The insistent, sudden knocking on Cassandra's door jerked her out of a sound sleep. She shifted under her blanket, and a loud yawn escaped her as her bedchamber door flung open.

Half a heartbeat later, Hecuba danced into the room. She hummed a cheerful tune.

Cassandra sat up and smiled at her mother. Paris' arrival the previous week had breathed vigor into Hecuba's soul. She resembled the vibrant and jolly mother of Cassandra's childhood.

"Good-morning, Mother."

Hecuba sang louder as she sashayed over to the room's single, large window, threw open the heavy curtains, and exposed the already bright day. The Queen then approached her daughter and kissed Cassandra's cheek.

"Good-morning, my precious honeycomb."

Hecuba twirled away. She went to the wood trunk that accompanied the space next to the ornate fireplace still flickering with weak flames. Hecuba opened the trunk and shifted through the peploi inside.

Cassandra left her bed and stood beside her mother. "Your spirits are high."

Hecuba stopped examining a blue and white peplos and grinned at her daughter. "The gods have blessed us."

Cassandra giggled, unable to resist Hecuba's infectious happiness. "Yes, they have."

She wrapped her arms around her mother's soft middle and hugged her tight.

The Queen squeezed back.

When she let go, she patted her daughter on the back and resumed rummaging through the trunk.

"What are you looking for?"

"Where's that purple peplos you received from Ilione for your birthday last year?"

Cassandra plucked out the peplos in question. "Here."

"Yes, good," Hecuba mumbled to herself as she took the garment and placed it on the bed. Then the Queen rooted around a second smaller trunk beside the first for the matching set of sandals.

Cassandra looked at her peplos then her mother. "What do you want with my clothing?"

Hecuba stopped singing and made more noise than necessary as she continued her search.

Suspicion fluttered in Cassandra's stomach. "Mother, what's going on?"

"Nothing bad, Cassandra." Hecuba turned from the trunk and cradled the sought-after sandals. "I thought you should look nice today, even more so than you usually do."

"Why?"

Cassandra hated how her mother couldn't meet her demanding gaze.

What did Hecuba have in mind?

"A princess should look as if she carries within her the flame of Aphrodite," Hecuba answered as she fled from Cassandra's bedchamber to the attached bathing chamber.

Cassandra followed close behind, a growth Hecuba couldn't rid herself of with ease.

"Mother, explain." Cassandra raced around the Queen in a sudden burst of speed to block her mother's path.

Hecuba placed her hands on her hips. "This is ridiculous behavior. You need to bathe, and we need to hurry. The King won't tolerate tardiness."

"Father and you have something planned. What? What?"

"You're required to entertain a crucial guest."

The sick feeling brought on by Hecuba's strange actions exploded into shock and almost doubled Cassandra over from the suddenness of it.

"A suitor, you mean."

"He's a... nice young man."

"But still a suitor."

Hecuba sighed. "You're of age. Many suitors will come and beg the King for your hand. I've tried to prepare you since you entered womanhood."

Cassandra's shock had turned into a fear that settled on her shoulders. "This is so soon, though."

The annoyance that had flared bright red on Hecuba's face when her daughter had stopped her progression into the bathing chamber faded. Compassion replaced it as she cupped Cassandra's cheek.

Cassandra leaned against her mother's hand, surprised by an overwhelming need for the Queen's affection. She hadn't felt this way in years.

"You're scared, my little honeycomb." Cassandra nodded, and Hecuba's lips twitched into an understanding smile. "It's always terrifying in the beginning, but don't dwell on that. Think of it as the start of a future so wonderful you'll feel as if the gods have crafted a special life for you."

The Queen's tender words told Cassandra her mother's thoughts had drifted to her experience with Priam.

He'd rescued a terrorized Hecuba from her cruel father. Hecuba lived a fantasy she hadn't allowed herself to dream of at her daughter's age.

Cassandra had to admit she found it exhilarating to wish for love so grand and romantic, but she wasn't in the same situation as her mother had been in Cisseus. Cassandra didn't need saving, and thus much less willing to leave all she had and dive headfirst into the unknown waters of marriage.

Yes, she realized the young man who called wouldn't necessarily become her husband. But if the young man had the right connections or enough money, Priam would grant him Cassandra's hand.

