"What did Vittoria say to you?" Nuncia asked tentatively after I had returned to my room. I then asked for her help to catch up on the studies.

"Oh, she just asked me where I was last night," I lied, and I leafed through my leafy notebook. Meanwhile, Nuncia drilled her eyes into my skin. She was aware that I was saying anything but the truth. I could see it on her face, and she could see it on mine.

"So, what did you tell her?" She questioned carefully. A veil of grimness shrouded her face, expecting an honest answer which I couldn't give her.

"I told her I was in my room," I answered coolly.

"AShe believed you?" she ploughed.

"Of course," I incited, earning a long, cynical look from her.

"I just cannot with you," she murmured, resuming sewing the fabric.

"Anyway, you're supposed to help me with this," I told her, tossing my manuscript at her.

"I'm not supposed to help you. You asked for my help," she clarified.

"Let's start. I want to get over with this before we go for dinner,"

"I have a condition," she declared. I didn't have to guess what was coming next.

"I wasn't in my room last night," I confessed before she could ask.

"Hah! I knew it! So where were you last night?" She insisted. "I wouldn't help you unless you tell me the truth!" She demanded.

"I can tell you the truth if you wish to be executed right after it," I said casually, trying on a piece of clothing she had sown yesterday. For some reason, it fits me.

"Royal secrets," she groaned and slumped back. "She sent you to meet your brother those days, didn't she?"

"You overthink," I informed.

"Your brother humiliated you in front of nobles, so you have to come back, and this pissed off Vittoria. She must have said some nasty things to you. Knowing your nature, I wouldn't be surprised if you were out there somewhere, digging her secrets," Nuncia jumped to conclusions. The accuracy of her jump made me freeze.

She was close to that digging part.

"You talk like a madwoman sometimes," I told her.

"Sure, I'm a madwoman if you are the most honest person alive to walk this earth," she taunted.

~

The next day, I sensed her in my room before sunrise. Her mere presence was enough to wake me up. I laid awake in my bed, with my eyes still closed, listening to the gentle ruffle of her dress as she entered my room quietly.

She stopped abruptly by my bed and didn't say anything. I had my back to her as I slept away. After some long moments, I felt her hot breath fanning the side of my neck.

"I know you're awake, Theresa," She whispered. Her voice possessed an eerie, mystical resonance that sent a shiver down my spine. I didn't dare to open my eyes. "I will be waiting by the east shore. Don't be late and don't wake anyone up," she ordered and left.

I sat up to find my clothes of disguise neatly folded by my bed. They turned out to be the same ones Nuncia had been sewing for the past couple of days. I quickly changed and went to the east shore. Vittoria was there with a boat, grimacing at the horizon.

Together, we pushed the boat in the water. Vittoria handed me the oars as soon as the boat was in the water. Instead of rowing with me, she sat back. I glared at her as I oared to the abandoned harbour alone.

"You're forgetting that we agreed to go there as equals," I reminded her.

"We aren't there yet," she returned, taking out some tarot cards from her blouse and shuffling them. I watched her draw a pair of cards before she studied them pensively.

I assumed she was foreseeing what our meeting with my brother would be like. We were closer to the abandoned harbour when suddenly, she stopped and looked at me. Her eyes flickered to the card she was holding and thence to me. The tips of her lips barely tugged up in almost a smirk, but it vanished soon.

"What?" I gasped.

"Nothing," she smiled suggestively and put her cards away. By now, we were at the abandoned harbour from where we managed to catch a ferry to the next port of an angler island. We would then have to travel to the other end of the island, from where we would take another ship that would finally take us to my brother's mainland. It was nearly the time of sunset when we boarded our last ship to the mainland.

"What did you see?" I asked. I'd been too occupied and tired for most of the journey to ask her anything until now.

"See what?"

"See in the cards," I pressed.

"Nothing special," she remarked, but the way she looked at me— she knew something. Her smiling to herself was gradually bugging me.

She saw something. But what?

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" I challenged.

"I hate it when Royals think everything is about them," she sneered.

"You have a ton of attitude for being a High Priestess who murde—" Vittoria hissed, cutting me off. I had to keep my mouth shut because a fellow passenger had started to pay too much attention to me all of a sudden.

But I was determined to find out what she had seen in the cards. I was sure she saw something. After all, she was the high priestess; her cards were always meticulous. I waited until the ship hit the harbour, and we finally arrived at the mainland. By now, the sun had set entirely.

Stepping onto the mainland reminded me of my judas brother, which instantly infected me with bitter feelings of dismay, betrayal and vengeance. I forgot about the cards temporarily as the busy crowd at the port swallowed us two. It took us a while to get out of there.

After leaving the port behind, we walked for half an hour to get to the markets. From there, we would have to go to the town. Thence to my brother's court on the formidable citadel overlooking the town, the market, the port, the sea touching the horizon.

"You saw something in the cards, didn't you?" I asked as we walked to the market.

"We've talked about this already, Theresa," she warned.

"You're hiding something from me, Vittoria and I know this very well," I declared.

"I can't do anything if you think unnecessarily," She tried to dismiss again, but I wasn't going to give up so easily.

A flux of people greeted us as soon as we entered the market. For a moment, we were separated, but I pushed some people around and stepped on someone's foot before making my way to Vittoria.

"My brother's palace is that way, in case you've forgotten," I reminded her when she started walking in the wrong direction.

"I know," she replied. "I have something else to do first," she added and walked away.

"But wait!" I attempted to stop her, but a few people stepped between us while she continued to get away from me, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" I shrieked, but the crowd had already swallowed her.

I considered going after her, but something in me told me not to do so. Frustration was starting to creep in. We had travelled this far, and I wanted this to be over soon, but Vittoria had other plans.

But what did she need to get done first?

I wondered and spun around only to have my eyes locked with familiar dark brown ones. I froze and looked at him wide-eyed. He stood out of the crowd so effortlessly, watching me wide-eyed as well. I noticed that he was not in his merchant's attire anymore. He looked more like a craftsman this time or someone related to one of the guilds.

What was he doing here?

Even though the crowd was pushing me from all directions, his eyes didn't waver from me for even a sliver of a moment. I turned around and let the crowd drive me away from him while I pretended to be oblivious of him, but this didn't help.

I had left him far behind, but still, his blazing eyes seemed to scorch my skin. I kept glancing over my shoulder again and again as I stormed in whichever direction that promised to take me away from him. Talking to him on this trip would be fatal because Vittoria was here.

I took a turn towards the town and broke into a short run, dashing towards the town. I stopped when I was near the town. I took a sigh of relief and started walking through the familiar town. The streets were less crowded here. I took a few turns, thinking about Vittoria's whereabouts. She would be beyond pissed if she failed to find me at the market, but I had no other option but to flee.

I took the next turn absentmindedly and stiffened as soon as I saw the tall silhouette waiting in front of me. My heart threatened to dig its way out of my chest. I considered running, but the way his eye gleamed in the dark served as a warning.

Running wasn't an option. I wasn't good at running. So, I decided to face him instead— my only option.

"What do you want?"

~