The palace is even larger than I thought it was. Jessan doesn’t seem fazed, but he’s probably been here before, so he’s seen this before.

“Come in, you need to meet my husband.” Alissa says, giddy like she’s a high school girl introducing her best friends to her boyfriend. She grabs my hand and pulls me inside, grinning madly. She comes up to a pair of doors, and two footmen in green open the doors for us into a huge throne room.

At the end of the lavishly decorated throne room is a throne, believe it or not. Wow, how original, you guys put thrones in a throne room. I think. 

You’re tired, Lara. I tell myself, and look around. 

Sitting in the throne is a man with light brown hair and blue eyes. He doesn’t wear a crown, but holds his head like he should be wearing one. He wears the same kind of clothes as Jessan was wearing, but better, and a deep green. He talks to someone in a nice suit standing next to him, and as the door opens, he looks over at us. His eyes fall on Alissa, and he smiles. She smiles back brightly, and he says a couple more words to the man at his side, then stands up, and walks with perfect grace down to Alissa. 

“Preston.” Alissa says cheerfully, as she meets the king in the middle of the throne room, taking his hands. 

“You’re back?” He asks. 

“Yes, and I’ll be staying for a nice long time so you don’t get lonely.” Alissa says, her eyes all sparkly. The king’s eyes don’t have the same sparkle, but I’m sure it’s fine. 

“You shouldn’t have left in the first place.” Preston says, kissing Alissa’s forehead. 

“Preston, these kids need opportunities.” 

“Then we can get someone else to give them opportunities, Lis.” Preston says, putting his arm around Alissa’s waist. “Your place is here.” 

“Okay.” Alissa says, defeated. She looks at the ground, then glances over at me. “Oh, this is the child I brought from Turbrook.” She says, pulling Preston over to me. “Preston, this is Lara Austin. Lara, this is my husband Preston.” I curtsey like I’m supposed to, and Preston nods, not even giving me a glance. “I can show you to where you’ll be staying.” She tells me. “I hope you’re okay wi-”

“No, you’ll stay here with me.” Preston interrupts, pulling Alissa closer to him. She nods, and turns back to me. 

“Just tell Jessan to show you.” She says. “He knows where you’re staying.” I nod, and leave the throne room. Jessan waits outside. 

“First impression of the king?” Jessan asks, as we start up the grand staircase past portraits of past kings and queens of Estwa. I spot Alissa’s portrait, and Preston’s right next to it. He looks boring. 

“Possessive, shallow, misogynistic.” I answer plainly, folding my arms. 

“That’s exactly what I thought when I saw them first.” He says, putting his hands in his pockets. 

“What happened to them?” I ask, almost tripping over one of the stairs and breaking my head on the lovely marble.

“I haven’t heard the full story.” Jessan says, walking with me up another set of stairs. “But I know she comes from a really wealthy family, and she’s known for her beauty.” I nod. “So I guess that all explains why he only needed one date to know he wanted to marry her.” 

“Oh, goodness.” I say, putting my hand over my mouth. 

“Yeah, royal life is not peachy.” He says, chuckling. “I don’t think Alissa knows he doesn’t care about her yet.” 

“She’ll have to figure it out eventually.” I tell him, and he nods, walking up to a nice cream-colored door with gold inlay. “You’ll be staying in here, so you’ll probably stay up all night discussing unicorns and princesses and giggling.” He teases. “And since my room is right next door, I’m going into town to purchase some earplugs.” 

“Thanks for that.” I say, folding my arms. 

“Actually, I’m supposed to introduce you to the girls, so afterwards I’ll get ear protection.” He says with a charming grin, and knocks on the door. A girl with long waves of red hair pokes her head out, and she watches me with narrowed eyes. “Hey, Aeryn.” Jessan says, waving. The girl opens the door wider and folds her arms. She’s even shorter than me. 

“You’re going to make a joke about my height, aren’t you, Jessan?” She asks Jessan, who still smiles.

“Not if you’re short-tempered today.” Jessan teases. Aeryn stares at him, and rolls her eyes after a while. 

“I’m going to knock you into next week.” She threatens. 

“Could you do that later?” Jessan asks, still grinning. “I’m trying to look cool in front of the new girl.” He gestures to me, and I flush, smiling. 

“New girl!” Another girl shrieks, running past Aeryn into the hallway. She has pretty dark skin, and her glossy black hair is chin-length and fashionably styled. She grins, and turns to Jessan. “Is she going to be staying with us?” 

“Yeah.” He says. The girl pulls me into the room, and shuts the door in Jessan’s face. 

Inside the room, four beds with pale, feminine blue bedspreads. A girl with brown hair sits on the one closest to the door, and looks up at me when the other girl drags me in. Aeryn smirks at me and walks over to the second bed. 

“Oh! Introductions!” The girl holding my arm says. “I’m Gemma Myers