»I am in no rush to meet
him,« she replied drily, thinking
back to the awful fight she had had with the advisors about the marriage, to her
anger when they had not been able to explain to her what kind of benefit her country
would have from this union – and this had ruined her mood for months because while
she had been willed to marry for her country’s sake, she was not willed to be pushed
around on the board like she was nothing but a pawn that was about to be sacrificed. »I do, however, look forward to getting to know
you … sister. My usual companions are scattered all over the continent and so I was getting
rather bored … there are only so many things you can do on your own in this castle.«
»However … if you had hopes to meet my king, he too will
not return to the capital soon as he is doing business in kingdoms of the south,«
she said slowly and if she had not had the experience of years to hide her dismay regarding
her father’s all-too-apparent lack of interest in anything concerning her, her voice
would have been spiteful, venomous even. But to let an outsider know about the tensions
within the royal household would be unwise.
And she had
spent years on covering everything up, on pouring water into the flames of the rumours,
silently cursing her father because it had been him who had done unforgiveable things
in the past; he was the one who would never cleanse himself from the weight of his
sins. For the king had not just caused the death of his father in an accident, he
had also sent away his grieving mother to claim the crown.
(This was why
some whispered that the death of his wife had been rightful punishment.)
For Ur,
family politics had always been stressful because it was nearly impossible to make
it through a meal with everyone from the closest family assembled in the same room
without accidentally offending someone. For the last midwinter celebrations, she
had travelled to visit her grandmother who was living in the most northern part
of the country (not by choice, unsurprisingly) and she still deemed it a miracle
that they had made it through the banquet without her distanced relatives declaring
war on each other.
In her most humble opinion, her closest family consisted
of a bunch immature toddlers who had been fighting over the same three toys for
the past decades. She could hardly wait to be queen and finally be able to tell them off, to stop fighting over the jewel mines and the fishing grounds because she was awfully tired of their fights. Especially since the grounds and the mines belonged to the crown of Crystallos which was clearly stated in at least ninety different contracts which made the fight obsolete like nothing else.
◘ ♔ ► α cяσωη σf ιcє ◄ ❄ ◘
The idea of meeting the King of Crystallos admittedly hadn’t come to the mind of the female; her concern was scouting her brother’s fiancée, and seeing if she truly was worthy of taking her beloved brother away from her. Of course, her priorities did not only include observing the other princess as much as possible, but to also uphold the traditions and etiquette of her own kingdom, and to express as good of an impression of Cognitio as possible.
Flicking back her brunette hair, the female bowed before the other princess and thanked her for her hospitality thus far in her kingdom. She then beckoned over her handmaiden, adorned with a similar silver garb to her own, who presented upon her a large case. The princess took it, checking the contents were all accounted for and pristine in their appearance before shutting it again.
Sayla’s relationship with her handmaidens was a close one, replicable to her relationship with her brother and her parents especially, though less close in their proximity. Her handmaidens accompanied her on all of her travels, so consequently, they were the first female she confided in should anything awry occur on her voyage. Her brother considered this rather risky, though Sayla had constantly made the argument to him that he did the same with his cavalry and guards, so as to point out his hypocrisy, he eventually stopped complaining.
In reality, however, her opinion of Ur had become much more positive; upon speaking with her more, she considered the woman a rightful candidate to share her brother’s life and bed… She giggled upon musing on such fantasies, as if her lord brother were here right now, he would surely become embarrassed at such thoughts in front of an entire royal court. Still, the female wanted to get to know Ur further and judge her character for herself.
“–Ah, ‘tis not a problem; I came to visit you and not the King, after all. I am honoured that you think that highly of me – I hope to be able to quell your boredom and learn more about you also.”
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