I rushed through the halls as fast as I could. I'm so dead. Hi, my name's Opelai, otherwise known as Opal. First day of being appointed as a member of the Council of Apheros and I'm already messing up. But hey, it's not my fault I'm a heavy sleeper. 

It was 8 in the morning when I woke up, the meeting started at 7:30. So what; I'm 30 minutes late. What's the big deal? Right? To my father, this was a huge deal. 

~*~

It all started a couple of days ago, I was sitting in my room, reading on my bed. 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. 

My lady-in-waiting, Zylis, who was in the room with me, rushed to open the door. To our surprise, it was my father's assistant. 

"Princess, His Highness wishes to speak with you."

  Great, just when I was about to drift to sleep, I get called down. Seriously? 

"Listen, I really don't feel like—."

"His Majesty says it's urgent, please Princess," he cut me off. 

"Opal, I think you should go, it sounds super important.," Zylis added. 

A couple of minutes later I find myself in my father's study. 

"So, hey dad—."

"Opelai, I want you to listen closely." 

I really hate being cut off mid-sentence, it drives me nuts. 

"I've thought about this, and I've realized that I have been too easy on you. Your 19th birthday is in a week, and you aren't even close to becoming a proper princess, let alone Empress." 

"Gee, thanks dad."

"The point is, we don't have much time left before I 'retire', and you become Empress of Apheros. And with what little time we have left, I think it is best for you to put in your best effort to improve. Public opinion on you is already low, so I think it's best if you join the Council of Apheros."

  "Okay, that's cool dad, now if you'd excuse me— WAIT WHAT?" 

I could not believe my ears. My dad, the great and powerful Emperor of Apheros, wanted ME to join the council?!

  "Our next meeting is tomorrow morning, 7:30 AM. I'll have my assistant deliver the details to you. Don't be Late." 

~*~

I could barely go to sleep that night. So, now we're in the present. Crazy, right?

I ran up to the doors. Which, let me tell you, it is not easy running in a Hanfu. I immediately regretted shoving the doors open. Everyone's eyes were on me.

I've always idolized the Council, but now that I've seen them, I'm kind of disappointed. The Council is made up of 5 people, to symbolize the 5 islands of Apheros. They were all people who were close to dad. There was a lady with long silky black hair. I'd guess she's probably around her 50's or 60's. 

She had her hair in such a tight braid it made me visibly wince. Next to her was the imperial family's herbalist. His name was Min, and looked like he was in his twenties, he was wearing a white collared shirt, and he had a leather sack draped on one shoulder. 

Seated next to Min was General Glenn. She scares me, only because she's crazy strong. I once saw her take down four buff guys at once. Next to Glenn was an empty seat. Made me wonder who the seat belonged to before. I glanced up at my dad.

"You're late," my father said.

I slowly shifted down into the empty chair while trying to think of an excuse.

"The bed was so comfortable I couldn't get up?" 

Dad glared at me with a look of disapproval. The next couple of minutes were quite boring honestly. All we did was introduce ourselves. 

The old lady from earlier was named Xiu. General Glenn stood up, and I got a feeling things were about to get serious. 

"I've requested this meeting to discuss the current war."

  Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that. There's this war going on with Azura and the rest of the 7 nations including Apheros.

  "Apheros has the upper hand so far because our islands are floating, Azura has yet to reach us. But I've received a report today from one of our soldiers that I think everyone will want to hear."

  She took out a letter and started to read, "Dear General Min, how are you doing? I hope the rest of the guys are doing well up there. We're having a bit of a problem down at the border. The Azurans have somehow managed to acquire pegasi and are now attempting to fly up to the border. Our numbers and supplies have diminished severely. We barely managed to fight them off. We suspect that it might be an inside job, seeing as you can't find pegasi anywhere else in the world. I suggest you keep an eye out for suspicious activity inside the palace. Stay safe, Sincerely, Li Jie." 

My heart absolutely dropped. I was always told that Apheros would always be safe no matter what, and that no harm would come to us. But hearing this letter from someone who was fighting in the war trying to protect us, felt heartbreaking and terrifying. I looked up at everyone else. The lady, Xiu, seemed to be the only one unbothered by all this. 

I have no clue why, but she gives me bad vibes. 

Dad stood up, "We need to send more supplies down to the border. General Glenn, please see to it that enough food, water, weapons, and clothes are packed and sent by tomorrow."

"Yes sir, what should we do about the Azurans ambushing the border?" Glenn asked.

"Are you aware of how many men were sent down originally?" said father, rubbing his eyes.

"About 30, Your Highness," the general replied.

"Alright, do you know how many there are now?"

"No– not quite."

