“B-but we hate each other.”

Jisel chuckled and began slowly stepping toward her.

“Hate and anger are emotions that only serve men, Princess. I can’t be bothered to hate you. It wouldn’t help me, would it? I can’t hate my owner’s lover. Who would you think he’d kick out first? His loyal dog or his beloved Princess?”

Cessilia was shocked. Jisel was comparing herself to... a dog? Since the beginning, she had felt something was off about that woman. While her speech felt real, it also sounded like... someone broken inside. Jisel didn’t have the eyes of a playful, young woman, she had the darkness of someone who had seen a lot already. She reminded Cessilia of her aunt, or her grandmother, who could smile while coldly killing someone...

“D-don’t come near me,” Cessilia suddenly blurted out, seeing Jisel so close.

“You’re not scared of me,” said Jisel, ignoring her words. “You’re scared because we’re too similar, aren’t we? If we had been born in each other’s family...? Who do you think would be backing off now?”

Cessilia only now realized she had taken a step back. She glared at Jisel, but the woman chuckled, and turned around, putting her hands together behind her back while walking away.

“Ha... If I were you, I’d pick the green dress to visit the Hashat people. Just a tip... from a non-friend.”

“Why are you d-doing this? P-provoking me? What d-do you have to gain?!”

“Because it’s a bit fun... and also, because we need each other.”

“I d-don’t need you.”

“Oh, but you do. Aren’t you curious to know who commanded Vena’s death, and the attack at the Outer Wall?”

Cessilia’s expression fell.

“How d-did you...”

“I’m telling you, Princess. I’ve lived in this Kingdom for a long time. I know how to get information. Finding who bribed the guards is almost too easy for me... as well as getting rid of them.”

Jisel chuckled, and leaning her back against the door, she smiled at Cessilia once again.

“How about you try, Princess? Ask the Hashat Leader about me tonight. Ask those people my story... and your mother’s family, of course. Isn’t that what you want to find out? You’ll see and hear interesting things, Princess... and you can make up your own mind later. And if you still think we shouldn’t be allies after tonight... well, every woman for herself then.”

She silently left without adding a word, leaving Cessilia to stand there, frustrated and furious.

What was that woman’s real aim? From the beginning, Cessilia didn’t believe her words. As Tessandra had said, she was a snake in a nest of rats. Why would she help her rival? She had called Ashen her owner... Did she really have no connection to the Hashat Family, or any other, then? If so, why would the leader know her story...? Cessilia was feeling so uneasy about everything, she barely heard Tessandra and Nana coming back.

“Cessi, we tried but the place is closed off to anyone but the Royal Servants, since they are preparing the banquet, but... Hey, what is it?”

“Lady Cessilia, you’re pale,” noted Naptunie, walking up to her, carrying a large volume in her arms.

“N-no, I’m... It’s n-nothing,” muttered Cessilia.

Her cousin didn’t seem to believe her, frowning, but Cessilia averted her gaze by walking away from them. A bit mindlessly, she picked up the dresses and shoved them in the wardrobe, only keeping a dark blue one out. Her pride kept her from following that woman’s advice, although she doubted Jisel would have lied about such a trivial thing. Cessilia was only picking this blue dress out of anger at her rival. Plus, it wasn’t like this dress wasn’t fitting, just that it wasn’t green. The Princess found it prettier and tried to convince herself this was a good enough reason to pick it.

She didn’t feel like sharing about Jisel’s visit just yet, so she stayed silent despite her attitude probably betraying her. No doubt Tessandra could tell something was wrong, but the Princess hoped her cousin would wait a bit before interrogating her further.

“Oh... Uh, my cousin couldn’t help, but there is this book about the castle and the geographical information of the territory,” said Naptunie, a bit unsure about the atmosphere. “It’s a bit of an older edition, but it should still be pretty accurate! I had read it once when I was younger, but I couldn’t understand everything back then... A lot of it is archeology and geology.”

“Th-thank you, Nana.” Cessilia smiled, happy to have her mind distracted. “That might b-be exactly what I n-need.”

“...Do you already have an idea what you’re going to do, Lady Cessilia?” Naptunie raised her eyebrows, curious.

“N-not yet,” she admitted.

She laid the dress out in front of her, checking that the size would be right and if she needed any alterations, and then went to the small bathroom to change, although she could still hear the other two. Cessilia found the dress looked even prettier once she had it on, the overall look pleasing her. It was a deep blue with a braided leather belt, off-the-shoulder but with long sleeves, and it emphasized the curves of her body well, with a long, straight skirt. The fact that Ashen had been the one to gift her this dress calmed her heart a little. It really was pretty, yet not too showy; just her type. She walked back into the room, looking through the little nacre jewelry she had bought with Nana for something to match her dress.

