Firstday, 3 Second Winter

2889 Tranquil Era

Malou wasn’t able to meditate or sleep. Instead, her mind played back her conversation with Dorian over and over again. Her mother had said their family should stick together when under threat, and maybe the threat she’d meant was de Klijn’s family.

Over breakfast and lunch in the parlour, she updated Gavriel about Elodie’s situation in hopes he’d think of a way to help her cousin, but he didn’t have any better ideas than she did. They couldn’t just take her with them—she was too young, and without Aunt Amandine’s permission, it’d be considered kidnapping. Given that Gavriel was a Libertine who happened to belong to a family of organized crime and that Malou had the Teir, bringing Elodie would only add unnecessary risk.

Arguably, if Senator de Klijn was the one after the Teir, they should’ve already left, but Malou couldn’t leave Elodie again without talking to her about the engagement first. There was also the possibility that the senator had neither poisoned Grandfather Claude nor attempted to steal the Teir. Staying meant that Malou could both watch over Elodie with Dorian and also investigate Senator de Klijn and his family with Haddou and Gavriel.

When it was time to get ready for the dinner that would follow the broadcasted engagement ceremony, Assa and another attendant knocked softly then let themselves in. Gavriel seemed to have already been introduced to the attendant who’d be helping him dress, clapping a hand on his back and directing him with a grin toward the room he was staying in. Assa trailed after Malou quietly upstairs with her head bowed.

The best moment to talk to Assa was while she was doing Malou’s makeup, so Malou waited. She didn’t ask if they’d met before as Assa helped her into a pastel blue silk pantsuit that was embroidered with a subtle botanical design. Another of her mother's ensembles. She didn’t ask if Mother Dearest had sent Assa as the attendant styled her hair into a high bun with three braids and laid edges. When Assa asked if she wanted to wear a necklace or bracelet, Malou answered her instead of posing a question of her own about whether Assa was reporting everything back to her mother.

Malou studied the attendant as she started on some basic makeup. A thin wisp of a frame, Assa looked about the same age as Malou and had a habit of biting her bottom lip when she concentrated. She was quite pretty—an attendant she’d expect Dorian to know by name. Why did she try so hard to go unnoticed?

"I have a question for you,” Malou said as Assa poised to curl her lashes, "if you don't mind."

"I'll answer it as best as I can," the attendant said.

Malou smiled. “You’re my mother’s attendant, right? We met last weekend.”

Assa didn't blink and her breath didn't catch, but she paused. “If the young Valois says so,” the attendant said. “Look up, please.” She gently eased Malou’s head back and fit her eyelashes between the curler, squeezing for several long seconds on each side.

Malou had patience and waited until the attendant finished with that and picked up the eyeliner. “Dorian told me you arrived with a note from Mother that let them know to anticipate my arrival. Did Mother want to keep that secret? Does she not want me to know you’re her attendant?”

Assa drew her bottom lip under her front teeth for a moment while she steadied her hand on Malou’s cheekbone. Her focus seemed a little distant while she carefully ran the black liquid along her lash line. Then finally, she said, “Your mother just wants you to stay safe.”

“I’m sure she does." Malou didn’t know what to make of that response. The attendant was being careful not to confirm anything, but her answers also carried a condescending undercurrent of knowing more than Malou—either about the situation or about her own mother. Did the attendant know Leonore was a Libertine? Perhaps the attendant was one, too, but then why hadn’t Gavriel recognized her?

“She’s worried about you,” Assa said, this time rather absently while she leaned back to check if Malou's eyeliner matched from one eye to the other, “and I’m happy to do my part to relieve some of her anxiety, whatever that may be.” Her jaw set, and she moved close again to make corrections while she glanced between her work.

In other words, she probably wanted to be attending to Mother Dearest rather than Malou.

When Assa pulled back again, Malou asked, “So she abandoned you as well? I'm sorry.”

