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"What a gem that girl is"

Takao drags a hand through his black hair. As second brother, he sits on the center chair of the lounge room when Makai is not present. And at that time he looks the most powerful. With relatively long black hair, leading all the way down over his ears and dark eyes, he looks frighteningly similar to his older brother. But with a slightly more round face than Makai, Takao is easily mistaken for being nicer than the rest of the family.

Sure, he is tall, broad shouldered and well built, towering over most and sending an intimidating message to all those near him, but he smiles a bit more and has a friendlier face than Noor, Nico and Makai. It's a mistake to consider him nice though, since he's anything but that. Compared to Makai he is second best, both for leading the country, and for hidden evil meanings. Takao is simply good at giving the wrong first impression, which is exactly what he wants.

The four brothers of the Blue Knight kingdom are all like that. Intimidating and evil on the inside, attractive and manipulative on the outside. They don't even like each other, constantly competing in secret. But when it comes to their enemies, the brothers know how to unite themselves and stand against anyone they want to. There is no family in the world stronger than the Blue Knight royal family. They have money, influence and intelligence, not to mention their immense power. And as second brother, Takao holds some authority over the last two brothers, twins Noor and Nico. That is why he is seated alone in the middle chair of their big meeting lounge on the third floor, while the twins are seated on each side beside him.

In front of them, noble lady Rose stands to entertain them. She is the eldest daughter of the duke and is therefore proper company for the three princes. But she is actually there for another reason. After recently meeting the new princess for the first time, she is here to report on what she saw. Makai hasn't given them permission to see this sister yet, and curiosity is eating them alive. How come Lady Rose gets to meet her before they do? Takao smiles with a sinister glint in his eye as Rose blabbers on.

"So put together and clean, like a little doll. Like a young version of the late queen Margaret"

Nico perks up in interest. He was the closest to his mother out of all four brothers. Queen Margaret was always proper, with her brown hair tied into beautiful hairdos and her smile never breaking. Nico only saw her cry two times, and he was the only one. The night she had her miscarriage, and the night she died. Now at a later time, he comes to think that the miscarriage wasn't really a miscarriage. It must've been the night Margaret the second was born, their only sister. He listens intently to the future duchess.

"She is a little shy though, but otherwise it's impressive how fast she has integrated into royal life. Her highness didn't make a single mistake throughout the whole afternoon"

Rose's complimenting session comes to an abrupt end, when a guard suddenly announces Makai's presence from outside the door. They all stand up, wide-eyed at the sudden visit from the king. The doors to the big lounge room are slammed open. Makai walks inside confidently, dressed in a very casual outfit. Black pants with a dark silk red skirt, a pair of shiny black shoes and a leather belt. He has a black suit jacket thrown over his shoulder, and his hair is a little messier than usual, which adds to the casual look. But since he is so attractive and confident, he still passes off as the most regal character in the room. Rose is the first one to bow, and they all follow in suit.

Makai turns to the duke's daughter and gives his signature smile, one that definitely can't be completely genuine. He walks up to her while she is still bowed down and grabs her hand, giving it a polite kiss as a greeting. Rose raises her head just in time and thanks the king with a smile. He lets go of her hand and whispers in her ear.

"Go home Rose, I'll see you at the engagement party"

Makai dismisses her with a smile on his face. Rose doesn't falter. She gives another smile, bow and turn before calmly leaving the lounge room. Like she was never there. Makai turns to his brothers, the same smile still on his face, although now even more sinister than before. He is all-knowing at this point. He knows, as king and as their elder brother, how curious they are about their youngest sibling. Their new sibling. The princess. And he knows very well how much power he holds over them. He moves over to where Takao just sat, and takes a seat, his brothers sitting down on the couches around him.

"All that girl can give you is compliments"

He waves his hand dismissively. Ignoring the way his brothers look at each other. There is an exciting glint in his eye which they can't explain.

"We are only one week away from Prince Adelio's arrival. There will be an engagement ball on the first day and the wedding will be held on day five. Everything is going according to plan"

He smirks.