"Write this down," my dad said, motioning towards the quill and paper in front of General Glenn.

"Yes sir," she replied, picking the quill up and dipping it in the jar of ink.

"Greetings Li Jie, I hope you are doing well. How many men are left. How many were killed and injured? Are the bodies still present? How many Azurans did you spot. Please take time to deliver exact answers and results. I will be waiting. I want reports on who is alive and who isn't. We will send out food, water, weapons, and supplies. Yours truly, The Emperor of Apheros," he paused, "Did you get all that down?"

"Yes sir, shall I send it out?"

"Yes, immediately."

A man dressed in battle armor, who had been standing next to Glenn, took the letter and left to deliver it.

"Are there any other matters that require my attention?" asked the emperor.

Min, the herbalist, raised his hand, "Yes, Your Highness. We are in need of more drakon venom."

Dad rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, "Talk to my assistant, he'll set everything up. I'm exhausted. If there is anything else worth discussing, let it wait until next time. Meeting adjourned."

And just like that, my first ever council meeting ended. 

~*~

I flopped onto my bed. Normally, I'd be reading romance novels, or sleeping, or gossiping with Zylis. 

But I couldn't just act like everything was fine after the meeting. Zylis walked into my room. Me and Zee have been best friends since day one. Her family works for the Imperial Family, so we practically grew up with each other. 

She's really the only friend I have, since I've never been allowed to leave the palace and I've been homeschooled all my life. 

"You okay Opal? You seem a little down." 

"Just the Council meeting." 

The room went silent for a minute. 

"Did your dad yell at you again?" 

I sat up, "Yes, and no. Yes, as in he did, no, as in that's not why I'm so down."

  I explained everything to Zee, she seemed understandably horrified. We sat together in silence for a moment. 

"Can we go out for a walk?" 

"Sure, where do you want to go, Opal?"

  "Follow me." 

I led Zee out to the courtyard, near the fountain. I could hear Zee gasp, "This is where we first met!" 

I nodded. A wave of nostalgia came crashing at me. I remember playing here with her when we were young. I didn't have a care in the world. I didn't have any expectations I needed to meet. No Pressure. And best of all, no war. 

~*~

Next morning, I was awakened by a series of loud yelling, a bunch of random things cluttering, and banging. I barely managed to sit up. Zylis burst into the room. 

"Opal get up, get up. We have visitors coming! The Empress of Alphospine is coming, and so is the crown princess! We need to get you ready!" 

As she dragged me across my room to get dressed, I caught a glimpse of our visitors through the window. 

"We need your best outfit; your dad wants you there to greet them!"

I bathed, threw on the best looking Hanfu I could find, and ran down with Zylis. 

The empress and princess walked through the door. They were both drop dead gorgeous. If I was a man from Alphospine, I'd definitely ask for the Princess's hand in marriage. 

They were wearing big poofy navy-blue dresses, with corsets and hats and so many accessories that I lost track. They both had fans covering their faces. I noticed the Princess was wearing a ring over her gloves. It was a very shiny one, and it was huge. It had a big sapphire diamond in the middle and tiny white diamonds all around. 

Dad walked up to greet them, "Hello Your Highness, thank you for meeting us here on such short notice."

I bowed, "Thank you for traveling all the way over here, your Highnesses, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," said the empress. 

I saw the Princess's eyes squint a little, which meant either she was smiling, or she was judging me, I couldn't tell because of her fan. I read somewhere that Alphospine ladies who are married or engaged are required to cover  their faces with fans, so they don't 'entice' other men, sounds dumb to me. 

She looked at me and dad and curtsied. Why didn't we do that? All we do is bow, boring. After an awkward amount of time my dad finally invited them into the meeting room/war room. We sat down and had drinks and snacks. All my dad and the Empress talked about were things about the war. I was sick of hearing about the war. I got up and walked out, which I know is rude of me, but I don't want to repeat yesterday. 

When I was on my way out, I could hear footsteps behind me. I know for sure it wasn't Zee because she was up in the kitchen. I turned to see who it was. I was shocked when I found out it was the princess. 

She looked up at me without lowering her fan and waved, "Greetings Your Highness."

  I grinned slightly, "You don't need to be that formal with me, just call me Opal." 

"Oh no there's no way I could do that. I was taught to always address those of royal standing properly." 

"This is kind of rude for me to ask but, what's your name?" 

She stared at me for a moment, then replied, "Victoria, Victoria Walters." 

"I'm Opelai Zhang. You can just call me Opal though."

  Her eyes squinted again, and this time I could tell she was smiling. 

"Okay Opal, pleased to meet you."

  "Pleased to meet you too, Victoria." 

