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Junia had to wait an entire day before Ulysses came to see her.

He didn't knock to announce his arrival and strode in unannounced, a cloak flowing behind him. Her brother had a freckled face with a sharp jaw and straight nose, giving him a stern look. It instantly disappeared when he saw Junia's face, however, and relief lit up his tired expression. He was twelve years her senior, and tall with Lachlan's green eyes, and unique ginger hair—he was considered handsome, Junia knew, from the ladies who always giggled behind their fans as he walked by.

"You're alive," Ulysses said, his expression dazed. She had never seen him so thin before and knew he had lost a lot of weight since everything went wrong. He was barely a man, not even wed, and he looked too young for the weight of a crown. Once kind, his eyes burned with a newfound resolve beneath his weariness.

He wanted revenge for their parents.

Even so, he was still Ulysses. Nothing could change that, not even the gold band lying across his head. It was strange for Junia to think that Ulysses, barely four and twenty, now wore a crown.

Junia had never imagined Ulysses as a king. She had known it was almost inevitable, but she couldn't imagine him being ruthless. She couldn't imagine her brother leading an army or calling for an execution. He was good with a sword, but she saw him more often drawing sketches of ladies or telling stories to the courtier's children. It seemed unfair that the responsibility of being king had been thrown on him before he was ready.

Junia flung herself at him. She was home. Against all odds, she was alive and had made it. Somewhere deep within her, she felt a small buzz of excitement as he patted her on the back. His rib cage was hard against her chest, protruding through pale skin, but she knew that she had also lost a lot of weight from her time on the road.

Why did Clovis leave? She assumed it was because of the mean guard, but thought about it more. Did he feel guilty about leaving Audrey? Had he gone back for her?

No. That would be suicide. He probably just went off to start a life of his own without being stuck serving princesses.

"Glad to know you're alive, Juni," he said. "Everyone was saying you were dead. When none of you came back and I was here alone..." He shook his head. "It was frightfully lonely. We had to throw a hasty coronation, and it's still hard to convince some of the nobles to mobilise."

"Mobilise?" Her eyes widened. "You're telling me that we're going to war?"

Ulysses looked surprised that she had even asked the question. "Juni, they killed our mother, and they hold our father and Malena hostage. Kael used deceit to take over Northstone Castle, and killed King Lucian and Queen Adina. You can't tell me that he should be allowed to march his armies unhindered through the South! That's what he wants to do, I suspect."

Junia swallowed but didn't protest. Secretly, she wanted Kael to pay too. Once, she would have insisted on trying to secure negotiations and make peace. Now, she was less sure.

"The curly-haired man, he一he's really mean."

"Josiah is ruthless, but he does his job well." Ulysses sighed and sat down on Junia's bed. For a moment, his eyes ran down her short blonde haircut. "Now, tell me everything. Including why your hair is suddenly so short."

So Junia did. She told him about going out with Annalee but being caught by a guard while her twin ran off into the darkness, not to be seen again. She told him about the sudden attack on the castle and their mother dying with an axe to her head. She told him about going with Clovis and walking for days on end trying to get to safety, then about the woman with the mangled ankle, and Clovis' knack for finding food. Ulysses listened quietly as she talked, patient as always, and polite enough to only speak once she had finished.

"Quite an adventure you had there, I see," Ulysses said. "I'm sorry about Annalee but it's likely if she didn't go back to her room after running from that guard... it's likely something happened to her. And I suspect Lucian might have tried to cover the evidence."

Junia understood what he was implying. Annalee could have been killed by a guard, and Lucian could have covered her death to keep peace with the South. Resigned instead of angry, she leaned her head on his shoulder. She had missed him. He wasn't as important to her as Annalee had been—Ulysses and her had never been particularly close—but she had always been fond of him, and loved watching him swordfight in the garden. He didn't care that she wasn't as brave or adventurous as Annalee. He loved her for being her.

"I—I just want mum and dad back," Junia said.