“No,” the attendant said. Then she turned from Malou quickly, placing the eyeliner back into the kit and picking up the mascara next. If she’d raised her gaze to the mirror, she would’ve known that Malou could see her hardening features as she fought to control her expression. “I volunteered to attend to you, as that was what would help our Leonore the most.” She faced Malou again with a forced smile. “Look up again, please. I’ve also been wondering if perhaps you wanted to entertain the idea of wearing earrings?”

"That was sweet of you to volunteer. I'm glad you're here with me." Malou returned her smile, but she was well practiced at making even the most fake one seem genuine. “What were you thinking would pair well?”

In the end, Assa was able to talk her into wearing a pair of elegant, simple diamond drop earrings, and Malou didn’t bother her again about Mother Dearest. If she was reading the attendant’s expression right, she’d been angry at the implication that Mother would abandon her—not Malou but Assa herself. She’d risen only to assert her loyalty, and someone that loyal probably wouldn’t answer the actual questions Malou wanted to ask about her mother.

By the time Malou was finished getting ready, Gavriel was waiting downstairs in the parlour. Assa hurried from her shadow as he stood to greet her. Malou knew he was handsome, but he’d outdone himself this time. Where and when had he gotten a sense of fashion? He wore gray trousers with a waistcoat in gray silk brocade that had a necklace of diamonds hanging from under the lapels. Normally, he’d have the hair of his undercut in a messy bun that looked more like a topknot, but every strand of his long black hair was slicked back perfectly into a long ponytail.

“No bun? We could’ve matched,” Malou said. She almost walked into his arms, probably because of how brightly he was smiling at her.

He laughed and they sat down on the sofa together. “So sorry,” he said, leaning closer and putting an arm around the back of the sofa behind her. He even smelled good. “It was my attendant's idea. Next time. You look good, though.”

“You, too.” Then she asked on a whim, “Have you ever met my mother’s attendant?"

“No,” he said. “Didn’t know she had one. Why?”

Before she could answer, Haddou returned from spending the morning and afternoon with Grandmother Laïla. After brewing Malou some tea to ease her fatigue that morning, the professor had left to share breakfast with her grandmother and hadn’t returned by lunch. By that point, Malou had figured Grandmother Laïla had persuaded Haddou to get ready together.

“Miss me?” Haddou asked, closing the door behind her and heading once again for the liquor cabinet for some bourbon. “The ceremony starts in five, maybe ten minutes.”

This time, the professor had chosen a layered kaftan in champagne gold with a beaded belt that was somehow more beautiful than her last. She’d put gold clips in her long palm-rolled locs and loosely braided them together.

“Do you two want anything to drink this time? Tonight’ll be rough.” Haddou gave a low growl and muttered, “Real fucking rough. Can we get a screen up? Is that something Laure can do?”

“I’ll have some,” Gavriel said as Malou asked Laure to call over the parlour’s hovering screen, which unfolded from a box on the fireplace mantel.

“How do you know Grandmother Laïla," Malou said, "if you don’t mind me asking?”

“None of that polite bullshit. Remember what I said at my retirement party? Try that again.”

Of course. “You heard me, though, didn’t you?”

Haddou snorted. “We’re both old. Why wouldn’t we know each other?” One pour of bourbon then another into heavy glasses, she replaced the stopper on the decanter. “Also, I’ll have you know that I’ve been around awhile, and I’m older than I look.” She offered Gavriel one then sat in an armchair.

“But if you want the story, Laïla was elected to the Board of Trustees at Tousieux when I was serving as Chair of the Academic Council. We’d already met a handful of times before that at fundraisers, fêtes, shit like that.” Haddou swirled the bourbon in her glass then took a sip. “I liked Laïla's spouse—such an even-tempered man that it’s hard not to get along with him. A quality that seems to have skipped over Leonore, don’t you think? Leonore took after Laïla in that. More entertaining to feud with them than be friends. My favorite type of friendship.”

