The council chamber was bright with morning light, long windows spilling gold across polished stone. Queen Ava stood at the center, her voice calm yet carrying to every corner.
"The northern envoys arrive in three days," she said, her tone steady as the chamber hushed. "They must see Velmora united. Each of you will oversee a portion of their welcome. And since Princess Evelyn remains among us, she too may assist."
Selene shifted in her seat, the movement sharp, impatient. Virelda's face betrayed nothing, as smooth and polished as glass. Aurora inclined her head in quiet acknowledgment. Evelyn only lowered her eyes, though the corner of her mouth twitched with something unspoken.
Ava's gaze swept across them one by one. "Selene will arrange the court reception. Virelda will oversee the gift exchange. Aurora will prepare the ceremonial procession—the walk through the gardens, where the people may offer blessings to the envoys. Evelyn, you will assist Selene."
Evelyn bowed slightly, "It is my honor, Your Majesty."
The next morning, the women assembled in the palace gardens. Servants trimmed hedges, laid fresh gravel on the paths, and carried baskets of woven charms sent by the villagers. Aurora walked the grounds, giving quiet instructions—how the charms should be hung on the trees, how the lanterns should be spaced to glow in twilight.
Selene's voice cut across the air, shrill with disdain.
"Lanterns and charms? Are we children at a harvest fair? These are envoys, Aurora, not village traders."
Aurora turned, her hair catching the sun.
"They are envoys who must walk through Velmora's heart. Let them see the people's love, not only our wealth."
Selene gave a loud laugh, tossing her head.
"How quaint. Do you mean to teach us statecraft now? Or shall we leave diplomacy in the hands of a girl who once plucked weeds in a field?"
A murmur rippled among the servants. Some paused, hands tightening on their baskets, though none dared speak.
Virelda stepped closer then, her words quiet, polished, yet edged.
"Selene," she said smoothly, "do not be cruel. Aurora only means well. Wild things cannot be blamed for growing as they do." Her smile turned to Aurora. "Though one must wonder what place a weed has in a royal garden."
Aurora lifted her chin. Her voice was steady, almost too soft—yet it carried.
"Weeds," she said, "often survive where roses cannot."
For a moment, silence fell. Selene's face burned crimson, her mouth opening in outrage. Virelda's composed smile faltered, her eyes flashing.
Before either could answer, Ava's approach stilled them. She spoke only briefly with the steward at the garden gates, but her presence alone pressed the venom back beneath their tongues.
Aurora bent once more to the charms, unshaken, her quiet defiance speaking louder than Selene's noise or Virelda's polish.
Evelyn had stood apart all through, silent, her expression unreadable. She neither defended Aurora nor joined the attack. Instead, she watched—watched the venom in Selene's voice, the cool malice in Virelda's tone, and Aurora's quiet defiance that only made them despise her more.
Later, when she returned to her chamber, she closed the door softly behind her. The silence wrapped around her like a cloak, and her lips curled into a smirk.
"Perfect," she whispered.
Finally—after days of hunting for a weakness, after being forced to endure Aurora's untouchable glow—she had seen it. Hatred. Open, unmasked hatred.
Selene's face swam in her mind, flushed with anger, eyes spitting venom at the white-haired girl. A woman with no self-restraint, no patience, and a tongue quick as a whip. Exactly the sort of ally she needed.
"Selene," Evelyn murmured, touching her own reflection in the polished mirror, "you will be my key."
The plan was already forming, sweet and sharp. She would draw near to Selene, whisper friendship, whisper alliance. And together, they would pull Aurora down from the light she basked in.
Her smirk widened, dark with promise. "At last, I have found a way to bring you down, Aurora."
-
The chamber was dim, lit only by the fire crackling in the hearth. Aldric sat at his great oak table, a map spread wide before him, his brow drawn in deep lines. His hand traced the borders, lingering over the red-marked edges, the flicker of flames throwing shadows across his face.
Aurora entered softly, her white hair loose around her shoulders. She lingered at the door for a moment, studying him—the weight in his eyes, the silence heavy in the chamber.
"What troubles you?" she asked gently, stepping closer.
Aldric lifted his gaze, the sternness melting when it met hers. He sighed, pulling her nearer until her hand rested on the table beside his.
"War is looming, Aurora. It grows closer each day. I fear it may reach Velmora soon."
Aurora tilted her head, her voice calm but firm.
"If it comes, I am certain you will face it—and win. I have seen your strength, Aldric. And I trust it."
His lips curved into a faint smile, and without another word he pulled her into his lap, his arm wrapping around her waist as though she belonged nowhere else. The shadows softened around them, the silence easing.
They spoke quietly, her voice soothing him, his hand tracing lazy circles at her side. Then Aurora's tone shifted, hesitating, almost shy.
"There is something I have long wanted to ask," she began. "When I first arrived… when you cast me into the snow to find the golden ring. Do you remember?"
Aldric's brows lifted, his mouth tugging into a smile.
"I remember."
Aurora's eyes searched his.
"Two wolves surrounded me, and there was a great noise from the forest. It frightened them away. After that… I found the ring. I have always wondered—what was it?"
