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Zavian cut her off. “I will handle anything anyone has to say about how I choose to live my affairs in my Kingdom.”

Neera said nothing to that. Instead, she steered the conversation into a direction she had been avoiding since her return.

“Are the...are the kidnappers still here?”

Zavian was on his feet. He approached her and saw the mix of worry and fear in her eyes. He had no intention of keeping them for that long, but they had no name for the person who hired them, and there was no distinctive feature about the person they could give him a lead on. He had brought forth almost all the females before them, including his sister, but they hadn’t found her yet.

At that point, Zavian was sure they were intentionally withholding her description to buy themselves more time.

“I have it under control,” Zavian told Neera as he stood in front of her. She nodded and said nothing more.

“You should get some rest”, he told her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Take all the rest you need.”

She obliged, and she was back in bed. Zavian was there to tuck her in, and the minute sleep found her again, he knew he had to take those prisoners out of his castle for good. Their presence made her uncomfortable, and he was going to make sure she had all the peace in the world.

.....

She deserved it. She truly did.

...

Lyra hummed as she set about preparing for the contest. The maids primed and gushed on about her beauty, and she swam in their compliments. She had been practicing her needlework ever since the day of the announcement of the contest, and so far, she was a little above rusty, but she was sure she could make it work.

Lyra must have imagined that day of the announcement, but she had seen Zelda pale beside her at the mention of sewing. Good, she needed her gone to keep winning. The idea that she saw her as competition was almost laughable.

A little prick of worry here and now was all Lyra had ever since her mini meltdown on the killers’ capture. Kitana had been right about one thing, if the killers had revealed anything, she wouldn’t have been there for so long. She really hoped they were dead though, for all she knew, trying to get them killed was a very difficult mission. They were barely fed, only to keep them alive, Lyra reckoned. And even if any food was sent to them, it was monitored, and everything about them was protected.

“Your Highness”, the maid drew her out of her thoughts. At her feet, the maid held out her shoes before her to wear.

Another maid came into the room. She bowed her head before Lyra. “His Majesty has requested that the Princesses should meet him in his throne room.” She said.

Lyra looked up, surprised. “Throne room?”

The maid nodded in affirmation. “Yes, your Highness.”

Strange, Lyra thought. There was an urgent knock on her door, and the maids exchanged glances with each other. One of them went to check and looked toward the Princess.

“It is your brother, your Highness.” She announced.

“Send him in.”

Axel strutted into the room with the air of someone who had nothing important to do, unlike the manner of his knock. He whistled and plopped himself on his sister’s bed, and gave a long, dramatic sigh.

“When will all this be over so we can focus on other important things?” He asked.

“You are only here because Father needed you to strengthen our Kingdom’s bond with the King, and from what I can see, you are failing miserably.” Lyra said.

Axel raised his brow. “Well, you are not Queen yourself.”

“Yet, Axel.” She corrected him. “I am not Queen yet.”

She noticed he kept quiet after. The maids were doing the finishing touches to her look, and once ready, she dismissed them all and gave her brother her full attention.

“How about this?” She began. “How about you focus on getting one of the Princesses? You can charm them into your bed, I don’t mind.”

Axel could not help but be surprised at such a request. “So that you can be Queen?”

Lyra shrugged. “You can pick Zelda. You don’t have a type, last I checked.”

Axel shook his head. “Don’t drag Neera into this.”

“Neera, how did she come into this? I didn’t even mention her name!” Lyra blinked in fake innocence. “Listen, you have to think bigger than whatever it is that is going on with that...maid. You had your chance, and you failed. Our Kingdom needs me to be Queen, and I will do anything possible to get there. So not only do I have a responsibility, but you as well.”

Axel scoffed. “So it is all a game to win for you? Playing with people’s feelings?”

Lyra shrugged, and she stood to her feet. “Try to meet with Zelda before the contest; she will be in her chambers.”

Axel shot to his feet. “I will do no such thing.” He stormed out afterward.

Lyra believed he was being petulant about the whole matter, she had to handle Neera, and now the Princesses? What use was having a sibling who won’t have your back?

She made her way to the throne room, and she stopped when she met Kitana and Princess Jasmine approaching. She smiled and walked up to them.

Jasmine noticed her, and the first thing she saw was how extravagantly dressed up she was, as if attending a function. Or was there one at the throne room they weren’t aware of? Lyra’s hair was beautified with flowers, and the skirt of her dress was so full it took up the space of two people.

“You look really...beautiful, Lyra.” She hoped she found the right compliment. It seems she did, given the width of the smile on Lyra’s face. Kitana said nothing.

When they reached the throne room, Zelda was already there, waiting. Kitana got irritated at once, what was with the early arrival? No one scored points for that.

The throne room was devoid of guards or maids. Strange, Kitana thought, and from the looks on the Princesses’ faces, they all thought the same as well. The door behind them shut close, and they all jumped in a start as two guards stood in front of it.

“What is happening?” Jasmine whispered.

It didn’t take long for the King to come in through the other door. Zavian looked at each of the Princesses, and spoke,

“I won’t take much of your time. I just need to get something done before the start of the contest.” He said.

He gave a nod to the guards. The doors from where he came in opened, and the Princesses watched as four men, all bruised and chained, were brought into the throne room.

Kitana glanced over at Lyra. Lyra had gone paper white, and Kitana smiled. The King was full of surprises.

“It is okay. I just need these men to look at your faces and you would be on your way.” Zavian stated.