“Only type of friend, you mean.” Gavriel grinned as he took a sip.

“And your situation is any different?” Haddou gave a low chuckle. “You and your fake courtship.”

“Real courtship,” he corrected.

“Malou,” Laure said in her ear, “the broadcast is live.”

Malou’s gaze drifted to the screen, and she suddenly wished she’d asked for a drink as well. “The engagement is really happening, isn’t it? Did Grandmother Laïla say anything about it?”

“Yes,” Haddou said, her expression turning stony, “it’s happening, and no, she didn’t mention it once.”

Given her grandmother’s behavior at brunch yesterday, Malou didn’t think she agreed with Amandine’s decision to allow Elodie to get engaged to Senator de Klijns’s son. As the Head of Family, though, Grandmother Laïla could overturn any such decision, but instead, she was choosing to do nothing. Was it complicity? Or did she have no other choice but to acquiesce?

On the screen, her grandmother, her aunt, and her cousins stood beside the de Klijns on the balcony in the stateroom. Elodie’s eyes shined with excitement, but her expression betrayed her nerves. Her hair was in two plates down either side of her head and wrapped into low buns. She had white flowers in her hair as she would at the commitment ceremony as well.

Aunt Amandine started by addressing the district of Nuyere, introducing herself, her mother, her son, and then her daughter. Senator de Klijn—without a fraction of diplomacy—did the same, addressing the district of Drondaal and the rest of the empire. They thanked those who’d joined them on the broadcast for coming together to share and celebrate the engagement of Niels de Klijn and Elodie Valois.

Aunt Amandine added, “I find it quite fitting that the people of the Empire should have a chance to witness this moment. Tradition has always been our greatest strength, not weakness, and for centuries, we have upheld the peace and prosperity of the Empire. Niels de Klijn and Elodie Valois will be just as strong and determined to carry this legacy into the future as our heirs.”

Surely, the senator should’ve followed that with something equally as expected and uninspiring, but Niels spoke to the camera next. Malou sat forward, scratching her fingernails against the sofa.

“I am both honored and excited to stand beside Elodie today,” he said. Niels’s black hair was styled in a side part with his bangs gently touching his brow while the rest was pulled back with a hairpin of the traditional white flowers.

Beside him, Senator de Klijn remained stoic although Malou had expected him to bear the same wolfish smirk he’d given her at Aunt Amandine’s inauguration.

Niels continued, “I am hopeful as well about soon starting our lives together as more than intendeds but as true life partners.” He reached for Elodie’s hand, and their fingers entwined. She looked to him, hopefulness brightening her features—the look of a budding first love—but Niels, on the other hand, kept his eyes on the camera and an amiable grin on his smile.

“Our union is a crucial step for Drondaal,” Niels said, “Nuyere, and our great Empire.” He seemed almost diplomatic, except that he wasn’t paying any attention to the innocent thirteen-year-old girl who would become his true life partner.

Malou wanted to pull Elodie’s attention away from him. He didn’t deserve it, and surely, a part of Elodie knew that. Aunt Amandine should be protecting her from seeing this engagement as anything but a political machination designed to control the Valois family. Except her aunt made no such attempt. Instead, she presented as warm of an expression as Grandmother Hwari while Uncle Wilhelm and Dorian looked as genial as they could muster. Janna, on the other hand, seemed the most enthusiastic out of all of them. Grinning with teeth and rosy cheeks, offering encouraging cheers as Elodie and Niels exchanged promise rings, and clapping when the ceremony was over.

Finally, Aunt Amandine wrapped an arm around Elodie and held her close. “With this renewed alliance between Nuyere and Drondaal, the de Klijn and Valois families will be able to improve the lives of all everyone in our Empire. As both senators, we are proud to serve as the foundation upon which such an important accord can be built. Thank you for spending time with us today, and we hope you’ll join us for the commitment ceremony between our Niels and our Elodie this spring.”

