Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.
When Kalus arrived at the Royal Tailor, she saw that he was not as alone as she would have liked.
She rationally understood that he had other members of the Royal family to attend to and that she was not the only member of the Royal Family who required his services. She understood that she was earlier than he would normally have expected.
But even so, she was unpleasantly surprised to see her cousin Maeralya Trana was already there. The tailor was taking measurements and for a few minutes, he didn't even realise that Kalus was there.
The man jumped in surprise as he turned around.
"Princess Kalus!" he said in surprise. "This is an unexpected pleasure….I am sorry, I did not expect to see you so soon in the morning. Please, let me get my notes and-"
"In light of recent developments, school has been cancelled for today." Kalus said, cutting the man off. "I thought it prudent to take advantage of the opportunity."
"It's quite alright," Maeralya said with a small smile, but her eyes held a subtle mockery behind them. "My cousin has had a lot to deal with of late. I am sure she simply forgot to raise it with you."
"Greetings cousin," Kalus said in a stiff voice, resisting the urge to give any hint that her cousin had managed to get through to her. "I was not expecting to see you today. I would have thought you too busy with your children. The twins Jeardra and Roshia are a handful and your oldest child is still potty training."
"Oh it's okay," Maerayla said with a small smile. "Adresin is a wonderful supportful husband and he's at home with the children." She gave Kalus a faux-sympathetic look as the Royal Tailor came back into the room with his notes. "But my concerns are nothing compared to your own. The grief you must be feeling…I am surprised that it hasn't overwhelmed you."
"Your concern is noted and appreciated," Kalus said in a flat, emotionless voice. It took a lot of effort to avoid gritting her teeth. Maeralya was looking for any weakness and she knew that if she lost her temper here, in front of a witness, she would no doubt use it to claim that she was unsuited to become queen. "However, I assure you that I am indeed capable of going on."
"You poor dear," Maeralya said, shaking her head almost sadly as the Royal Tailor began taking Kalus's measurements. "You're not even of age yet and you should be free to enjoy the last vestiges of your childhood. And of course, you and your dear sister need time to grieve and move on from this tragedy. You should not have to deal with the responsibility of the crown in such a state."
Kalus resisted the urge to point out that Maeralya was only three and a bit years older than Kalus. And had gotten married shortly after turning eighteen to her boyfriend of six months. And had proceeded to have children from the age of nineteen. She was hardly a prime example of responsibility in her opinion!
"Ah, but you and your husband have a new child on the way, do you not?" Kalus asked, trying very hard to keep the venom out of her voice. "I would hate for the stress of taking the throne to cause you any trouble and unnecessary stress. And of course, you would have to wait for your child to be born before transferring the Elements of Power. Such a transfer of magical energy would be…difficult, would it not? Especially if you do it so soon after giving birth. And of course, you would surely want to spend some time bonding with your newborn after all?"
"I am sure that I will be more than capable of handling both," Maeralya said with a tight smile she obviously didn't feel.
"And I am sure that I will be able to fulfil my role as queen despite the tragic events leading up to my coronation." She paused for a moment and gave Maeralya a hard look. "Assuming that I am selected of course."
"If you think that you are up to the task," Maeralya said as the Royal Tailor continued to measure her, before shaking his head slightly.
"Thank you for your time," the Royal Tailor told Maeralya as he took the last few notes he needed. "I believe that I have all that I need for now. There shouldn't be any real problems making your dress now."
Maeralya turned to the Royal Tailor and gave him a massive smile.
"Thank you," she said, before stepping down from the measuring stool. She turned and looked at Kalus.
"I am only doing this for your own good, and Kameo's as well," she said before leaving. Kalus began grinding her teeth. As if she believed that! Maeralya knew full well how Kalus had spent her entire life preparing for this! The fact that she had the gall to pretend that this was some kind of altruistic gesture was maddening. It was pure politics and they both knew it. If her father was still…
She stopped that particular line of thought from going any further. Father was gone. There was no point in thinking about him and what he would have done. A queen, even a mere candidate, needed to be focused on the here and now. The kingdom needed leadership and it had fallen on her shoulders.
"Your measurements are now complete your majesty," the Royal Tailor said and Kalus nodded. He brought over a small bowl of water and set it down in front of her. With a quick wave of his hands, the water rippled briefly and a new image replaced the reflection on the water. Instead of Kalus in her normal black dress, it showed Kalus wearing a long sleeved flowing blue dress with golden accents highlighting her curves. It was beautiful and looked magnificent on her and for a moment Kalus felt breathless. Then she shook herself. She was not some empty headed bimbo, obsessed with fancy dresses.
He waved his hands once more and a different dress appeared. This one was a long black dress with gold lining the edges and a pattern of leaves stitched in gold. Kalus frowned slightly. It was a nice dress, but it was not as good as the first one. Seeing her expression, he waved his hands again.
