A small child toddled down the hall, fingers running along the soft cloth of the tapestries. Her nurse had told her stories of the beautiful princess that was her sister, and she wanted to see her. Surely then she would be loved. After all, princesses were kind and generous, and loved children.
The small figure with curious blue eyes drifted past groups of courtiers, and if anyone saw, they averted their eyes. It wasn't meant as cruelty, simply survival. The king was dying and the princess held the power. And the princess did not like any treatment of kindness towards her sister. The various servants without jobs had learned that the hard way, and nobles could not survive without royal favor.
Only the monk regarded her with serene eyes.
As she approached the tall figure at the center of the adults, she felt the oppressive silence grow, but she was sure her sister would look upon her with kind eyes.
When she was finally before the princess, the eyes that met hers were in no way kind.