Thankfully, Laure disconnected the broadcast and recalled the screen without prompt. What a show of faux geniality. Malou put a hand on her forehead, took a deep breath.

The engagement hadn’t felt quite as real before as it did now, but it also seemed so surreal. How could Aunt Amandine commit Elodie when she was still so young? Although there was a precedent for two partners to live at their separate family homes—unless neither was set to be the next Head of Family or named senator-elect—the preference was to settle in the family home of the heir. Rather than leaving Elodie like Malou’s mother had done to her, Aunt Amandine was forcing her daughter to leave, sending her off to live with the family of someone who may have killed her spouse. How could this be happening?

Gavriel’s light touch on her back reminded her they needed to leave for dinner. That was why they’d all dressed up, after all. He stood and offered her a hand, helped her to her feet. The apprentice butler was waiting for them at the door, so Malou made a subtle display of taking Gavriel’s arm. They were rewarded with an eye roll from Haddou as she finished her bourbon and a soft look from the apprentice butler.

They were escorted to the great hall for dinner as the hallway lights brightened overhead. Outside, the first snow of winter dusted the back courtyard and the setting sun had washed the sky in shades of coral. The butler was holding open the door for the de Klijns and the Valois family ahead of them, and she gave a polite nod when Malou entered with Haddou and Gavriel. Unfortunately, it was Aunt Amandine’s spouse and Dorian who noticed them first.

“How kind of you to join us, Malou.” Her uncle Wilhelm had dark bronze skin, a white beard, and a heavy brow that gave him a permanent scowl. She’d never seen him smile. Both he and Dorian had on wool suits with a silver sheen. Uncle Wilhelm paired his with a matching waistcoat while Dorian wore a simple turtleneck. Dorian’s locs were pulled back and Uncle Wilhelm’s bald head shined.

Dorian, to his credit, offered her an apologetic scrunch of his nose. The best way to deal with his father was excessive niceness, so she greeted him first with a warm hug and kissed his cheeks.

“Thank you for welcoming us, Uncle Wilhelm,” she said, then she turned to Dorian to greet him in the same way. Despite her misgivings about him, when he took an extra few moments to release her, she gave him a squeeze.

“You’re very welcome, my dear,” Grandmother Laïla said, pulling her into a hug while the two Valois men exchanged convivial nods of acknowledgment with Gavriel and Haddou. She exchanged bijoux with Malou before pulling Aunt Amandine closer. The two of them wore quite stately pantsuits—grandmother in white and Amandine in cream—with fitted leather breeches. Aunt Amandine’s jacket had stiff shoulders and a gold belt while Grandmother Laïla had a belted jacket embroidered with gold thread. “Our Malou gets more beautiful by the day, doesn’t she?”

“She does,” Aunt Amandine said. She pulled Malou into a hug and then kissed both her cheeks as well. “I’m so glad you’re able to join us for dinner this time, though it’s a shame your mother isn’t also here with us. Perhaps someday.” She smiled, but it was if her face had forgotten what a genuine one looked like.

“Yes, perhaps someday,” Malou echoed as her favorite cousin finally found her way into her arms. She seemed more demure, more diminutive than ever before, and Malou found herself holding her closer.

As much as Malou had seen Elodie as more than her age because of how well they got along, she was still very much a child, even if she looked stunning in a white two-layered dress with a high neckline. Her attendants had done such marvelous work to make her look older than she was, and this only served to emphasize the casual cruelty of this engagement.

Then Niels put a hand on Elodie’s shoulder. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Elodie, would you be a dear and introduce us?” He guided Elodie out of Malou’s arms, and Janna took her place without any warning.

“I can introduce you,” Janna said, hugging Malou and kissing her cheeks in familiarity she hadn’t earned. She was in all black—leather breeches, a suit jacket with padded shoulders belted with gold, and a sheer lace undershirt. She pressed a hand into Malou’s back and gestured to her brother. “Niels, this is my new friend Malou Valois, the daughter of Professor Leonore Valois. Malou, my love, this is my older brother Niels.”

