{Aria}
The palace gardens were beautiful this time of year, though Aria barely noticed. She stood among the carefully tended roses, her mind far from their delicate petals.
[Another day, another crisis,] she thought, running her fingers along a flower's stem. [Though I suppose that's what being queen is all about. Crisis after crisis after crisis after...]
She sighed.
[I suppose Father would be proud... Mother... well, Mother would probably tell me to stop brooding in the garden and actually do something.]
She could almost hear her voice: "A queen who hesitates is no queen at all, my dear."
[Yes, and look where your decisiveness got you, Mother.]
"Your Majesty?"
Aria turned to find Lord Caelum approaching, his considerable bulk moving with surprising grace for a man his size. His expression told her everything she needed to know about how her day was about to go.
