To His Majesty, King Wesley,

Between you and I, I will forever keep a place carved out for him here. If he ever wished to, under your permission, of course, he would be allowed to visit whenever he wished. I understand our paths have divided, but truly, he's taken a piece of my heart with him when he left.

In any case; I have been informed of your crowning ceremony which is to be held soon. I wish you the best of luck, Wes. You will make a magnificent King, and I know Cinder will forever be in good hands under your rule.

From what I've heard, your celebration is to happen before Spring is to come? If I could, I would have been more than happy to attend; but with the shambles our kingdoms left our unities in, I understand the distrust that could come with my attendance.

I am more than happy to see you two come Spring. Stay in good health.

With love, Princess Maka.


Upon her awakening, there was news that Maka hadn't expected to be told of before the sun had the chance to rise.

"The royal court of Cinder sent a page this morning to the King and Queen," Blackstar had informed her timidly, mid-stop into the room. "I overheard Stein and Ox speaking this morning before I left."

Sitting up abruptly, Maka found herself shedding the sheets she'd been wrapped in. "What did it say?"

Stepping fully into the room, Blackstar shut the door noiselessly behind himself. "I don't know, honestly," He answers sincerely, his fingers hanging onto the doorknob, "But from what I heard, I'm assuming it had something to do with the allyship between our kingdoms. If it had to do with Soul's condition, I'm sure they would have said something to us- but when I asked them this morning about it, they had just dropped it immediately."

Something festers in Maka's chest at that.

"What would the guards know that I don't?" She questioned- not maliciously, to say, but more out of poure confusion. "Do you think the letter was addressed to the royal court rather than just my parents?"

"Ox would have been informed of a letter to the court, wouldn't he?" Blackstar pondered out loud. "But- why would he be telling Stein about it then. He's not part of the court- and even so, you're considered part of the court too. They'd have to inform you of any business occurring with other kingdoms, would they not?"

Swinging her legs off her bed, Maka finds herself standing. "Has Wesley not written back since my last letter? Have you seen Hero this morning?"

"I did see him, but he didn't inform me of any letters for you. I know Kilik received one, but that's it." With a sigh, Blackstar raised a hand to his temples, shaking it as he did. "I don't want to start something, you know that Maka, so I sincerely hope this is nothing to be worried about and you'll eventually be informed about whatever is going on too- but I don't like this. I don't think we need to be hiding any more truths right now."

Quietly, Maka agrees.

"Maybe we should go down and speak to Kilik, then- see what was said to him?"

"Kilik wouldn't keep something important from me," Blackstar states, dropping his head lower, "I had spoken to him long after the letters had been delivered this morning, Maka. His letter must have had nothing to do with what was said to the court."

With a sigh, Maka finds herself staring out her balcony doors, a pit growing heavily in her stomach.

She didn't have the time to have more people around her hiding secrets from her.


Since Soul's departure, the royal guards did not typically stay silent during their dinners anymore. Maybe it had to do with 'traumatic experiences bring bonding' or something along those lines, but even so, the royals found themselves starting more conversations with them rather than wholly ignoring their presence.

"The gardens are looking beautiful at the moment, your majesty," Patty had said, responding to some off-handed comment her mother had said moments ago. "I really love the changes they're making! I'm sure the new tulips and roses they planted will be blooming any day now."

From her seat at the dining table, Maka glanced up toward the corner of the room. Patty and Liz were standing beside one another, a twin set of smiles spread across their faces as Blackstar looked at them unimpressed.

"Personally, I love how the markets are looking right now," Liz interrupted, "The amount of work that has gone down there to source it up is crazy. The floor plans that were shown to you the other day were really cool."

With her attention set fully on the guards, Maka had not missed the mouthed 'suck-ups" Blackstar had sent toward the two, nor the subtle eye roll and nudge Patty had sent Liz's way.

Across her, her mother gave a breathy laugh. "Thank you, you two. I'm glad you're both enjoying the renovations thus far!" Turning her away, she caught her mother clapping her hands silently, rubbing them together after. "I hope for our kingdom to look in top-shape for this year's spring ball. After all that's happened, I'm sure both our people and our guests will appreciate the work that's been put in to restore our kingdom."

