Episode 6: Shadows In The Palace
"A caged bird does not sing because it is happy. It sings because it refuses to be forgotten."
Seraphina could feel it.
The shift.
It had started the moment she walked into the court draped in red, when she refused to be ignored.
The whispers had grown sharper. The glances had become heavier.
She was no longer just the foreign princess, the emperor's unwanted bride.
She was a variable they had not accounted for.
And variables in a court like this?
They were dangerous.
Xavien Draethis sat upon his throne, the golden embroidery on his robes catching the dim candlelight of the great hall. He held his goblet with effortless grace, swirling the deep crimson liquid inside. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes never left her.
Seraphina moved through the grand ballroom like she had always belonged there.
And that bothered him.
Not because she was charming his nobles.
Not because she was making herself seen.
But because she was unpredictable.
The court was full of people who played their roles well. They bowed, they schemed, they whispered behind closed doors, each move carefully calculated.
But Seraphina?
She did not play the role of a meek, discarded bride.
She played the role of a queen.
And queens were dangerous.
"She learns quickly," Valen muttered at his side, his sharp eyes also following her movements.
Xavien took a slow sip of wine.
"Too quickly."
A soft laugh echoed across the hall as Seraphina danced with one of his ministers, the flickering candlelight making her look almost ethereal.
There was something infuriating about the way she smiled.
As if she knew something he did not.
Seraphina moved gracefully, her hand resting lightly in her dance partner's palm, but her focus was elsewhere.
She had noticed them the moment she entered the room.
The watchers.
They were skilled. Hidden in the shadows, barely noticeable among the many nobles and servants.
But she was not a fool.
These were not Xavien's spies—those, she had already learned to recognize.
No, these belonged to someone else.
Someone who was watching her very carefully.
She kept her expression pleasant, never letting her gaze linger too long in one place.
But deep down, she knew.
The game had begun.
And the first move had already been made.
The music slowed, and Seraphina curtsied as the dance ended.
A noblewoman approached her, smiling warmly.
"You dance beautifully, Your Majesty."
Seraphina returned the smile. "You flatter me, Lady Varella. I'm merely trying not to trip over my own feet."
The ladies around them laughed politely, though Seraphina knew that every word, every reaction, was carefully measured.
She played along, making idle conversation, all while keeping her ears open for the murmurs slipping through the cracks of the court.
Whispers of war.
Of betrayal.
Of an emperor feared more than loved.
And of a foreign bride who was either a fool or a threat.
Seraphina simply smiled.
She would let them wonder.
Let them underestimate her.
Because the moment they did…
She would win.
Later that night, she returned to her chambers, her body exhausted but her mind racing.
She locked the door behind her, pressing her back against the cool wood.
She let out a slow breath, rubbing her temples.
She had gathered enough information to know one thing for certain—
This palace was a battlefield.
And she?
She was caught in the middle of a war she did not yet understand.
She walked toward the window, pulling back the heavy silk curtain.
Below, the city glowed beneath the moonlight, its streets filled with life even at this hour.
And somewhere in the darkness…
The real threats were waiting.
She could feel it in her bones.
And if she did not act soon…
She would not survive it.