Evangeline practically forced herself to meet the queen's piercing red gaze as her pulse hammered in her ears.
She knew that she had to choose her next words carefully.
"I'm from a noble family in Macedonia," she said with a voice that was surprisingly steady.
"I ran away from home because it was a gilded cage," She continued, "and I ended up meeting Sereia and Anakin along the way. We got lost in the desert eventually."
It was a believable story.
People ran away from noble families all the time... Hell even princess ran away sometimes.
The queen tilted her head, watching her far too closely, as if she could peel back Evangeline's skin and see the truth underneath… it was uncanny.
"You're a long way from home," she stated, swirling the wine slowly in her glass.
Evangeline nodded. "I wanted to be as far away from home as possible."
A thick, tension filled silence stretched between them.