Bera bowed and left Ayla's private quarters.
The princess' eyes followed the figure of her maid until the door closed, severing her line of sight. Shifting her gaze from the door, Ayla glanced around the massive room. The design was something else. After her father visited Nyflim's Palace, he instantly fell in love with the open architecture.
Thus, he ordered the complete restructuring of every private quarter, making them akin to what he experienced in Nyflim. Of course, Acrisios wasn't stupid enough to demand the restructuring of the entire castle.
Leaning against her sturdy desk, Ayla didn't know how to feel about these changes. She enjoyed the aesthetic, but on the other hand, she felt a bit exposed. There was no door leading to the balcony - only a long see-through drape that divided the sleeping area and the outside world.
She planned to address this problem with her father in the future, but there were other, more pressing matters she and her father had to deal with.
The previous bed was also removed, and in its place, the workers brought another - larger and surrounded by see-through veils. Besides these changes, the room remained mostly the same, except for the walls' redesign.
Since it was late, Ayla was already in her nightgown and preparing for bed. She brushed her hair and bound it into a loose ponytail before walking to the bedside.
She didn't lie down straight away. Instead, she searched the mattress, blanket, and even the pillows. Although she never experienced an assassination attempt, she always took every measure to avoid them.
Finding no poisoned needles or venomous snakes in her bed, Ayla went to sleep right away.
Unknown to Ayla, a fully-cloaked figure appeared on the balcony and entered her sleeping quarters as silently as a passing shadow. Judging by the height, size, and body shape, the person should be a man, but you never know.
The man approached the bed where Ayla was sleeping but stopped a few feet away. Although it was hard to see, the man kept his hands beside his body, at ease. Or so it looked like.
A minute had passed since the cloaked man entered the princess' room, and after making sure she was asleep, he approached the bed again.
With a sudden jerk, the princess' sleeping body moved, turning underneath the blanket, and threw a glimmering dagger at the unknown person.
Eyes widening at the situation, the cloaked man hastily stepped back as he unsheathed his weapon before swinging at the fast-approaching dagger.
*Clank!* *Clank!*
The sound of metal hitting metal was quickly followed by something dropping on the wooden floor.
Ayla's dagger was parried.
Suppressing a groan of pain, the hooded man retreated to the farthest point from the bed while looking down at his cut wrist, which was bleeding profusely.
Grinning, the man raised his hands. "I love feisty women." He said, licking his lips while his eyes continuously went over Ayla's body, which was covered by clothes that left little to the imagination.
Cursing her father in her mind, Ayla covered her body with the thin blankets but didn't take her eyes off the intruder. Although she wanted to scream for the guards outside, Ayla refrained from doing so. "Who are you?"
The man sighed and slowly placed his hand into the front pocket of his cloak. Although it appeared the princess was vulnerable at this moment, the intruder thought that may not be the case after all. Pulling out a sealed letter, the man held it so Ayla could see the sigil.
"Consortveil?" Ayla asked confusedly. 'Why are they contacting me now?' Usually, the information guild would opt to contact her during the daytime, like regular businesses, which meant they learned something important if the guild went to such lengths.
Sighing, the princess groaned internally. 'Who do I have to deal with this?' To the informant, she only pointed at her desk.
The man placed the letter on her desk but did not immediately leave, as Ayla wanted. Instead, he turned to face her and recited all the terms and
conditions of the contract between them, taking the princess by surprise.
'It seems like they found something very important.'
The informant eventually left, only after Ayla told him she would not hold the guild responsible for any information they provided.
Looking at the nowempty balcony, Ayla sighed again and turned on a magical lamp. It seemed like she wouldn't get much sleep tonight.
***
"My Lady, the king has summoned you."
A sudden, timid voice shook Ayla from her torpor. She looked around to see who woke her up and relaxed upon seeing Bera standing beside Ayla's desk.
Although it wasn't ladylike, the princess rubbed her bleary eyes. "Oh, it's you, Bera."
As she presumed, Ayla didn't sleep much last night, mostly because she feared another cloaked 'informant' would barge into her room as though it was a marketplace and not a lady's shelter.
"What were you saying about my father?" Ayla inquired, suppressing the ever-increasing desire to yawn.
"Yes, His Majesty asked for your presence in the dining room," Bera repeated as she approached the wardrobe and began preparing the princess' attire.
Although puzzled by her father's request, Ayla nodded and entered her private bathroom. "I'll be ready in a few moments."
Having entered the washroom, Ayla suppressed her yawn no longer, and she also rubbed her eyes for good measure. Her jaw opened so wide the princess felt she could fit a whole house with some elbow grease. It seemed like she couldn't get rid of her tiredness no matter what.
Getting rid of her clothes, Ayla jumped in the warm water and started preparing for the upcoming day.
When the princess exited the bathroom, Bera had already prepared a beautiful calf-length light-blue dress together with pure-white accessories such as a necklace, hairpin, and bracelets.
All in all, the attire was simple but formal enough to be worn inside the castle without drawing contempt-filled gazes.
"Has my father stated he asked for my presence?" Ayla asked her maid as the latter helped the princess don the dress. As soon as the lady was dressed, the maid started combing the former's hair.
To Ayla's question, Bera partially shook her head. "His Majesty wanted to spend some time with his daughter." Both Bera as well as Ayla knew this was only a pretext, but the maid relayed the message nonetheless.
"What else did the king say?"
"Nothing, my Lady, but..." The maid paused momentarily, "If I may be presumptuous, I believe it's because His Highness, the prince, will arrive at the castle today."
At this news, the princess' eyebrows jumped in surprise. "My brother will arrive at the castle? When exactly?"
Taken by surprise by Ayla's fiery response, Bera took a few seconds to recollect her bearings. "I-I'm not sure, My Lady. The most recent news told the prince should arrive at noon."
Ayla nodded and stood up from her mirrored desk. Her hair was neatly combed and styled in an Updo.
There wasn't much else to do, such as perfuming herself up, so Ayla left her quarters and sauntered toward the dining room, not forgetting to send word to her father of her arrival.
It was a bothersome and irrelevant thing to constantly keep in mind, which is why Ayla found this useless action to be just that, useless. This wasn't some grand palace of a massive empire, nor was she some prominent figure to be announced this way.
Alas, there was nothing Ayla could do about this, so she could only hide her emotions beneath a well-practiced warm smile. In a few short moments, the princess found herself standing in front of the dining room's open doors, followed closely by her handmaid.
It was time to see what her father, Acrisios Valtiere, had to share with Ayla, Blackwater's first and only princess.