Chapter 53

The side of the bed Alisen had slept on was empty. She must have already gotten up.

Lyana sat up and pulled her legs up to rest her head on them. This dream had seemed so real that

she was sure it actually was. At least in the sense that Princess Feronia had really come to her in her

dream. But what should she do with it now? Feronia said that she had anything to stop King Ulric, but what exactly that was, she hadn't told her. Had she missed something?

"Your Royal Highness! You are already awake", Alisen, who had just come down from the hall, greeted her. She had already changed and brought a tray of tea and a couple of sandwiches.

The princess frowned in confusion. "Yeah, I just woke up. But why are you bringing my food to my room?" Lyana had a bad feeling when she had asked the question.

Unfortunately, her maid did not do her a favor either and dispelled her fears. "Instructions from the king," she replied with a slight regret. "He doesn't want you to leave your room today before ..."

"Before it's all over," Lyana finished her sentence bitterly, not knowing whether to be touched or

angry. The sister spoke in riddles and the brother tied her hands so that she could not do anything at

all. Slowly the siblings seemed to be more alike than initially thought. They both made life difficult

for her.

Sighing, she let herself fall back a little. "Do you have this information from Baridi?"

Alisen nodded and put the tray on the table to prepare it. "I should also tell you something else."

Now she got interested. "And what is that supposed to be?"

The maid came to her and sat on the edge of the bed. "He said he spoke to King Ulric about your cousin. But the information did not seem to interest him. Or maybe he just didn't show anything."

That actually made Lyana nervous, but at least Baridi had kept his word. What the king did now, however, was his decision. "Was that all?"

"No." Her maid shook her head. "Baridi also said that your father's troop is expected today around noon or a little later." So there was still some time until then. She pulled herself together and got out of bed. Actually, she didn't really feel like having breakfast, but on such an important day she shouldn't leave the room without refreshments. If she would get out of here at all. But one after the other.

Since Lyana suspected that her maid hadn't eaten either, she insisted on sharing the meal with her.

But here, too, it took a lot of persuasion before she agreed.

"Have you already decided what you will wear today?" Asked her maid while eating.

Lyana looked at her in amazement. "Why should I think about it?"

Alisens eyes widened. "But Your Royal Highness, today is an important day. Just like men put on

armor when they go to war, you too should choose some type of armor."

She wouldn't have thought of that herself. Presumably her maid was not entirely wrong. Who knew how to stop the king from harming her family? It couldn't hurt to use everything that was available

to her. "Well, what would you suggest to wear?" Alisen jumped up enthusiastically. "Just a moment, please," she said before leaving the room and coming back shortly afterwards with something white in her arms.

"Is that my cape? It's nice that it was cleaned again, but a cape alone ..." Suddenly she saw something flashing in Alisens arms. She went to her maid and took the cape from her to put it on the bed immediately afterwards. Something was wrapped in it, so she pulled the fur aside. A dress came

to light that was so beautiful that Lyana couldn't grasp it. "Where did you get that? I don't remember

having bought such a dress at the market?"

"No wonder, this dress didn't come from the market. It's ... it's a dress King Ulric had ordered for his

sister. Baridi just received it from his father today."

Why should Nevis have a dress that was supposed to be for Feronia? And why did he want her to wear it? She picked up the dress and held it up to the light. It started to sparkle like snow in the sun.

The look of the dress was simple and the fabric felt like silk, it was really soft.

"You'd think that it would have gotten dirty or yellowed over the years, but it's just as sparkling

white as your cape," said Alisen, rapt.

"It is really breathtakingly beautiful. But what if it does exactly the opposite and the king gets angry again?" Now her maid looked worried too. "Would you prefer to take a different dress? That would of course not be a problem."