An ominous silence fell upon the capital. Livius lay beneath Nike's weight, shocked into silence. His heart was hammering in his throat, and for one terrible moment he thought she had taken the bullet herself.

"Nike!"

The strangled cry was enough to jump-start a panic. All around Livi, people began to scream and run, and in seconds his periphery was obscured by the towering forms of the Royal Guard.

"Your Majesties!" A tall, dark haired woman parted the guard as she rushed toward the king and queen. She was wearing what was usually considered to be masculine attire, her noble's shirt cuffed at the wrist and a pair of dark pantaloons accenting her already rather dashing figure. A rapier's scabbard hung at her waist. She wore a short cape, embroidered with a red sun and Livius' standard, a golden lion, just below.

"Violetta, quick, help me check her pulse!"

The handsome woman knelt at the queen's side and helped shift her body so that Livius could get free. Violetta pressed her fingers to Nike's throat.

"She's fine, Your Majesty, she's just fainted from shock. Now hurry, we need to get you both out of here!"

Thank goodness, he thought, the knot in his stomach loosening slightly.

"I'll carry her," he offered, but Violetta shook her head and instructed one of the guards to assist him.

"You need to move now, Your Majesty. I'm going to have the Royal Guard secure the perimeter, get to the carriage in the courtyard before the assassin gets another shot." Before he could reply, she was running off in the opposite direction, barking orders to every soldier in her immediate vicinity. The soldier she had assigned to Livius pulled one of Nike's arms around his shoulder while Livi took the other, and together they heaved her down the remaining length of carpet as fast as they could, the armed retinue blocking them from public sight.

They were almost clear of the ceremonial grounds when Nike began to stir.

"Urgh," she groaned, and Livi shouted at the Guard to stop.

"Nike, can you hear me?"

"Mm, Livi? What happened? Are you okay? W-where's the assassin?"

"I'm fine, but we don't know where he is. We have to get out of here, Nike. We'll only put ourselves and the people in danger if we stay. Can you walk?"

"I think so," she replied, pulling her arm from the guard's shoulder. She took a tentative step forward and frowned when she wobbled. Before Livi could suggest someone carry her, she kicked off her heels and chucked them to the side. "There, that's better for running," she said, satisfied. Livi half expected to see her tear her wedding gown to make it easier to move in, but she simply grabbed his hand and ordered the Royal Guard to keep going.

"Where's Neil?" she asked as they ran.

"I dunno, we haven't seen him."

"Bard?"

"He was standing with Violetta but when the shot rang out I lost track of him."

"And Nee-san?" Nike asked, addressing Violetta by an old nickname. No matter how often Livi reminded her that Violetta was Captain of the Royal Guard now and that calling her Nee-san wouldn't do, Nike kept forgetting.

"She went back to look for the assassin with the rest of the Royal Guard."

"Your Majesties," the forward guard called as they crossed into the courtyard. "Your carriage is here, quickly!"

In less than a minute, the they had been all but crammed into the carriage, one of the guards taking the reins himself. "Hiya!" he shouted, and the horses began to gallop back toward the Royal Palace.

Nike and Livi tentatively looked out the window and shared a sigh of relief.

"I thought something might happen, but it still caught me off guard," Livius said, frowning. "I was careless, the dissidents have been so quiet that I thought they wouldn't dare show themselves at such a heavily guarded event. I'm glad I stationed an extra deployment of soldiers next to the ceremonial grounds, just in case."

"I hope so. When I saw the sunlight glint off the barrel of the pistol, I felt my blood run cold," she said, her voice hoarse. She closed her eyes tightly, as though willing away the image of the silver revolver, held firmly in a large, disembodied white glove... "I hope no one got hurt."

Livi leaned forward to hold her hands. They were clammy and cold.

"I didn't see any bodies or injured people. I can't be sure, but I think everyone made it out alright. Violetta has probably found the culprit by now."

Nike bit her lip.

"Still, when I think how close I came to losing you..."

"I'm here, I'm okay," he said, soothingly. He lifted one of her hands and pressed a kiss into her palm. "See? Nice and warm."

"Livi..."

"I can't even count how many times you've saved me from being killed, though. In all honesty, I'm far more worried about you." He sighed and propped his elbow on the windowsill. Resting his cheek on the back of his hand, he fixed Nike with a calculating look. "If I asked you not to jump into danger, would you actually listen?"

"Not if it means I'm jumping in to shove you out of the way."

