Blake watched as a blonde human followed behind one of the guide budgies her family used to help foreign dignitaries find their way around. The girl matched the description of who she was to marry in about six months’ time. That was definitely Yang because nobody else in the castle looked like her and the only time humans stayed in the castle was if they were foreign dignitaries. No humans stayed in the castle otherwise simply due to the low population of humans in Chiole.

  She closed the door and sighed, sitting down at her desk. Nadiya, the galah, looked at her from her perch. “What’s wrong, Blake?” The bird’s sweet little chirps made her glance over. At least she had somebody to talk to that wasn’t her parents. She loved them, she really did, but she didn’t always want to talk to them about everything. She definitely didn’t want to talk to Bedona about this.

  She retrieved the pink and grey bird from her perch then sat back at her desk. “Oh, the girl I’m arranged to marry finally got here. I saw her in the hall…” She glanced at the door. Yang had definitely seen her peeking because she had looked in Blake’s direction. Her mother had probably told Yang that it was her looking. She had sensed an unknown aura spark so she had checked to see who it was…

  Nadiya seemed to frown. “I still can’t believe your parents agreed to this… It’s so wrong.” The bird scratched her head with her foot and looked up at Blake who sighed again.

  “It is, but there was nothing we could do.” They had tried everything over the past year to get King Ivan to disavow this. But he had been persistent. Blake still didn’t want this, but neither her nor Yang could do anything about it.

  Hopefully, Yang would be willing to try to make this work. Blake hated it but she was willing to try. If things didn’t work out, Yang could find somebody else. The marriage couldn’t be retracted, but they could find somebody else to love. The royal line would need to continue, but if Yang didn’t want her, Blake could find a mister or mistress to conceive children with. The marriage contract at least didn’t demand children, so that decision was up to Blake to make.

  “All I can do is hope she’s willing to try…” If not, Blake would be trapped in with a distant partner for the rest of her life. It wasn’t ideal, but she would make it work somehow. The Belladonna line would have to continue through her eventually… At least Bedona had magic to bypass needing to have sex even if she ended up with a mister.

  She kissed Nadiya’s head and looked out the window. “Want to go for a flight before it gets too dark?” She knew the bird got antsy if she had to sit inside all day. Blake had been sulking so she hadn’t even opened the window to let Nadiya out.

  Nadiya bobbed her head. Blake got up and headed outside, letting out a breath as she took in the warm, comfortable air. She really hated the cooling spell in the manor. It wasn’t super uncomfortable, but she preferred the warom outside air. It was so refreshing after spending all day inside.

  She let Nadiya take off and settled on the ground. She followed the galah’s crazy flight path as the crickets started chirping. She could hear wingbeats as bats started to take to the skines, looking for insects, nectar, and fruit alike. It was always a little odd hearing the echolocation from the bats when not everyone could. But still, it was nice to see the natural world functioning around her.

  As the sun really sank below the tree line, Nadiya returned and Blake held her hand out. “Feel good to stretch your wings?” Nadiya bobbed her head and gave a few wing flaps.

  “I really wish I could’ve flown a bit more… You’ve really kept me cooked up the past few days.”

  “Sorry.” Blake had really been sulking the past several days over Yang’s impending arrival. She’d refused lessons and even to take meals with her family. She was pretty sure it was hurting Lilou to not see her, but she was so upset by all of this. She didn’t want to get married to some stranger, let alone a human, but there was no other choice…

  “Let’s get you to bed.” Honestly, it was well past Nadiya’s bedtime. She normally didn’t keep her up so long, but she wnated company while sulking. It was hard to be so unheard and alone. Her family didn’t understand what it was like. Her parents had courted and chosen to get married to each other. They had known each other for years before marrying and having children. And her siblings were too young to understand. Lilou was the next oldest at thirteen but that was far from a marriageable age. Not that she would want Lilou to understand this injustice. This was a terrible and awful and she hated it.

  She dropped Nadiya off in the bird room before head outside again. She probably wouldn’t be sleeping tonight at all. There was no real point in denying it. She hadn’t been sleeping well for the past few months, but she wouldn’t sleep at all. She could tell. Her stress levels were through the roof and when she was this stressed, she tended to not sleep.

