Reconnecting as a Woman Grown

Part of why that fateful conversation stuck out so clearly in your mind was that it had been the last time you'd seen your girlhood crush in the flesh. Later on that same state visit, your father and his had quarreled. The slight had been minor, but it had become such a scandal that your father almost gave the order to put Black-Brand to siege. Geopolitical machinations convinced him to stay his hand, however from that moment on Azaniel and his family were persona-non-grata within Telos.

All of this had occurred to your horror. You'd tried to persuade your father to calm his fury, but he was not about to listen to his daughter. You were barely a teenager. The only thing he took from it was that he needed to be more vigilant to ensure that boy never got near you again.

And so, the years went on with nary a word between you and your first crush. You flowered into a woman, and had other friends and other crushes. Secret first kisses, and aborted attempts at courtship. Your brother was heir, so he spent that time learning to rule. That suited you just fine. You weren't the ruling type.

In those days, your tendency to fantasize only grew. Especially when it pertaining to topics that were forbidden. Even if Azaniel wasn't in your life anymore, that didn't mean you weren't endlessly fascinated by life in the **** cities. Azaniel's promise came back to you sometimes, as did curiosity what life as a ****-concubine must be life. It seemed so unfathomable, yet that only made your curiosity grow and grow.

Such thoughts were on your mind the day a ****-messenger, dressed in gold shackles, from Black-Brand arrived in court. By then you were eighteen, having just completed your celebration of womanhood mere days before. This messenger handed your father a note announcing a change in power on the coast. The tyrant who'd taken over Black-Brand after seizing it from Azaniel's father had fallen after only a few months on the throne. Now a new prince ruled over the coastal enclave.

Prinze Azaniel had taken command of the armies of the resistance. He'd even defeated his own elder brother in a bloody duel in the throne room itself. He now ruled in Black-Brand.

By then your father had forgotten about this boy who'd once frequented the court. Yet, you hadn't. Before the **** set off back for Black-Brand, you slipped her a hastily written letter, directed for Azaniel. It contained effusive praise for newfound conquest, along with a sincere desire that his next messenger might arrive with a letter meant for you alone. You would not be disappointed.

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