"Thought so." He made a huffing sound and tapped his foot in mild annoyance. "Oh well, I suppose if I had wanted a docile and obedient wife, I wouldn't have married you." He sighed.

"You realize that by saying that, you're giving me a free pass to be the exact opposite of docile and obedient at any time, right?"

"Since when did you need a pass? You're already the epitome of uncooperative and rebellious." He threw up his hands in mock exasperation. Nike laughed, but she was still looking rather pale. Even in the relative darkness of the carriage, Livi could see the forlorn and worried expression in her bright green eyes.

What can I say to take her mind off it?

They both knew that being in physical danger was an everyday part of being born into royalty. Even Nike, in her relatively isolated and peaceful country, had been raised to practice awareness and caution, or so she claimed. Since she'd journeyed to the Sun Kingdom, he had no doubt that she'd had to adjust to the higher level of danger fairly quickly.

Despite the threat to their lives, however, it wasn't something they could afford to dwell on. Life went on, especially when one was in charge of an empire.

I just wish we didn't have to deal with this today, of all days.

He idly twitched the curtains, allowing small rays of light to shine through the window.

"At least it's a beautiful day," he said.

"Mm, it's just getting started too."

That's an opening if I've ever seen one, he thought, jumping on the chance.

"Good thing too, our first day as a married couple shouldn't end on such a sour note, though it really shouldn't end at all before nighttime. Don't you think so, my dear wife?" He grinned, knowing she would blush at his implication.

Right on cue, he saw her cheeks burn red and she covered her face with her hands.

"Geez, you're so embarrassing, Livi."

"What, did you think being married to me was going to be in name only?" he teased, leaning forward to pull her hands away. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, I've been waiting for three years for you to call me your husband, and for all the privileges therefore attached."

"You're in-incorrigible!"

"Guilty as charged," he chuckled. Oh no, this is too much fun.

"Idiot."

"Bumpkin."

"Sadist."

"Old."

At that, Nike burst out laughing.

"Old?" she choked out between fits of laughter. "If that's the best insult you can come up with, I'm pretty sure I win."

"Who said we were keeping score?" Livi said, unable to hold back a chuckle. Nike's smile was always infectious.

"Don't we always?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Fair enough."

"Idioooot," she repeated, looking pleased with herself. Cute.

"Well, I guess this sort of thing is nice too," he said, leaning back against the cushioned seat. "It's nice to know we can still mess around like this."

"Mm," she said. Her hair was coming undone, loose strands curling around her face. Her crown was getting tangled in it, and when her head turned to look out the window, her earrings clinked pleasantly. She had a smudge of dirt on her cheek, probably from when she fell, and her dress was wrinkled from all the running. She looked more at home running through a forest than sitting on a throne, and Livi thought he'd never seen her look prettier.

"Nike."

"Hmm?" She turned back to look at him, her eyes dancing as the carriage bounced over the cobbled road. He reached out to wipe the dirt from her cheek. His thumb brushed it away, but once it was gone, he didn't remove his hand.

"Livi?"

"Did you know? Even though you're a total mess right now and don't look like a queen at all..." ("Hey!") "To me, you look incredibly beautiful."

Her cheek grew warm under his palm and she tried to avoid catching his eye.

"Don't say stuff like that..." She fidgeted and he felt his heart pound at her innocent gesture.

"Don't look away," he said, gently lifting her chin. "I really have been waiting three years to marry you. Are you still going to keep me waiting?"

"Moron, how can I keep you waiting if I already married you?"

Her lips felt as wonderful as cold spring water on a hot day.


"Talea!"

A rather short girl standing in the courtyard started at the sound of her name. She blinked her large, dark eyes and turned her equally dark head, looking for the speaker. She was wearing a ragged old blanket over her shoulders like everyone else gathered outside the ceremonial grounds. It created a sharp contrast with her obviously fine clothes, pressed neatly and made of expensive silks and velvets. Her feet were bare, however, and though her long black hair had been pinned elegantly earlier, it was now threatening to cascade over her shoulders in a frazzled mess.

"Laia! Father!"

Two figures detached themselves from a new group of arrivals to join her. The shorter of the two, a young woman in a dark green dress, wasted no time in embracing her fiercely.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried when we lost you," she said. Laia was as unlike Talea as it was possible for sisters to be. Tall, red haired and green eyed, the older girl was seven years her sister's elder and at 23, every bit as headstrong as the mother she so closely resembled. On the other hand, Talea's dark coloring and somber demeanor came from her father, who was now frowning at his youngest daughter's appearance.

