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"Such beautiful colors!"

Maud is in a bit of a dilemma.

The colors of the jewels in front of her are unlike any she has ever seen before. Red, green and yellow, shining brighter than the stars. The valuable stones sit against a blue velvet cushion, surrounded by the most gentle glass ever made. It's wonderful. It blows her mind. The jewels can be attached to any dress or accessory and they are perfectly polished into curious shapes. There is a green one in the form of a square, and a red one in the form of a sharp cornered heart. Specifically the red one catches her eye, for it is so similar to the ruby on her golden wedding ring. It makes her feel jittery all over. Who knew there were such lovely things in the world? Maud sure didn't.

And that brings her to her dilemma. During the last month or so, it's been easy for her to forget that she is keeping a secret from her husband, and everyone else. The fact that she is fooling everyone has slipped her mind. It came back to her once her eyes caught the beautiful, rare jewels. Would a princess be as excited as a peasant, when seeing such exquisite products on display? Maud isn't a peasant, not by blood and not by marriage. But she was raised as a peasant, and when living together with three women who were raised as princesses, she suddenly fears that her brother's carefully made lie will soon break apart. Makai wants her to pretend that she was educated and raised from day one at the Blue Knight palace, when in reality she has barely spent a few weeks there. It's small details like these jewels that make her wonder if it truly matters where she was raised, and if she should tell Adelio about her secret or not.

After all, he's not just the man she was arranged to anymore. He is something more now. Something that makes her heart beat faster at the sight of him, something that makes her feel happy and safe at the same time. Someone, he is someone that is more special to her than any other person. Parents, she doesn't have. Brothers, she doesn't love. It's only Adelio who she values in her life, and although it's a new kind of love and value, Maud sees it as the most important milestone in her life. She has never truly loved anyone before, because there hasn't been anybody to love. Is this love? She barely knows what it is. But Adelio is a curious person. He stepped into her life when he walked up the stairs of the Blue Knight palace, and ever since then her heart has been in turmoil.

"Pick one that you want, we should replace the stone on your ring with something newer and more valuable like these stones"

The shorter princess snaps her head up towards the crown prince, who scans the jewels with a neutral look on his face. He is dressed in a breezy white uniform, which looks astonishing against his deep black hair and sharp facial features. There are medals all over his uniform from different battles he has won, and they fit perfectly over his broad chest. Although he rarely smiles, she has caught his handsome wide grin more than a dozen times today, and each time is better than the last. His sharp black eyes suit a more serious and dangerous look in the public eye, but Maud finds herself preferring the light that shines in his irises whenever he laughs or smiles. The princess swoons at the thought of him in those clothes, and has a hard time keeping her blushing face away from his whenever she gets a good look at him. Who knew Adelio looked so good in white? Once again, Maud sure didn't.

"No, how could I possibly replace the ruby you proposed with? It's special!"

Something feels different in the way that she speaks. Although her tone is light and soft, Maud dares to speak up against anything she doesn't like, or anyone who says something wrong. That is something princesses, and women in general, don't have the privilege to do in this world. To speak their minds. Maud is often reminded of the stares and yells that she got from her adoptive parents whenever she spoke without permission, or the deadly silence Makai would give out of disappointment when she would unthinkably speak her mind. Every time that she speaks freely with Adelio their anger flashes in her head. Maud finds it funny sometimes, and scary other times. How far away they are. How she'll never see any of them again. How her past is but a distant memory. Just as distant as Adelio has made these stupid rules. With him she can speak her mind, talk freely and laugh and cry and be angry. It's just something he has taught her over time. Adelio is different from other men. Different from humans in general. Different in a really curious way.

"You value that ring so much?

Adelio's eyes are widened as he looks down at her. Maud nods while meeting his gaze, completely serious. She didn't value their marriage before, but now she values Adelio, and everything that comes with him. Their marriage is a beautiful bond, that although created by Makai, is the best thing she has ever done in her life. He saved her from her brothers and he saved her from an unloving and oppressive marriage. Now she is more free than she has ever been, despite being someone's property on paper. For most women marriage is a prison cell. For Maud, it's her freedom and her love and her peace. How wonderfully weird the world can be.

"Of course! It's a symbol of our marriage! Let's not get anything here, can we go eat something instead?"

Maud tugs at his arm, eyes rounded in a pout. Adelio clears his throat at the action, avoiding her eyes to the best of his efforts, a red hue mysteriously appearing over his cheeks. He nods quickly like she's got him wrapped around her finger, and signals the workers of the jewelry shop to put away the blue cushion display. Maud smiles happily, and continues to cling to his arm.

They've left the palace for the first time since they arrived, to go explore the city. According to Adelio, the royal tour of the country begins in a few days. Today is their last chance at seeing the areas surrounding the palace, before they have to embark on a long journey across the vast lands of the Red Lion empire. There are many cities, officials, and nobles to visit all around, not to mention parades to hold for the peasants. Maud hates that word. Peasant. It makes her think of herself. Hopefully none of the ordinary people living in the cities and villages that she will visit will somehow expose her true identity. The thought of going on yet another long journey has her head in a spin, which is why Maud tries not to think about it. Today is her first day in the capital city, why not enjoy it to the fullest? Adelio surely has the right idea.