"Perhaps this one will be more to your liking your majesty," he said and another dress appeared on the surface of the water. This one was a shoulderless form fitting pink dress that sparkled. An elaborate interlaced pattern of diamonds and pearls sat on her chest, leading down towards her waist in a vee shape.
"I preferred the first one," she said and the tailor nodded.
"Excellent. Your dress will be ready within the next two days," he said and with a wave of his hands, the image vanished.
Kalus nodded as her mind played over her cousin's words. To her, it was just a game. The chances of Maeralya being chosen was virtually nonexistent, but still…
"I will return when the dress is ready," she said as she turned to leave. "Inform me when it is ready."
"Of course your majesty," he said with a slight bow and she swept out of the room.
KEOPKEOPKEOPKEOP
The familiar smell of horses hit her nose the moment she walked into the stables.
"How may I help your majesty?" a groom in green and blue asked with a slight bow.
"Bring me my horse," she ordered and the groom bowed once more.
"Yes your majesty," he said, before dashing away. A few minutes later, he returned, leading a formidable looking black horse with him. There was a tension in the groom's body that he couldn't fully hide. The horse was snorted contemptuously at him and abruptly trotted forward to Kalus.
"Hello Audrey," she said, slowly stroking the horse's mane. At least someone here was treating her like normal. No expectations of grief. No pressures of any kind. She turned to the groom. "You may leave."
The groom bowed and walked away. Kalus turned her attention back to her horse.
"We are going to have to take a long ride," she said as she strapped her saddle on. Behind her, she heard someone else enter the stables.
"She's a beautiful horse," a man said from behind her. Kalus gave the owner of the voice a curious look.
He was a young man, not much older than her, with short red hair and grey eyes. He was well dressed as well, she noted to herself, wearing a leaf pattern shirt of red and gold and simple black trousers. This man was nobility and it showed.
He raised his hands in a calming gesture.
"I just need to talk cousin," he said as he moved a little closer. "Somewhere we're unlikely to be overheard like here."
"Who are you?" Kalus demanded with a slight scowl and the man shrugged.
"I'm your cousin Iolas Thekrana," he said and Kalus grimaced. Dealing with cousin Maeralya was bad enough. She didn't want to be dealing with another candidate for the throne as well. Especially one she didn't even know.
"I'm not here to provoke you," he said quickly, apparently picking up her hostility. "I am here seeking an…alliance of sorts."
"An alliance," Kalus said in a flat voice and Audrey snorted slightly. Kalus stroked her mane to calm her down, but kept her eyes on Iolas. "You're one of my rivals to the throne. Why would you seek an alliance with me? For that matter, why would I seek an alliance between us?"
Iolas shrugged.
"I don't want the throne," he said and Kalus raised an eyebrow. "And I know that you're the candidate who will almost certainly be chosen." Kalus opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly pressed on. "I do not, however, trust our cousin Maeralya. Nor her husband Adresin." He shook his head. "I especially distrust Adresin."
"Why?"
"Adresin and his family hold a grudge against mine. And cousin Maeralya is a baby cannon. She will depend on his support."
"You think he would seek to harm your family? I doubt that would be an expedient course of action," Kalus said and Iolas shook his head.
"Not directly, no," he said. "But my family depends heavily upon exporting goods outside the Kingdom. It would be easy for him to do something like delay renewing our export licenses or increasing the amount of bureaucracy that we would face over our competitors. Such a thing would devastate the fortunes of my immediate family." He looked at her firmly, determination burning in his eyes. "I would rather burden myself with the responsibilities of the crown than allow him the opportunity to do so."
Kalus frowned. It was true that Maeralya was fond of her husband. And she knew just how devastating such measures could be to an exporter of goods of any kind. And she knew very little about Adresin.
"What exactly do you propose?" she asked and Iolas shrugged.
"Nothing much," he said with a slight smile. "Just a simple promise to support my candidacy should you ever be forced to withdraw. And in return, you will have mine. And we exchange warnings about anything that Adresin and Maeralya have planned." He looked at her. "I do believe that Maeralya is serious in her attempt."
"I will think about it," Kalus said and Iolas shrugged once more.
"For now, that will do," he said, before walking away.
Kalus frowned as she allowed her mind to chew over what he had told her. It was possible that he was being dishonest, but she didn't think so. Still, she would have to confirm the details for herself.
She climbed onto her horse. Those details would have to wait.
"Come on Audrey," she said as she picked up the reins. With a quick dig of her heels, she rode out of the stables and into the wide open fields beyond.
AN: Special thanks to Ema in London on the Miraculous fanworks community for her help describing the dress. And thank you to CraftyMaelyss for providing the dress that inspired Kalus's dress. The third dress was inspired by a picture from a mobile game.
Also, thank you Rebirthment from the Kameo: The United Fandom discord for the name Audrey for Kalus's horse.