"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Irina visited the royal zoo every day.
She had never shown fascination or interest in the caged animals before, disliking the fact that these beautiful creatures were caged for the nobles' entertainment. There was a time when she was tempted to release them all, maybe the nobles can be entertained then.
Nevertheless, her strange habit had caught everyone's attention, before they played it off as the princess admiring the prince of Fjerda's gift. The white lion.
She was told by its handler that the lion was named Strymakt, which meant strength in Fjerdan. Fitting, as the lion showed much strength.
Days after each animal was caged, their backs would slump and they would cease to stand. Strymakt, however, refused to heel, refused to surrender. The lion had bitten every handler that entered its cage, that the keeper of the zoo asked for it to be put down.
Not that Irina would allow for that to happen.
With nothing more to do, she made sure it received the proper treatment. Many thought she merely took care of the creature because it was a gift from the Fjerdan prince. It was idiotic to think so, of course. She's never even met the boy and he was said to be an arse.
Irina shivered, wrapping her cloak around her tightly to her form. It had begun to get cold as the season of winter approached. Training with Aleksander and Dima had been canceled until further notice as her duties as princess increased.
There was to be a ball held in winter to honor the Feast of Sankt Nikolai. It was usually meant to be the duties of the queen to organize said ball, to invite performers, sculptors, painters, musicians, artists, and all the like.
However, due to the queen's passing, her duties had passed on to her eldest daughter. She had been tasting cakes, desserts, and dishes. She had been surveying artworks and acts to see which would perform at the ball.
Along with that, there was the worry of the invitations and who to invite. Dignitaries from Shu Han and Novyi Zem. It was a battle for her to invite Fjerdan dignitaries as they were currently in an unresolved conflict. Although, her father had personally instructed her to invite them.
She hadn't seen Aleksander and Dima for some time now, as Aleksander was preoccupied with the Grisha sanctuary and Dima had to return for his own tasks as a royal guard.
From the royal zoo, just across the lake, one can already see the improvements in the tall structure of the Grisha sanctuary. It was beautiful. Even now, she could see how big the palace was going to be. Grander than any estate.
Saints, when did things get so busy? For a while, she had forgotten about all the messy business of Ravka, fully content learning about her ability. Now, they barely even saw each other.
