Eyes fluttered open to soft sunlight that filtered through the sheer curtains of the canopy.

Irene figured it was early morning, from the chirping of the birds that perched outside the door of her balcony.

She swung her feet to the ground, stretching her arms above her head. It was a cloudless sunny day, but it was still bitterly cold. Irene sighed, thinking that she could never get accustomed to the wintery climate.

Shrugging on the thick cloak from yesterday, she glanced at her reflection in the large golden rimmed mirror that hung on the wall opposite her bed. Untangling the knots from her sleep tousled hair, she sighed as she eyed the dark circles rimmed under her eyes. The measly hours of sleep seemed to do her barely any good.

She stepped outside her chamber door, asking the nearest servant to kindly bring some breakfast up for her.

Irene always avoided going down to the dining hall. She felt small and vulnerable; dwarfed by the size of the chamber and the empty table. It didn’t feel right to dine alone without people to fill up the remaining seats.

Before long, her breakfast arrived, freshly made and steaming with heat. It smelled as delicious as it looked. Irene’s stomach growled despite herself, for she had not eaten much at yesterday’s dinner due to politeness and dinner etiquette. Before she could pick up her fork however, a gentle knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.” Irene said softly.

The door slowly opened to reveal a servant, who quickly bowed in respect.

“Your highness, Sir Duncan has sent me to request your appearance at the dining hall for a shared breakfast with the Cirene envoy. I’ll bring down your breakfast for you if you'd like, or request the chefs to cook you a new dish.”

Irene nodded, dismissing the servant. “Thank you, but no need to bother the chefs. Tell Sir Duncan I’ll be present in a moment.”

After the servant disappeared from sight, Irene started to change into a formal dress. She preferred to dress herself for the sake of privacy, even though servants were readily available.

Once fully dressed, Irene took one more glance at the mirror. She still seemed tired and exhausted, but the dress she had slipped on made her look a bit more presentable.

Pushing open the door to her chamber, she slowly ambled towards the direction of the dining hall. Part of her wanted to disobey Duncan and remain in her room. However, another part of her was curious to see if Wendy would treat her with the same offhand indifference exhibited during the dinner, or if she opened up to her a bit after their chanced meeting yesterday night. The latter was just a bit more tempting, enough to coax her out of her want for solitude.

As she strolled into the dining hall, Irene noticed that a fragile, hunched figure was the only occupant at the table. Seating herself across from Sir Duncan, she looks at him questioningly.

“Sir, where is the Cirene envoy? Are they not awake yet?”

Duncan took a quick sip from his goblet, before setting it down and smiling.

“Not yet. As good hosts, it’s common courtesy to arrive at breakfast earlier than the guests.”

Irene frowned, looking around the empty table. “Where’s father? His absence surely cannot be taken as courtesy.”

Duncan seemed to regard this for a second. “Your father has gone early in the morning to personally reign in some rebel insurgencies in nearby cities. He’ll be gone until next week, or possibly longer, if the terrain is harsh.”

He waves a dismissive hand in the air. “But that sort of information doesn’t concern a princess. Focus on appealing to the Cirene royals. Political negotiations are more suited towards you.”

Irene slowly nodded, unable to remember what rebel groups had surfaced recently. Against Duncan’s wishes, she had secretly read all of the scouting reports, none of which mentioned the emergence of rebellions in the kingdom. She wanted to ask for more information, but decided otherwise to prevent Duncan’s suspicion.

She was snapped out of her confusion as Duncan unsteadily rose from his chair. Irene followed suit, turning to watch the entrance of King Eric and Queen Katherine. Princess Wendy followed shortly behind, with a simple dress and her hair pinned up.

Irene and Duncan bowed as the Cirene royals neared.

“Good morning. Forgive the absence of his Majesty King Daniel, he left early in the morning to the villages of the kingdom to personally combat several rebel groups.” Duncan greeted apologetically, as the Cirene royals bowed as well.

King Eric smiled cordially. “The actions of a brave man need no forgiveness.”

The party of five seated themselves at the table, as the servants brought in steaming dishes of scrambled eggs and sausages. Irene flicked her eyes to Wendy, almost expecting her to look away, or to ignore her entirely. Instead, she was met with a face that was lit up with amiability as Wendy flashed her a welcoming smile.

Irene was a bit taken aback, as had not expected such an open gesture of friendliness. She smiled shyly back, before looking away to greet the King and Queen.

Breakfast was shrouded in silence, broken with the occasional polite small talk.

Once the guests’ plates were scraped clean, Duncan clapped his hands to summon the servants to clear out the dirtied silverware.

“I have prepared one of our chief butlers to show you around our humble castle. As our esteemed guests and our allies, our kingdom is your kingdom.”

Duncan gestured to a nearby man that bowed deeply.

“It’s an honor to serve your majesties.” The butler humbly spoke, motioning in front of him. “After you.”

The three royals briskly stood up, thanking Irene and Duncan for their hospitality. Wendy briefly smiled at Irene, before leaving in the direction indicated by the butler.

Irene watched as the Cirene royals left the dining hall, their dark blue dresses and long robes billowing elegantly behind them. ‘How beautiful.’ she thought. Blue is the color of peace, while red, the color of her own kingdom, was commonly used to symbolize wrath and blood.

Her reverie was broken by Duncan’s creaking voice.

“Princess Irene, if you would be so kind to join me in my study. I have important matters to discuss with you.”

The princess was seated comfortably in one of the expensive leather chairs that decorated Sir Duncan’s chamber, which doubled as his study. Sunlight filtered from the stained glass windows, scattering multicolored light throughout the room. Dust peacefully floated through the rays of light, past the large bookshelves that