Giulia traces the faint markings in the white marble, fingers snaking down the throne's armrest. It is solidly built, but hardly a masterpiece. Neyaibet's throne is a bold sapphire, emblazoned with cyan starbursts, with the crest of a wave forming each arm. In contrast, this seat is plain, too simple to class as the grand symbol it claims to be. A fitting match to the kingdom it represents.

Then again, she has to give this throne some credit. After all, it is the first she's been able to sit in. Though she has seen the throne room of the Neyaibet royalty many times, it belongs to the queen, and to even draw too close to it is an action of outrageous disrespect.

"Thank you, Oscensi," she whispers to the marble, "for being so useless. You've truly made today spectacular."

She chuckles to herself, shifting in the seat to scrape her boots across the white surface. The back presses awkwardly into her shoulder blades, but thrones aren't made for comfort, and so she forgives it for that.

Her gaze drifts to the rest of the room. A feeble attempt at glory, but her lips quirk at the thought of viewing it from a height only meant for royalty. Sitting here is no less disrespectful to its owner as it would have been in Neyaibet, but the difference here is that the king deserves no respect. A pitiful ruler, one who tried to fight a war with untrained children and blunt weapons, who hid his relatives and friends behind high walls while the peasants of his kingdom laid down their lives, and who now runs from his castle with little care for the people he leaves to be slaughtered. All he has achieved is saving his own skin.

It is most irritating, particularly to Giulia, that he hasn't yet been caught. She can't wait to see the look on his face as she explains to him, painfully slowly to allow his little bird-brain to catch on, what has become of his precious kingdom. And how every detail is solely his fault.

Alas, he has escaped, and so she finds a lesser pleasure in lounging in his throne. She shifts again, spreading out as much as the seat will allow. Her foot kicks at the hilt of her sword, and she reaches for it, smiling at the familiar touch of its soft leather.

It fades within moments, an unwelcome thought looming. Today has been almost perfect, but one knife still twists.

Talks with Harlow are usually the highlight of her day. Even without his ruggedly handsome face, he is a joy to converse with, for he is different to any other Neyaibet solder. Besides her, he is the only one that seeks to command whatever room he enters, even when in the presence of his superiors.

His quirky ideas come regularly, always to her delight. Until today.

A shiver runs through her at the thought of him. She straightens, muttering a curse. The boy didn't look to be even at Oscensi's dreadfully low draft age. He was a child, and a sickly one at that. He shouldn't have had such an effect on her.

His eyes flash at the back of her mind. Black, painted by the darkest depths of the night, lit by no stars. The pupil was impossible to distinguish. That in itself was creepy enough, but it was the fire in them that really spooked her.

The moment he conjured the flames, his eyes changed. Giulia has long since learned how to read fear in people, and even with the lack of light in his eyes, she saw it in him the moment he crossed into the room. Yet when those flames rose, it all vanished. His unbroken gaze bored into her, like a snake slithering through the undergrowth, forked tongue flicking out to taste potential prey.

Blackened fangs reared back, glistening with death and eager to strike.

She shakes her head, discarding the image, but its touch remains. Clasping her sword, she slides from the throne.

There is no doubting the boy is the Anathe. Whether he matches every detail in the stories is irrelevant; that look was enough to convince her. In that case, it is probably a good idea to be wary of him, but it still feels weak to be scared of a child.

The door creaks. Her head jerks up, and she rolls her shoulders, loosening her muscles. Passing the sword to her left hand, she drives it forward in a mock stab, only watching the opening door out of the corner of her eye.

At the sight of the man striding over its threshold, she spins to face it. "This is a real treat, Harlow. Twice in one day."

She catches what might have been a roll of his eyes as he shuts the door. A smirk tugs at her lips. He might act as if he doesn't care, but she knows she'll win him over.

"You know why I'm here," he says, mildly exasperated. The usual.

"That I do." She sheathes her sword, crossing to him in a couple of leaps. "He's safely on a carriage?"

"Just about." He sighs. "The kid fainted as soon as we stepped outside."

Giulia can't help but snicker. Perhaps he isn't as fearsome as she gives him credit for.

"Still, he's on the carriage now. We can work out logistics later, if it turns out he's allergic to sunlight or something. After today, I don't think that would surprise me."

She nods, acknowledging his words with a wave of her hand. She trusts Harlow to sort all that out. It isn't for her to worry about. "And I presume our carriage awaits?"

"Yes." He takes a step, then pauses, peering back at her. "It would save a lot of time if you've decided to agree while I've been gone."

She is starting to smile, but it falls away then. Tearing her gaze from him, she strides past, reaching for the doorknob. "I'm afraid you've still got a lot of convincing to do, Harlow." The ice in her tone surprises her.

"The king still evades capture."

"Don't remind me." The door swings open. She glances either side, checking the corridor is empty, before emerging into it. She prefers to be alone with Harlow. It can make matters rather awkward when in company, particularly if the other soldiers are stupid enough to accuse her of favouritism.

"He gives those that remain a figure to rally behind." Harlow is beside her, surety alight in his gaze.

"He hasn't even been missing a day yet. He's hardly an expert at running. We'll catch him." She ducks into the corridor, swinging to the right, and he follows.

"We have no leads. And--"

She twirls, lightly pressing a finger to his lips to halt his words. "Such a pessimist," she taunts. "We succeed in invading a whole kingdom, and still all you can think about is what might go wrong next."

Scowling, he bats her finger away. She flashes him a smile and keeps walking, letting out a disgusted sniff at the consistently white colouring. It doesn't do well at hiding stains.

"I'm just trying to think ahead," Harlow protests from behind. "We've used up so much of our power in this attack. We need something new."

"And you want to use a fourteen-year-old boy with the power to kill us all as that." She shakes her head. "You're usually so much better at this."

She nearly stumbles into him. Somehow, he has managed to get in front of her without her noticing. His eyes are fierce. "He's a kid. He knows barely anything of the world."

"That doesn't sound particularly convincing."

"It might not make him a good soldier, no. But it makes him the perfect weapon."

Her head tilts sideways. "Go on."

Falling into step beside her, he continues walking, but his eyes remain fixed on hers. "He still has this strange loyalty to Oscensi, but it can be broken. All we need to do is make him realise what this kingdom did to him, and how much better we can treat him. We gain his trust, and he'll choose to fight for us."

Her fingers tap thoughtfully at her sheath. "You're saying he's easy to manipulate."

Relief breaks out in his expression. "Exactly."

They swing around a corner. "Harlow," she says, slowly, "with his kind of power, it doesn't have to stop at Oscensi. Does it?"

He is silent. When he glances at him, he is properly smiling. She hasn't seen him like that for a long time.

A short laugh escapes her, and she quickens her step. "We better get to the carriage. I think I find this idea worth entertaining after all."

───── ⋆⋅♛⋅⋆ ─────

Fun fact: This scene wasn't supposed to exist. But after meeting the general got moved forward by a chapter, I thought that Chapter 4 might end up being a bit short, and so began thinking of a scene that could fill in the wordcount and make the chapter feel complete. As it turned out, there was enough to fill the chapter fine, but by then this scene had already played out in my head and I had to write it. So here it is xD

Giulia sort of surprised me in the character she's become, and I really enjoyed a little view from her perspective. She's so fun and I want more of her xD Also I totally ship her and Harlow even though he'll hate me for it--

I also didn't expect third person present to work. I'm still not sure it does. It just didn't feel right for anyone but my boy to be first.

See you next week for the next chapter :DD

- Pup