"Even the star of the show"

Takao, Noor and Nico look up at him with interest. By 'the star of the show', Makai could only mean princess Margaret, the soon-to-be wife of crown prince Adelio. Their sister, who they still haven't met. Despite the fact that it's been weeks since her arrival. But in a sense, Takao knows exactly why Makai chose to keep her as hidden as possible from everyone. Not only because he wanted to exercise his power, but because he wanted to make sure that Margaret was ready for the public eye. Or indeed, the eyes of her brothers. What a Makai needs is a perfect princess to make his plans seem plausible, not some halfway done construction site.

Makai claps his hands together twice, looking towards the door.

"Get her in here!"

With those words, all brothers turn with interest towards the door. And there she comes, in all of her glory, the only princess of this empire. The doors open and she walks inside, her dress coming first. It's a dusty pink dress, just pink enough to not pass as a wedding dress, with a few decorative flowers on it just like last time. Her long brown hair is divided in two, resting on each side of her chest. There is a small silver tiara on her head, hidden mostly by her hair. She is wearing thin, long pink gloves, appropriate for a princess, and her dress has a high neck with white lace. Her face is absolutely enchanting, looking like a youthful version of their mother, with big innocent brown eyes matched with long eyelashes and full lips, some of it enhanced by makeup.

She enters with grace. Way more grace than a peasant could ever have. She has studied very hard to become the ideal that they all wanted, the perfect princess from every angle. This is Maud's one moment to shine, this is where it counts, meeting all of her brothers for the first time. Makai led her up to the lounge, and he made it very clear on the way that this meeting would be very important for her future. She needs to prove to them that she is ready to marry a crown prince of Adelio's status, that she is ready to impress him and trap him into marriage. Of course, Makai didn't mention Adelio's name. He said 'future husband' instead. Maud still has no idea who she's marrying.

Until today of course.

The four brothers watch her bow to the absolute perfect angle, her dress flowing wonderfully with the movement and her hair not losing its volume or position. It's like she's a natural. In reality, this is a theater performance for Maud, her big premier. Acting is fun and easy for a good actor, but it's impossible to keep the character for a longer amount of time. Forcing yourself to change to a completely different person takes a lot of mental energy, it's draining to say the least. Maud can only hope that her performance will last long enough for her to learn how to replace the character as her real personality.

Makai smiles.

"This is your sister princess Margaret. Margaret-"

He gestures at his brothers.

"This is Prince Takao, the Second eldest. And these two are the twins princes Noor and Nico"

Maud only bows, like she is supposed to. She doesn't speak. Her brothers, including Makai, are surprised at the dull reaction of their sister. Staying quiet is what a woman is supposed to do, yes. But usually women of Maud's rank, women like Rose, don't stay quiet. It's a rule that is not often followed, because women are inherently people too, and people talk. Not to mention, men like hearing women talk sometimes, so they aren't against it when it's convenient for them. But despite probably being full of questions, Maud seems almost inhuman, as she keeps her mouth shut in a moment like this one.

In a way it frustrates the brothers. They have all the cards in their hands, they know more and have more rights than her. They are older, they are men, they have more power, they have more experience and more knowledge. They have everything she doesn't have and that should make them have the upper hand in this situation. But without talking Maud is the one pulling the strings, acting so perfect, so that they can't find any faults in her. They can't pull the "women can't speak unless spoken to" card, and they can't manipulate her words against her or figure out what she's thinking. It's very frustrating. Especially for Makai. His smile almost falters.

"Do you not want to know who you're engaged to?"

Nico finally breaks the ice, with a sly question that just rolls off the tongue. His brothers send sudden glares his way, but the twin doesn't falter. Maud is not hasty with her answer. She does it with calculated grace, slowly moving her gaze from the floor to the black haired boy's face, avoiding his eyes as she answers a question that was clearly meant for her. Everything by the book. She won't give them a single opening.

