"Now presenting Wang Shiyao, the first daughter of the Duke and Duchess of South Lake, second cousin of His Highness Crown Prince Yun Jing Han!"

Shiyao didn't know why her heart was beating so fast as she walked up the length of the court room. She wasn't nervous in crowds, or in front of people - she'd done it her whole life and moreover, she'd already met Jing Han twice. Still, she couldn't quite raise her eyes as she walked, far too focused on her feet and not tripping over her heavy robe skirt that was starting to strain on her wrists the longer she held it up. Eventually she made it to where the Royal Guards were standing, taking it as her cue to go no further and suddenly she wasn't sure where to look.

The journey to the Guorun Palace had been taken in silence, Jun not having spoken to her since, not even as he walked behind her up the middle of the massive court room. Deadly silence descended upon the room as Jing Han, alongside King and Queen Yun, waited for her to greet them. The room full of representatives waited, all eyes on her as she did all that she knew to do and outstretched her arms in preparation to bow. She didn't expect the sharp pain in the back of her left leg that sent her crumpling to the floor on her hands and knees, a collective gasp emanating from the room.

Jing Han quirked an eyebrow at Jun, whom he had just witnessed kick his cousin in the back of the knees to make her bow in the proper manner. He looked to his mother and father, who looked equally as concerned, but if his father didn't speak out, then there was nothing to be done. The representatives were beginning to murmur amongst themselves, bits and pieces of which floated over to Jing Han.

'Wasn't she the stolen child?'

'Why would he do such a thing?'

'How could he be so brazen in front of the King and Queen?'

'Does she know nothing about her own culture?'

'How rude of her to not greet them properly.'

It was unlike his cousin to behave in such a way.

Had something happened?

Jing Han caught the attention of his advisor, standing off to the side at Shiyao's left, jutting his chin towards her and Zixuan nodded. He stepped over and crouched down to where she was still on her hands and knees, her cheeks burning red and eyes shining in embarrassment.

"Hey." he whispered, a comforting hand on her shoulder. She was shaking like a leaf. "Listen carefully. You need to be on one knee, left knee up, right knee down, arms out, head down. Say 'Your Loyal Subject kneels before you' and then wait for His Highness King Yun to respond. He will tell you to stand up. Do you understand?"

Shiyao simply gave a small nod in reply, quickly correcting her position, clearing her throat and speaking loudly and clearly:

"Your Loyal Subject Wang Shiyao kneels before you."

The sudden eruption of applause and cheers startled her, moreso when they abruptly stopped after a few seconds and the voice of King Yun rang around the room:

"On your feet, Shiyao."

Carefully, she stood up, avoiding all the fabric near her feet.

"Let me see you."

Slowly, Shiyao raised her head, a polite smile on her face as she did so and for some reason she was surprised to see King Yun had such a kind looking face, Queen Yun's features were more severe and she supposed that Jing Han took after his mother more in that way. Still, they both looked on at her with warm expressions.

"My my, you grew up well." Queen Yun smiled. "So beautiful."

"Welcome home, Shiyao."

"Your servant kneels before you."

Shiyao flew up from her seat as a woman, not much younger than herself, knelt by the door of the drawing room she was in.

"Please stand up." she said and the woman did.

"Please call me Ina."

"Ina, nice to meet you."

"Queen Yun sent me to be your lady in waiting. She would like to see you now."

"Okay."

Shiyao followed Ina down the winding hallways of the massive Guorun Palace. It was quite different from the one she grew up in. The walls were painted in a saffron yellow shade, the ceilings arched but not very high and the floors were shiny mahogany wood. The decorations were more subtle, with each hallway having its own fantastic mural on the ceiling, carved wooden coving and a heavily decorated, guarded door. Everyone whom they passed by bowed deeply at the waist to them, waiting until they passed before continuing. The walk to the Azul House, the Queen's quarters of the palace, took longer than she imagined it should. Just how massive was the Guorun Palace?

Azul House was on the west side of the Palace, protected by beefy Royal Guards on the outer gate and the inner gate where the actual building was. Azul House was like its own mini palace. It had a lush garden past the main gate with a pond a colourful flowers, carved marble furniture and gorgeous birds. Another lady in waiting escorted them from the main gate to the house, leaving them outside as the Royal Guard announced their arrival, allowing them to enter only after Queen Yun responded.

Shiyao dropped to her knee in greeting with Ina, though the queen told both of them to get up the second they went down.

"Please sit with me." Queen Yun gestured to the pretty marble table on a pergola outside and Shiyao followed her without question. "Ina, prepare us some black tea."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Shiyao, let me have a look at you myself now we're alone." she continued, placing an extension-clad nail under her chin and gently tilting her head left and right. "Uncanny."

"I'm sorry, Your Highness?"

"When you have time, take yourself to the portrait gallery. You look so much like King Yun's grandmother, your great-grandmother. She died long before you were born but I'd spent a lot of time with her after moving here to the palace and I've seen many a picture of her when she was young and the likeness is... unbelievable. I'll be honest, I had my doubts that Jun was capable of much, but it seems he actually did something useful with himself this time around. I was so sure it wasn't you, but the moment you raised your head in the Court Room, my goodness, I knew it was true."

Shiyao had no idea how to respond, simply smiling and nodding.

"Please don't be afraid, don't be too formal around me. I'll take good care of you, like your great-grandmother took care of me. It's nice to have some young noble women around."

"Thank you for your care, Your Highness."

Queen Yun studied the new girl for a moment, smirking slightly. She had no idea what to expect from her, a young woman from a different palace in a different country discovering her life wasn't what she thought.