  She stared at the shattered moon as it rose, finding no solace in the night sky. Usually, it calmed her but tonight, the stars felt distant and foreign. What was she supposed to do tonight? She had no idea. Everything in the world felt so wrong. The course of her life had changed drastically in the afternoon as soon as that ship had arrived. All she knew was that she wanted to do something, but she didn’t know what.

  She found herself at the stables eventually and looked over the gate at her horse. Of course, she was fast asleep. Blake sighed and turned her back before simply starting to walk into town. She didn’t want to bother her horse when it was getting to be late. Plus, she hadn’t walked so far in a very long time. She had been so lazy the past several months when this had been decided.

  By time she reached the main city, the magic lights had flickered on. Nocturnal Faunus started to move about. She got some strange looks, but not because of who she was. A lot of nocturnal Faunus didn’t recognise the royal family due to them so rarely staying up late. They did care about their subjects, but daytime was when the Belladonnas did their business. They still cared about the nocturnal Faunus, but it could be too taxing to try to be awake all hours of the night. Her uncle was the main representative for the nocturnal Faunus so that way they could be heard. Maybe she’d see him on her foray down here… Not too likely, though.

  She found her way to a women’s bar and settled at the counter with a dramatic sigh. She sank down onto the surface with her face in her arms. “What’s with the long face? You seem pretty upset.” She heard the shaking of drinks and looked up. She saw a woman with snake eyes looking at her, pupils dilated to take in as much light as possible.

  “You wouldn’t really understand. Nobody here could.” She was suddenly aware of how properly she spoke in comparison to the bartender. It marked her out as a noble of some sort but she was past the point of caring. She wouldn’t get drunk or anything of the sort because that was dangerous. The Chilese people loved their monarchs by and large, but it didn’t mean she could be wandering around the city drunk. That would be asking for trouble.

  It didn’t mean she couldn’t have one or two in her system though.

  “Can you make me a golden carriage?” She opened her walle and pulled out some lien, then put it on the bar.

  “Comin’ right up.” The bartender took the cash and shook her drink, then poured it in the glass.

  She turned around on her east and started sipping the cocktail little by little. She could tell the lingering diurnal forest from the newly awakened nocturnal ones. A lot of the diurnal Faunus were tripping over themselves and obviously drunk. The guards were shooking out those who were too unruly and giving other patrons a hard time. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to be so carefree… She wished she could choose to fraternise with whoever she wished…

  She eventually ordered a second golden carriage and finished it before heading out. She stared up at the shattered moon, the warm night washing over her. What was she supposed to do now? She didn’t want to be drunkenly wandering around the city (not that she was drunk after only two cocktails). She didn’t entirely feel like walking the several miles back to the castle either… She was at a bit of an impasse…

  Plus, she was getting pretty tired even if she wouldn’t sleep. It was simply exhausting to be up so late after her usual bedtime. She didn’t stay up this late enough to be used to it. It was probably closing in on midnight, one in the morning at this point…

  She blinked when she saw a carriage pull up in front of her. It bore the symbol of the United Cab Coalition. “Need a ride somewhere, little lady?” She glanced at the man’s soul and saw no ill intents. A strong sense of duty rolled off of him. He seemed like a legit cabby doing his job.

  She told him the address and climbed back into the carriage, slumping against the seat. She knew she shouldn’t be sulking like this. She should be home in the morning to meet Yang at breakfast. She was better than purely sulking… She was an advanced aura user and should be in control of her emotions rather than letting them control her. But it was so hard. She was only seventeen so she didn’t have the same life experiences her mother did when it came to emotions and controlling them. All she wanted was freedom… Why was that too much to ask?

  They arrived at an opulent manor—though not as opulent as the castle—and she got out, then paid the cabby for the ride. “You got business with Prince Nikhil?” He looked over top his glasses.

  “None of your business,” she retorted. It really wasn’t. Nikhil was her uncle so she could visit his house whenever she wanted to. She really needed some space tonight was all. Staying at home wasn’t appealing. She at least had a room here just in case something like this came up. He would house her no question asked.

