Rhea
It doesn't take long for me to assemble my circle of Archers.
"Wait. You're telling us that Prince Castien will be staying indefinitely until you, your mother, and your father deem it good for him to return to Dorenhid?" Melanie clarifies and I nod.
"Yes. While I want to send him home this moment, my parents wouldn't permit that idea. They want him to stay until he learns how to respect us. And to be well enough to return to Dorenhid."
"Fucking hell" Naercé laughs, and looks out the window.
"This should be interesting. Seeing you both hate each other, I wouldn't be surprised if one of you are dead by the end of the week."
"Oh cut it out, Naercé. Don't you see that Rhea doesn't want this? And don't joke about them killing each other" Bay snaps, arms crossed.
"Jeez. Tough crowd" she grumbles, but she offers me an apologetic tilt of her head and I give her the hint of a smile.
"So what's your plan exactly?" Melanie asks, sitting next to me and I shake my head.
"I don't have a plan. All I can do is go ahead with my parents wishes and make sure that Prince Castien understands that the faster he complies, the sooner he goes home."
"Yeah, I bet he just loves the idea of hanging out with you all day long, doesn't he?" Bay teases and I scoff.
"He was equally thrilled as I was, I assure you. In the meantime, we should start looking for Nara's replacement at the ball tonight."
They giggle, and I roll my eyes.
I had asked for a circle of archers- sharp, deadly, cold.
Instead I was surrounded by women who were excited to dress up and celebrate another evening alive by drinking wine and dancing.
"I'll see you downstairs in an hour" I finished as they stood up, curtsying and they softly closed the doors behind me as I was left to my own devices.
I rubbed my temples, frustrated that my parents hadn't told me anything about Prince Castien' longer visit.
I wished that they had consulted me, but they probably knew I would've said no.
I look at the dress hanging on my door, and smirk.
The first night Prince Castien had arrived, he had looked at an unassuming flower, dressed in swaying pinks and a lovely face framed with beautiful brown hair.
But he hadn't been expecting a deadly swordswoman underneath.
I ran my fingers over the emerald green and gold colors, before letting my own dress fall in a puddle on the floor.
Castien
"Why wouldn't you tell me if I'm staying in Elfhame?!" I yelled at Father and his sharp eyes locked to mine.
"The way you have acted on this royal state visit is absolutely unacceptable, Castien. If you had done this back in Dorenhid, I would've already killed you, and Aurae would've become the Crown Princess. You should be ashamed of yourself, Castien, because me, our court, and your mother are most definitely disgraced."
"We had to basically beg the Greenbriars for forgiveness" Mother says coldly from where she stands next to Father and he slams a hand down on the table.
"We do not beg from allies, especially for forgiveness because a stubborn crown prince can't figure out that he is ruining a rickety alliance" he says coldly, and Mother shakes her head.
"This evening, you will stand with Princess Rhea the entire night" Mother snaps as I open my mouth to protest.
"And you will do so without a scene, without a witty phrase, without a counterattack to anything Princess Rhea says. If you do, we will not be the ones to kill you. She will."
I laugh humorlessly. "Don't you think it's a terrible idea threatening your eldest child that he'll be killed if he doesn't comply?"
"We wouldn't have to be threatening our eldest child if he had behaved when he arrived in Elfhame" Mother snaps and Father shakes his head.
"Castien, you have nearly cost us everything here in Elfhame. Our disappointment is immense, but that is why we are having you stay here. You have to solve your indifference with Princess Rhea, and while she is not of complete fault, you are. The ball tonight will be the beginning of your trial period here in Elfhame. Go."
As I stomp out of the study, Aurae and Tialha are sitting on the separate chaises, and as I enter my room, Aurae closes the door.
"I know you're not thrilled about the idea of staying here-" she starts but I interrupt her by shattering the vase in the room.
She closes her eyes, before fixing me with a look. "Are you done throwing glass?"
"Why am I being punished like this?" I exclaim, sinking onto my bed and she crosses her arms.
