The doors closed behind Maren and Cora as the last of the royal representatives filtered out of the throne room. Their hushed whispers of concern did not go unnoticed, though Maren couldn't hear their exact words.
The island was dangerous.
That much she understood. And the name of that island in that language — Old Veramaran — she recognized was from a time before Carbouran came to be. Before the Darkwood King. She remembered from her studies that the books described the old kingdom as poor and not much of a kingdom at all. She remembered they had an oligarchal society made up of five families, some of whom survived the creation of the empire, who now lived among the lords and ladies in Avelle. Maren was fascinated by the history and culture of other societies, and hearing the language spoken in person felt like such a treat. As rattled as she was by the queen's announcement, she couldn't help her curiosity. The queen's pronunciation was perfect — even better than Thirteen's. Surely she didn't learn that at the academy.
"Maren?" A voice asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
"Huh?" she responded, turning her attention to the sound, only to come face-to-face with Cora. Maren's breath caught in her throat. In all the hustle and bustle of the morning preparations, she'd hardly had a moment for Cora. Over the past few weeks, they'd had nothing but time together, stuck in that little box. But it wasn't the kind of time she would've liked to spend with her. Both Harriet and Selma were there…
The.
Entire.
Time.
Selma was focused on distracting herself from her mother's death and her decision to leave the palace. Maren understood that. But distracting herself meant making herself available to Maren in nearly every waking moment. And when Maren said she needed a moment, Selma began to help Harriet with Cora. And despite her kind disposition with Selma in the secret halls of Forsyth, Cora's usual temperament was…less than gentle. So Maren did her best to make sure she didn't rub Cora the wrong way. All these weeks went by stuck together like sardines and absolutely nothing happened between them.
Maren was frustrated in a way she couldn't describe.
And then suddenly Cora was right in front of her. Her blazing red hair that was tied up in a perfect bun with two strands that cascaded down her shoulders like lava as she leaned in. Her bright, almond shaped eyes that pierced her heart. Maren simply couldn't help the blood that flushed her body, turning her skin shades of red and pink.
"Are you alright?" Cora asked. "You seem distracted today."
"A-ah," Maren stuttered, searching for her words through the hormones that surged inside her. "There's just a lot going on today. Th-that was an interesting announcement, right?"
Cora blinked, hesitating as she studied Maren's face, unsure if she believed her. Then, she straightened her body, crossing her arms over her chest and replied, "Interesting is one word for it." She turned her attention in front of them, making sure the room was empty. "What do you think Ariel?"
Maren practically jumped. She hadn't realized her friend had been standing there ever since everyone filtered from the room. That's when she remembered that it was customary for the prince of the home country to give the princesses a tour of his palace. And that meant Selma would be there too. Maren turned, and there she stood, with several guards behind them, shooting Maren a confused glance. Maren turned back, switching her attention to the conversation.
Ariel did not meet Cora's gaze, his expression weary. "I don't know what to think. My mother makes most of the decisions in Avelle and they're usually good ones. I just don't understand how she thinks this is a good decision."
"Is the island really that bad?" Cora asked, uncrossing her arms to place one hand on her hip. Maren was mesmerized by something as simple as the way she moved. Even her mannerisms were elegant. And paired with that dress? Maren couldn't help but admire her. She was dressed in a bright shade of cobalt blue with white lace accents, to honor the tradition of wearing the kingdom's colors to the first meeting with the leaders of the country. And the more Maren gazed at her, the more she began to notice the way the dress clung to her body and the way the fabrics bunched slightly where her hips met her thighs. Cora wore her hair up so now Maren had a perfect view of her long neck, her shoulders and her collarbones. She never thought the sight of collarbones could inspire such passion as they were right now-
"Maren?" Cora asked, her expression confused, yet slightly amused. "Are you alright?"
"Hm?" She asked. That's when Maren realized that she had completely zoned out of the conversation, too focused on the absolute smoke show in front of her. She blushed furiously. "Oh! Yes. Just deep in thought I suppose." She gripped her dress in her palms and looked away, hoping neither of them noticed how red she could feel herself becoming. "Y-you were saying?"
Am I losing my mind? Maren thought. What's the matter with me?
"Well," Cora began with a raised eyebrow, "Ariel was telling us how dangerous the island is. Boats sink every year just bringing supplies to the island through the waves."
"I can't imagine how we're going to survive three nights there," Ariel added, his expression concerned.
"This trial is timed?" Maren asked.
Ariel's attention turned toward her, raising his gaze. "Yes. The point of the timed trial works similarly to a game of Capture The Flag, except the only team you're on is your own. Each player has their own sash, dyed in their kingdom's colors and whoever has the most flags by the end of the game wins. It sounds childish but I've been told the game can become quite intense. There are no rules so to lift the spirits of the players, it's customary to throw a three-day long festival-"
"There's a festival!?" Maren cried out, her eyes growing wide.
