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The mug of tea was still warm as she clasped it between her fingers. Someone had left it out for her while she was asleep, and she was thirsty. She lifted it to her lips and...

She stopped and put the mug down. If it was poisoned, no one would be able to save her in time.

She laughed out loud. I can't even drink tea anymore without being suspicious.

She tipped it out of her window before sitting on her bed after picking a book on The Red Princess from her pile of books in the corner. She read almost all day, skipping lunch. Her only company was Cloud, who entered at one point and refused to leave.

She read for hours, the turning of pages the only thing she could do. Elaina Everwood, nicknamed the Red Princess, was notorious for being ruthless and brave, a warrior princess while her older sisters giggled and flirted. Elaina was eventually killed in battle by Annetta Shadowhart, who was acting as regent while her husband negotiated elsewhere, and Annetta gave Elaina's head to her husband as a gift, hoping he would be pleased.

Her husband hadn't been impressed.

Junia wondered if he was jealous of his wife for defeating The Red Princess in one battle when he had been fighting her for years: he ended up annulling their marriage and exiling her to a nunnery on charges of unproved infidelity. It almost made her laugh. The man definitely had some masculinity issues.

She was so engrossed in her book that she wasn't even aware of someone entering before they were beside her.

"Miss, I have a message for you," her maid said.

"Yes?" Junia looked back down at the book. She wanted to get to the end of the last chapter and finish the book. Surely Annetta didn't just stay meekly in the nunnery?

The maid dipped into a curtsey. "His Majesty would like to see you in the throne room."

Junia nodded and the maid left.

"Dammit," Junia muttered, trying to skim read the last few pages before giving up and hurrying out.

Cloud followed her as she walked down the corridors, heading downstairs to the throne room. Two guards armed with pikes stood outside the mahogany doors and opened them for Junia, allowing her to walk in after telling Cloud to wait outside.

Junia was rarely allowed in the throne room and had only been inside a few times in the past. It was a beautiful room with a marbled floor and a long, red carpet leading to a tall throne made of smooth metal. To the sides hung banners of the lords of the South, and the large symbol of the South, a flower on a bloody shield, hung over the large doorway, next to the Silverling coat-of-arms. Short steps led up to the throne, and the light filtered in through stained glass behind it, depicting Edward Shadowhart, the first Southern king. The ceiling was painted with gold swirls and frescoes of angels flying around a bloody battlefield, blessing the souls of the dead. Pillars held it up, seeming to grow from the marbled floor to stretch upwards, and guards stood motionless along the length of the room, rigid with their eyes unblinking.

Ulysses did not look as good as Lachlan had on the throne. He was tall enough, but his frame wasn't broad enough. Even while he wore voluminous robes, he was still tiny against the metal. His ginger hair gleamed gold in the sunrise and his fingers curled against the armrest of the throne tightly, as if it would make his hold on it stronger. A small band of silver lay across his head: a simple crown for a simple boy.

Simple, sweet Ulysses. Went off to war and never came back the same, Junia thought. It sounded like a song.

Her steps were quiet, but she heard every small echo as she walked down the spacious hall to kneel before her brother.

"Rise," he said, and she did, looking up into his green eyes. He had Lachlan's eyes, she thought.

"Your Majesty," she replied.

"I want to attack the North." He spoke as if he was just going down to the market to get some fruit. "The usurper is being suspiciously quiet."

"The last battle was led by Kael." Junia was still not sure why she was there. She wanted—no, needed—to find out what happened to Annetta Shadowhart. "Maybe Landon isn't a fighter."

"From what I've heard, I doubt it." Ulysses pursed his lips. "I want to attack before he does. His people don't love him as much as they loved Lucian. A bit of a push and they could fall into civil war."

Junia shuddered at the thought. "Our army is weakened from The Battle of Starford Field," she reminded him. Where the East joined the North and turned it into a massacre.

"We could use indentures," Ulysses said. The word 'could' told Junia that he had called for her to ask for her opinion about it. The thought made her uncomfortable.

"We don't have the money, do we?" Junia asked, biting her lip. "And conscription would lead to an army of angry farmers, ready to desert."

"I might have to call on the barons and lords that Lachlan made alliances with. A feudal summons," Ulysses replied. He looked unsure. "And if we can secure an alliance with the West, then we can win more men. From their side and from ours."

"I would advise you not to be hasty," Junia said. "Maybe spread propaganda into the North using spies. Encourage rebellions, maybe even try to get Audrey out of there. Landon uses her as a shield, I think. The North are loyal to her and some might kneel to him just for her sake." Junia thought about the history books she had read. "I would say that we should just strengthen our borders and take out the Everwood soldiers in the South for now while we wait to make a bigger army. Take no chances."

"Those history books are useful for something, huh," Ulysses said, managing a tired smile.

"I... I wouldn't heed my advice if I were you in case I'm making any mistakes."

"Keep it up and soon you'll be leading armies." Ulysses' smile reminded Junia that he was still her adoring brother, no matter how many responsibilities were placed on his head.

"So, what will you do?" Junia asked.