"What in blazes happened to your shoes, girl?" he asked, more of a bark than a question.

"O-oh, after everyone started running, someone pushed me from behind and I fell... My heel broke and I couldn't run with my shoes like that so I threw them away. I'm sorry, father," she replied quickly, bowing her head in disgrace. She knew that running for her life was no excuse for looking less than her best, not in her family.

"Absolutely scandalous," he growled, snatching the worn blanket from her shoulders. "Disgraceful! Is that any way for the daughter of an Earl to behave?!" He jabbed a finger at his own breast, where the Dainer family crest, a fox resting its front paws on the hilt of a sword, was engraved on a golden brooch. "Fix your hair, girl, now."

"Father! She was all alone and scared! Anyone would be after a gun was fired in a crowd!" Laia argued, gesturing at all the people around them, huddled together with their families as the Royal Guard made their way around the courtyard to interrogate them each in turn. "Worse, the assassin was right behind us! Everyone ran for it!"

Talea repressed a shudder as she remembered the sudden, savage crack of a pistol being fired just feet away from her. She was so close to Princess Nike ('Queen Nike,' she corrected herself) that in any normal circumstance she would have have rushed up to check on her Lady's safety. She was ashamed to recall the animalistic fear that gripped her when she saw the king and queen fall, and nothing less than horrified at her own cowardice when she turned tail and ran as fast as she could, away from the assassin and away from her lord and lady.

A fine courtier I am, she thought bitterly. Her father's voice cut through her recollection like a whip.

"Silence, I'll not be talked back to. Talea is a noblewoman and it is her duty to appear as such. As is yours, Laia. You may be a married woman now, but you are still a Dainer and my daughter, no matter what ridiculous name your Ocean Kingdom husband has given you. Behave."

Talea saw Laia's fists clench in anger, but even her stormy sister knew better than to push the issue further. She merely glared at her father, tight lipped.

"Didn't you hear me, Talea?! I said fix your hair, now." Talea rushed to pull the pin from her hair, lest she provoke her father's fury.

A soldier called out to the family next to theirs. Captain Violetta had set up a series of tables at the edge of the courtyard, near the woods to the north. One by one, each group was being interrogated, their accounts written down in full by a group of scribes as the Captain presided over the inquiry. Soldiers were currently patrolling the area, making it impossible for anyone to return to the city or to re-enter the amphitheater-like ceremonial grounds.

"What a fine mess, all of this," Lord Dainer said, his tone heavy with disdain. "How dare they keep nobility waiting with the masses?"

Talea and Laia stayed silent. Both had experienced rather severe whippings for interrupting him when he was in a bad mood.

"It's a mockery of our heritage, an insult!" The girls caught each others' eye, knowing that their father was working himself up into one of his rages. It was no secret in the Dainer household that Lord Dainer held very specific views about the king's policies on the abolition of the caste system.

"And to have such little security at the royal wedding! This is all the queen's fault, I'm sure." It was even less of a secret that he despised Princess Nike.

"She's an upstart! How dare the Rain Duchy send their fourth princess?! And she's so common, hardly royalty at all!" was one of his favorite opening lines whenever the princess was brought up at dinner.

"It's a scandal, the way she behaves," Lady Dainer would supply, sniffling as if the princess had done her some great personal wrong.

"If it wasn't bad enough that the king does whatever he likes, we now have to deal with this ridiculous little girl as well!" he usually continued.

"They say blood tells, dear," Lady Dainer would hint, starting her husband on the equally upsetting topic of the king's commoner mother and the fact that King Livius' siblings had been passed over in his favor, despite his being youngest and of the lowest birth.

Talea never said anything during these heated discussions, but she liked to think that if she were a bit braver, she could point out to her parents the many times that Princess Nike had been kind and friendly to her at court. She may have even tried to explain that though the king could be merciless when it came to his laws, he always spent time and effort to ensure they were fair. She would have pointed out all the good things they had accomplished together over the last three years, but unfortunately, Talea didn't have the courage to do any of that. Instead, she spooned her soup quietly, reminding herself about the bruises and scars her father had left on her back over the years.

Luckily, Lord Dainer had better sense than to berate the king in public, so Talea and her sister drew a quiet breath of relief when he decided to complain about the Royal Guard and their lack of order instead.

"These incompetent fools," he growled, loud enough that anyone could hear. "You'd think they'd have found the damn culprit already!"

Talea was glad when a soldier arrived to escort them to Captain Violetta.