"They're not coming back. I'm sorry," Ulysses said. He was brutally honest, and not a good liar. It was one of the things she admired about him. "You know, Kael has sent letters offering Malena and father back if I surrender the castle, as if I'm some little boy who can be swayed with threats. Then, after I refused, he said we have to pay him a ridiculous ransom that our treasury can't afford."

"It would be a trick anyway," Junia said. "In a history book I read this..."

Ulysses laughed, cutting her off. "Maybe for now you should keep your knowledge to yourself. Sometimes knowledge is something that no weapon can match, but I don't think we can win this war with books and diplomacy. It will have a large human cost, but we're doing it for a just cause."

Is there really a cause worth it, though? Is any cause justified enough to allow for thousands of deaths? But Junia nodded for him.

"I need to go now," Ulysses said, kissing her on the forehead. "I have some matters to attend to. Our maladroit nobles are a pain to deal with, and it's a struggle to keep all of them sober at once."

Junia nodded. "Is Cloud here?"

Cloud had been a gift to her and Annalee for their eleventh birthday. If Junia couldn't talk to Ulysses, then she wanted something familiar to her, even if it was just her dog.

"Yes." Ulysses nodded, gently moving Junia's head off his shoulder and holding her at arm's length. "I can get someone to fetch her for you?"

"It's fine, I can get her myself," Junia said. "Where is she?"

"Down by the stables."

Junia nodded.

"I love you, Juni," Ulysses said, standing up.

"Love you, too."

Junia watched as he walked off.

He is weary, she noted. She wasn't the most observant, but she couldn't help noticing. He's usually more energetic, and he has red rings under his eyes. If I can see that, who else can?

Junia stood up and walked outside, heading to the stables. A stable boy looked up when he saw her.

"I'm here for my dog," she announced, trying not to flinch at the strong odour of horse manure.

The boy paused for a moment, not recognising her for a moment with her short hair, before nodding and going to the stables, coming back out with a white dog. The dog yapped when it saw Junia and ran at her.

This would've been better if Annalee was here, Junia realised.

She knelt, letting the dog bounce into her arms and bark excitedly, but she couldn't help realising the truth; she didn't just want the dog to comfort her. She wanted a person.

As if answering her wish, a voice suddenly spoke in front of her.

"Are you Junia?"

She looked up to see a girl with dirty blonde hair tied into a high ponytail and dark brown eyes. She didn't dress like any of the courtiers or servants that Junia knew—she wore a red and white tunic paired with knee-high boots, a silver dirk sheathed at her belt. Despite not looking older than fifteen, she had a fierce expression on her face that told Junia she was not to be messed with. A look that told Junia she had grown up fighting and, although she was short for her age, something about that demeanour made her seem much taller.

"I—I am. Who are you?" Junia asked.

"I'm Katana Westerling," the girl said with a confident grin, offering Junia a hand to pull her up. Junia stared, only able to think about the Westerling coat-of-arms hanging in the burnt village. Katana had been imprisoned as a prisoner of war for joining Kael, and rumours spoke of a stout, mad girl with sharp teeth. But the girl in front of her seemed completely sane and, most of all, she had no manacles binding her prisoner anymore. "I believe I'm your cousin."

"You... you're meant to be in the cells!" Junia stuttered.

Katana Westerling smirked. "They freed me. Took them two years, but they finally came to their senses. Come on, let's talk. I have never had the pleasure of introducing myself to you before."

Too intimidated to do anything else, Junia took her hand.

Well then bye Clovis ??? 👀

Jk I wouldn't do anything bad to Clovis because I love all of the characters

Except for a few horrible ones

... although I actually love some of the horrible ones more than the good ones

Anywayyy

Please point out any errors, I don't get offended! I've gone through this a few times but I just have the feeling that this one is very badly edited. Idk.

Thank you so much to everyone reading, commenting or/and voting ! I'm really self-conscious about my writing so I'm surprised I've even got this far without feeling the need to just unpublish it all. I really appreciate all the support and am incredibly grateful <3

Love you all,
Shelly xx