Namaari ran down the stairs to the main floor of the palace, skidding to a stop just in time to avoid running into Atitāya at the bottom.

"Princess Namaari," Atitāya said, gently touching Namaari's arm to steady her. "My apologies for startling you."

Namaari waved her hand dismissively, side-stepping around her. "It's fine, Atitāya, don't worry about it."

"If you have a moment, Princess," Atitāya said, bowing and raising her hands in a circle in front of her. "I'd like to speak with you."

"Can this wait until later? I was about to—" Namaari's shoulders slumped when Atitāya frowned. "I mean, of course, I have a moment to talk."

Atitāya straightened up to her full height, watching Namaari closely. Her face was completely neutral, but Namaari still had to fight the urge to squirm under her gaze.

"We haven't really had a chance to talk since you got back," Atitāya said slowly, clasping her hands behind her back. "Which I should tell you was intentional on my part. Virana ordered me not to tell you about Bayani and what he was doing, even though I disagreed. I thought it might be difficult to be around you while I knew I was keeping that from you."

Namaari nodded, giving Atitāya a small smile. "It's okay. I understand why my mother didn't want you to tell me. And why that would've made things complicated for you."

"Really?" Atitāya asked, her eyebrows raising and her eyes widening. Then she cleared her throat and looked away, her face settling back into her usual inscrutable expression. "You're…different than you were before you left for Heart."

Namaari laughed softly. "I am. But I think it's a good change. Benja helped me a lot and I'm really happy with the progress I've made."

Atitāya hummed in response, her eyes returning to Namaari's face. "Princess Raya has made a lot of progress as well. Though not all of it has been smooth."

"I know. She told me that you two had an argument."

"What did she tell you about it?"

Namaari shuffled from foot to foot, putting her hands behind her back so Atitāya couldn't see her fidgeting. "She told me that you wanted to send soldiers to those villages that we had to abandon after the Druun came back. The ones that have people from Heart living in them now. And that she disagreed with you about it."

Atitāya frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Did she also tell you that Chief Virana came to chide me about it afterwards?"

"She mentioned that Virana said she would talk to you about it later. And I know how much you've argued with my mother about it in the past."

Atitāya inhaled like she was going to speak, then paused, her eyes searching Namaari's face. "I wanted to ask your opinion on the situation," she said carefully. "Like you said, Chief Virana and I have disagreed about this for a long time. You were too young to give your opinion the last time it came up, so I wanted to ask you now. How do you think it should be handled?"

"I don't think we should send soldiers. We've already had to work so hard to get the other nations to trust us after everything that happened with the Gem. Using our military for this could undo all of that."

Atitāya's brow creased slightly. "You really think that what would be in Fang's best interest?"

"I do."

Atitāya exhaled slowly before she spoke again. "Is that the answer you would have given me two months ago?"

Namaari shook her head. "Probably not. But I've learned a lot since then." She frowned when she saw the muscles in Atitāya's jaw tense. "The old me isn't gone. Everything I learned from you in the last twenty years is still there. But I figured out how to change to live a happier life."

"No change comes without consequences."

"I know. You taught me that. But I get to decide what kind of changes I want to make."

"I think you learned that from Chief Virana," Atitāya said, shaking her head slightly. She set her hand on Namaari's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Just remember what I taught you, Namaari. What you want and what's best for Fang won't always be the same." There seemed to be a trace of bitterness in her face, but it was gone before Namaari could be sure if she had really seen it.

"I will," Namaari said, giving her a small smile as she moved her hand to cover Atitāya's. "Um, was that all though? I was actually on my way to talk to Raya."

Atitāya hesitated for a second, then withdrew her hand and bowed stiffly. "Of course, Princess. I've taken up enough of your time. And I'm sure whatever you need to speak with Raya about is important." She turned before she straightened up, making it difficult for Namaari to see her expression before she walked away.

Namaari watched her go for a moment, her brow furrowing. She bit down on her lower lip, her eyes flicking between Atitāya and the hallway toward Raya's room. After a moment, she shook her head and headed toward the guest wing of the palace.