--- Elise

"Your Highness, you seem troubled by something."

"Really?" asked Elise. "Why do you think so?"

"I've been serving you for a while," replied Lady Annette. "And since the day you met the court I have sensed a change in your behaviour."

It's true... Even if my father decided to create a position just for Roric, I felt happy just for a moment. I can't shrug off the memories of that afternoon with the nobles. Annette said I should consult with her whenever I had the need, but... Well, she's here for this too.

"In truth, there shouldn't be anything putting me off at the moment," she confessed. "Yet, during the last weeks I've been really concerned about the opinion the court has of me. I think something went awfully wrong that day."

The lady-in-waiting nodded, from the other side of the room.

"Then I was right," she said, with a smile. "I told you, the nobles can be quite scary when they put themselves into it."

"It's not a matter of being scared, Annette. I can't really describe it... I was in a position where everything I said had a much greater deal than usual. It's strange."

"My Lady," went on the young woman. "Trust me, I understand your feelings. I've been put in a very similar situation before and the outcome was way worse than what happened to you."

"Really? I remember you mentioning it, on the day of the meeting, but you never told me what you meant," observed Elise.

Annette sighed, stood up and went to the window. All of a sudden, she looked sadder.

I hope I haven't dug up any painful memories. No, this woman isn't in pain... She regrets something.

"My father, Lord Locke, is a powerful man," began the lady-in-waiting. "He is usually a pretty reasonable person when you compare him with the rest of the court, still... Well, you must have noticed by now."

"Noticed what?" asked the girl.

"That I'm not married despite my age."

"What of it?"

"What of it? What of it?" exclaimed Annette. "The daughter of a prominent counselor of the King, beautiful enough to get any man she wants, modesty aside, unwed to this day? Your Highness, how isn't that horribly wrong to your eyes?"

The young princess frowned. "There's nothing wrong for me."

"Well, in a place like this it's not acceptable," explained the woman. "You see, in Cassidia girls are..."

"Are?"

"How can I say it without sounding disrespectful... Girls, even you, princess, are... Tokens. Tokens for their families to make use of."

Elise made a puzzled face. Her father and Darius had made a couple of jokes about her finding a suitor, during the past weeks, but until that point she didn't really think they would be serious.

"Did Lord Locke... Force you to choose someone?"

The lady-in-waiting glared back to her. It was the very first time something like that happened.

"Choosing. Like I had that right. He and my mother wanted an advantageous marriage for me. With a rich nobleman from Norburg, that city full of slimy boors. I opposed and opposed, hoping they would respect my wishes, but things looked grim."

"What happened then?" inquired the girl. "You managed to avoid that fate, for what I know."

Annette turned to the other side, and sighed again.

"You happened."

"Excuse me?"

"I... I'm terrible, I know." said the lady-in-waiting. "Truth is, I took advantage of your return and volunteered for this position so I would stay unwed. I don't like using others, I don't like it at all. But it was the only way. I had even considered joining the Order. That's how desperate I was."

She... She chose this life in order to preserve a small degree of freedom. Nobody bothered to tell me that. Meeting her father with me that day must have been terrible. Talking about fathers, I can't believe of how lucky I was. I could have ended as a... Token, too.

The young woman, however, was noticeably holding back the tears.

"What's going on, Annette?" asked Elise, getting closer to her. "Don't cry. We are friends, for what concerns me. You know what? I'll do anything in my power to make sure nobody forces you to do such a thing again, just-"

"I'm not crying for myself. I barely have any tears left," sobbed the lady-in-waiting. "The one I'm sad for is you..."

"Why? I'm a princess. I don't intend to marry anyone until the right time comes."

Annette... You know something I don't, am I right?

"I'm sorry..." said the young woman, trying to get a hold of herself. "There's a rumour that's been going around for some days..."

Elise listened to her words like in a dream. A dream turning into nightmare, just like her peaceful stay in Cassidia rapidly became pure horror. A minute or so after that, she was running along the corridor, towards her father's study. Her lady-in-waiting tried to hold her back, yelling, but to no avail.

***

The girl barged in without even knocking. King Sebastian was alone in there, intent on studying an old book.

He couldn't have. Not after what he said about me being a special case.

"Father."

"Elise," said the man, clearly surprised by her sudden visit. "My dear, what's going on? You seem troubled by-"

"I was already told about that today," quickly replied the girl. "I want you to be honest with me. Is it true that a tournament will be hold in this city a couple of weeks from now?"

Her father stood up, with an even more astonished look as before.

"That... That was meant to be a surprise for you. Tournaments are very important for the prestige of the royal family, ever since the ancient times. With you being finally here, I thought..."

He stopped talking. He must have figured out the reason why Elise was so enraged.

"Are you upset, daughter?" asked the King. "Is it because the prize is your hand?"

And he says that like it's the most normal thing in the world!

"My hand?" exclaimed the girl, blushing. "Why... Why does it have to be my hand?"

"It's tradition, Elise. Usually a princess would find a suitor as a child and marry him way before your age. I don't understand what's so strange about it."

"No. No! This is out of the question! Father, what's got into you? Makers, I'm not a token! Weren't you supposed to protect me?"

