The ballroom was empty now, save for the echo of music and the faint scent of spilt wine clinging to the air. Servants moved like shadows, collecting goblets and sweeping the floor before dawn's first guests arrived for the next round of celebrations.
Elara moved quickly, balancing a silver tray stacked with half-empty glasses. She had almost reached the service doors when a familiar voice halted her mid-step.
"Elara."
Her head snapped up. The Crown Prince stood near the far window, the moonlight silvering his dark hair. He wasn't in his usual ceremonial uniform—just a simple white shirt, the collar open, his posture unusually relaxed.
"My—Your Highness." She dipped a low curtsy, her fingers tightening on the tray's handle.
He studied her, not with the warmth of open interest, but with a sort of measured attention—like a man looking at a puzzle whose shape he couldn't quite name.
"You've been avoiding the upper hall."
"I… was reassigned for the evening," she replied carefully.
Kael's gaze didn't leave her face. "Convenient."
Her pulse quickened. There was nothing accusing in his tone, yet it felt as though he'd peeled back the excuses and seen exactly what she had been doing—keeping a distance.
Before she could form a reply, footsteps approached. Lady Serina swept into the room, her smile poised but eyes sharp.
"Your Highness, there you are," she said, though her gaze flicked briefly to Elara, cool and assessing.
Kael glanced at Serina only briefly before returning to Elara. "We'll speak again," he said, his voice a quiet promise—or perhaps a warning. He walked away without another word, Serina gliding after him like a shadow.
---
Later, in the servant's quarters, whispers traveled faster than candlelight.
"You were alone with the Crown Prince?" one maid asked.
"Not alone," Elara corrected. "It was nothing."
But she knew better.
The look he'd given her had been enough to stir the currents again. People would talk, and they would keep watching, their curiosity sharpening like knives.
She sat on her cot long after the others had fallen asleep, the flicker of a dying candle playing across her face. The palace had begun to change her. The girl who once faded into the background was no longer invisible. And now, even the Crown Prince—who never wasted interest freely—had noticed.
Whether that would become her greatest chance or her ruin… she could not yet tell.
---