  She made her way to start entering the manor but the guards stopped her. “What business do you have with—”

  “Oh shove off. Do you not recognise one of your own princesses? I am Her Highness Blake Belladonna, daughter to His Royal Highness Ghira Belladonna and Her Royal Highness Kali Belladonna. Prince Nikhil is my uncle.” She pulled her wallet out and practically shoved her ID at the guards. They must have been new. Nikhil’s staff knew who she was. The ID had magic in it to prove who she was. This was so ridiculous; she should have been able to walk into one of her family’s manors without being questioned.

  “P-Proceed. Forgive us, Your Highness.” They allowed her inside and she made a straight beeline for her room. She curled up on the futon and closed her eyes. Even if she couldn’t sleep, she ought to at least rest as much as she could… Tomorrow would be a big day…

  ?

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Yang groaned and rolled over when she heard tapping on the door. It was very light, almost inaudible, but it was very much out of place in the ambient noises of the castle. Somebody was trying to wake her up.

  She rolled over and sat up, then went to the sliding door. The little bird from yesterday stood on the perch. “Morning!” That bird was quite chipper. What time was it even? She didn’t know. It seemed kind of early. She could easily sleep for a few more hours… She was tempted to ignore the summons and go back to sleep.

  “Morn—” The comment was cut off by a yawn. Verana, this was awful. Her entire sleep cycle was completely out of whack thanks to having not really seen the sun for three months. Readapting to having a regular day/night cycle was going to take a little while. “What’s wrong?” Hopefully she hadn’t done anything to upset the king or queen. Kali seemed nice enough but nobles are quite fond of their games…

  “Breakfast!” Emmalyn chirped. “Breakfast soon!” It was too early for this… She was used to waking up about nine then going onto her clergy lessons for the day. She tended to eat alone since her family led such different lives. They used to eat meals together, but once Yang had become old enough to choose her own path, it had kind of been thrown to the wayside. SHe preferred to sleep a little later in the day. It was nicer to get a bit more sleep than be forced to rise at sunrise.

  “How long until then?” Aura breeds were pretty smart though she didn’t have much extensive with them. Could they be trained to tell time? They could learn the layout of a manor and act as guides. It didn’t seem too far fetched to believe they might be able to learn to tell time. She had a clock in the room, at least, so there was that.

  “What time?” Yang opened her door and the bird flew in, then looked at the clock. “Half hour.” So they could be taught to tell time. How interesting.

  “I’ll get dressed then.” Yang dug through the drawers and found dresses and such, though the family was relatively unfamiliar… It definitely wasn’t linen or cotton. Must have been some sort of locally produced cloth. Whatever it was, it was fairly soft. There were a lot of layers, though. She was so used to having a ton of different layers on. But in the tropical heat, she supposed it made sense to not overburden people with too many.

  Though getting her corset on by herself was a major pain. She hadn’t bothered with it while on the ship and she had attendants to help her with it at home.

  It took longer than she would have liked to admit to get it on. She mentally swore when she saw the time. Five minutes until breakfast started. “Take me to them.” She almost didn’t have time to think about the fact she was about to meet Blake. She didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the Belladonnas. Kali had been so kind to her, so she didn’t want to throw that back into the woman’s face.

  She followed behind Emmalyn at a jog, dodging between servants as they walked the halls. She offered a quick apology whenever she nearly rammed into somebody. Of course, none of them could probably understand her. She was at least trying to be polite and not impose on them. Running through the halls was probably pretty rude to them but she was trying to not be late. There was no real way to win this situation. Either she reflected negatively on the Belladonnas or the servants. There was no inbetween.

  Eventually she reached a dining room with a low table where some kids were playing in the corner. Kali and Ghira sat at the table with Lilou doing some needlepoint. A girl that looked about her age was sprawled out on the table. How bizarre. She’d never be allowed to act like that at the table in Vale or Mistral.

  “Uh, sorry if I’m late. My corset caused me some problems…” She felt awkward, standing over everyone. The table was like a lot of Mistrali ones: low on the ground with cushions to sit on. It wasn’t like Valian chairs with really high tables. Thankfully she was familiar with this style of table.

  “Oh, my, that’s on me, Yang. I didn’t think about that. Forgive me. I’ll have an attendant assigned to you to help with that. And you can sit right here.” Kali motioned to the spot near Ghira on the other side of the table. It was right across from Blake.

