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[center][sub]Interacting with: [@PrinceAlexus], [@c3p-0h] and [@The Muse][/sub][/center]

[color=lightgray]Katherine let the prince’s voice wash over like distant thunder--acknowledged, but not truly felt. His words could have just as easily come from her own father with their not-so-subtle connotation, hiding an order within a seemingly innocent statement. It was a command that practically [i]shouted[/i] 'back off', and something that her father had used liberally in court. Yet Katherine didn’t flinch as Flynn met her eyes with his own, nor did she bow her head or rush to obey. She stood unmoving, steady as carved stone, emotions still ever-unreadable on her face. The respect of rank had long been burned from her mind, too many years spent under her father’s thumb had ensured it.

The years of being trained to think of Aurelians as the enemy had rooted the sentiment deep in her mind, and it was proving difficult to look past it. The all familiar armor of their soldiers only served to remind her further of the many scouts and spies she’d been made to interrogate, and the discomfort of the memory spread through her like a poison. 

Nobility loved to act as if the last fifty years of peace had changed anything. It was true that there were no battles being fought between Aurelian and Lunarian armies, and that vast amounts of bloodshed had been avoided. But the war for intelligence was more active than ever. Katherine’s mere presence in Dawnhaven confirmed it. The guise of trust between nations, but a complete lack of it in reality.

And now, here stood the nobility, standing in the heart of her place of worship, flanked by armed guards and speaking of peace with the same breath they used to command. That [i]he[/i] used to command.

Persephone’s voice behind her had served to strengthen Katherine’s position, another Lunarian not comfortable with Aurelian steel marching into their temple. She found her eyes glancing to the soldiers, musing silently inside as they seemed to avoid returning the look. Not fear, but yet not quite resentment either.

Katherine’s head only turned when Amaya made herself known. The softest voice that was quiet even in the tranquility of the temple, a voice that Katherine realized she'd never heard before. The young girl she’d crossed glances with all of those years ago, still looking as timid as when Katherine had last seen her. The very same girl, now a woman, that she would be responsible for silencing.

At least this time the blade wouldn’t be in Amaya’s back.

At least this time, she’d see it coming.

Katherine’s jaw remained relaxed, her posture still composed, listening to Amaya’s every word. But her thoughts stormed beneath the veil, a hint of recognition as she studied the way Amaya spoke, the way she hid behind a mask. The girl she’d remembered from the festival--curious, shy and yet reckless--now cloaked in the very same veil of diplomacy that Katherine knew so well. Every single word, carefully chosen. The apology, the concessions, all a calculated delivery to disarm and discredit her concerns. Amaya’s voice was warmer, but it had been made clear that the two of them stood united in their sentiments. 

[i]They were perfect for each other.[/i]

Katherine’s gaze held Amaya’s as she finished speaking, only faltering to send a nod of acknowledgement and hidden gratitude to Persephone. As her only ally departed, Katherine’s deceptively calm eyes returned and settled on Amaya, lingering for longer than a moment as she searched for any hint of real emotion.

[color=19CACA]“If they’re to walk among our dead, then they should indeed understand the gravity and meaning of where they stand,”[/color] she started, nodding her head in affirmation, before her expression darkened, [color=19CACA]“But do not mistake this tolerance for reverence. I will teach our ways, but I will not dilute Seluna’s rites into something [i]palatable[/i] for their comfort.”[/color]

Whatever softness had remained in her gaze toward Amaya cooled as her eyes slid to Flynn. The subtle shift in her expression was almost imperceptible, but the warmth drained from her features, leaving behind a colder, more unreadable calm. Where Amaya had stirred some forgotten memory of recognition, Flynn only rekindled her instinct to guard, to measure, to question.

[color=19CACA]“Forgive me, your highness, if I don’t find comfort in the echo of Aurelian steel in these sacred halls.”[/color] She let the silence stretch out into the realm of discomfort, her voice too calm, a tone that masked a thousand barbed edges, [color=19CACA]“You call it protection, to walk into this temple flanked by armed men, but claim to have come in peace.”[/color]

[color=19CACA]"Words that ring hollow when followed by blades."[/color]

Katherine lowered her head and paced past the pair, towards where the two covered victims laid.

[color=19CACA]“These murders are a tragedy, that much we agree on. We all mourn their loss.”[/color] Katherine lowered her head towards the bodies, closing her eyes for a moment before she returned her gaze to Flynn.

[color=19CACA]“It must be difficult to lay down old habits, but I assure you, no harm will come to the princess under this roof. I have felled far greater threats than a single blight-born.”[/color]

She offered a faint smile—polite, practiced, and utterly unreadable. [color=19CACA]“But I understand. Trust, after all, is hard-won.”[/color]
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