Any protests would go unheard.

Priam loved his daughters with every beat of his heart, Cassandra knew, and he'd tried his best so far to marry his oldest daughters to fine men. But he hadn't remained on the throne for so long by ignoring intelligent, strategic unions to keep one of his princesses happy.

Cassandra looked away from her mother's wistful gaze. "That sounds... nice—Great."

Hecuba grinned and grasped Cassandra's hand. She tugged her toward the large basin that sat on the table in the center of the room.

"Undress," the Queen instructed as she gathered many bathing instruments and set them next to the two pots of water next to the basin, one cold and one warm (servants replaced the water throughout the day and night).

Cassandra stripped out of her nightclothes. "Where are my handmaidens?"

Hecuba pointed at the basin. "I'll perform their duties this morning. This is a special occasion, requires a mother's touch."

Cassandra approached the table.

Once there, Hecuba undid Cassandra's braid and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair until no knots remained. Finished, the Queen picked up one pot and poured the chilly water into the basin.

"Wet your hair" Hecuba instructed.

Cassandra complied, and afterward, Hecuba poured soap that smelt like roses and honey onto Cassandra's head. Together, they worked the thick liquid through her wet curls. Then Cassandra rinsed out the soap, and Hecuba retrieved a sponge.

As her mother washed Cassandra into a shining pearl, Hecuba told Cassandra, in chirping tones, how Priam had won her undying love.

Cassandra listened as her mother droned on about the many presents and trips the King had showered on his young bride to secure her affection. Cassandra had heard these stories since her early years, but her mother's accounts enthralled as if Hecuba told them for the first time.

Maybe now Cassandra would discover the secret to her parents' grand love affair in the Queen's words.

"It wasn't just the splendor, though," Hecuba said as she finished, and Cassandra rinsed herself off. "It was—still is—fabulous, but the beauty of all the material items paled compared to the greatest treasure the King has ever given me."

"What?" Cassandra asked as she dried her body.

She prayed the Queen would reveal wisdom rather than promote one of her notorious silly notions.

"He allowed me to get to know the man beneath his exterior. He's more than my King, my husband, and lover. He's my greatest friend; a soul that resonates with my own."

The seriousness in her tone captivated Cassandra. This was what she'd expected hearing. Now all Cassandra could do was take it and hope the Fates would give her the gift Hecuba's knowledge could bring.

"Oh."

"There's a man out there like that for you. There's one for every woman." Hecuba's demeanor had drifted back to a more whimsical one. "I know there is," she added with so much conviction Cassandra let herself believe it.

But will I ever meet him? Cassandra wondered as her mother rubbed oil into her skin.

Will I be as lucky as my mother? Could this suitor be my soul's mate?

Once her skin was softened, her mother whisked her into her bedchamber. Hecuba hummed the same song from when she'd burst in on her daughter that morning as she wrestled with Cassandra's damp hair. The Queen combed and twisted it until she'd tamed it into an intricate hairstyle. Then Hecuba went to work enhancing her daughter's best features.

Hecuba smiled as she finished Cassandra's eyes. "Not much to do."

Cassandra chuckled and helped her mother fasten her peplos in place. Next came the sandals, and then Cassandra gazed at herself in the mirror in the corner of her bedchamber. Hecuba had made Cassandra's face appear more sculpted, older.

Cassandra had to admit she looked striking, and it terrified her (and thrilled her, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud) to know a strange man would see her like this and judge her potential on the impression she made today. She understood how her worth hung on the image of loveliness she projected.

Hecuba appeared behind Cassandra. "You'll stop that young man's heart."

A smile crossed Cassandra's lips.

Wouldn't that be something?

All her father's hard work wasted.

Unless the young man had come with his father, and his father was single and interested.

The idea erased Cassandra's amused expression.

She had to face the truth. By the day's end, she could have a betrothed.

Hecuba patted Cassandra's shoulder. "Your father's waiting for our arrival."

The Queen nudged Cassandra, and they left the room.

As they walked down the hallway, sudden foreboding filled Cassandra, but she couldn't run back and hide behind a locked door.

No, she had to embrace her future, whatever it held.