Rustam sat next to a table on the balcony of the castle library. He’d woken up early to get some sketching and writing done before the craziness of the day began. The sky was still pretty dark but had spots of light blue, pink, and gold were slowly taking over. But it was a perfect time for sketching and writing. The only people awake were the servants, but they weren't too loud as they went about their duties. He liked that the balcony gave him some solitude.

The king and queen of the Eastern Leaflet were going to visit today. They weren’t able to come to Llewellyn's birthday party because they’d been away on business, but would be stopping by today. He’d only met them once back when he was twelve and it’d been a brief meeting. Everything he knew about them was from reading Galenova’s letters. In the beginning, she enjoyed her uncle and aunt visiting, but that changed when she was fifteen. She said something felt different about them but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it…

“What are you doing?”

The Dwarf jumped and immediately closed his sketchbook. He saw Ignacia sitting on her floating lime plush. “Igy, what are you doing up so early? Don’t you have a hangover after how much you drank last night?”

“I only drank three bottles of wine last night,” Ignacia pointed out and jumped onto the balcony. Her lime plush charm went back to its normal size and she reattached it to her hat. “Once I got some food in my stomach, I was fine.”

Rustam shook his head at his friend and laughed. “Well, that answers one of my questions. But that doesn’t answer why you’re up early.”

She sat across from him and shrugged. “Said bye to my parents at the docks. They gotta make a delivery in the Western Leaflet and the ship leaves soon.” Her left eye twitched thinking about her mother's words and how her father never said anything to stop her. Not that she expected him to say anything. For as long as she could remember, her father rarely said anything. Which was surprising considering how loud her grandmother was and her grandfather wasn't exactly quiet either.

“Is your mother still insisting you find someone?” Rustam asked.

“Always,” the young woman groaned and slouched in her chair. “Mother kept pointing out guys last night whenever she could. Kept asking if I was attracted to any of them or saw them as a potential romantic partner. Told her I don’t see them as anything since I don’t know them. I think she’s afraid Daelyniel is playing with my feelings. If only she knew…”

“We agreed not to say anything until he’s ready,” Rustam reminded her.

Ignacia stuck her tongue out at him. “I know that! But my mother wouldn’t say such things if she knew the truth. It probably doesn’t help when I say I love him, huh?”

Rustam laughed at that. He remembered hearing her say that in front of her parents. Their faces had gone through a myriad of emotions in a short amount of time. They’d even pulled him aside to question her relationship with his cousin. “It certainly throws people off when you say that. But they don’t know you don’t mean it in a romantic sense.”

The blonde woman tried to sneakily bring his sketchbook closer but he stopped her. “Gross. Loving him like that would be like loving a brother. You, him, and Galenova are the closest things I have to siblings. Thank the Deities for that! Can you imagine my grandparents having to raise another child? What if it came out just like me? The world would implode.”

“One of you is certainly more than enough,” Rustam agreed.

“I know Dael and I agreed to marry each other if we’re both single when I turn forty, but a small part is a little worried about being alone,” Ignacia admitted quietly. She fidgeted with her cloak for a few seconds before smiling brightly at him. “Well, if that happens, I expect you and your muse for your poems to give me a lot of nieces and nephews one day!”

The Dwarf’s cheeks went red and his blue eyes widened. “W-What do you mean? I don’t write poems about anyone!” When he saw the knowing look in her green eyes, he scoffed and crossed his arms. “Shut up.”

Ignacia gasped in dramatic shock and put her hand over her heart. “Your Highness! Such a vile thing to say to your loyal subject! What would your muse think if she were to hear you speak in such a way? Or your mother? The ladies of the court will clutch their pearls!”

“That would probably bring some attention to me instead of the usual ignoring I experience,” Rustam jested. “And why do you think I have a muse? How did you know about my writing?”

Ignacia blew a kiss and winked at him. “Fear not, my secretive redheaded friend. I haven’t seen what you’ve written. You’re very quick to hide that. Quicker than dodging a hit that's for damn sure. At least your head is hard. If all else fails, you can headbutt someone into the afterlife.”