  She hesitantly sat down and shook her head. “It’s all right. This is a big shift for all of us.” It really wasn’t Kali’s fault. She probably wouldn’t have thought of half the things Kali had should she have been in the queen’s position. She still didn’t understand why she hadn’t been allowed to bring even one of her own attendants… King Ivan had basically left her destitute. She had nothing to her name. She had no money, no attendants, no nothing. She was entirely alone in this completely foreign land. She had nothing and nobody… Part of her regretted not taking Summer’s offer, but Summer may never have been allowed in Vale again if she left…

  “Thankfully, I do have some attendants that speak Valian. We often open up the castle to newcomers to Chiole so they can adapt to the country and learn the language. Sometimes they never leave. I can assign a couple of them to you for whatever you may need.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.” King Ivan would never do something like that. To her knowledge, most immigrants had to make their own way. Moving to Vale had been pretty hard on her and her father. Taiyang had some understanding of Valian, but he’d never had Yang taught. She really wished he had. It’d taken her a good couple years to learn Valian. She had at least grown up bilingual due to Raven, so learning Valian had been a little easier. But even so… She was facing yet another language to learn… She was not looking forward to it.

  It was around then that some servant brought in large dishes and sat plates in front of them. Communal eating with self-service. She could gather that much. She didn’t see any silverware, though… There were some serving implements in the food but no silverware… She didn’t want to seem rude by asking but she was confused. How was she supposed to—

  Oh.

  They ate with their hands.

  She’d heard some places in Mistral did that, but she’d grown up using chopsticks. Vale used forks, knives, and spoons. But Chiole apparently didn’t use either. She didn’t want to seem rude but she was definitely uncomfortable with this. Hands could be dirty and disgusting so to eat with them was offputting. But she didn’t want to put the Belladonnas on the spot either…

  Kali did look at Yang. “Oh, dear me, would you rather I tell them to get you some silverware?”

  “I…” Yang sighed. “Yes. I’m sorry.” She didn’t want to be rude, but Kali had asked. She would try to adapt as soon as possible. Some things would be harder for her to adapt to, though. Like this. She simply couldn’t make that adjustment yet. It was only her first full day here, so she hoped she wasn’t stepping too far out of line. Kali had directly asked her…

  Within a few minutes, she had her silverware and started eating. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to change as quickly as possible but…”

  Kali shook her head. “Take your time, dear. Nobody can expect you to make huge leaps and changes in less than twenty-four hours. Culture shock is never easy. Honestly, you’re already doing better than a lot of delegates that visit. Many refuse to adapt to or even acknowledge they’re in a foreign land when they come here…” That…had to be hard. Yang would try her best to be flexible, but some things would take a lot of time. She was going to be queen-consort one day and she wanted to not be seen as a horrible human that looked down on Faunus.

  “I want to do the best I can for your people… I don’t want to be some human that doesn’t respect your culture.” With as many humans looked down on Faunus, she could imagine most delegates didn’t have any respect. From the sound of it, the Belladonnas were forced to change in their own culture rather than have it respected. She would try her best to not be like them. But some things would be hard. Hopefully they could have some patience while she adapted…

  “We do appreciate it, dear, but take your time. We always have a hard time when—”

  It was then that something wrapped around Yang’s neck and drew her backwards. She couldn’t let out any sound because of how tightly her throat was cut off. What was going on?! Why couldn’t she breathe?! Were they trying to kill—

  She heard Kali yell something in Chilese which jolted Blake into consciousness. The pressure on her neck and head released. She breathed rapidly and shallowly, then caught sight of a small child wriggling into Kali’s lap. “Yang, I am so sorry… Zuri and Kota have been excited to get their new older sister.” The kid didn’t look any older than four or five. But he looked down, his tiny ears drooping. So it was the kid? Kids his age didn’t exactly have a lot of control especially when excited…

  “It’s all right. I have a younger sister. Not quite that young, but I remember her being that young.” But, then again, Ruby had always been a quiet kid. She hadn’t started speaking until the age of eight. She had never been rambunctious our anything. Ruby had always been relatively quiet and obedient which Yang knew wasn’t typical of kids. She’d been around other nobles and their kids tended to bounce around and be really energetic. Ruby had been a strange exception to how kids normally were.