We walked through the palace and chatted for a while. I learned that she's engaged to this guy named John. She doesn't know anything about him other than the fact that he is in the army and that all of the girls in town are head over heels for him.

I can't imagine being forced to marry someone I don't know anything about. Although my dad did suggest the idea of getting engaged a couple of times in the past, he's never forced me.

"So, what's life like in Alphospine?" 

She sighed, "Very tedious. There's so much work to be done. The war is driving us crazy." 

War war war, that's all everyone seems to be talking about. We decided to return to the meeting room, and it turned out that the empress was getting ready to leave.

My dad was going on and on about how it was a shame that they had to leave so early. Normally I'd want guests to leave as soon as possible, but I'd miss Victoria.

"I apologize, Your Highness, but there are still matters we must tend to back in Alphospine. We have accomplished what needs to be done, so now we will take our leave." 

"Ah, well that is understandable. At least take some of the pastries with you, it's a long trip.", Dad replied.

"Right, we'll be sure to do that." 

They gathered their stuff and left just as quickly as they arrived. 

About half an hour passed and I was laying on my bed chatting with Zylis, while she folded my clothes. 

"Zee, did you know that the princess is engaged to a guy she doesn't even know?" 

"Yeah that's nobles and royalty for you," she sighed, "They'll raise and groom their daughters until they find the highest bidding man to come and take her away. What do you reckon the dowry was? Land? Gold?"

I chuckled, "Judging by the ring the princess had on, the groom's family are no cheapskates. They must be well off to afford such a huge gemstone."

"You're talking as if you couldn't buy ten of those diamonds if you wanted to," she teased.

"They probably requested a huge sum of money, or perhaps land," I said.

"Did she tell you anything about the groom? A name? Looks?"

"His name's John. He's a general in the army, and all the girls in town love him."

"I still can't fathom the fact that forced marriages exist. Who would force someone into a relationship? I mean I can understand it's supposed to be for the good of the family, but it's still cruel," she said.

"You're lucky you don't have to get married. You'll be working as my lady-in-waiting for your entire life, with not a care in the world. While I'll be sold off as soon as my father finds a proper suitor."

"You don't know that, what if you become empress and he marries the mistress's daughter off instead?" Zylis replied, as she organized my vanity.

"That would be great," I laughed.

I drifted to sleep just a couple of minutes after Zylis had left. 

~*~

I woke up at about half past 8 the next morning. Normally I'd be at lessons by this time, but today's Friday, my day off. 

I decided to go to the library and do a little research. Research on Alphospine to be exact. Our library has a vast collection of historical books, so I was bound to find something. 

I strolled around for a bit, admiring the various paintings on the wall. I started coughing from the dust everywhere, I've got to remember to get someone to clean it later. I've never really used the library, my mother would always tell me that if I wanted to read, she would get the books for me, and during lessons, the teachers would have me use the books from the shelves in the study. 

I walked on over to the A section. I grabbed as many books as I could find. I laid them all over the table. One book in particular caught my eye. It was titled, 'Alphospine: Important People.' I opened it to a random page and began to read. Amelia Verlice, Alphospine's first female general, 19 years old, influenced many women to join the army and to fight for their nation. There was a picture underneath it. 

It wasn't until I read the following sentences that my heart stopped. She fled to Apheros due to difficulties with the laws, and married —--- and gave birth to a —--. She fled to Apheros. It instantly reminded me of my mother for some weird reason. There were ink blotches on some of the words. How convenient. I checked the date. Year 1882. 

I rushed to the meeting room. No one was allowed in there unless there was a meeting. But I didn't care. There was something I needed to verify. I burst open the doors and rushed to the painting of the late empress, my mother,  hanging on the wall. I held up the book to the painting. I may not have the best eyesight, but I'm darn sure that's my mother. 

There was only one person who could give me answers. My father. I rushed up to his study. 

"Father!" 

He looked up at me. 

I handed him the book, "Is this mom?"

He hesitated for a bit, then replied, "I don't know what you're talking about"

  His eyebrows were arched. His eyebrows are always arched when he's lying. Like this one time, we were eating dinner. We had Fried Sallow that day, and it just so happens that my pet sallow died the day before. When I confronted him about it he arched his eyebrows and denied it. I went over to the cook to ask him, and he admitted that my dad hated the sallow and wanted to cook it. 

"Dad, I know you're lying"

  Tears started forming in my eyes. I was so angry. Don't I have the right to know about the woman who gave birth to me? 

"I don't know anything about this and that's final."

  I ran out of the room. I could hear my dad calling behind me. But that didn't matter. If he wasn't going to tell me about my mother I'd have to find out for myself.