Cora put her hand over her mouth and let out a puff of air in place of a giggle.
Ariel smiled. "Yes, there is a festival. It's called the Starlight Festival." He thought for a moment, his expression turning cheeky. Then, he leaned in and whispered to the princesses. "Actually, that sounds much more fun. It hasn't officially started yet but people start coming early from all over the kingdom to set up and participate in early festivities. Instead of a tour of the castle, how about I show you around the capital?"
***
After Ariel's proposition, the girls snuck off to their rooms to change into something more casual and bide time until sunset. But when the three of them met with him at the back of the castle, near the shoreline he told them their attire was far too grand and brought them to the private royal boathouse with a small living area. He told them to wait there and after some time, he came back with something that resembled dancer's outfits. Maren changed first into a matching two-piece set in purple. The top hugged her midriff, bust and arms well and the long sleeves stretched all the way down to her fingers, with a hole for her middle finger to escape, while still covering her markings. And the bottoms were flowy shorts, with a band at the top like a gold belt.
"A-are you sure we should be wearing something like this?" Maren asked, hugging her arms around her midsection.
Never in her life had she shown off so much skin.
"Y-yes," Selma agreed, her voice wavering at the sight of her own exposed stomach. Her outfit was similar to Maren's but in a bright shade of yellow. "Isn't this a bit much?"
"It absolutely is not too much for Avelleian nightlife. Besides," Ariel said. "You three are far too shiny-looking to pass as regular commoners. But someone might believe that you're entertainers."
"Would the commoners really recognize us as Starblessed?" Cora asked from behind the partition. "We could always wear casual outfits that hide our marks."
"I'm not as much worried about the people as I am about an official recognizing you," he said, pulling a brown vest over his white shirt. "After what happened in Forsyth, Thirteen would never allow you two to go out without plenty of guards. Someone was behind what happened up there and they could be anywhere."
Maren grimaced at the thought, "that's true."
Then Cora appeared from behind the partition. Her outfit was similar but in green, with long, flowy pants that matched her lanky figure. Her top was shorter on her, showing off more of her midriff.
"I don't understand how this is supposed to cover my mark if it still exposes my lower back," she said, pressing her palms against her back to measure how much of her mark was actually shown.
But while Cora was inspecting her outfit, Maren was having a different experience entirely. Her eyes fixed on Cora like a dog to a bone. Suddenly, Maren was overcome with heat. Her body burned at the mere sight of Cora. She knew she liked her. She knew she was attracted to her. And she knew Cora felt the same way. So why did she still feel this way? Like a child with feelings they needed to confess.
"I thought it would cover enough," Ariel grimaced. "I wanted to have you girls back before midnight but I can leave to find new ones if you both find them uncomfortable-"
Maren coughed loudly into her arm.
She might feel strange in her outfit but there was no way she was going to miss watching Cora strut around in hers.
"Oh dear," she said, trying her best to sound casual. "Actually, I think I just had a nasty cough ruining my mood. I feel fine now and very much like the outfits. In fact, I think we should just go now and stop worrying about it entirely! We're going to wear our capes anyway, right Cora?"
Cora thought for a moment, hand to her chin. "I suppose that's true."
"Then what are we waiting for?" She said excitedly. "This is the first time we'll ever do anything without guards around. Let's have fun!"
The four of them escaped into the dark, taking the shoreline to maneuver out of the line of sight of the guards. They walked for a long time until they could hear a cacophony of voices and cheering in the distance. Ariel led them up some stairs and through the alleys. They turned a corner and suddenly Maren couldn't believe what she was seeing.
The sun had set beyond the horizon and though the world was meant to fall asleep, the people in the capital of Avelle certainly weren't. The streets sparkled with colorful lights strung between vendors, and lanterns hung from every stall. Dancers twirled in the town square, and the voices of entertainers boomed in every corner. The air smelled of a different kind of food every few feet as they moved forward, but Maren couldn't get the smell of some kind of smoked meat out of her mind. There was so much going on that she couldn't take it all in at once. Even Cora seemed starstruck.
"This is amazing!" Maren exclaimed, beaming with joy as she skipped through the streets. Ariel and Cora followed close behind her, both with bright expressions.
She turned to face them, several feet ahead, her eyes locked on Cora. She kept her updo from earlier in the day and Maren was glad for it. It really did suit her. So much so that Maren realized why she wasn't able to take her eyes off her all day. All Maren really wanted was to spend some quality time with her. After their time in the mountains, it felt like they had to go back to pretending like they were nothing more than friends. Like none of that had ever happened. She had all these feelings she needed to express but didn't know what to do with them. And looking at Cora now, Maren realized this was the perfect opportunity to do just that.
She grinned, running back toward Cora, who looked at her with a confused smile. And just like that, Maren knew nothing had changed between them in those weeks.
"Let's go!" She cried out happily, slipping her hand in Cora's to drag her along. "I need to get my hands on whatever that smell is!"