She quickly tossed the note in the fireplace to her right and returned her eyes to a different parchment that sat in her lap – covered in her own sloppy handwriting. She had taken to writing down her thoughts and questions but she still needed some more time before she faced the king and queen again.

‘Not yet,’ she whispered, reaching for a pen.

It became a routine. Sapphire politely refused the invitation for meals, someone delivered food a few minutes later on another polished tray, and Sapphire counted to exactly two minutes before retrieving it.

Araxia’s notes came daily. They never grew frantic, but they persisted.

Sapphire left her room a few times as well, sneaking down corridors and taking in the castle around her. She’d study the paintings, the pottery. Once, she even stepped outside and enjoyed the warm sun – but mostly, she remained in her room, partly as a form of rebellion and partly as self-preservation. She feared if she sat at the table with Kip and Araxia, she might unravel. Despite her efforts to organize her thoughts, she still felt entirely out of control of the situation.

It had been five days since she found herself in the deserts of Aleburn, and she had remained locked in her overlarge room for the majority of the time, riddled with anxiety.

Maybe that was why, when Claye visited on the fifth day to escort her to breakfast, Sapphire begrudgingly agreed. He reacted with brief surprise before rushing the maidens to prepare her. They quickly dressed her and fixed her hair with a blue gemstone clip.

‘They will be so pleased you are joining them, princess,’ Claye mused as he waited for them to finish.

Sapphire didn’t respond as she stared at her reflection in the looking glass. She looked so unlike herself it was unsettling.

Claye was patient, offering a few much-needed moments of quiet before they began their walk to the dining room.

‘If you are not ready, princess, I can inform them and deliver your breakfast.’

‘No,’ Sapphire pushed out, turning to face him. ‘I can’t stay in here forever, I suppose.’

‘I suppose you can’t.’ He smiled slightly as she said it.

The walk to the dining room was shorter than Sapphire would’ve liked, and as they stood in front of the large double doors, she struggled to understand why she had made the choice to attend breakfast at all.

She couldn’t stop hoping that this was the moment that would change everything. Change had, of course, been a consistent factor since the moment she found herself in Eriobis. But she could not shake the feeling that the second she crossed the threshold in front of her, she would be striking an unspoken agreement with the king and queen.

Acceptance of the situation.