Her life had never been simple, she’s a princess for crying out loud. But Trilana had never thought that she would fall like this. The girl had always imagined she would die old, hidden deep within the depths of a forgotten garden, an old book in her lap. She was naive to think that she would last that long.

Fear claims her body, her fingers trembling, and her throat blocked with the powerful emotion. Her feet, bare and dirty, slap against the worn stone beneath her. Tears swell up in her eyes at the indignity of the situation. Don’t you know? Princess Trilana has been kidnapped.

She shivers, the chains around her wrists chilling her to the bone. How can he do this to her? Trilana knows… she understands that she means nothing to her father. She has no power, no cunning… she doesn’t even have his face. Many have wondered if the second princess is truly the child of the king, including Karmic himself.

Her mother was a serial adulterer, though it wasn’t as if the woman had a choice when it came to becoming King Karmic’s consort. Trilana often found herself wishing that she were not his child, but it was confirmed on her tenth birthday. She was indeed the spawn of Hillanta’s king.

And she could feel his resentment.

But even then, she never thought he would do something so low. She is still his blood, still a member of the royal family. But when she looked around that room and saw face after scheming face, she realized that this is just the curse she would be forced to bear.

Royal or not, Trilana was still a forgotten one.

And as such, she supposes it makes sense that no one would come to her defense when guards were ordered to snatch her away. No one except-

She looks over her shoulder, her vision blurring more at the sight of Hendrix. Her guard. He tried to save her, but it amounted to nothing. As soon as he realized what was happening, the man smashed his way through the sound barrier, a feat Trilana still doesn’t understand. He tried to put himself between the princess and her king.

And what a mistake that had been.

He was down before he even had a chance to raise his arms in defense. She can only be thankful that Karmic did not do to him what he did to Finious.

Now they are both being transported deep within the royal prisons. Groans and cries and pleas scratch against her ears, promising her a fate worse than death. Try as she might, she can’t figure out who she angered so terribly that they would ask the king himself to punish her.

Finious? Her older brother has never even looked her way, too busy competing with their eldest sibling for a position that he will never earn. Baron? While he is not outright nice to her, he has never been unkind. Nor nasty. One of the consorts? Why would they target her? She is no one, not even a contestant for a title.

Trilana has spoken to no other people in court this season, and she cannot ever remember getting on someone’s bad side previously. For the most part she keeps to herself, speaking to no one outside of the staff and-

She trips, her heart painfully skipping a beat. No. Karma would never. Karma loves her, in her own way. She had sent her Hendrix in an attempt to protect her. It must be someone else’s doing.

Or maybe… maybe the king has just grown tired of her. Perhaps he is just letting off steam.

Trilana spent a lot of time in the libraries. She had to speak to no one, and a person could learn so much from books. The library she enjoyed the most though, was her sister’s. She would sneak into her sister’s private library from time to time. She had snooped through her shelves and stuck her hand between every cushion of every loveseat there.

And she had made miraculous discoveries about her sister, her father, her brothers. Karma kept records. Records of everything. They were hidden under the covers and within the spines of cookbooks. When Trilana realized what she had stumbled upon, she soaked up every word, her sister’s loose handwriting and indifferent, unfeeling, words hypnotizing her. And she had been horrified.

The things they were put through for the sake of training. The things her father had done… That is why she cannot look the king in his eyes. And that is why this conclusion, the one implying that her father is merely playing with her, seems to be the most solid one. He has done far worse.

Her sister must have known that her departure would be cause for her father to strike. That must be why she left her the guard. Perhaps- maybe Karma has a plan. She always has a plan. She always keeps Trilana safe.

The young princess’s spine straightens with this new realization. Yes, Karma is everything that she isn’t. She’s cunning, proactive, and strong. ‘Everything I do is for your safety’. Her sister will protect her.

Tears drying and heart steadying, Trilana continues her walk of shame, the well of love for her sister expanding to even further depths.