Father stared at Lucine expectantly, fingers drumming on the large, cluttered, wooden desk between them.
Lucine, in turn, was staring off into the distance, lips pursed, as she tried in vain to come up with any answer besides the obvious.
"No," she said at last. "It's got to be Selena."
Father didn't respond, which was fine because she felt the need to explain her reasoning anyway.
"Accompanying Luna to House Dariya seems like the obvious choice, on the surface," she said. "It is closer to Prittavia, after all. Lucas would have no trouble getting there in time to meet with me.
"But that is just about the only advantage I see to Lichenrock," she said, referencing House Dariya's manor. "But if he's going to be waiting for my reply at Drakemouth, it will be just as easy for him to head over to the port at Io and catch a ship to Bulan. If he's quick enough, he might even beat us there."
Lucine and King Tidus were sitting in the King's chambers behind the Throne. Father had signaled her to accompany him after that unfortunate business with Aadhira, and when she joined him he revealed that he had just received a letter from Prince Lucas.
This letter offered his apologies to Luna, and suggested that a change of scenery might ensure a cleaner break between the two separate courtships: would Princess Lucine care to suggest an alternate venue than Luna City for them to meet and discuss whether it would be agreeable to her for him to begin a courtship with her?
"Besides," Lucine went on, "meeting him at Lichen Rock would mean meeting him in the company of Luna, which is precisely why he proposed this in the first place. Better to decline and meet him here than that, I think.
"And that's not even to mention the callousness toward House Dariya. Lord Heb has an heir – I'm unclear whether he is a son or grandson, or something with a few greats thrown in – of marrying age, I believe. Should this courtship with Prince Lucas not work out and I choose to pursue this connection in the future, the fact that I previously used his lands to court another might prove a point of contention between us."
Lucine paused for a moment before switching tracks.
"Bulan, on the other hand, is basically everything that Lichen Rock is not. It's a city, for one thing. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, especially outside the Empire. I mean, we're not exactly ugly here, but Bulan has a world full of pilgrims to put on a good face for."
Lucine chuckled. "I could think of plenty of less romantic places to be wooed.
"But since I'm on my favorite subject – myself – I should probably point out that there's plenty of reason for me to want to meet him there. Beyond the fact that every little girl wants to go there – even Aadhira could find interesting things to do there, though it's probably best not to ask what – I would love the opportunity to discuss magic and other areas of learning with some of the world's best experts.
"On a slightly less selfish note, Selena may not be Aadhira, but she is still thirteen. Not that Bulan will be unsafe for her, but not even the priestesses of the Order can be trusted to look out for her interests with as much fidelity as family. And the same goes for just having someone familiar to talk to."
Lucine hesitated, biting her lip, before getting to her last point. "And finally, there are two ways around the Sisters," she said, meaning the five peaks on the border between Luna and Prittavia. "He went east. I don't know if he has a personal interest in seeing the Isles or if he is attempting to help me feel more comfortable in our own protectorate, but it couldn't be clearer where he is hoping to meet me."
Father had steepled his fingers at some point while she was talking, and now he stared over them at Lucine as she stood waiting for his response.
"Very well reasoned," he said at last. "My reasoning for the most part followed a similar track, which is why I asked one of the priestesses who accompanied Selena to await word of whether they should be expecting an extra passenger."
Lucine frowned. When had he had a chance to do that? The docket she had seen before court had no mention of the reason for the priestesses' appearance, and Father had seemed as surprised to see Selena with them as anyone else.
"I am a bit disappointed," Father went on, "that what I considered to be the most important reason for your decision, you all but apologized for."
Father stood up and moved next to the desk. "Do you know which of my daughters I am the most concerned for?"
A name occurred to Lucine, but she knew the question wouldn't have been asked if it was her.
"No, it isn't Aadhira," Father confirmed. "She's headstrong and young, but correcting the latter tends to help moderate the former. When she learns to direct the force of nature that is her will, she will be quite formidable in whatever arena she chooses to direct her talents.
"Much like you."
Lucine frowned again. This sounded more like a compliment than a concern.
"The difference is," Father said, "that Aadhira will be pursuing what she wants. Now, this isn't as bad as it may sound. She's got a good heart, she loves her family and our people like she ought. She may have her vices, but as long as she can remember those she cares about, her heart won't lead her astray."
Father stared at Lucine for a moment before continuing.
"I think you're smart enough to have figured out where I'm going with this. You have made a habit – not a bad habit, mind you! – of putting yourself as a princess first, and yourself as a woman second. Don't get me wrong: you've done some wondrous things with the accounts that I think you genuinely do love to oversee.
"But I worry that someday you may make a decision as a princess without checking with yourself as a woman.
"Now, maybe my worries are unfounded. Maybe you have found the proper balance between your public self and your private self.
"Politically speaking, a tie to Prittavia would be very welcome. And from my discussions with Luna, Lucas seems to be a good, decent man and prince.
"But I want you to make sure that there is something more. No matter how good he is politically, I want you to make sure that you will not only be able to live with him, but that you will be happy doing so."
Father sat on the corner of his desk. "I don't mean love. It's possible that romance may be a little too much to ask for, at first anyway. The spark may or may not be there right away. It may even show up after you've been married a few years. I may not even know what I'm talking about.
"But I'm pretty sure it won't show up if you don't match sufficiently that you can at least figure out how to live with the man."
Father's fingers drummed on the desk next to him.
"I suppose, in the name of being complete, I should mention the other possibility."
Lucine arched an eyebrow. "You mean–?"
"I mean, just in case you do hit it off, and find that spark right off. It would make my life a whole lot easier if you weren't found with child before the wedding."
Lucine could feel her cheeks burning. "Father! I would nev–"
Father's deadpan expression spoke with an eloquence words could not.
"Okay," she allowed. "I suppose that I, who have never been in love, do not know how I would respond were I to find myself there. I shall endeavor to remain vigilant."
But then the wicked streak she shared with the rest of this man's family spoke through her.
"Of course, I'm not entirely certain I would be able to get pregnant anyway."
Father's expression wavered between two different types of worried. "Is it because of your condition with regard to the full moon?" he guessed.
Lucine nodded. "Yes. In light of our family's condition, I have done my fair share of research over the years, including communications with some of the world's most renowned experts – oh, by the way, meeting some of these in person is another reason I would like to visit Bulan.
"Anyway, it seems physical maturity, in all its forms, can arrive for different people at different ages. But pregnancy before menarche – a girl's first effectual full moon – is quite rare. And when it has occurred with a priestess on hand to investigate, it has invariably been shown that the girl's body has already started to respond to the moon. In other words, she would have bled for the next full moon had she not become with child."
Lucine watched her father carefully during her explanation, but contrary to her worries, he seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying. She couldn't help feeling a bit of pride in having him as her father, and not for the first time.
"It seems," she concluded, "that it is a woman's response to the Lunar cycle that enables her to become pregnant, though the details remain a mystery. But as it applies to your daughters, it would seem reasonable to conclude that whatever it is that has prevented us from responding to the moon has likely also rendered us infertile."
And with the admission came the feelings of inferiority that she knew plagued Selena.
"Not that I have any intention to test this hypothesis, of course."
She stood there waiting for Father to respond, hoping that he didn't see–
"It hurts you, doesn't it?" Father asked.
And the mask, the mask that Lucine lived her life by, broke, for the first time in years, and she was a little girl rushing into her father's arms, crying on his chest.