Mercilessly, as much as Zaydan fussed, one of his men dragged him away to attend business in the main palace, leaving Marie-Fey to go back to her rooms and collapse onto her seat out on the balcony, pressing a hand to her forehead and accepting the cool drink Maanah brought out to her.

"This is going to be a long visit," she muttered.

"I'm sure he won't spend much time with us here," Maanah said as Gharam stepped out to join them.

"Maybe it might be an idea to open some of the gifts though, so he has no reason persist," Gharam suggested and Marie-Fey shot her an annoyed glared, though stood up because it was a decent enough point.

She swept into the room and walked toward the mountain of gifts that were piled in the corner of the main room.

She eyed the various items of jewelled boxes, golden papers and shimmering ribbon, before reaching for the smallest.

It was an envelope and Marie-Fey flipped open the flap, finding a length of string.

Confused, she pulled it and out slid a small disk, hung between two golden strings, at the top and bottom.

On one side of the disk was a songbird and when she turned it over, she saw was golden cage.

"How pretty," Gharam said, leaning forwards.

"What is it?" Maanah asked, tilting her head to the side, frowning.

"It's an illusion," Marie-Fey replied, his lips twisting.

"How so?"

Marie-Fey took the two strings in her fingers, holding the disk up, the strings held taut, then she began to roll the strings between her forefingers and thumbs. The movement caused the disk to spin as high speed and, as they watched, their eyes deceived them into no longer seeing a separate songbird and golden cage, but a caged bird.

"My!" Gharam cried, delighted, "Like magic!"

"To gullible eyes," Marie-Fey said, stopping the spinning and setting the disk aside.

Her ladies glanced at each other.

"I'm sure there's no meaning behind the gift," Gharam said quickly, "Just a pretty trinket."

"Indeed."

"How about another gift?" Maanah suggested.

"I think not. As suspected, I'm not interested in his gifts," Marie-Fey replied, turning and sweeping back out to the balcony and returning to her seat, taking a book out with her and settling in the shade, her ladies leaving her be as they got on with chores, setting the little token out of sight and, hopefully, out of mind.

The sun had set by the time Marie-Fey was roused from her reading.

"Lord Zaydan is here," Maanah said, looking out at her and Marie-Fey snapped her book closed with an annoyed flick of the eye.

"What does he want?" she asked.

"He can hear you," Zaydan called from somewhere inside her apartments and Marie-Fey's eye started twitching at the idea of the man weaselling his way into her private rooms.

He may own the palace, but these were her rooms and she was not his wife.

Slamming the book down on the table, she shot her to feet and Maanah caught her arms.

"Lord of the state, My Lady," she reminded her quickly, deep eyes locking on Marie-Fey's, waiting to see control return.

Marie-Fey looked up at her for a moment, then forcibly relaxed her muscles and Maanah released her, bowing in apology for grabbing her.

Marie-Fey smoothed her sleeves, straightened her shoulders and swept back into her rooms.

"Lady Fey, come walk with me," Zaydan said the second he saw her and in the time it took Marie-Fey to stop to take in what he'd said, he'd looped her arm through his and hauled her back out of her rooms.

"What did you say?" she snapped.

"You insist on a title – I can hardly deny you what is rightfully yours – but your name and title is so very long. Lady Fey suits you best," Zaydan pronounced and Marie-Fey almost tripped him up – that would have involved tripping herself over in the process however so she left it alone.

"What do you want?" she snapped instead, "I thought you had been dragged back to the main palace to do work. Why are you back here bothering people?"

"You have no fear in the repercussions of your words, do you?" Zaydan said with a chuckle.

"Just because I am scared to speak out does not mean I shan't," Marie-Fey shot back at him.

"Admirable. I am here because I am sending that letter to my brother and wanted to ask if you intended to add to it."

"No," Marie-Fey said and yanked her arm from his, stopping, him stopping several steps ahead. "I said I wouldn't, and I don't intend to. As I said, I have nothing to say."

Zaydan looked back at her and she could see him struggling with some thought before an idea came to him. "We meant to open your gifts. Let us do that then you can write about those," he said brightly.

"I had a look," Marie-Fey said, folding her arms.

"Yes?"

"I was underwhelmed," she replied bluntly.

Zaydan seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, before his smile returned. "But with such fine jewellery and fragrances and so much more, sure there was something you liked."

"Oh I didn't bother with all that," Marie-Fey said, waving it off before holding a hand out. Gharam set a fan in her palm and she snapped it open, wafting away the humid evening air. "I opened one and did not fancy the image of a caged bird, I lost interest."

Marie-Fey watched him as she spoke, absently drifting her fan back and forth before her lips, the airflow causing the tendrils of hair around her face to float as she observed over the top of the lace.

Zaydan frowned at the words before understanding dawned.

She stopped moving when she saw his comprehension.

"I see you are aware of the gifts my husband sent me as well."

Zaydan flinched and knew he'd given himself away.

"So, you read my letters. You – what? – help choose the gifts? Choose them yourself? You are sent to see that I'm not dying after my last scathing letter. What exactly is your role here?"

"I am trying to make things easier for you, Lady Fey," Zaydan stressed and she could tell she had irked him.

Marie-Fey snapped her fan shut and for a long moment, they looked at each other.

"You're two years too late," she finally said, sweeping a lock of hair behind her ear and walking past. "I needed help two years ago, not now."

"Lady Fey—"

"Return to the Sultan's court, Lord Zaydan," Marie-Fey cut in with a dismissive wave of her fan over her shoulder. "I'm not looking for friends anymore."