"It's not very hard to understand why, Cass. If you had just behaved like me and Tialha, you would be coming home with us tomorrow" she says as she digs into my closet and pulls out a black velvet jacket decorated with gold decorations telling a story.
I shrug out of my leather jacket and she helps me put it on before buttoning my vest and smiling as she runs a hand down the lapels of the long coat.
"It's not hard to like you, Castien. But you have to suck up to the Greenbriars if you want to go home. If you want to go home sooner, you should listen to them and obey. They'll decide when you go home, but that process goes quicker if you behave" she says softly before leaving and closing the door.
Rhea
I don't understand why Prince Castien finds it a punishment to stay here, when the palace looks like this with every celebration.
Nara isn't here, a small mercy as me and my circle enter into the large room, filled with music, song, laughter, food, and wine.
The low torch lights flicker over the gold decorations on the dress, catching the eyes of most of the court as they dip into curtsies, and I nod.
The dress has a very high collar with armored shoulders, the two cape sleeves dragging behind me in an emerald green gauzy trail.
From the collar is a golden crisscrossing pattern of chains leading down to the bodice, leaving any skin from my neck to breasts slightly covered.
The bodice is mostly gold with emerald detail before leading into a heavy velvet green skirt covered with gauze and leaves of emerald decoration trailing down the skirt.
Prince Castien approaches, the gold decoration on his coat glittering in the light as he bows and I dip my head.
He offers his arm and I take it, smirking out at our courts as he tenses.
"Relax, I don't bite" I scoff under my breath and he grits his teeth in a fake smile.
"Not what I'm worried about, Princess."
"Try me, I dare you" I hiss under my breath before we bow before our parents, who smile in pleasure at our better behavior.
As we stand on the edges of the room, I dismiss my circle with a wave of my hand as I select a glass of wine and sip from it, Prince Castien staying by my side like a dutiful guard dog.
"I overheard you're looking for a new dagger in your collection" Prince Castien says after a few minutes of silence between us and I raise an eyebrow at him.
"Always. But you're going to need to elaborate."
"For your circle. You're looking for someone sharp" he clarifies, scowling out at the people dancing.
Oh.
"I should blame you for taking away Nara, but I never needed her. Maybe I'm better off without her anyways."
He scoffs, sipping from his wine. "I did you a favor."
I close my eyes, controlling myself before I can knee him in the groin.
"You did me a favor... by taking away one of my closest friends from me" I clarify and he sighs.
"I'm not that kind of person you think I am, Princess Rhea. I did it for a better intention, despite what you think you know and saw."
"Right. Then explain to me" I snap, facing him and he nods once.
"At first, I wanted to get to you to annoy you and make you jealous, but then after a few glasses of faerie wine, Princess Nara, she couldn't handle being in charge of too much alcohol and started talking about how she was going to take you down and become the Queen of Elfhame. As payback from when your mother stole your father's heart."
I shake my head, laughing. "You are awful. You really think that my friend would do that to me? You really are just trying to get to me. You are.. the worst, Prince Castien."
"I wish you'd believe me, because that is what happened. You weren't there, Princess. But if you were, you would" he sighs and I bite down on my lip, nodding slowly.
"Right. So if this was true... Nara is trying to betray me, probably kill me-"
"No. Her plan was that she would ply you with faerie wine, and slip an herb in, to confuse your mind. Then she would introduce a member of the Dorenhid court, hoping you would kiss him, and bed him. She would take you down through... fidelity and virginity. After bedding him, you would notice that his lips were poisoned. And you would, essentially, also die from the poison."
I touch my lips and he shakes his head. "Your lips are fine right now. You would've had to have many more glasses for Princess Nara to slip something in without you noticing."
"God. I... thank you. I feel awful now about how-"
"It's fine" he cuts me off, clutching his sword's hilt. "Just wanted to let you know so now you can take her down, or whatever."
I scan my eyes, and smile when I meet the eyes of an ombre haired nymph, her eyes glinting as she dances, a dagger holding her hair back.
"Excuse me" I whisper and leave Castien in the shadows as I approach a future member of the circle of Archers.
A/n: So well done Nara. She's so fucked