"Your Majesty." Gabe knelt to the floor, pulling Cerra's sleeve to do the same.

"Your Majesty," Cerra muttered.

"You may stand," the man said. The two of them stood, Gabe grinning and Cerra with a look of extreme confusion.

"Jay, what are you doing here?" Gabe asked casually. Cerra gaped at him. How could he be so impolite to a prince? 

"The palace gets boring sometimes," Prince Jay shrugged. "I come out and take walks." Cerra had heard of Prince Jay before. He was the second child of the first queen, Gaby, who had died while in exile. 

"And the palace isn't big enough for you to stroll around?" Gabe laughed. "I'm sure it'll take you a day to walk through the whole thing."

"It actually takes two days," Prince Jay corrected. "Anyways," he turned to Cerra, "I saw what you could do." Cerra sucked in a breath. She had hidden her ability so well and after one simple use, it was known to a prince?

"Don't worry, nobody else seemed to notice it was you," he continued. "But since your ability is so unique, I'd like to make you an offer."

"An offer?" Gabe cut in.

"Yes, an offer," Prince Jay said. "However, it cannot be known to anyone else."

"So like a spy mission or something?" Gabe asked.

"Hold on," Cerra said, "why are you even talking to me?" It was unusual for a noble to talk casually to a commoner, much less a royal. And an offer? That didn't sound safe.

"Am I not allowed to?" the prince asked incredulously.

"It's not that... " Cerra said. Having a casual conversation with a person of much higher status wasn't exactly how she thought she'd end her day. If this was anyone else, she would have been spit on and disgraced.

"Okay, so back to the offer," Prince Jay said, waving her comment away as if this were absurd. "I want you to come to the palace and work as my personal servant. You won't be treated like a servant, that will only be your title. I... My siblings and I are in dire need for a bodyguard."

"A bodyguard??" Cerra asked, confused. "Is there something going on in the palace that we don't know about?"

Prince Jay chuckled bitterly. "There's a lot going on in the palace that only we know about."

"I don't think it's a good idea... " Gabe said slowly. "I just have a bad feeling about it."

"BUT!" Prince Jay stopped Gabe with a grin, "Did I mention the monthly salary?" He bent down and scratched the ground with a stick.

"One hundred tasi?" Cerra asked, her eyes wide. The prince shook his head with a smile, drawing a "p" in the air.

"PAELS???" Cerra almost screamed at the number. Normally, she would be fortunate to scrounge twenty tasi in a month. The prince nodded, but Cerra hesitated. She always hated the ways of the nobles, how they abused their powers to get what they wanted and dodged the law. She had seen in action how commoners were sucked into bribes and how they ended up worse than they started. But with her mother ill... The money could be used well.

"I don't pay that much to just anyone, though," Prince Jay reminded her. "You'll have to do a good job."

"Don't worry about that. Gabe will train me." Cerra said with a thin smile. "Won't you Gabe?"

Gabe looked to the prince for permission.

"That's fine," the prince said. "He can come two times every week if he's okay with that." Gabe shrugged. He had enough leisure time.

"Then you can start today!" The prince clapped his hands like a child. Cerra rolled her eyes, then froze. Today? That didn't give her much time to prepare her dad for her leave.

"Could I... " she started tentatively.

"Go ahead," Prince Jay urged. "I will help as long as I am able."

"Could I receive weekly payments? I'll still get the same amount of money," Cerra asked. She knew she was asking a favor of the prince, and she hated owing other people, but it would be easier to send money back and make sure her parents had enough to at least indulge a little.

"Oh yes definitely!" The prince exclaimed. "Meet around eight?"

"Where?"

"The palace, of course!"

• • •

"Are you kidding?" Cerra's dad yelled. "I am not allowing you to enter the palace. And by yourself!" Cerra winced at his tone. He hadn't yelled at her for years. 

"Mom will hear you," she said quietly. "I'm doing this for you guys." 

"If you want to do things for us," her dad said. "Then don't go." 

Cerra shook her head. "You don't understand. The money can help so much. You guys can live in a better house and eat food that isn't a month old and sleep with thicker blankets than a tablecloth. Dad... Please. you know I'm right."

• • •

At eight o' clock sharp, Cerra was at the palace gates, crouching in the shadows. If she were found here by a noble... She didn't want to think what could happen. A hand gently tapped her shoulder.

"Come on," Prince Jay said, "we're going to sneak in from the back."

"Wait, wait, wait," Cerra said, pulling away. "Why do we need to sneak in?"

"Because I didn't officially sign you up as a 'servant' yet," the prince explained. "But don't worry, we'll sort that out once we get inside."

"I really hope you aren't going to get me killed," Cerra said.

"I hope not either," the prince said with a wince. "We'll have to see."

In the dark, the palace seemed to surround them; thriving trees in the day, but deathly arms reaching out for you at night. The majestic walls glittering in the sunlight turned into dead ends trapping you.

"This way," Prince Jay motioned, grabbing Cerra's hand in his. It was abnormally warm on such a chilly night. Eventually, they reached a looming courtyard, it's huge doors seemingly swaying in the wind. Two guards were asleep on either side, smelling of cheap liquor.

"Is this why you need a good bodyguard?" Cerra asked, rolling her eyes. Prince Jay tried to quietly push open the door, resulting in a fit of creaking. The two guards fidgeted in their sleep, yet didn't wake up. Cerra wondered what had happened for them to drink so much. Although the inside of the courtyard was as dark as the outside, it seemed a lot more peaceful and less intimidating. It's many flowers gently swayed in the wind, sending off a sweet and light fragrance of lavender.

They entered another pair of doors leading to a large living room, adorned with several couches and elegant vases. The living room was almost two times the size of Cerra's entire house, with drapes and curtains leading to other adjoined rooms. There was a rustling from inside, and a boy rushed out.

"Your Majesty, you disappeared so suddenly I—" the boy broke off, staring at Cerra, his eyes wide. "Wait what have you been doing?"

Prince Jay chuckled, waving him off. "Nothing you're thinking about."

"Why is she here?" the boy asked.

"She's my new bodyguard. You'll have to treat her well." Prince Jay replied. "Go get some tea while I tell her about the palace." The two boys explained exchanged a knowing glance. Cerra wondered how many secrets the palace kept from the citizens.

For the next hour, Prince Jay told Cerra of the years upon years of history of fights women had to become queen, the fights men had to become crown prince. Cerra was engrossed by the way he told these stories; he seemed to relay the emotions of every person as if he were that person. She hated him one minute, then sympathized with him the next. It was a whirlpool of treacheries and emotion, and when he stopped, she longed for more.

"How come there aren't even rumors?" Cerra asked. With so many things happening and so many stories, it was almost impressive how she hadn't heard of any of it.

"Punishments at the palace are quite... Harsh," Prince Jay said, wincing slightly. "But don't worry about that! I'll show you around the palace tomorrow and tell you more about what's happening now."

Blake returned with a tea set, two cups steaming with hot tea. Cerra noticed that the smell seemed similar to what she drank at home.

"Is this jasmine?" she asked. "How come you guys don't drink Ti Kuan Yin or Pu Erh?"

Prince Jay looked at her like she was talking in another language. "Jasmine and marigold both have a kind of light and flowery flavor." He said. "I like them better for relaxing." Cerra nodded, while thinking to herself. Jasmine and marigold were almost the cheapest teas in the kingdom, it seemed impossible that a prince would be using them. She eyed the two people she met only a few hours ago. Maybe some of the upper class were not as they seemed.