For a long moment, Aldric said nothing. Then his smile widened, and quiet laughter rumbled in his chest.
"I never thought I would reveal this. The truth is…" He paused. "I sent two soldiers into the forest before you were cast out. They watched from the shadows. The ring was dropped nearby while you slept. And when the wolves drew too close, they sprang a rope-trap, which raised a great noise. That sound alone was enough to drive them off."
Aurora's lips parted in surprise, then curved into laughter—light, musical, breaking through the tension of the night. Aldric laughed with her, pulling her closer until their foreheads touched.
"So all this time," she whispered, "you never meant for me to die."
"Never. Even if you had not found the ring, you would have lived," he answered simply, brushing his mouth against hers.
"But you starved me" Aurora said, laughing.
Their laughter faded into a kiss, tender at first, then deepening, firelight wrapping around them. When their lips parted, Aldric's voice was low, almost playful.
"Tell me… has Evelyn been on her best behavior?"
Aurora nodded faintly, her breath warm against his lips.
"She has. Quiet. Watching."
Aldric smirked, kissing her again. Their words dwindled into whispers, then silence. The fire crackled on as they gave themselves to each other, the map on the table forgotten.
-
The corridors of Velmora were quiet at night, save for the faint echo of footsteps and the hush of the torches against the stone walls. Selene's gown swept as she strode swiftly, her face set in a scowl. She had left the queens' chambers with a storm in her chest, the very thought of Aurora's calm defiance earlier gnawing at her pride.
From a darker archway, Evelyn stepped forward, her steps measured, her eyes glinting in the half-light.
"You walk quickly, Your Majesty," she said softly, her tone casual but edged with knowing.
Selene halted, her eyes narrowing. "And you walk silently. What do you want?"
Evelyn's smile curved, gentle and unthreatening. "Nothing… only to breathe the night air. But I could not help noticing, earlier, in the gardens. You do not hide your feelings well when it comes to her."
Selene's jaw tightened. "If you mean that pale witch—then no, I do not." She turned, as if to leave.
But Evelyn's voice followed, lower, coaxing.
"It seems you and I share something, then."
That stopped her. Selene looked back sharply, suspicion flickering in her eyes. Evelyn only tilted her head, her smile cool and measured.
She stepped closer, her hands folded neatly before her. "I abhor Aurora. She is… a danger to every place she walks into. I have watched, as you have. She wins hearts far too easily. Even His Majesty—" She let the words trail, a dagger left half-unsheathed.
Selene's nostrils flared, her lips curling into something bitter. "Yes. Even His Majesty."
A silence stretched, broken only by the faint crackle of a torch. Selene's voice lowered, venom in it.
"She parades about, pretending innocence, when all she does is ensnare. The others may be blind, but I am not."
Evelyn's eyes gleamed, though her tone remained calm, almost sympathetic.
"Then you are not alone. I too see her for what she is." She allowed a breath of silence, then added smoothly: "Perhaps… two voices can speak louder than one."
Selene studied her, suspicion still alive, but softened by the intoxicating relief of being understood. Slowly, she exhaled, her shoulders loosening.
Evelyn gave a small, knowing smile, stepping back into the shadows. "Think on it, Selene. You need not fight her alone."
And then she was gone, her silken steps swallowed by the dark.
Selene remained in the torchlight, chest heaving, her lips pressed tight—her hatred burning hotter now, no longer a solitary flame.
Far down the corridor, where no one could see, Evelyn's smirk unfurled. The seed had been planted. And she knew, with patience, it would grow into something sharp enough to cut.
-
The chamber door shut with a thud, leaving Selene in the stillness of her own quarters. She paced once, twice, her silk skirts whispering against the floor.
"Does she take me for a fool?" she muttered under her breath, jaw tightening. "Aurora sending Evelyn to sniff me out, to set me up? No… no, that cannot be. She has no spine for such schemes."
Her steps slowed. She pressed a hand against the carved post of her bed, nails tapping. Yet suspicion gnawed at her. Evelyn's visits had always been… deliberate. Too deliberate. The woman carried herself with a patience that spoke of purpose.
Selene turned toward the tall mirror, her reflection frowning back.
"Everyone knows how Aurora was treated in Elareth. A wretched little thing, unloved, unwanted. Why would she suddenly come to her now?"
Then, slowly, her lips curved. A realization shimmered in her eyes.
"Unless…" She let the word hang, a whisper curling like smoke. "Unless she came for exactly this. To see Aurora ruined....I knew it."
Selene's smirk spread into a thin, cruel smile. She could almost hear the echo of Evelyn's silence during the earlier quarrel, the way she had simply watched instead of rushing to Aurora's defense. That silence was louder than words.
"So that is it." Selene lifted her chin, the fire in her chest hardening into resolve. "She wants Aurora brought low. Then she will find no enemy more eager than me."
She sank gracefully into her chair by the fire, fingers folding together. A queen by title, but now, perhaps, a conspirator by choice.
And somewhere down the hall, Evelyn sat alone in her chamber, smirking in the dark.
"First, I will bring Aurora down. Then Selene and Virelda shall follow. And Aldric… he shall be mine."
Her eyes glinted with joy, and a wicked smile spread across her face.