It was raining on Kaitain, so naturally, they were outside. It was a warm summer night, and despite the showers, there was no thunder to keep them from the water.

"Are you going to join us, my lady," asked Freya, extending her hand.

Irulan sat up in the grass and took it, and the handmaiden hoisted her up before leading her toward the fountain where the others sat just inside the outer rim, naked and whispering like nymphs in the spray. They'd tossed their clothes onto the grass beside them, and the abandoned robes lay waterlogged and rippling. It was hot outside and Irulan felt sticky under her own gown, and unlike the dresses Vesryn made for her, it was rather shapeless – it hung against her form heavily – and she pulled it over her head without assistance before joining her friends in the water, sighing as the pool both warmed and cooled her, and both rain and mist became one. She closed her eyes, resting her head on Freya's shoulder.

"I wish we didn't have to go back." It was Gretus's voice.

"We'll be back often," promised Irulan,

"Whenever you're displeased with the Baron, we shall come back here and ignore him until –"

"Until he grovels!" cried Gretus, interrupting Soline.

"Can you imagine him groveling?" chimed Liantha.

For a moment there was just the rain, and then they all began to laugh.

"It's not funny," said Irulan as she opened her eyes, though a smile fought its way through her practiced frown.

"But it is!" cried Prill. "It is!"

"We've all gone mad, haven't we?"

"I don't mind it," said Raska. "Being mad is more fun."

"Aye," said Irulan before wiping her eyes with her hands and then turning to peer over the rim of the fountain. "Where is the rest of the wine?"

"You finished it," said Gretus with a hiccup.

"I knew I should have brought the extra bottle." Irulan looked across the courtyard. "The castle is so far away."

"He wouldn't grovel," said Liantha with a smirk. "He'd take a finger."

"From Soline," added Prill. "Only Soline loses fingers."

"Who needs fingers!" cried Soline. "Not me!" and then burst into laughter. "I'm top girl! The less fingers you have the more you know you've made it!"

"Made what?" asked Gretus.

"Top girl!" shouted Soline, her eyes wide with such earnestness the others began to cackle, and Soline inhaled sharply before adding: "It's funny because it's true!"

"I can't breathe!" cried Raska.

"Would you like me to come with you?" murmured Freya to the Princess.

"No, no, it's alright," said Irulan. "Enjoy the rain. I'll be back in a minute with a bottle of red."

"Better bring two."

"Smart thinking," said the Princess, and with that, she hoisted herself out of the water and searched the grass for her gown. It was waterlogged like the others, and she thought about wringing it out before putting it back on, but it was raining so heavily, she saw it was no use. It was after midnight. Everyone but the servants should be asleep, and Irulan was drunk. Instead of putting the dress over her head, she wrapped it around herself like a towel, turning back to make a face at her handmaidens at her bold choice of dress, but they were already back to their chatter. She smiled and picked up the empty bottle and turned in the direction of the castle, closing her eyes for a moment as she walked and tilting her head backward to feel the rain on her face, before she swayed and nearly fell over. She looked back at the girls – none of them had seen her stumble – and that suited her just fine. She liked seeing them happy. Nights like that night were inevitably winding down. There was only so much longer she could put off their return to Giedi Prime. She put it out of her mind – why ruin a perfect night with such thinking?

She crossed the front garden, hoping to enter from the east wing, assuming the servants hadn't locked the door. If they had, there was always her balcony. She was sure she'd left that door unlocked. All she had to do was climb the tree beside it, which should be easy enough, though she would need to either put on her dress or leave it in the grass. She grinned for a moment at the thought of it – of climbing naked up a tree to break into her bedchamber through the balcony – if anyone saw her they'd think she'd lost her mind completely – though only because she were a Princess and not a Prince – Princes were allowed to have these kinds of drunken nights with their men – in fact they were rather encouraged to, lest the court think him too inhibited to rule. No, Irulan thought to herself with a frown, she mustn't. Even with the wine, she was wise enough to turn back toward the front entrance. It was odd enough for her to be carousing with her handmaidens on the front lawn. If she were to be caught climbing naked in a tree, it would be a downright scandal. Not that there was anyone to notice – anyone who would chide her – her father had retired at eight, and the changing of the guard happened at eleven, and the night shift staff seemed a little rough around the edges. Perhaps that was the wrong way to describe it. A bit less formal. They were there to do the job but not much else. She doubted they cared much for her comings and goings aside from bland amusement. They nodded politely at her as she stepped past, but she could see a smirk on the second man's face as he opened the castle door for her – not an expression of scorn – if anything he seemed pleasantly amused by her lack of formality. She nodded her head, grinning to herself, as she strode forward into the entrance hall.

Rain pattered down on the skylight, and the marble floors felt cool on her feet. She shivered as she walked the familiar path to her room. Dark as it was, she could have found it blindfolded. She knew these halls like the back of her hand. And she was used to the dark. She wondered what Feyd was doing on Giedi Prime and if he thought of her. Perhaps he, too, was awake late. Although there was a time difference. It would be afternoon there – not that it mattered on most days, which were spent inside the palace, where days and nights had no real distinction.

Up the marble staircase she climbed, and she saw lightning through wrought-iron window. She waited for the crash of thunder, counting one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight – they were probably still fine to be out – ten. A soft rumble in the distance.

She crossed the holding room above the stair, where she and her ladies often sat before descending for dinner, dressed in their sacks, as Irulan had begun to think of the clothes they wore on her home planet. She turned a corner and passed through the hallway to her bedchamber.

No guards stood by her door. Odd. She turned the handle herself and stepped into the bedchamber.

"You're drunk," said a familiar voice, and Irulan whipped her head to look at the seating area beside her bed.

"Aren't you supposed to be on Wallach IX?" Irulan squinted and the two figures came into focus.

"Put on some clothes," snapped the Reverend Mother. "We have company."

"Margot," said Irulan, drawing in a breath.

"Lady Fenring," corrected the teacher. "Really, girl. Have you lost all sense of propriety?"

"It's alright, Your Reverence," said the younger woman. "I have often felt such formal language did more harm than good when it came to fostering friendship. And I have so longed for a friend." She brought her hands to cradle her belly, and that's when Irulan saw it. The expanding bulge of her – of him – of their child growing inside her – his child.

Anger flooded through the Princess, and it must have shown in her expression, because the Reverend Mother muttered, "He has gotten to you, hasn't he?" – sizing up the Princess with a look of disapproval.

"I should get some dry clothes," muttered Irulan. "Then we can sit and talk."

"Nonsense," said the crone, "you are indisposed. I will show Lady Fenring to the guest wing." And then she pressed her lips together before adding: "Go to bed."

"My ladies await my return to the castle grounds."

"I will collect them myself," said the Reverend Mother.

Irulan bowed her head. The room was spinning. And drunk as she was, shame flooded her cheeks. If she felt it now, she knew she'd feel it tenfold come morning.

"I apologize for catching you off guard," said Margot, and a hole must have opened in the clouds outside, because a beam of moonlight came through the window and bathed the woman's face in milky white light as she spoke. She looked like an angel. "I have looked forward to seeing you again. We have much to catch up on, I'm sure." She spoke to Irulan as if they'd always been friendly, and a pang of longing came over the Princess. "Rest well, My Lady. We will speak in the morning." And then she bowed her head and crossed the room with their teacher before walking past Irulan into the hallway. The Princess caught a whiff of sweet incense on the air – Melange and syrup and a hint of smoke – and closed her eyes, swaying.

Somehow, she made it into bed.