“Surviving would be a good start,” sighed Tessa, lying on the couch. “This new banquet smells like a trap from a mile away! An underground place, of all things... “

Cessilia wouldn’t argue that the location had clearly been chosen to avoid another appearance from Krai. However, she didn’t want to use her father’s dragon a second time. She would have to do things in a more subtle way from now on. Approaching it head-on wasn’t her thing in the first place, but at the first banquet, she needed to make a clear statement so people would leave them alone, and not risk putting Nana in danger again. Luckily, Vena’s murder had calmed everyone down... although the Yekara Clan was still the most problematic. They clearly didn’t fear much about getting caught for murdering someone in the King’s residence. Not only that, but corruption was blatantly rampant among the officials, and this wasn’t something she could get rid of with fear alone.

While she got ready, Naptunie opened her large book and read the part that referred to the cave, happy to dive into some research for Cessilia. The young woman’s eyes finished reading the four pages in less than a couple of minutes to sum it up.

“This cave is called the Thousand Years Cave, and is believed to be at least as old as the Capital’s island itself,” she said. “Made of limestone, it was left behind when the sea levels went lower under the castle over the years. It’s basically a sea cave, and there is still some salty water left behind, a small, shallow lake in the center of the cave. There is apparently even an opening to the sea remaining, but it’s hidden in the deepest part of the lake, the only part of it that is actually deep. The tunnel connecting to the sea should be there, but it is completely submerged, so although there are still some small fish, not even a really good human swimmer can get out this way. According to this book, about a third of the bottom of the cave is an underground lake, so I think the arena will most likely be built around it.”

“Trying to trap us with an underground setting and water?” Tessandra snickered.

“Now there is an entrance from within the castle,” explained Nana. “The main entrance, at least, but there might be a couple of side ones or even secret doors to other parts of the castle. Previous kings apparently had planned to try and use the cave as a refuge for people if needed, but they never found a way to actually create another opening to the outside, as the rock wall is too thick to build anything and the underwater passage is unusable. So it was used for the storage of goods, but then the wars happened and people ransacked it, so it was closed and vacant for a while. Then, as I said, the previous King turned it into a training and execution ground...”

“Are th-there many c-caves around?” asked Cessilia.

“I think they are quite common,” nodded Nana. “From what I have seen in geography and history books, the sea used to be much higher a few centuries back, so I guess there could be more secret underwater caves we don’t know of! I only know a couple that are somewhat famous in the islands, and reachable by boat. There might be more farther away, though, the most recent maps are showing more and more islands as we discover them. According to legends, pirates used natural caves as their lair, because their location was easy to hide and hard to approach... Pirate stories are quite popular too!”

Naptunie suddenly realized she may have talked a bit too much, and closed her mouth with a little nervous chuckle, although neither of the cousins minded.

“That’s our favorite bookworm for you. ...What do you think, Cessi?” asked Tessandra.

The Princess, who was currently arranging her hair into a high ponytail and combing her long curls, tilted her head.

“It sounds like we might b-be lucky,” she said. “Our d-dragon might not be fond of caves, but we are g-good swimmers. We c-can always f-find a way.”

“No, no, no!” exclaimed Nana. “You don’t understand, this isn’t just a long swim, it’s an impossible, very long swim, and underwater! According to the data here, they estimated it would take at least ten or fifteen minutes for someone to swim out to the other side! And it’s just an estimation, no human has ever done it! No one can hold their breath for that long... Plus, it will mostly be in the dark, so the risk of hitting a rock or something is high! This is really too scary!”

The two cousins exchanged a glance.

“...Which side of the ocean does that lead to? Just in case,” asked Tessandra, sitting up.

“Uh... let’s see... To the east. There’s a little beach with a small cave on the other side of the castle’s rock that is believed to be the other side of that underwater tunnel, on the sea level...”

“Can that beach be accessed any other way?”

“Only with a boat, I think, but not many people should even know of it. It’s too far below the castle’s level to jump from above, and it’s too far from the other sides of the castle’s island to swim to it either. It’s visible if you stand at the edge of the Fish Market though. But it’s not recorded on any map or book that I know of. I heard my cousins used to go to that beach to play, but there isn’t much to do there, and it’s hard to maneuver a boat...”

“How about a dragon landing there?”

“Uh... If it’s Sir Dragon, I think he could...”

Naptunie looked completely lost between the two women’s cunning expressions, Tessandra even looking a bit excited. The only thing she understood was that they were evidently planning to use the waterway and beach as an escape route, but she had no idea how in the world they would accomplish such a miracle. Eventually, she sighed and closed the book, not willing to ask more. At times, she had a hard time understanding how the two ladies thought, but she did trust them. She was starting to understand how ordinary she was compared to these two and their family’s strange abilities...