"Think about it." Ulysses seemed to relax in the throne, his clenching fingers on the armrests easing. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Of course," Junia said automatically. She did not hesitate to say so, even if she didn't know what he wanted from her. She had to do it. For him, for the South.

"Talk to Lucrezia," Ulysses said. "See what you can find out."

Junia tensed as she thought about Filip's sister.

"I will," she promised anyway.

"Come on." He stood.

"What?"

"I have a meeting with Filip. You should come," Ulysses said. "This is all your fault, isn't it? You might as well see it through." She could have considered his words an insult if it weren't for his teasing smile.

She hurried to keep up with his longer strides as he left the throne room and began walking down the corridor, two of his chief guards flanking him.

"I... I'm not sure if I can..." Junia stuttered.

Ulysses made a noise that sounded like a snort. "Says the person who invited them over."

"You got me there." Junia paused. "Ulysses... do you know what happened to Annetta Shadowhart after her husband divorced her?"

Ulysses frowned, confused at the question. "Uh, that was a bit random, but uh... I think she started fighting back, causing trouble in the monasteries and turning religious groups against her husband. Then she died under mysterious circumstances before she could do anything against him. Some think he poisoned her."

"Do you?"

"She was humiliating her husband. He got defensive and considered her a nuisance, so yes, he probably did. She meddled in affairs that a king's wife should not be concerned with. If she had done as he wished and been the subservient wife he wanted, he wouldn't have taken such drastic measures."

Junia's cheeks burned red. "But she couldn't just let The Red Princess take over! She did him a favour, and he humiliated her for it. She had every right to want revenge."

"Oh, give it up, Juni. That was hundreds of years ago." He stopped outside the tall wooden door leading into the war room and nodded at the two guards to wait outside. One opened the door, and they walked in.

Filip and Lynne were there along with twelve others, eleven men and one woman. Junia wanted to cower away as their heads turned. The war room was simple, and the only furniture was the wooden table, a map sprawled across it with metal figurines to represent armies, and twenty-four chairs. Ten were empty.

"Nice of you to join us," Filip smiled as Ulysses took a seat. Junia sat next to him and tried to maintain eye contact with Filip without faltering. She could not help wondering if he truly held her sister hostage, but made herself forget that for the time being. The truth had to come out soon enough.

"I didn't know we'd have company," Ulysses hinted, glancing at the others.

Filip laughed. "Oh, sometimes I forget you Southerners do things differently."

"We have a constitutional monarchy." Lynne spoke, her tone full of disdain, as if any other form of governing was wrong. "The civilians pass word through representatives, and these issues are discussed in a senate room monthly. The monarch officially approves or disapproves of most decisions, but we thought some of our representatives might like to hear what you have to say."

"You were once a theocracy," Junia said. "I know it changed a hundred years ago, but why?" She wished she had read more on Western history.

Lynne's eyes could burn through metal. "Religion is not as valued as it used to be."

"We're not here to talk about types of governing," Filip interrupted, bored. "What do you want from us?"

"As you know, Kael took..." Ulysses began.

The woman senator cut him off. "Kael is dead. His son now rules and has made no move against either of our states. Do you seek war out of retaliation, or for glory? Do we truly have a quarrel with King Landon, or is this just for your pride?"

Ulysses' eyes flashed. The Westerners were known for being honest, but it did not always bode well with the ingratiating Southerners.

"They slaughtered our men," Ulysses said. "Thousands of corpses lie dead at Starford Field. The Easterners hunted my men for sport after the battle. That is not chivalry. That is immoral and unjust. And Landon refuses to retreat his Northern soldiers from the towns of Jaskadlin and Dalyidas!"

"Yes, he might hold those Southern checkpoints, but he has not advanced the troops there, either. Forgive me, Your Grace, but you broke a truce by slaughtering Kael's son while under a pact," the woman said bluntly. She was old, with grey hair and wrinkled skin, but her voice was clear and her back was straight. The other representatives stayed quiet, letting her speak for them.

"Kael killed my mother under a truce. By Xaedra, he took the whole of Northstone through deceit!" Ulysses shook his head. "My act was not breaking a truce. The truce states a king cannot kill another king inside that circle. It never spoke of princes, my lady."

"It's Ivanya," the woman corrected. "I do not languish in titles."

Ulysses' face turned red at her comment.

"Neither do we," Junia piped. All eyes turned to her, and she blushed. She had to continue, however, so she did. "Our titles are duties to us. They tie us to our people in loyalty. We ask for your aid—soldiers, food, anything you would be willing to give—because we want to see our people safe. That is our priority, as I'm sure you can all understand if you were chosen to represent people of your own. We have obligations to keep, and I do not believe that Landon will stand down now we have continued this feud. He is quiet now, but we may regret not preparing ourselves if he emerges with an enormous army built during our silence. Isn't it better to prepare ourselves just in case? We should at least send the Northern soldiers in Jaskadlin and Dalyidas back home."

"You do speak well for a little girl," Filip said, clearly delighted. She half-expected him to applaud her.

Lynne was less amused. "Mobilising is often seen as an act of hostility. Say King Landon wants peace. If we send you men to rebuild your army, what will he think? That you're coming back for more."

