King Randa's dinners were, at best, bearable, and only because she sat next to Raffin, even if his father was seated on Raffin's other side. Katsa disliked the state dinners, for her uncle's proximity put her on edge and the formality bored her. She rarely spoke at these affairs – the guests ignored her, for a multitude of reasons, and she them; it was only Raffin who sought her conversation, and he couldn't give her all his attention.

Tonight's affair was proving to be quite horrid – Katsa's usual seat to Raffin's left had been taken by a high-ranking noble whose name she didn't care for, and so she'd been seated at the end of the table. The lord to her right had attempted to speak to her, only to be taken aback by the fierceness of her glower and, she presumed, the colours of her eyes; he'd been ignoring her since. Combined with her lack of influence and power and her age, his actions made perfect sense – after all, he wasn't the first one to do so.

But it wasn't his actions that bothered her – no, Katsa thought sourly, the king's choice in guests seemed especially poor today. The lower-ranking nobles were seated at the three lower tables, which were arranged around the perimeter to give them a clear view of the king and his table. In return, Katsa, and the others seated at the high table could view the entirety of those present in the room. In particular, there was one man – another lord, she assumed – seated at the end of a table, who seemed overly fond of the serving girls. As they leaned over his shoulder to serve food, he touched their arms, their shoulders, their backs in what she assumed was thanks. She was too far away to see their faces, and even though the serving girls seemed to ignore the lord's touch, Katsa couldn't quite dismiss the matter entirely.

As the meal concluded, the nobles all began to drift into an adjourning hall; Katsa always made sure to stay close to Raffin during these proceedings. Her presence was usually more than enough to deter some nobles, and in return, his presence made it easier to answer the lords and ladies who approached them.

As she made her way to her cousin, Katsa walked by the lord from before; even now, a serving girl poured him wine and his hand was on her back, her hip and now her leg. Scowling, Katsa stopped and glared at the lord. His hand paused as he looked up, and when he saw her glowering at him, he simply smiled and removed his hand, nodding to the serving girl, who scuttled away.

For once, Katsa was almost glad for her mismatched eyes, for the lord was the first to look away. She gave him one last warning glare then walked away. Her confidence faltered as she approached Raffin, who was deep in conversation with one of the more important lords, although she couldn't remember his name. An awful moment passed, where Katsa deliberated about taking another step, but Raffin finally looked in her direction. All he could offer was an apologetic look, but she knew nothing else could be done. She nodded and reassured herself that she could always talk to him later, before turning to leave.

King Randa didn't particularly care about his niece, so it was with great ease that Katsa was able to leave these dinner parties. Her skirts were heavy and made it difficult for her to move quickly – besides, running would draw attention, so she settled for walking quickly and purposely, her small stature allowing her to weave around nobles with ease.

"Lady Katsa."

The voice was male and unfamiliar, but something in her stomach churned because she suddenly knew exactly who it was. She stopped and turned, ignoring the stares from the nobles around her as she faced the lord from before. He smiled and beckoned towards her. "Please, come and talk with me."

Katsa approached him uncertainly and tried to excuse herself. "My lord, I–"

"Only for a few moments, Lady Katsa," the lord said cajolingly, raising his voice slightly, and everyone around them was beginning to notice. She stepped closer and fixed her glare on him, but this time he didn't even flinch. "After all, we are cousins."

She hadn't known that, and she didn't particularly care, tensing as the lord looked at her closely. "Such a pretty little one," he said finally, meeting her gaze once more. "Graceling eyes can be so very unattractive. But you little one, look the better for it."

Katsa said nothing, but the palms of her hands were growing damp with anger and fear.

"What is your Grace, my sweetness?" the lord asked curiously. "Storytelling? Mind reading? I know," he said, his eyes gleaming as he smiled at her. "You're a dancer."

She bit her tongue and stayed silent; she didn't to talk to his man anymore. She didn't care that it was rude or that it would draw attention to herself, and began to turn away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hand creep forward, towards her leg.

Her body reacted immediately, but rather than flinching away or screaming, her hand lashed out and hit his face. When it dropped back to her side, it was aching, as if she had put a great deal of force into it. Blinking, she focused at the lord's face, now blank and empty, save for the blood pouring from his nostrils.

The lord collapsed, his head cracking against the floor. A hush spread across the room, slower than the blood pooling around his body. Katsa took a step backwards to avoid it, but she was too late; the tip of one of her shoes was now dyed scarlet. As she did so, the nobles murmuring nearby began to raise their voices; one of the ladies pointed at the lord's body and screamed. As if on cue, other ladies began to scream. There was another sound of a body hitting the floor, and Katsa flinched; she turned her head and was almost relieved to see the lady had only fainted.

King Randa was standing, demanding to know what was going on. A few lords were brave enough to approach the lord on the floor, and they were soon joined by soldiers. They turned the lord over in his pool of blood, but his body was limp and he did not respond. The men began to murmur amongst themselves, stealing glances at Katsa. One of the lords stood up, causing the nobles to fall silent, and addressed the king, told him that the lord was dead. As he did, he turned towards Katsa, his gaze falling on her accusingly. She was acutely aware of the horrified gazes of everyone in the room, of the warm dampness in her bloodied shoe, of the dead man at her feet.

Katsa hadn't known what her Grace was, but she knew now.

I'm leaving the old version of Revelation up for sentimental purposes, but I've always wanted to revise/rewrite it. Unfortunately, real life and other fandoms got in the way, but here it is, at last. All feedback is appreciated!