"You go first with the guards, I'll meet you outside"

Maud smiles at Adelio, who seems to have some unfinished business in the royal jewelry shop. She heads outside the stone building with four bodyguards, all of them carrying light gray swords in their belts. Another ten men stand guard outside the building, together with their carriage. Maud holds up her pastel purple long dress as she steps onto the street outside, patting down the fabric once she's done. Her hair is behind a see through, light purple veil, and her shoes are cute and shiny and white, the same color as the flowers printed on her dress. The heat presses down from the sky, weighing at her skin and making it uncomfortable to breathe, but thankfully the fabric she wears is cool enough for her not to sweat to death. Maud wonders if this heat will ever end, it's already autumn after all. She hasn't mustered up the courage to ask anyone about that yet, too embarrassed to be so unknowledgeable.

"Your highness?"

Maud twirls around to catch the source of the clinging voice. Her guards look to the left as well, their hands rising to their swords. In the sudden light breeze that passes through, two young women stand on the noble market road, as close to the princess as they can get. Their eyes shine with excitement, and Maud can see them twitch around nervously. It seems to be a happy kind of nervousness, for their smiles are as sweet and bright as their dresses. One of them is wearing a lighter pink long dress with matching gloves and shoes, embroidered pearls placed over the fabric. The other young woman, who seems to be her sister, wears a matching dress in yellow. The two look nearly identical with their blond hair and blue eyes, clearly not local to the city. They even speak the language of the Blue Knight kingdom to get their point across. They are not from here.

"I am lady Indira, this is my sister Iida. We... - we are the daughters of the Blue Knight ambassador. May I tell you something, your highness?"

Maud nods, a bit dazed. The girl in pink speaks with a lot of poise, while keeping a gentle and feminine ring to her tone. She is trained in this, trained in speaking and acting in public. The way that she stands is perfect, with her shoulders drawn back and her hands neatly folded in front of her stomach. She smiles ever so slightly, and would probably laugh behind her hand. There is not a single emotion detectable on her face, which is an important ability for a lady to have. It's calm, and not threatening, while also leaving room for flirtation in the most appropriate way. Her sister in yellow copies her exactly, clearly taking after the elder sibling to the best of her efforts. They are noble women from the Blue Knight kingdom, living here because of the ambassador. Probably the only other two women from the Blue Knight kingdom, other than her. It makes the princess shuffle around anxiously before she manages to stop herself in the act.

"Speak freely"

Maud is surprised at how stable her voice sounds. She always gets nervous around nobles, especially around nobles from her home kingdom. Not only because they remind her of Makai, but because they can see through her better than the nobles and royals from this country can. She speaks the Blue Knight language perfectly, and so do they. Would she speak in words belonging more to a peasant than a royal, she would surely be exposed on the spot. Would do something or act out of order, they would be able to notice it. Two noble women might not be able to do anything against a princess, even if they knew the truth. But Maud remembers what Makai told her a few days before Adelio came into the picture. A human always holds the power of gossip on their side. If they talk about it, spread rumors about it, those words can travel far, and a feather can turn into the sharp edge of a knife.

"Thank you, your highness. I simply wished to tell you that the rumors of your untouchable beauty were true indeed. I have never met a princess before, but I must believe that your highness is the most perfect one of them all"

"What if I wasn't an ordinary princess?"

"What do you mean?"

The sweet aroma of the restaurant reminds Maud of the color yellow. It seeps into the dark wood furniture, and stains the air with its heavy powder-like fog. It's not a bright kind of yellow, and Maud would like to thank the heavens for that. Food should be a heavy kind of darker yellow, in forms of spices that you can find on the market, smelling of something both very distant and close to home at the same time, in big mountain-like piles. It should be so heavy that every breath you take seeps into your very being, like smooth yellow butter mixed with spiced yellow bread and rice in big wooden pots. Like a small decorative green leaf, standing alone on top of a steaming bowl of soup, mixed with all kinds of spotty spices and see through colors.

The dim air of the restaurant surrounds them, just as the scents of the food consume them. The tables below are served big bowls of perfectly grilled chicken, bone soup in its grimly gray color and stark yellow rice piled perfectly on a plate to the side. The steam coming from the food rises in the air, filling the dark space with its own kind of nature. The floorboards creak as the servers walk over them, mirroring the rushed steps of the people outside a small curtained window at the front of the restaurant. Ever so often they disappear into a far away kitchen, where all of the expensive cuisine is cooked and decorated for the noble guests. At the very top, up the wooden stairs of the building, is the private room. Today the restaurant has the honor of serving the most honorable guests of them all, excluded from the rest of the customers as they sit on their fancy cushioned wooden chairs and chew on flat white bread.

"What if I was actually different from what you imagined?"

Adelio rolls his eyes, dipping his bread into some heavily spiced red sauce. Maud hasn't quite gotten used to the levels of seasoning in the Red Lion food yet. She happily eats her white bread with baked brown spots without any of the sauce. This is technically her first time eating with the crown prince, and honestly she is more nervous than she thought she would be. The words of the noble woman from earlier ring in her ears. She's such a perfect princess. And yet, she is technically more of a fraud than she should be. Having the rest of the town fooled, who cares. But having Adelio fooled like this? How would she dare?

How could you fool someone you love?

How could you?

"Of course you are different. The princess I met in Blue Knight is nowhere as similar as the princess you are today. I have already told you to stop worrying about putting up a charade with me, it only makes me look like a weak fool"

Maud bites her lip in thought, silenced by a waiter that comes rushing in with their first meals. The steaming pot of rice, soup and chicken makes her mouth water.

"I could never be angry with you Margaret, I'm your husband"

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