Chapter 19: A Respite and a Revelation

Relief washed over Kazi. For days, she had been dodging corridors, taking longer routes and strategically timing her leaving and entering of the palace to avoid having to interact with the insufferable prince. It was starting to feel like a game of cat and mouse, and she was growing weary of it.

Nia knocked on Kazi's chambers. As Kazi opened the door, she saw a mischievous look on her sister's face. "What is wrong with you today?" Kazi asked suspiciously.

"He is gone, Kazi! Prince Azrael left for Althea this very morning." Nia grinned, clearly enjoying the surprised look on her sister's face. "You do not have to worry about him anymore."

"Finally! Thank goodness!" she exclaimed, exhaling sharply. "I am finally free of that... that... nightmare!" Nia chuckled, stepping inside, and closing the door behind her. "I take it you did not miss him much?"

"Not even a little bit," Kazi answered, collapsing onto her bed with a sigh of relief. "It is like having an annoying fly buzzing around you all the time. Now that it is gone, I can finally breathe easily again."

Nia chuckled, as she sat down on Kazi's bed. "So, have you drafted that letter to King Eldarion yet?"

"Draft it, yes," she mumbled, avoiding Nia's gaze. "But sending it... well, that is a different story altogether."

"Are you thinking of changing your mind? About marrying him, I mean," Nia asked, gently.

"No," Kazi replied, shaking her head. "I have made up my mind. I am not going to marry him." She paused, considering her words before continuing. " I just have not gotten around to it, that is all. Royal duties and all, you know."

Nia was not convinced. "Uh-huh," she said, her voice dripping with scepticism. "Look, Kazi, I understand your reservations. The whole situation is a bit... unorthodox, to say the least."

"Unorthodox? Try infuriating! The man thinks I should be grateful to marry him because of his... ethereal beauty." She mimicked Azrael's voice in a high-pitched squeal, sending a shiver down her own spine.

Nia burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking as she tried to contain herself. "Honestly, Kazi, you should have seen the look on his face when he described you as his 'rude nephew.'"

Kazi groaned, burying her face in her hands even deeper. "Oh, Nia, you do not understand. It is worse than you think. He is arrogant, shallow, and about as brave as a field mouse!"

Nia's laughter subsided, replaced by a frown. "Well, that doesn't sound ideal," she admitted. "But have you considered... maybe giving him a chance? Getting to know him a bit better?"

"A chance? After the way he spoke of me? Absolutely not!" Kazi retorted, sitting up straighter. "Besides, even if I were to try, I do not think I could bear to spend any more time in his company. Every time he opened his mouth, it was like a dagger to the heart. I have never been so insulted in my life!"

Nia sighed. "Alright, alright," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. "But you have to admit, there was a certain... charm to his... misplaced fear of rabbits."

Kazi couldn't help but crack a smile. "Maybe just a teensy bit," she allowed, "but that is it. Just a tiny little bit." She paused, considering her sister's words.

Nia grinned. "See? There is hope for you two yet. Now, how about we get that letter sealed and sent off? The sooner the better, I say." She glanced at the clock, which read midday. "We have got plenty of time to finish it before dinner."

Kazi hesitated for a moment, "Alright, Nia. You win. But if this marriage actually happens, you are the one who has to explain my love of throwing axes to the royal etiquette instructor."

Nia's laughter filled the room. "Oh, you will have them rolling in the aisles, my dear! I will make sure to mention it at the perfect moment, just to see the look on their faces." She paused, her expression turning serious. "But seriously, Kazi, you do not have to marry him if you do not want to. You deserve to be happy, and if that means living out your days as a fierce warrior maiden, then so be it."

A knock at her door, startled Kazi as she walked over to door, expecting to see a servant or Nia but instead a young messenger stood at her door

A knock at her door, startled Kazi as she walked over to door, expecting to see a servant or Nia but instead a young messenger stood at her door. He bowed and presented her with a letter.

"For you, Lady Kazi," he announced, bowing his head slightly.

Kazi accepted the letter with a nod and watched the messenger walk away. Unfolding the paper, she recognized the writing as her father's.

꧁༺ 𝓜𝔂 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓚𝓪𝔃𝓲, 

𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓵𝔂 𝓼𝓸𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓹𝓾𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷 𝓪 𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓐𝔃𝓻𝓪𝓮𝓵. 

𝓘 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓭𝓲𝓭 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼, 𝓽𝓸 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓮𝓬𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓭𝓸𝓶.

𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝔀𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪 𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓮𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮 𝓪𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓝𝓲𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓭𝓪 𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓰𝓸 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓪𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝓯𝓲𝓽. 

𝓘 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓪𝔂. 𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮, 𝓶𝔂 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓻.

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓷𝓸 𝓸𝓫𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓱𝓲𝓶, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓭𝓸𝓶 𝓱𝓸𝓷𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷. 

𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓫𝓵𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝓽𝓸 𝓪𝓹𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓲𝓼𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓬𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓰𝓮. 

𝓦𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓮𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮. ༻꧂

A small smile tugged at Kazi's lips. Despite everything, her father's words were a relief. She knew it was a lot to ask of him, and she was grateful for his understanding and support. As for the other members of her family, she could only hope that they had truly learned their lesson.

But the smile quickly faded as she reached the bottom of the page.

꧁༺ 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓹𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹 𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼. 

𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓮𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓐𝓵𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓷 𝓬𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓷 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓫𝓸𝓪𝓽𝓼.

 𝓘𝓽 𝓼𝓮𝓮𝓶𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓹𝓮𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓻, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓱𝓲𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓵𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓪 𝓲𝓽𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯.

𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓵𝔂,𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓕𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 ༻꧂

Kazi reread the sentence, her mind racing. Althea was a huge kingdom. Finding the person responsible for the attacks within its borders would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. But she couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing. If she did not act, more innocent lives would be lost.

But then, a chilling realization dawned on her. The only people with access to information about the trade routes and their schedules were those within the palace walls. The perpetrator was not just hiding within Althea; they were hiding within the Althean court.

This was not just about stolen goods anymore. This was a deliberate attack on Niameda and Althea's relationship, an attempt to sow discord between them. The longer she stayed silent, the more damage would be done. She had to act, and she had to act quickly. Gripping the parchment tight, Kazi walked towards the desk and started writing a letter back to her father.