“What a pleasure,” Niels said, giving her a more appropriate nod. From behind her, Senator de Klijn did the same. He and his son had similar near-black frock coats with gold-threaded leaf embellishments. The senator’s white hair was slicked back and he’d started growing a beard.

“Yes, quite a pleasure,” Grandmother Hwari said from beside the senator. Grandmother Hwari wore a traditional Nadharan short jacket and full skirt, all black, with a modern touch of lace and gold thread to match Senator de Klijn and Niels’s frock coats.

“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Niels,” Malou said, and his eyes glinted with mirth.

Seeing the four of them together, the senator looked out of place with his white hair and blue eyes since both Niels and Janna had taken more after their grandmother and supposedly their late mother. Even Malou’s mother’s attendant seemed more related to Senator de Klijn—as did every light-haired, light-eyed person in the world. He also didn’t seem much like himself compared to when she’d met him for the first time. He was no longer predatory, no longer so observant.

Janna leaned into Malou, nearly pressing her cheek against hers, and asked, “Who, might I ask, is your guest here?” She was looking at Gavriel, who’d returned to Malou’s side.

“Gavriel Eng,” he introduced himself, a practiced pleasant smile on his face. A perfect gentleman except for what came out of his mouth. “Who’re you?”

Malou took the opportunity to slide an arm around his waist as if to cover for his social blunder. “We should sit so the attendants can start bringing around dinner.”

Haddou’s chuckle sounded from the near end of the table. “Laïla’s got you two right next to me.”

Valois Manor’s great hall could accommodate the entire extended family when needed, but today a long dining table had been set for only twelve. The room was lit by a decadent tier chandelier of hanging crystals and a large mirror hung over the overmantel of an oversized marble fireplace lit with false flames.

Grandmother Laïla set at the far end of the table as the matron, the head of the family. To her right was Aunt Amandine, Uncle Wilhelm, Dorian, then Malou and Gavriel beside Haddou. To her left, it was Grandmother Hwari, Senator de Klijn, Elodie, Niels, and then Janna. Beside the senator and her intended partner, Elodie had put on a brave face but she’d all but folded into herself.

“Honored guests,” Grandmother Laïla said, raising the glass of champagne that an attendant had just poured for her.

“Welcome to our home,” Aunt Amandine continued with her usual graciousness, doing the same, “and welcome to our family. Here’s to enjoying our first meal together. Cheers.”

As they all took a drink, the great hall filled with the smell of herbs and olives as the attendants circled the table with traditional Nuyeren dishes, lowering silver trays with the serving utensils always positioned perfectly to the side. First was gilled pita with olive oil and oregano, then beef meatballs on top of yogurt and a fresh salad and an olive tapenade. Malou felt she wasn't especially in the mood to dine.

Niels served himself and then decided to serve Elodie as well, giving her a charming smile when she tried to gently offer to do it herself. Beside him, Senator de Klijn ate in silence, disinterested from everything happening around him, even though he must’ve been the one to have orchestrated the engagement. This was all for his benefit. Why did he seem not to care?

Once the appetizers were finished, the attendants next offered grilled sea bass with capers followed by garlic marinated chicken roasted with lemons, bright vegetables, and pine nuts. The pièce de resistance was a dish of grilled lamb chops with spinach rice pilaf. This time, the smell tempted Malou, and she probably put more on her plate than she could eat.

Grandmother Laïla maintained a peaceable conversation with Grandmother Hwari, Aunt Amandine, and Uncle Wilhelm between bites and sips while Haddou and Gavriel mumbled between each other. Janna, with her bashful smiles and modest laughter, slipped in and out of the conversation with her brother and Elodie. Malou caught her sparing a few sidelong glances in her direction, but she chose not to read into it.