“Your head is just as hard.” Rustam leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Who is visiting besides Galenova’s uncle and aunt? I thought I heard more visitors were coming.”

The blonde woman adjusted her hat and blew a strand of hair away from her face. “I think I heard that the Archfiend prince and his group will be coming here.”

Rustam’s head snapped down to look at his friend. “What? The Archfiend prince? Why would he come here?” It was uncommon for any race from the realm of demons, Periculosum, to come to their realm. All kinds of Chthonians, the demon races, usually avoided coming here and didn’t involve themselves in mortal affairs…unless a high price was paid.

Ignacia grinned at him. “Why else but for Prince Phenex to propose to Galenova? Think he’ll be the one to crack the code on the stone tablet?”

The Dwarf scoffed at her and crossed his arms. “Considering you’re the one who wrote whatever is on that thing? I wouldn’t bet on it. What is that language anyway? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“No idea. It's just some mystery language I've written in for as long as I can remember,” she replied. “Think Prince Phenex is going to be victim number one hundred? I hope so.” She giggled at the thought of the Archfiend prince failing to translate what was written. All Chthonians were very prideful beings and being outsmarted by any kind of mortal would be a huge blow to their ego. Even if he didn’t propose, she still wanted him to try and figure out what it said. It was always amusing to watch others try or pretend they had a clue of what language it was and what it said. Only she and Galenova knew, and it’s been fun to watch or read about all of the failures so far.

After Galenova turned fifteen, her father said she would have to wed someone and he would start looking for a suitable man for her. Not wanting to marry a man she didn’t love, Galenova asked if she could have one condition for the men he sent her way and he agreed. But in her haste in asking for this, she didn’t know what that condition should be and asked Ignacia for help. Luckily for the Nymph princess, she was visiting at the time and came up with a plan. Ignacia carved something onto a stone tablet in the mystery language and made the argument that Galenova couldn’t be with a man who wasn’t “worldly." If a man wished to court the Nymph princess, he had to translate what was on the tablet first. Galenova's father hadn't been happy about this, but he had to keep his word unless he wanted others to think less of him. 

So far, ninety-nine men have failed.

But Ignacia knew Galenova had her eye on someone. It was very obvious except to the one person her friend liked.

“And what if Prince Phenex does happen to know what it says?” Rustam asked nervously. He’d like to believe that Galenova wouldn’t think of marrying someone she didn't really know, but one could never tell. She never seemed interested in any of the men who’d attempted to guess what was on the tablet. Men would keep trying until one won. After all, Galenova would be next in line for the Eastern Leaflet throne after her brother.

“He won’t,” Ignacia said with confidence. “Why do you ask? Do you liiiiiiiiiike her?”

Rustam looked away to hide the blush on his cheeks. “She’s my friend. I just want the best for her. She should get to choose who she wants to marry.”

“She is. Just not in the most traditional way,” Ignacia giggled. “That’s why I gave her the stone tablet. And I got to argue with her father. That was fun. He needs to be taken down a peg or two. He’s a good man, but I hate that he and his wife have neglected her since her brother was born.”

He nodded in agreement and stood up to stretch. “Galenova is a strong woman. She just needs to believe in herself more.”

That’s rich coming from you. Ignacia thought to herself. Both of them needed more confidence in her opinion. “We should head back to our rooms and get ready for the visitors. Gotta make ourselves look presentable. And get ready to see another rejection!”

Rustam nodded and gathered his stuff. He looked over the balcony and saw Galenova’s parents having a discussion in the gardens. Her mother looked a little upset while her father looked mad. They were too far for him to hear what was being said, but he hoped that his friend would be okay. 

A very special shoutout to Narwhal! It's Ignacia on a flying Lime, a character from Narwhal's comic, The Tartarean Troop! <3

Fun fact: Ignacia's lime charm was heavily inspired by Lime.