The next day, Berryanna was in her office after the meeting with the Lords. The door had barely closed when five Lords stayed behind, lingering like shadows that refused to leave. Their voices continued, low and measured, words overlapping one another in careful turns, but none of it reached Berryanna.
They were saying something, but Berryanna was not listening. It was something she often did when her mind was elsewhere. When thoughts stacked too tightly in her head, when sleep had not been kind, when anger sat too close to the surface. And by looking at her now, she was not even in the room. Her body remained seated, posture upright, but her presence had slipped somewhere far beyond the stone walls.
Some might say she barely listened even during the main meetings.
"Princess Berryanna," the Lord of Finance said when he noticed that the princess was not paying attention at all.
Berryanna did not respond. She sat in her chair, one hand resting against her head, fingers curled lightly at her temple. Her elbow pressed into the armrest as if holding herself upright required effort. Her eyes were fixed on the view outside the window, unfocused, following nothing in particular. The glass reflected her faintly. A princess staring through herself.
"Princess Berryanna, is everything alright?" he called again, louder this time.
The sound cut through her thoughts sharply. Berryanna was pulled out of her daydream. She blinked once, then again, her gaze snapping back to the room as if she had been summoned rather than addressed.
"Yes, Levi, what is it?" Berryanna said, finally giving him her attention.
Her voice was calm, the kind of calm that hid exhaustion underneath.
"The Lord of Foreign Affairs was talking about the visit of the Queen of Hale and how we should entertain her visit," Levi, the Lord of Finance, said.
Berryanna's fingers stilled against her temple.
"What? The Queen of Hale is coming to Anthony? And for what?" Berryanna asked.
The Lords exchanged quick glances. The smallest flicker of satisfaction passed through them before it was buried beneath respectful expressions.
"She sent her request to visit a year ago, and you approved it this month, my lady," the Lord of Faith said as he stepped forward.
The soft scrape of his boots against stone sounded louder than it should have.
He dropped a piece of paper onto the table. The sound was light, but it landed heavily. The red seal stamped at the bottom was unmistakable, Perfect, and untouched.
"And during the meeting, you had no problem with it, my princess."
Berryanna stared at the document. She did not look directly at the seal. Her eyes traced the edges of the parchment instead, the slight curl at the corners, the ink lines that spelled out authority in her name. She looked everywhere but where the proof waited. As if refusing to see it might undo it.
"When did I do this?" she demanded.
Her hand dropped from her head to the table now, palm flat, grounding herself.
"Two weeks ago, princess. The King was present at the time. If you wish, you can ask the other Lords. They were all present," the Lord of Faith replied.
Berryanna kept staring at the paper, trying to picture the moment.
The meeting room. The voices. The seal in her hand, but nothing came. She could not remember approving this. She could not remember agreeing. She could not remember anything except the constant pressure of ruling, the endless requests, the way decisions blurred together when made too often. She knew this was part of their scheme. Yet she did not know how to prove it.
The approval seal was hers alone. No one else had access. No one else could have stamped it without her knowing and it can't be the king. And yet, here it was. She looked up slowly. She looked at them.
At the way they stood. At the careful distance between them and her desk. At the hunger in their eyes, like wolves waiting for weakness. Watching to see if she would stumble. Watching to see if she would break. She let it pass.
"Alright then. Is she coming to this province as well?" Berryanna asked.
Her voice returned to its steady tone, practiced and controlled.
"Yes, my lady. She will be hosted by the Lord of Faith, but she will visit the palace for sightseeing during her stay."
"Oh, I see. Sightseeing," Berryanna muttered.
Her fingers tapped against the table once. Then again.
"Princess, it has been years. Why don't the maids clean the throne room? I will come over to cleanse the room," the Lord of Faith suggested.
Berryanna's lips curved faintly.
"Really? That's a good idea," Berryanna said.
The Lords leaned in slightly.
"But I love the way it is. It's art. Why cleanse away a wonderful piece of art? It should be seen by the world. I will gladly give her a personal tour."
She ended it with a short laugh. It did not reach her eyes.
She turned back to the window, tapping her fingers against the table again. Outside, a bird took flight. Freedom she did not have.
"Well, there are other places to show the Queen besides the throne room," Vinegario said.
His voice came from the doorway.
"We have ancient artifacts, rich history, and something even more interesting. There are fun and exciting games we can do during her stay to entertain her. For a start, hunting."
The moment he entered the office, it was as if the air shifted.
The Lords stiffened. Spines straightened. Shoulders tightened. They became alert without even looking at him.
"No hunting," Berryanna said.
She rounded the table slowly, her hand brushing the edge as she moved.
"This will be magnificent," Vinegario continued. "To stand before the Queen of Hale and unveil the full measure of our hunting, our beautiful, terrible mastery, will be unforgettable."
He smiled.
"Let her witness it. Let her understand what it means to challenge us. This will not merely be a clash of armies, nor a contest of banners. It will be our nation set against hers, will against will, fate against fate. And when the echoes fade, she will know exactly who we are."
He raised his eyebrows, pleased with himself.
"She is not challenging our nation. She is here for a visit," Berryanna replied.
"Is it not the same thing?" he said.
"Prince Vinegario," the Lord of War interrupted, "let me remind you that the Hale Nation is more civilized than ours, and their weapons happen to be guns."
"Gun or no gun, they won't stop us," Vinegario said.
He stepped closer, stopping directly in front of him.
"Your father didn't just make a weapon. He created something meant to end wars."
He reached out and touched the man's mustache, playing with it on both sides.
"All that's left is a beard."
He turned away casually.
"Okay, meeting is over. You are all dismissed."
No one moved. They wanted to. They did not dare. They were waiting. Vinegario glanced at Berryanna.
"Berry."
"What?"
"Will you dismiss them?"
"You are all dismissed," she said.
She paused.
"Wait."
The Lords halted instantly.
"I have a question," Berryanna said. "You are all married, right?"
They nodded. All except the Lord of Faith.
"How do you apologize to your wife when you make her sad? How do you make her come around?" she asked quietly.
The silence that followed was thick. Vinegario stared at her in disbelief.
"Did this happen after the feast, princess?" Greyhouse Jr asked.
"Wait, the princess attended your son's wedding anniversary?" Levi said, turning sharply to Greyhouse.
"No, nothing happened. I don't need your advice anyway. The others can speak," Berryanna said.
No one spoke. They had never been this personal with the princess before. Silence filled the room.
"You can all leave. We are done for today," she said.
Vinegario placed a hand on Greyhouse Jr's shoulder, staring at Berryanna as if trying to understand what was happening.
"What? Sometimes you have to ask married people these things. And you're not married, so it's pointless to ask you," Berryanna said.
"Oh right. Remind me every chance you get," Vinegario replied. "I'll be on the first floor having a whiskey. And I brought the Duke you asked for."
Berryanna remained in her room for a while.
She thought about how she was going to approach Straw. Maybe she could buy her something. She dismissed the idea when she realized she did not know what Straw liked besides food. Then she thought of letting Straw take the lead during sex. She dismissed that too. Straw always took the lead. In the end, she decided not to do anything. She was the princess. Why should a princess apologize?