Quietly bringing her fork down to her plate, Maka found herself averting her eyes at the subtle nod to the last party their kingdom had held. As hard as it was for her to still cope, she'd made sure to keep herself in the loop of her kingdom's state after everything had gone down. She was a Princess after all- she had to focus on more than just herself.

Before she could delve too far into her thoughts of despair, her father had subtly cleared his throat- a subtle notion he'd make to get everyone's attention.

"Maka," he called out- his tone laced with seriousness. With her stomach leaping, Maka found herself looking up, her fork clattering to her plate. It was rare her father ever used such a tone with her. Overall, she'd probably heard him use such a voice on her twice, each of which were used at official court meetings, not dinner. "The spring ball is coming soon, you know."

Carefully, Maka raised her eyes over to the guards in the corner of the room. Blackstar's expression mirrored how she felt- confused to the fullest extent- but Liz and Patty's had morphed into something so serious she felt herself become nauseous at the sight.

They knew something, too.

"I know," she replied carefully, turning her attention back to her parents. "I've been keeping up to date with the preparations since my last page to King Wesley. Hero had been making sure of it."

"That's good," her father had said dismissively, "But that's not what I was going to talk about."

With her tongue pressed to the top of her mouth, Maka let out a silent, "oh."

"You're twenty-two now," He'd continued, attention turned down to his still half-filled plate, "You know, soon enough, you will be taking the throne."

Despite her parents' younger ages compared to other Kings and Queens, Maka knew that she'd have to take the throne sooner or later. With her eyes settled on the crown that topped cautiously on her father's head, she nodded. "Yes- I know. Hero and I have been speaking with-"

"I know you will be prepared enough to take the throne, Maka," Her father cut her off, lifting his head. A frown was pressed against his lips, his eyes dropping. It was a saddened expression, one of which didn't go with the tone he'd been using at all. At the sight, Maka found herself holding her breath, her eyes widening. "What I meant was, you know it's uncommon for royalty to marry past twenty-three, don't you?"

Oh.

Oh.

With her tongue numb in her mouth, Maka went rigid.

It wasn't like she knew this conversation could be avoided forever. She'd had this conversation before with her parents about socializing more at balls- that at some point, she'd have to familiarize herself with at least one person from another kingdom. It would only be fitting-

But right now, her mind was thinking about anything else but finding someone to marry.

She'd never been one to socialize at balls and parties anyway- and truthfully, she had not been thinking about marriage since she'd first caught drift of Soul's existence. Certainly, after having met him- after having had him for just a moment- Maka didn't even want to think about another person- not when it was certain he could return at some point.

What the hell were her parents thinking?

"With the upcoming ball, we just believe it would be important for you to scout out possible-"

She doesn't stay to listen to what her father had to say. It was the least formal thing she'd probably ever done- well, maybe not first seeing as she'd quite literally broken out of her kingdom and fallen in love with a guard- but that was beside the point.

Dropping her napkin onto the table, she raised a hand.

"I don't want to talk about this," she said, her voice shaking. "Now is not the time."

Without even the confirmation that her dismissal was appropriate, Maka found herself walking straight out of the dining room with her shoulders shaking.

Is this what their correspondence had been with Cinder about? THey wanted Maka to move on, didn't they?


The Royal Court of Eibon,

I have received your previous page, your Majesties. King Solomon and I have conversed much in the past week upon your proposal, and we wish to accept. I do believe this would be an amazing opportunity for both Cinder and Eibon's courts to reunite once again. Rest your fears, I have not told Her Highness Maka about the pages you have sent, nor has Soul as he still has yet to send his letters to his love. I do believe it would be vital to inform her of this soon, however. Keeping her out of the loop would be detrimental to this plan.

Do I believe she'd moved on? I do not. I still receive her pages to King Solomon. Hence, I do believe the assumption that was made in your previous letter was spot on. Upon plan, we will be arriving following the crowning that is to come. We will take our court with us.

I look forward to meeting you once more. Until then, please do keep in touch. I do hope that Princess Maka is in better spirits than when we last conversed. I understand how hard this must be on her, especially from what Soul has said to me.

With much love, King Wesley.