We are not talking to you

Teleporting while you were still stewing in regret was never a good idea.

But Lara did it anyway.

She stepped out of the teleportation circle and into the opulent side corridor of the Celestian castle. The chill of marble against her boots was a familiar, if not exactly welcoming, sensation.

She straightened her coat, ran a hand through her hair, and told herself—lied to herself, maybe—that today would be easier. That breakfast, at least, would be less of a battlefield than last night's dinner.

Today's breakfast was, by decree of the Queen, for family only: Sarisa, Lara, Kaelith, Aliyah, and the Queen herself. No nobles, no councilors, no Prince Vaelen. Just the people who mattered.

The halls felt too big, too quiet. Sunlight streamed through a row of arched windows, lighting dust motes that looked almost magical.

Lara made her way to the private dining chamber, where the real family meals happened the ones without waiters standing like statues in every corner.

She paused outside the door, took a breath, and pushed it open.

What she saw was… not what she expected.

Kaelith and Aliyah were already seated at the small round table. Plates of fresh fruit, sweet bread, and steamy eggs filled the air with a comforting aroma.

Sarisa sat across from them, looking a little tired but composed. The Queen presided at the head, dignified even in a simple robe, sipping tea.

But it was the girls who caught Lara's attention.

Kaelith and Aliyah were glowering at her.

Not playfully. Not with their usual mischief.

Real, legitimate, tiny-child fury.

They both turned their heads away at once like little actors in a drama, chins up, arms folded, their whole bodies radiating "We are not talking to you."

Lara blinked.

"Morning," she said, careful, as if the room might explode if she said it too loudly.

Kaelith and Aliyah said nothing.

Sarisa gave a neutral nod.

The Queen said, "You're late."

Lara slid into the last empty seat and found, to her faint horror, that her napkin had been folded into the shape of a frowning bird.

"Did I miss the mutiny?" she asked, glancing at the girls. "Or is this just rehearsal?"

Kaelith pointedly whispered something in Aliyah's ear. Aliyah giggled, then shot Lara another look of utter betrayal.

Lara tried again. "Aliyah, did you sleep well?"

Silence. Aliyah cut her eggs into hostile squares.

"Kaelith? Any interesting dreams?"

Kaelith made a big show of examining her toast, as if it might contain secrets more important than Lara's existence.

Sarisa sipped her tea.

The Queen, to Lara's surprise, looked faintly amused.

The meal began.

And so did the silent treatment.

Lara was used to battlefields, used to angry diplomats, used to being ignored by people twice her age.

But she had never been given the cold shoulder by a pair of four- and five-year-olds with such relentless, coordinated intensity.

Kaelith and Aliyah chatted to each other in loud, pointed whispers—deliberately leaving Lara out of every conversation.

They asked Sarisa if she wanted more juice, if she thought their dresses matched, if she liked their new word for "pickle" (which was apparently now "snootfruit"), and what plans they had for the day.

Not a single question for Lara.

Not a glance.

Even when Lara tried to engage—asking about school, about magic lessons, about what they'd like to do after breakfast—she was met with silence, more toast-inspecting, and at one point, Kaelith moved her plate a full two centimeters further from Lara's side of the table.

"Girls," Sarisa said quietly, "don't play with your food."

Kaelith said, "Yes, Aunt Sarisa," in the sweetest voice imaginable, before turning back to Aliyah and whispering, "We don't listen to traitors."

Aliyah giggled so hard she almost snorted milk.

Lara looked to Sarisa for help. Sarisa just shrugged, mouth twitching, and offered Lara a single, sympathetic raise of the eyebrow.

The Queen seemed unbothered by the familial chaos—possibly enjoying it, in her own way.

Breakfast continued in this peculiar, silent war.

Lara ate in peace, or as much peace as one could have while being judged by two pint-sized revolutionaries. Every time she tried to break the ice, Kaelith and Aliyah found new ways to shut her out.

Halfway through, Kaelith declared, "I want to go play outside."

Aliyah agreed instantly. "Yes. It's sunny. We can build a leaf castle."

Lara, desperate for a reset, stood. "Let's go together."

Kaelith and Aliyah exchanged a look.

Aliyah got up first, taking Kaelith's hand. They walked past Lara without a word, leaving her to trail behind like a guilty dog.

Sarisa mouthed, "Good luck," as they left the room.

The Queen's lips curved almost imperceptibly as she returned to her tea.

Outside, the gardens glimmered with dew and early light. The girls made a beeline for the hedge maze, darting around flowerbeds and upending a row of decorative rocks. Lara followed, hands shoved into her pockets, keeping a careful distance.

Kaelith and Aliyah stopped in the middle of a little clearing—just far enough from the castle that the adults wouldn't hear.

They spun around in unison.

Kaelith crossed her arms. "We are not talking to you."

Aliyah glared. "You made Aunt Sarisa cry."

The words hit Lara like a punch to the gut.

She stopped short, heart thudding.

Kaelith's eyes were big and accusing. Aliyah's were red and determined.

"You—" Lara started, but the girls cut her off.

"Last night," Kaelith said, "we heard everything. You shouted and Aunt Sarisa was sad and now you're both grumpy."

Aliyah added, "We don't like it when you make her cry. Aunt Sarisa is the nice parent."

Lara opened her mouth, then closed it.

For a long moment, she just looked at them—her daughter and the child she loved like her own, fierce in their loyalty and so painfully honest.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You're right. I was angry. I shouldn't have—"

Kaelith interrupted, "If you want us to talk to you again, you have to say sorry to Aunt Sarisa first."

Aliyah nodded. "And not yell."

Lara gave a shaky laugh. "Alright. That's fair."

Kaelith and Aliyah exchanged another glance.

Then Kaelith said, "You can help us build the castle. But you have to be the dragon."

Aliyah giggled. "A grumpy dragon."

Lara huffed. "That's the only kind I know how to be."