Gavriel leaned into her, close enough to whisper near her ear, “What’re you thinking about? If Rupa saw the face you’re making, I think she’d be running from you this time.”

She gave him a look but whispered back, “I’m trying to figure out what they’re after.”

“It’s not relevancy?” Gavriel said quietly.

What she’d shared with him from Laure’s dossier had painted them in broad strokes as rather unexceptional. The most interesting entry on Senator de Klijn had been the commitment he’d made with Gawon Baek Yejin on a trip to Samouvea, as she had been a member of the prominent Gawon clan of the Nadhara province of Samouvea.

As for Niels and Janna, their dossiers lacked any sense of achievement. Mediocre grades from private Drondaalian academies whose names held little weight internationally. Spent all of their time in high society but the gossip magazines barely wrote about them. Possibly they were hoping for political careers, but Janna’s reputation despite her soft beauty was that of malice and spite, and Niels’s reputation promised only that he wasn’t ready for commitment.

“That can’t be all,” she answered.

“This is really quite a momentous occasion,” Janna said suddenly. She’d said it loudly enough to indicate she wanted to address everyone at the table, and she waited with fluttering eyelashes for silence. “Yes, I do believe we can say we’ve made history tonight. It’s all so very magnificent, isn’t it? The union of two of our Empire’s most influential political families, the de Klijns and Valois. The alliance between two of our Empire’s most powerful districts, Drondaal and Nuyere. In the past, this might’ve caused a war.”

“Say more,” Senator de Klijn said, folding his arms over his chest and sitting back. “I’d like to hear my daughter speak of our influence and power.”

“Oh, yes,” Haddou said. She sat back in her chair, disdain playing at her features. She was a history professor and definitely did not need the lecture. “Please say more.”

Janna straightened, set her shoulders back. “Well, it's only that the great King Aslak de Klijn was the last of the Revernais royals to agree to unify as an empire once again. The final piece, they say. Without him, our Second Revern Empire never would’ve come to be. We wouldn’t be here sharing this wonderful dinner. We may not have even had such extraordinary opportunity such as this to meet at all.”

Haddou gave a quiet, low chuckle and took a sip of champagne. "That doesn't sound so bad to me."

“What about the Valois family?” Dorian asked. He sat back in his chair with a quirk in the corner of his mouth. Malou hadn't seen that sign in a while. “Surely, you didn't bring this topic up to simply talk about your own family? So you must also know what makes the Valois family so influential and powerful.”

“Well, of course, the Valois family is a patrician family just like ours. That should go without saying, shouldn't it?” Janna blinked, but a smirk slowly dawned across her lips.

“There is no shame in simply saying you don't know our family's history,” Dorian said. This was more like his old self, and Malou was glad for it. He pointed a thumb to the painting on the ceiling. The vaulted ceiling featured gilded crown moulding and a fresco of Queen Audovera Rosi of Nuyere in her afterlife passing the throne to her daughter Isadora Sidonia Elizalde, who became the first Crowned Consul.

“We were the first," he continued. "The first Crowned Consul Isadora Sidonia Elizalde’s mother was Queen Audovera Rosi, but the Valois know her as Audovera Ndaya Valois. She was the daughter of the Lion King Surin Rosi IV of Nuyere. Certainly, you've heard the story of how Isidora Sidonia Elizalde was named Queen of Nuyere after her mother and father were fatally poisoned?”

“Of course,” Janna said again. She wore a pretty frown that no one at the table believed—or at least Malou didn’t. “I'm familiar. Aren't we all?”

Senator de Klijn studied the ceiling, then reached for his glass of champagne. “I see. How unfortunate it is to lose a loved one. Unfortunate, indeed.”

Finally, the attendants began circling the table with dessert—a layered pastry sweetened with honey and an orange syrup-soaked cake that left a cloying taste on Malou's tongue.