Chapter 20: Plans in Motion

Kazi dipped her quill into the inkwell, her thoughts racing. The longer she considered the situation, the more she realized that there was only one course of action she could take. She would have to go to Althea herself, infiltrate their court, and find the person responsible for the attacks. It would be dangerous, and there was no guarantee of success, but it was the only way to protect her kingdom and honour her father's trust.

" 𝓘 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 ," she wrote, her handwriting steady despite the weight of the words, "𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓹𝓮𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓻 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓐𝓵𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓷 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓽 𝓲𝓽𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯. 𝓗𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓽𝓸 𝓲𝓷𝓯𝓲𝓵𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶, 𝓪 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮... 𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓪𝓬𝓱 𝓲𝓼 𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓪𝓻𝔂"

Kazi finished her letter and rushed out of her chambers to find the messenger. Unconventional? Absolutely. Dangerous? Undoubtedly. But the thought of bringing down a traitor from within, especially after the whole Prince Azrael debacle, filled her with a sense of purpose and determination. She had to do this.

Reaching the messengers study, she handed it to him. "Deliver this to Niameda, urgently," she instructed, her voice firm.

The messenger nodded and disappeared out the door, taking the letter with him. Kazi returned to her chambers. Alone in her chambers, Kazi paced restlessly. Going undercover was a gamble, but the potential reward – the safety of Niameda and perhaps even Althea – was too great to ignore. She needed a disguise, a way to blend in with the Althean court unnoticed. But how?

Suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind, and she knew just what she had to do. Without a moment's hesitation, Kazi ran out of her chambers. She found Nia in the nursery, folding baby clothes. "Nia," she said, trying to catch her sister's attention, "I need your help with something."

Nia looked up, startled by Kazi's sudden appearance. "What is it now, Kazi? Another thought about your prince?"

Kazi rolled her eyes. "Worse. We have a new development regarding the boat attacks. Turns out, the culprit is likely hiding within the Althean palace itself!"

Nia gasped, her hand instinctively touching her pregnant belly. "The Althean palace? Are you sure?"

"Positive," Kazi confirmed. "There is more. I need to go undercover."

Nia's eyes widened. "Undercover? But how?"

Kazi took a deep breath and blurted out the idea that had been brewing in her mind. "I need you to... to transform me into a man."

Nia's eyes widened in disbelief

Nia's eyes widened in disbelief. "What!" she exclaimed, her hands fluttering to her chest. "You want me to... to turn you into a man? But why?"

"I know, I know, it sounds quite maddening, but think about it! I need a disguise, and a convincing one. In Althea, women are nowhere near the army or the halls of power. They are expected to be homemakers, not warriors." Kazi paused, taking a deep breath to steady her racing heart. "I could pass as a man there. Nobody would suspect me of being anything else. And if I can find the traitor, I can bring them to justice, protect both of the kingdoms."

"Kazi, I understand your thinking, but this is... well, this is incredibly risky. What if you get discovered? The consequences could be dire!"

"I know the risks, Nia. But someone must do this. Someone must infiltrate their ranks and expose this traitor. And trust me," she added, sighing heavily, "I am the only one who can. You and Kiyoshi are expecting, and we cannot send any of our younger sisters on such a dangerous mission. This is the only way."

"Alright, alright. If you are truly set on this... I will help you. But you owe me, Kazi." Nia sighed.

Kazi's face lit up with a grateful smile. "Anything, Nia. Absolutely anything.

"Anything, huh?" she repeated, "Good. Because while becoming a man might solve your immediate problem, it doesn't address the fact that we have a very upset princess in our hands."

Kazi frowned. "A princess?"

"Princess Serena, my dear sister-in-law," Nia explained. "Apparently, she just finished a round of suitor meetings and returned quite angry and upset. None of them, according to her, met her... 'requirements.'"

Kazi raised an eyebrow. "So, you want me to play matchmaker?"

Nia chuckled. "If you would not mind. Let's call it a small favour in exchange for a very big one."

Kazi considered this for a moment. "Alright, fine," she conceded. "I will help you find your princess a husband. But before that, you need to help me. I need you to turn me into a man, Nia. Can you do that?"

Nia pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Deal."

"I shall write to Ren at once. He will help me with this transformation." Kazi said, excitement welling up inside her.

"Ren? You mean your second-in-command?" she asked, with a curious look in her eyes.

"Yes?" Kazi answered, confused. "Is there anything wrong?"

Nia waved a dismissive hand. "No, no, of course not," she said, though a teasing smile played on her lips. "Just... he is a man, after all. A man who, dare I say, meets all your requirements."

"Ew, no! I do not see Ren in that way. And besides, he likes someone else anyway." Kazi made a disgusted face at the mere thought.

"Ugh, you are in the army, and you are telling me absolutely no one fancies your interest, Kazi? You are truly commendable." Nia teased.

Kazi glared at her sister, a playful glint in her own eyes. "Nia, enough! I will deal with your matchmaking schemes later. Right now, I have a traitor to expose." With that, Kazi hurried out of the nursery, leaving a giggling Nia behind.