6 | A reason

Cassandra wanted to believe Kaydn's emotions were true, but she knew better. She would never hope, even if it slithered inside her heart like a tree beneath the fog. Kaydn loved Rylla the way she had always loved him, and she didn't know if she could ever accept someone else and move on.

Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach as he kept holding her. She looked at her brother and then at Ekim, who was still signing the agreement and all the other formalities. He rubbed her shoulders slowly, and her heart raced.

"Stop," she whispered and he immediately did. She did not want him to add anything to her desperate condition, and he was just pretending before her brother. She did not want anything to trigger her.

He uncomfortably shuffled his feet as she moved towards her brother. He looked at her in surprise and wondered what made her hate him. He wanted to know what was going on inside her mind, and it bothered him so much.

Nydd took his leave after helping Ekim accommodate herself in the guest area, and Cassandra excused herself to her room. She remembered the party and decided to plan for it. She will wear something very elegant and modest. She skimmed through her closet and found nothing which suited her taste, her mom had packed her all the finest silk.

She heard a knock on the door. It was almost as if the person knocking didn't actually want to talk to her, but was obliged to. She immediately guessed who it might be, so she decided to stay silent until she hears another knock. The next knock was firmly placed on the door, much to her surprise. She had wanted him to go away.

"Kind Kaydn, please come in," She addressed, pretending that she felt nothing.

"It's Ekim, Queen Cassandra," Kyllee stood in the doorway, she had never considered that it could be her. She turned around and smiled, feeling good to see someone refreshing.

She had maroon eyes, matching her hair and she never wore anything except nude shades. Well, she wore maroon dresses during big festivals. She looked around the room and her eyes expressed utter astonishment as her eyes travelled the exquisite corners of the room.

"Make yourself comfortable," Cassandra pulled out a chair from the tea table in her room. She had never realized how beautiful it was before Ekim traced her fingers along the designs. She looked genuinely impressed.

"I could never sit in that chair if it were mine, I'd lock it in a glass box," She nervously sat down and placed her hands on the table.

"Maybe I might do the same if it were mine," Cassandra replied, and it took a minute for Ekim to understand. She has not adjusted to this place, and she never felt at home anyway.

"I'm here to help you with tomorrow's tea party, Tatiana sent me, Queen" She nervously looked around for the wardrobe. Cassandra pointed to the left corner of the room and guided her. Tatiana was being very considerate, and she was very grateful for that.

"Thank you, but you can always look into it later. You've just arrived" Cassandra remarked.

"I prefer to work, I haven't worked in days. I had to travel a lot, Queen" She chuckled and she carefully skimmed through the dresses, as if they were glass. Cassandra leaned on the wall and sighed.

"Can I be honest with you Queen Cassandra?" She finally spoke, after examining every dress carefully.

"Sure," She said, hoping that she'd say they are absolutely horrible and physically unfit to wear.

"These are gorgeous," She shook her head and added, "You have a nice taste," She said, and Cassandra's last hope vanished in thin air.

"It's more like my mother has a nice taste," Cassandra smiled for the first time. She heard another knock on the door, a firm one. She thought it was Tatiana, and she gleefully opened the door.

"Thank you for being so consid-" She stopped midway when she realised it was not Tatiana, but Kaydn.

"King Kaydn, what brings you here?" She attempted to sound happy but miserably failed when she realised that her words wouldn't come out less pathetic. She turned around to see Ekim, but she was at the far end of the room to see or hear her.

"I thought you'd want some flowers," He took out his hidden hand and revealed the white roses, with a single red rose in the centre. She had not expected this, she stepped outside and looked around. He looked confused.

"But my brother has gone," She said, and it took him a minute to realise.

"No, I wanted you to feel happy," He pursed his lips and inched closer to her. She has never been more confused in her entire life. She wasn't sure what he was trying to do, but it felt oddly good.

"Thank you," She accepted those flowers and smiled. It somehow brought peace and contentment to him. But somehow, it felt unreal to her. She spent years believing that he could never accept her, this all seemed like a good dream.

"Queen Cassandra, this dress will compliment your hai-" Kyllee looked at Kaydn and then and Cassandra, her eyes finally landing on the flowers. She looked confused for a second, but she immediately knew what it meant.

"Miss Ekim, I didn't know you were here," Kaydn had thought his wife would be alone.

"I wanted to help Queen Cassandra for tomorrow's tea party King Kaydn," She answered as if she has a reason to be with Cassandra and he didn't. It was no secret that Kaydn had seemed to cheat on Cassandra even after marriage, and how he had loved Rylla for years. She felt sorry for Cassandra.

"Well, I'll take my leave," He left without uttering another word. He wondered what kind of tea party it was, and why he wasn't invited. He strode through the hallway, passing through his sister's chamber. He saw extra chaos in the hallway as if she was up to something. He decided to visit his sister to lift his spirits up.

.

"Those flowers are beautiful," Ekim commented as Cassandra stood there, as confused as ever. She did not understand this gesture.

"I know, but why?" She spoke out too loud.

"I do not know Queen," Kyllee responded and Cassandra immediately pounced back to her conscious self. She had just indirectly admitted that she wasn't used to this, and Ekim could understand what she meant.

"It's no secret Queen, I know what you meant with that question," Ekim confessed, she didn't want to pretend that she did not know anything.

"I know, but I do not understand why he'd give me flowers, with meanings, Just call me Sandra. It feels weird to be called Queen by everyone" Cassandra said, suddenly worrying about the red rose in between.

"Pardon?," Kyllee did not want to call her Sandra, so she avoided using Queen.

"The floral arrangement in bouquet usually has a meaning, in the Eastern kingdom at least," She said.

"Yeah, but those are just white roses and the mean pure heart," She examined the flowers completely and looked baffled as she added, "with a single red rose."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cassandra looked confused, she had never bothered to learn the significance of floral arrangement.

"It means he wants to have kids," Kyllee answered. Cassandra's mouth opened and closed several times.

"What?" She almost screamed.