Chapter 176: Unexpected Guests

Elara:

I had barely stepped out of the shower when the doors to my bedroom flew open so abruptly that I nearly dropped the towel I had been using to dry my hair.

"What the-?"

I stared at Mrs. Nettle and Sera as they hurried inside, both looking far more alarmed than two women who had merely entered my room had any right to look. Mrs. Nettle was practically speed-walking toward me while Sera disappeared straight toward the walk-in closet without so much as a greeting, which only made my confusion worse.

"What happened?" I demanded, tightening the towel around myself. "Are Jasper and Magnus alright? Did something happen?"

Mrs. Nettle stopped in front of me, glanced toward the closed bedroom doors as though expecting someone to be listening on the other side, and then leaned closer. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper that somehow made the situation sound even more serious. "The mistresses of three of the Regent Houses are here."

I blinked. "What? Who?"

"Mrs. Greymark, Mrs. Valemont, and Mrs. Ravenshade," she whispered again, as though saying their names too loudly might summon another catastrophe. "They have come to meet you."

For several seconds, I simply stared at her. My brain seemed to have stopped processing language altogether. Mrs. Greymark. Mrs. Valemont. Mrs. Ravenshade. All three of them. Here. At the Royal Palace. To meet me. Out of nowhere.

"Why?" I finally asked, because apparently that was the only word my brain had managed to retrieve.

Mrs. Nettle gave me a helpless little shrug. "I don’t know, Princess. They didn’t give us much explanation. They are waiting in the royal sitting room." She paused before adding, "And you need to get ready. Soon."

It took another few seconds for the implications to settle in. Why would three of the most politically influential women in Starfall suddenly decide to visit me? More importantly, why together? I had barely returned to the palace, and my life had already been turned upside down enough times in the past few months. The last thing I needed was a surprise political meeting with the wives of three of the Regents while I was standing there with damp hair and a towel wrapped around my body.

"You are joking," I muttered, but Mrs. Nettle’s expression told me she absolutely wasn’t. Before I could ask another question, Sera emerged from my walk-in closet carrying an armful of dresses, each one more elegant - and more completely inappropriate for mid-February weather - than the last.

I opened my mouth to complain about the fact that half of them looked designed for a summer garden party rather than a cold winter afternoon, but the words died before they left my lips.

I remembered exactly what Sera had told me barely a week ago when I had complained about royal clothing. Politics. Everything was politics. Looking presentable was politics. Walking into a room correctly was politics. Even the way I held a teacup probably had some ancient political meaning I hadn’t yet been tortured into learning. I made a small, deeply offended frown instead.

Mrs. Nettle patted my shoulder with the amusement of someone who had already anticipated my reaction. "It’s about playing politics, Princess."

She had thrown the same words at me, and I couldn’t even argue with her. I sighed dramatically before nodding toward the dresses. "Fine. But if I freeze to death in there, I’m haunting both of you."

The tension immediately left their faces. Sera looked relieved, and Mrs. Nettle actually smiled. "Deal," she said. "I’ll take good care of our guests while you get ready." She turned toward the door before I could change my mind, leaving me with Sera and the horrifying reality of being dressed for political warfare before I had even finished drying my hair.

Twelve minutes and four pairs of helping hands later, I stood in front of the full-length mirror and barely recognized myself. Sera had chosen an ankle-length beige dress with a fitted bodice, a modest square neckline, and long, elegant sleeves that gathered delicately at my wrists. The fabric was warm enough to keep me from completely freezing, although I still considered it criminal that anyone expected a person to look this polished while dealing with February weather.

My silver-highlighted black hair had been styled simply, the front sections swept away from my face while the rest fell naturally down my back. Sera had chosen only a few pieces of jewelry from my biological mother’s collection - a delicate pair of golden earrings and a thin golden bracelet that looked understated enough for the occasion.

My makeup was minimal, just enough to make me look awake and composed instead of like someone who had been dragged out of bed and informed that three Regent wives were waiting to judge her. Thankfully, Sera had also wrapped a warm fur shawl around my bare arms, saving me from becoming a frozen Crown Princess.

I thought we were finally finished until she produced a pair of four-inch heels. I stared at them. Then at her. Then back at the shoes. "Absolutely not."

Sera didn’t even blink. "Princess-"

"No." I pointed at them as though they were personally responsible for every bad decision in Starfall. "Those things will result in me making a complete fool of my royal ass in front of three women who have probably been wearing heels since they learned how to walk."

Sera’s lips twitched, but she wisely said nothing. After a moment, she replaced them with a pair of two-inch heels. I stared at those too, then reluctantly slipped them on. They were nowhere near as comfortable as sneakers, but at least I wouldn’t need a healer if I had to walk more than ten feet.

"Better," I decided reluctantly. Sera nodded with the satisfaction of a general who had successfully negotiated a peace treaty. "Much better."

"It’s time to meet the guests, Princess." She reminded when I stayed standing in front of the mirror, not appreciating how good I looked but hoping that all this was another nightmare. But obviously, it wasn’t.

With a soft sigh, I nodded and headed out of the room.