"If your highness wishes to tell me, I must listen"

Makai sighs, seeing the growing smirk on his younger brother's face. He knows that he won't be able to keep the knowledge from her forever. Eventually she will find out. The news about the engagement will be broken to the public in just one day's time, and everyone will be talking about it. Engaged to the enemy? A new princess? Such a thing hasn't happened in centuries. It will cause a great wave of gossip that will cross borders, as two royals from the biggest kingdoms on the continent unite in matrimony. It's newsworthy mostly because of the centuries of bloody wars between the two great nations. Makai finds himself almost pitying his sister, as she will have to marry the enemy. And not just any enemy, the leader of the enemy, the number one man to hate.

Crown prince Adelio himself. In this kingdom's eyes, the devil of all devils. Rumors of his cruelty have spread far and wide. Maud will surely ask her maids about Adelio after retiring to her bedchambers in the evening, and find out the shocking truth. Hear all the shocking rumors and tremble in fear all night long.

Makai decides to tell the princess before his brother can get the satisfaction of doing it.

"Are you aware of the Red Lion kingdom?"

The princes hold their laughs. Asking such a dumb question of the princess, clearly mocking her. Makai surely has his ways of playing the cards in his favor. He will do anything to make sure that everyone around him knows their place. Maud knows that it's a very stupid question, but with her small education, she is happy that she at least knows about the neighboring kingdom. As if trying to pass a test, Maud nods sweetly and moves her gaze towards her eldest brother instead of Nico, eyes still not meeting his.

"Yes, your majesty"

She doesn't elaborate on it. Makai nods, almost proudly. Maud isn't sure if that's a mocking act or if he's being genuine. But the reality of the situation dawns on her. Horror slowly settles in her stomach.

"The crown prince of Red Lion, Adelio, is soon to inherit the throne from his old father. They want him married before the coronation"

Maud almost breaks character. She still looks sweet and calm, but her gaze finally meets his, and she burns with curiosity and settling fear. Makai holds his smirk. He is happy that the cards are finally playing in his favor. He holds power over her now, with a piece of information that she wants, that only he has. With an evil fate that he controls and she has no say over.

"He is to be my husband?"

Maud finally asks, showing her humanity for the first time. Her brother's almost seem relieved at that. They might want a perfect princess, but if she's too perfect she'll be hard to manipulate. And they need to be able to manipulate her, at least until the wedding is over. Preferably after that too, though. Who knows why they might need an ally at their enemy's palace, but Makai is sure that it's going to come at some point. He smiles at Maud's question.

"The crown prince will arrive in a week. You will marry him a few days after that and happily return to his kingdom"

Maud feels her heart sink to her stomach. For these past few weeks she has known exactly why she is here. To get married, as is a woman's duty in this world. To sit there and happily accept the fact that she is being sold as property. But at that time, she had expected some small kingdom king or prince, maybe a duke or a very rich salesman. It seemed quite good, a much better life than she could ever have had at the farm. Sure it was exhausting to do all the lessons but at least she would have a rich life forever, with as much food as she can eat, clothes enough to drown in and fancy parties to have fun in. Jewels, money, big houses, generally nothing to worry about.

She just wasn't expecting to marry the future king of their greatest enemy kingdom...

"But... he is from the kingdom that stood enemy to us for the longest time. Would it not be dangerous to marry him?"

Maud dares to question her brother's authority over herself and the kingdom. She was set on following the rules when coming to this meeting, but all of that is suddenly blown away. She doesn't care about impressing them anymore. She was only doing it so they wouldn't return her to that old way of living, where she would have to face her lying parents (not that she inherently hates them), and live a life of starvation forever. She thought that marriage would be a lesser of three evils, her old life and this new life at the palace being the two other evils. But Maud doesn't care about that anymore. She realizes that marriage is the biggest evil of them all. She'll be marrying the enemy! That's a one way ticket to hell! So in reality she is being quite respectful considering the circumstances.

But her brothers can only smile.

"One worry dear sister, he's very handsome"

Nico buts in.

"And tall"

Takao adds absentmindedly.

"And quiet"

Noor comments.

Makai smiles.

"And absolutely terrifying"

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