  “Sister?” Kota looked at Yang.

  She nodded. “Sister.” The little boy brightened and his ears twitched a fair bit as he smiled. Yang rubbed her throat. Having a kid hang all his weight from her neck like that was uncomfortable but she wouldn’t be mad about it. He was still basically a baby. It didn’t mean it didn’t hurt though.

  “What are you eating with?” The stilted question drew her attention to a boy sitting next to Lilou. She’d barely noticed him when entering the dining room. He looked a bit older than the younger sister—Zuri, she supposed—but younger than Lilou. He fidgeted with his hands a bit, not looking at Yang.

  Eh? “You don’t know about silverware?” She wasn’t mad, just confused. Then again, if he had only eaten with his hands until now, she supposed it made sense. His words had been stilted so he may very well not be great at the language yet. “Not everyone eats with their hands. Vale eats with these.” She held up the basic utensils and named them for him while he repeated them. She smiled and nodded. “Like that.”

  Gabriel smiled bashfully and dipped his head, going back to his meal. He didn’t say anything else, so she took that to mean the small conservation was over.

  Though she did notice Blake watching her carefully. Their eyes met and Blake glanced down at her food. Odd behavior. She wouldn’t call her out on it, though. It might make things super awkward between them. Well, more than it already was. It was going to take them quite a while to fully warm up to each other or so it seemed. She wasn’t sure if she should say anything to Blake or let her approach on her own terms. People could be difficult at the best of times, but when forced into a situation like this… How were they supposed to act?

  “Forgive Gabriel, Yang.” Kali spoke again and broke her and Blake’s tension. “We don’t start on foreign etiquette lessons until they’re about twelve. We don’t really allow our children to interact with dignitaries until they’re older. So Gabriel and Zuri will have questions. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll have my own questions. I hope you guys can be patient with me.” She was trying her best but it was a lot to take in so far. She could already imagine how many more shocks she was in for while here. She would probably be meeting Chilese nobles sooner than she would want… The wedding was in only six months. She only had six months until she would be adopted into a royal family and became princess-consort. She would be expected to function in noble society to some degree. That…was absolutely terrifying. She knew how to handle Valian noble society, but Chilese? Veran, she was going to make the Belladonnas look so bad.

  “We’ll help you in what you need to. Don’t be afraid to ask me, Ghira, Blake, Lilou, Tahir, or Elana if you have questions.” Kali smiled warmly and Yang gave a small nod before looking at Blake. Blake still had her gaze focused on her plate. Could she really trust her fiance to help her? It didn’t seem too likely. Blake was obviously trying to avoid her. Not that Yang was raring to talk to her either… But they needed to try to make this work.

  “Er, I’m Yang. How…do you guys greet? Bowing, handshake, curtsy, something else?” Might as well get the awkward introduction out of the way. They were going to have to spend their lives together. She had no idea if this would work out or not. They had to at least try, though. Blake had said as much herself in her introductory letter. Would she reciprocate anything…?

  “A dip of the head, though how long depends on your status.” Kali smiled at her. “While you may not officially be a member of the royal family yet, we count you as one of our own.” That…was incredibly sweet of them. She really ought to be the dregs comparatively. She was a bastard in Vale’s eyes, so she ought to be in Chiole’s eyes as well.

  Yang offered Blake a momentary dip of her head and Blake returned it. “I’m Blake…” She saw her hesitate. “Would you like to join me for tea around one this afternoon?”

  That…definitely took Yang aback. They were both clearly trying to avoid the others. But apparently the both had resigned to this fate. There was really nothing they could do about it. So Yang nodded. “All right. I’ll be going on a tour of the city at some point today. Would you like to join me?” Might as well be polite. It probably wouldn’t be until the afternoon though… She wanted to curl up for a few more hours and get a bit more sleep. She couldn’t quite suppress the yawn from presenting itself.

  Blake looked at Kali who nodded. “All right.”

  Yang was done eating so she looked at Kali. “May I be excused? I’d like to get a little more sleep.”

  “Of course, dear. Rest well.”

  “Thank you.” Yang got up and found Emmalyn outside of the dining room. She returned to her room and curled up on the futon. She was not looking forward to that afternoon, but she would have to face Blake eventually…