The Privy Chamber was a grand room, usually reserved for matters of state and intrigue.
Today, however, it was host to something far more perplexing.
The walls, lined with tapestries depicting valorous deeds of old, seemed utterly at odds with the absurdity unfolding within.
Argider sat at the head of a long, ornately carved table, surrounded by a gaggle of women and children.
The women were murmuring among themselves, while the children fidgeted, some tugging at tablecloths and others munching on biscuits from a tray they weren't technically supposed to touch.
Argider cleared her throat, attempting to command the room with all the gravitas of a seasoned monarch.
She had donned her finest attire for this occasion, a gown of deep blue velvet that somehow only made her feel more conspicuous.
Beneath her composed exterior, panic churned like a stormy sea.
How in the world had it come to this?