"Maybe it's best to prepare anyway," one man said.

Ulysses had been staring at Junia but seemed to come back to himself. "Landon holds our sister hostage," he said. "He is not known for being soft and merciful."

The tension in the air was thick.

"Our borders are tense," Ulysses said. "Landon has cut trade with us and our people are hungrier because of it. Sometimes arrows are shot across No Man's Land and people are killed. I have heard of people getting down from the walls to fight to the death. And Landon has not raised a finger to stop it."

"So? Why should he? The borders have never been completely at peace," a neat-looking man with a pointed beard said. "Have you actually spoken with the Northern king?"

"Do I need to? I heard he murdered an archer who some claimed was a prophet," Ulysses sniped. Junia had heard of the story—Katana had dismissed it as stupid.

"So what? I would have been tempted to kill the archer, too, if they had tried to kill me first." Lynne seemed perfectly at ease. "Have you ever realised how ridiculous you are? You Shadowharts and Everwoods think the world revolves around your petty feud, but, frankly, it doesn't."

"Ridiculous?" Ulysses sounded angry.

"Yes!" Lynne rolled her eyes. "By Delanyl's light, you are all ridiculous. You are murdering innocents for something they did not ask for, and it's getting out of hand."

"If Landon takes the South and turns on the West, you will all die!"

"Who says Landon wants war?" Lynne's voice rose. "Princess Audrey killed your father," Lynne said haughtily. "Which suggests she thought he was never fit to rule. And if he wasn't..."

Ulysses lost it. His hands slammed onto the table, making the small iron figurines on the map quake. One man flinched away like he had been physically hit.

Lynne smiled triumphantly. One look at her face made Junia realise what her intentions were; she wanted Ulysses to break to show how weak he was.

"My father is dead," Ulysses hissed. "I have a missing sister and one who is being held hostage. My mother was killed under a truce. I hold no love for the Shadowharts, and I never will. I want to go to war because they are not good people. They cannot be allowed to keep their power, and I will do anything within my power to see Landon brought to his knees."

Ivanya had taken a cavalry figure and was turning it in her fingers, looking unbothered by Lynne and Ulysses. "It sounds like this is a family feud."

"Do you have any siblings?" Ulysses asked.

"Two sisters," Ivanya replied evenly.

"What would you do if I killed them?"

Silence. Ivanya seemed to mull over the question, her gaze fixed on the iron figure in her hand.

"Why," she drawled. "I would not rest until I saw you imprisoned or killed."

Ulysses ran a hand through his ginger hair, his palms pressed against the table as he looked at the map. When he next spoke, his voice was softer. "I have seen too much suffering. I cannot... I cannot bear for this to go on any longer. It must end, with me dead or him dead. I'm sick of this war. I'm sure we all are. That's why I need your help. I need to finish it. I need to know it's over."

The emotion in his voice was so raw it was like he had stripped all of himself away and laid himself bare at their knees. His voice was pleading, imploring. Junia felt her heart melt slightly.

"Touching," Filip remarked, then looked at his wife expectantly.

Lynne watched Ulysses silently. "I understand. I have a duty to my family that I can never forswear. Yet, this is not our problem."

Filip nodded. "I agree." His tone was full of surety, but Junia was certain that he would have agreed with anyone she had said. He seemed to be in constant awe of her, as if she was some sort of goddess.

"Is there anything you can do?" Ulysses pressed.

All eyes turned to Lynne as if she were the leader in the room. Her long nails tsked on the wood of the table.

"I say we should open up our borders more to allow more trade. The Zochian Mountains represent difficulty, but we could build roads," she said coldly. "We could supply food and building resources. I say that we should not transport weapons, however. I would not want us to be seen as a hostile state."

"I say we send in a few hundred men," Ivanya interceded.

Junia blinked. She hadn't expected Ivanya to say such a thing.

Lynne and Ivanya stared at each other for a moment.

"I say that we stay longer," the diplomat with the pointed beard said. "See if the situation worsens or becomes better before deciding. Let our people unite."

"With all due respect, we left Prince Destrian in charge of Valkitia, and he is a hopeless alcoholic," another representative said. "We should not leave him for too long..."

"He has the other representatives and his advisers," one young man cut in. "I suggest we stay as well. We should have more time to think this over before coming to any decisions."

Lynne's lips thinned before she finally seemed to relent.

"Give us a fortnight," she acquiesced.

"Very well." Ulysses nodded and bowed to her. "Your Highness." He gestured at Junia to follow him out, which she did.

"Was that good?" Junia asked him quietly once they were alone. She was still annoyed at his derogatory comments on Annetta Shadowhart, but she chose not to pursue it, knowing he would just laugh at her and chastise her for overreacting.

"I don't know. They're delaying it, which means they're at least considering giving us aid."

"But do you think they really have Annalee?"

Ulysses sighed. "To be truthful, Juni? I don't know what to think anymore."

And she realised she agreed. 

Ivanya originally wasn't going to come out in this book at all but I decided to change my mind since I added the meeting as an extra during editing ( Junia sort of goes quiet for some time and I wanted to make up for it and add a bit more Filip in here )

Love you all,

Shelly M x