Hazia thanked every servant personally. Some seemed embarrassed, others smiled awkwardly. One elderly maid even secretly slipped two steamed buns into her hands before hurrying away.
"You're too skinny," she had muttered.
When evening approached, Zanine returned, "Her Highness instructed me to inform you that your duties officially begin tomorrow morning."
Hazia stood, "I understand."
"There will be lessons as well."
Hazia blinked, "...Lessons?"
Zanine nodded, "Reading, writing, etiquette, and basic arithmetic."
Hazia nearly sighed aloud.
She already knew some of those but she couldn't tell them that thought.
Her expression became thoughtful, Hazia had been thinking about how she could impart her knowledge onto Kazu without drawing attention to herself. Afterall, he was destined to be the First Emperor of the united world, it would certainly be a harder path for him if he had to walk it without the necessary know-how; but it would be highly suspicious if she had taught him herself.
Zanine's words quietly settled in her heart.
Knowledge can change a man's fate just like food can. They were necessary parts of life.
After Zanine left, silence returned once more. Outside the snow began falling again, soft flakes drifted past the paper windows.
Kazu sat watching them, "...Pretty."
Hazia joined him, "It is."
After a long silence, he suddenly spoke up, "...Happy?"
She looked down at him, he would rarely ask questions, "...Yes." She answered honestly. "I am."
He nodded once, "...Me too."
For a while neither of them spoke. Eventually, Hazia leaned back against the wall, "This won't be forever."
Kazu looked at her.
"One day… We'll have an even bigger house of our own." She smiled as she imagined it. "A kitchen bigger than this whole courtyard, with a garden, a pond with live fishes, and fruit trees. We'll grow vegetables ourselves. We'll eat until we're full every day. We'll never have to steal again. And it'll be all ours."
Kazu quietly listened, "...Really?"
"Really. I promise."
Promises, adults always broke them. Yet, for some reason he believed every word she said.
That night, after Kazu had fallen asleep almost immediately beneath his warm quilt, Hazia remained awake on top of her own bedding.
The moonlight slipped through the paper windows, bathing the little room in a silver glow.
She listened. No screaming. No crying. No sounds of women fighting over scraps of food. No footsteps outside waiting to beat them awake. Only silence. Peaceful silence.
Her eyes wandered toward the wooden ceiling. This room… This tiny room was the first home either of them had ever known.Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of her blanket.
'Thank you...'
She wasn't sure who she was thanking.
God.
Fate.
Or perhaps she was thanking the frightened young Carmen who had once dreamed of nothing more than eating until she was full, and was not much different from the past Hazia whose life was destined to end in a tragedy.
A faint smile touched her lips. Tomorrow she will begin creating their future. One meal at a time.
####
Aleel's Chamber's
The paper door slid shut with barely a sound made and silence settled over the courtyard once more. Only the crackling of charcoal burning inside the brazier disturbed the stillness.
Zanine returned with measured steps, stopping a respectful distance behind her mistress before lowering herself into a bow, "Your Highness."
Aleel did not immediately answer. She remained seated beside the window overlooking the quiet courtyard where snow drifted lazily through the evening sky.Her untouched cup of tea had long since gone cold.
"...Are they settled?" she asked softly.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"And the room?"
"It has been cleaned and prepared according to your instructions. Fresh quilts were brought from storage, the brazier has been stocked with charcoal, and the old well was inspected earlier this morning."
Aleel nodded absentmindedly.
"They seemed..." Zanine searched for the proper word. "...happy."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Aleel's lips. "So little is needed to make children happy." She looked back outside. "Or perhaps… only children who have known suffering."
Silence returned. After a moment, Zanine spoke again, "There is something this servant wishes to report."
Aleel gestured for her to continue.
"The boy."
A brief pause.
"I believe he resembles—"
"So, you noticed."
It wasn't a question.
Zanine lowered her head, "Yes, Your Highness. I thought perhaps—"
Aleel released a weary sigh before gently setting down her teacup, "It doesn't matter." The words were spoken so quietly they almost disappeared into the room.
Zanine hesitated, "But if someone else notices—"
"They will." Aleel interrupted again. "Eventually."
She folded her hands neatly upon her lap.
"I have lived inside this palace for over ten years." Her gaze remained fixed on the falling snow. "And if these years have taught me anything. It is that blood and lineage mean very little when weighed against personal interests."
The room fell silent. Even the fire seemed quieter.
"There are fathers who have murdered their sons. Mothers who poison their daughters. Brothers who sell their brothers. Husbands who sacrifice wives."
She smiled. It was not a happy smile.
"It is a fascinating place, isn't it Zanine? This Imperial Palace."