"It's necessary. Sometimes, you have to accept compromises," went on the man. "Even I don't really like the idea of giving my daughter to someone who doesn't deserve her attention. We have always had our way of doing this here in Cassidia, and you must observe the customs of your people. That's why we are holding a competition, so you can meet a valiant, good man."

Giving me? Giving? Like I'm one of his possessions!

Elise was on the verge of exploding.

"I... I am forced to marry, then? Even if I don't care about those kinds of things?"

"Please, let me explain. You will have the right to oppose, if you really don't like the one who wins. We aren't barbarians," explained Sebastian. "But you must also think about the future of this kingdom. You are my only daughter, and Cassidia will need a heir sooner or later."

The girl felt her heart sinking. "So... There's no way to avoid this?"

"I'm afraid there's not. In the eyes of the court, you have to be the princess they expect to see. Damn, these words sound strange coming from me. I know it's nonsensical, but let it go. At least give a chance to the winner and then decide-"

"You had them to bring me back just for this, didn't you?" suddenly said Elise.

The expression of the man was way too guilty to deny that.

I understand now. I am a tool for him too.

Just like he was able to read her mind, Sebastian stood up. "Elise, no. You are my beloved daughter. There's no way I'd see you as a tool. Not after all these years spent in hope to find you again."

"Why didn't you search for me, then?" she yelled. "With your crown, your great army, your agents! You could have found me, had you really wanted to!"

The powerful ruler bowed his head, like a beaten dog. There was almost nothing royal in his figure now.

"I... I didn't know how. There was war. I had the eyes of the nobles on me, and needed to get things stable before trying anything. I'm not a tyrant, Elise. I need the approval of my counselors even for the smallest things, if the law doesn't explicitly say otherwise."

Elise held her breath. "So... You are forced to find me a husband?"

"No. I'm just expected to."

I got the message.

"They are your subjects. Why can they have a say in what you do?"

"Because I hold a lot less power than it looks," answered the man. "If I don't show them that the almighty King Sebastian doesn't have the strength to make important decisions for the sake of his kingdom, there's no way to tell what will happen. I learned this the hard way in the days after your birth."

He glanced out of the window, nostalgically.

"You see," he continued. "My time has passed by. The days of my glory on the battlefield have faded behind, and nowadays... Nowadays I'm just a limping old man with a crown."

"That's not true... How could your people think that of you?"

"Trust me, they can."

"What about the court? The court swore loyalty to you!"

"Don't make me laugh, daughter," replied the man. "They only care for themselves and for the prestige of their names."

Then what about...

Elise stopped when she realized another thing.

"I... I've noticed something," she said, cautiously. "Since when I arrived, I haven't left this palace. Why am I not allowed to see my people, the ones Dominic told me to protect before dying?"

Her father pointed a finger at the view outside.

"Cassidia hasn't always be a nice place to live in, Elise. Even now, it's not a city someone like you should go through without a full escort."

"What? I thought it was safe to-"

"Do you know how much it took to create what you see now from this window? Do you have any idea?"

"No, father. But I don't care as long as our people are fine."

The girl tried to give back the most mature answer she could think of, and that seemed to at least satisfy the King.

"You are right," he commented. "Let me tell you one thing about what Dominic said. Who do you think is the most important menace for the people of this city?"

"An enemy attack."

"Wrong."

Wrong? How come?

"Elise, do you really think it's so simple?" asked Sebastian. "The first thing you must be wary of, the most insidious of all threats, is your people themselves."

"You can't mean it," exclaimed the young princess. "Our people would never-"

"They wouldn't. But people can be manipulated, and are susceptible to instability. The weaker our image as rulers, the higher the chance chaos takes over. You said it too, earlier. You don't care as long as our people are fine."

I didn't mean it like that, still...

"Listen to me," went on Elise's father. "You aren't a tool or a token. But you must accept your role as the princess of this country. I know it's a difficult path, full of compromises, for difficult are these times. Many years have passed since the last crisis, yet Cassidia's wounds haven't fully healed. My power was hanging by a thread, back then."

"Really?"

"We were on the verge of a civil war. A faction of nobles didn't like the idea of having a cripple on the throne and wanted me to step down, using violence if necessary."

Elise was stunned. There was no way she would have thought powerful men and women could turn a nation on itself just to satisfy their lust for power.

"Your uncle and a handful of others were the only ones I could trust. Darius helped me to retain control over the court, while I went on without really looking to the future," admitted the man. "I believed my daughter was lost forever. Your return was a miracle, for me. And I can assure you that the people of this kingdom, who witnessed me holding up this well, will see you as the miracle you are someday."

"Why then?" asked the girl. "Why can't I see my people?"

"Because most of what lies outside of this palace is actually governed by the nobles. For them, your return is a chance. A chance to find out if Cassidia's royal family is still able to hold the reins of this great country," replied Sebastian. "The time of traitors and conspirators has ended, thank the Makers, and that's the reason why you must marry. To make sure everything stays the same."

Elise thanked her father and left the room, much more slowly than when she entered. Her emotions were messy, and she didn't really know what to do.

I refuse to accept this fate. Not in a million years.