oh... I’m not really sure. I mean, my uncle suggested it, but I wasn’t really motivated. I don’t know much about the King, and the little I do know is scary! I think he hoped the King would be a bit nicer if he had a nice queen... You would make a very nice queen, Cessilia! Will you seriously take part in the competition?”
“...Yes,” muttered Cessilia, her heart picking up a fast rhythm again.
“That’s good!”
“Nana, what is the c-competition like?”
“Oh, not much! They call it a competition, but it’s just having all the candidates over in the castle, and there are three ceremonies where they can showcase their talents. It can be anything! Then, the King just decides on his Queen, and that’s pretty much it. I know the Council can give their opinion, but they don’t decide. Although, I’m worried it might get a bit nasty...”
“N-nasty? How?”
“Well, candidates can’t give up, but they might be forced to; if they are heavily injured, if they commit a crime, or if they are proven to not be virgins. I think those are the rules, and there are already rumors that some candidates won’t play very fairly... Ah, not me! I just heard it from the people in the kitchens. I don’t think it will get too bad, though. If they attack other candidates, they’d be committing a crime too, which would disqualify them. Maybe it’s just me being too cautious!”
Cessilia didn’t feel like Nana was exaggerating, though. From what she had seen earlier, at least a couple of her competitors would be very fierce in the race to the throne... It would be better if everyone was like Naptunie, but she highly doubted it.
“The first ceremonial banquet will be in two days, so don’t worry, we will have plenty of time to prepare! We can still order you a dress by then, and we can go do more shopping tomorrow and the day after too! Oh, can I look at your dresses later? I mean, I don’t want to be too, uh, curious, you know, but I’m really, really curious about what you brought from the Dragon Empire! Is it true that everyone wears gold there? And only the Empress can wear purple? I have tons of questions already!”
Cessilia smiled. Of course, she did... For now, though, she had to get ready to go have dinner with the Counselor, and Tessa should be coming home soon too...
Just as she thought so, the doors to the suite were opened with a bang, and Tessa walked in, visibly furious.
“T-Tessa?” asked Cessilia, worried.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” grumbled her cousin, diving onto the large bed without even taking off her clothes.
She buried her face in the pillows and stopped moving. On the other side, Krai stared at the young woman on the bed, then directed its red eyes at Cessilia, letting out a short growl. Cessilia sighed. Their love lives were not going to go as smoothly as they had hoped...
Chapter 6
“T-Tessa?” she gently called out. “I b-brought you some d-dinner...”
A muffled grumble answered from under the covers. Cessilia sighed, leaving the plate on the little table. Her cousin had moved from above the covers to under it, so she couldn’t tell if she had even washed her face or anything... She moved to the bathroom after grabbing her nightgown from their still-packed belongings. The dinner with Counselor Yamino and Nana had been pleasant, and they were both unbelievably chatty, so Cessilia only had to nod, and squeeze in an answer from time to time. She was still a bit shaken up about the earlier events and worried about her cousin too. Tessa was rarely this down... Krai was gone, probably to visit more of the Eastern Kingdom by night.
The suite was even more beautiful at night, Cessilia thought. The moonlight was shimmering on the quiet sea and giving the white nacre of the room a beautiful halo. The Cerulean Suite had now drifted to dark shades of blue and white, with the waves’ gentle sounds as a background lullaby. Once she was clean, changed, and her hair undone, Cessilia slowly moved to the bed, combing her long locks a bit more. Her cousin’s figure could only be seen as a big bump in the sheets, not even a hair sticking out. Cessilia put the comb on the bedside table, and sat on the other side of the bed, patting the bump. She knew Tessa wasn’t asleep yet.
“D-do you still not want t-to t-talk about it?” she asked softly.