"May I ask you something, Your Highness?"

"Of course."

"If Jing Han is my second cousin... does that mean I'm also..."

"A princess?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness."

Shiyao didn't expect the peal of laughter from the pretty woman in front of her, thinking perhaps she had asked a stupid question.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I don't know how this works."

"You are, but in the same way that Jun is; he won't ever be King, your family is not in the right line."

"So... my... mother is King Yun's cousin?"

"Correct."

"My mother is King Yun's cousin, so my grandmother is his aunt...?"

"Correct."

"King Yun's father is my great uncle? And my great-grandfather was the King?"

"You got it." Queen Yun smiled. "Your great-grandfather had two children, Princess Ge and Crown Prince Yun. Princess Ge was the elder of the two but since women can't become Queen in their own right, the crown was passed directly to King Yun. Princess Ge married Wang Shou, a very powerful merchant who owned a lot of land and was extremely influential. A fantastic choice I have to say. They had your father and his younger brother, and your mother, who is from the south of the country, is from a family of magistrates."

"That's a good combination to have on your side."

"Indeed it is." she smiled. The girl caught on quick.

"Then, Your Highness, Jun is... where does he come into our family?"

"He's your uncle's son." she replied simply, pushing a pin back into her elaborately braided hair.

"My f-first cousin?"

"Indeed." Queen Yun noted how pale Shiyao had become, how her hand flew to her mouth and the corners of her mouth turned down in disgust. "Is something the matter."

"H-he... lied to me."

"How so?"

"He said we were second cousins. I didn't know who he was when we first met, I didn't even know he was a Demon... and then when I did he was still pursuing me and telling me he would be by my side forever no matter who got in the way... and then he told me we were second cousins like it was no big deal."

"Oh my." the Queen replied, sipping the tea that Ina had brought for them. "Well, it's not a big deal for second cousins, especially in noble and royal families. It's difficult to find people of sufficient rank, influence and power, Merchants and scholars are a good choice for this reason. First cousins, however... one would raise an eyebrow. It's not unlike Jun to lie about such things. He's a small fish with an inflated sense of self-importance. But he's noble, so people around here tolerate him."

"He... always seemed so good and pure and gentlemanly, Your Highness."

"He's a skilled actor." she agreed, noting how Shiyao's gaze lowered. "Anyone who didn't know him could easily be fooled by it. Please don't feel bad."

"He changed after I rejected him. I told him it was disgusting for us to be together if we were related and it wasn't something that would ever happen in Ranhara and he just told me to get over i-"

"Shiyao." she interrupted, getting the girl's attention. "Don't waste any more energy on him. I will assign a member of the Royal Guard to protect you."

"There's no need, Your-"

"It's basic protocol."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Now, because of your... unfortunate situation, we've organised a teacher and your own residence within the Guorun Palace. Ina will stay with you, Yixing will be your guard and Jae will be your assistant." she explained. "It's the least we could do for you after everything that happened. But enough of this boring talk, I'd like to talk about something more interesting."

"What's that, Your Highness?"

"You're turning 24 this year, perfect age for marrying-"

Oh god, not this again.

"and I was wondering what type of man you like."

Shiyao opened her mouth to reply, but stopped.

What kind of man did she like?

Someone like Min? Good in bed... probably evil?

Or someone like General Lang? Fueled by testosterone but condescending, though... genuine, loved his country and would protect her no matter what?

Or someone like Jun?

A liar?

No, not like him.

"I'm not really sure, Your Highness."

"Ah, inexperienced in love, I see."

Shiyao's burst of laughter startled the queen who almost spilled her tea.

"Excuse me." she cleared her throat, her expression returning to its polite, professional one. "Not quite."

"Bed mates are a different story." Queen Yun commented, suppressing a smile as Shiyao coughed into her tea, drops of the liquid landing on her face. "I'm talking about love."

"I, um... I suppose I am, Your Highness."

Shiyao didn't miss how the queen's face lit up as she sat back in her seat.

"I will leave you be for today, I think I've scared you enough." she chuckled as she stood up, approving of how Shiyao knew to follow her actions. "Let me walk you outside."

The two women walked side by side, pale lilac robes dragging behind champagne silk.

"Shiyao, you have a lot to learn about life here. It's not easy in the Guorun Palace even for those of us who spent most of our lives in it. People are vicious and greedy - don't let anyone try to trample you just because you're new."

The sunlight shone through the window frames, dappling rays onto their fair faces as they made their way through the hallway.

"I like you a lot already. Before I knew you were Wang Shiyao I had heard plenty about the Witch Ara in Ranhara. I like your spirit, and I like that you're acting with propriety now you're here with us. Make no mistake, this is where you belong."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Don't take my asking about marriage as an old auntie who is sticking her nose into other people's business. In Revenet, it's important who you marry. It's important for your survival, for your prospects and for your quality of life. Especially as a princess with your familial ties to important land, resources and powerful clans, you need to choose very wisely who gets access to that through you."

Oh.

She'd never thought of it like that before.

The women walked slowly through the garden towards the gate, where Queen Yun turned to her.

"I think you'll find you'll have quite a handful of potential suitors coming to visit you soon. Jun's father has been after what your family has had since he was young - don't pay him or Jun any mind."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Oh, and... don't be surprised if Jing Han comes to visit. He's been set up with a special advisor but now that you're here..." she trailed, leaning in with a cheeky smile. "please humour me."

Shiyao nodded with a bright smile.

Great.

Here it goes again...