[Monday Morning, Before School, Poten High Knob Palace]
Alastar took a moment to admire himself in the mirror. His shoulder-length red hair and green eyes made him popular with the ladies in the palace. His height, too, drew eyes toward him. He kept an easy grin on his face in public, but it was all a façade.
For almost twelve years, he had played this current role of Princess Serenah's protector. He hated every minute of it. He had stumbled into this position by luck but kept it because of his cunning.
The youngest princess was weaker than the Crown Princess in many areas. Serenah, unloved and unwanted by her father and sister, had easily fallen prey to Alastar's act. He pretended to be a good friend and a doting older brother figure to the lonely princess. She believed it without question, following everything he said.
While he had her eating out of his hand, Alastar had thrown his lot in with the King. He knew who held the power he craved. Alastar secretly spied on Serenah's every action and reported the situations that most benefited him. He documented everything he did for both her and her father. He wanted the insurance just in case he was ever caught.
He was paid handsomely for his spy duties. Soon, he would have enough to topple his two older brothers and secure the seat of Marquis of his house.
He finished getting ready and made his way to the king's office. He knocked and waited for the king's "Come in."
Alastar entered, went before the king's desk, and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty." He stood quietly and waited for his monarch to speak.
"Alastar, today Serenah returns to school. I expect you to make sure the relationship between her and Romeo sours and dissolves. She isn't worthy of a human of his caliber. Besides, Amanah has placed a claim on him. Her claim takes precedence over Serenah's."
"I understand, Your Majesty. To be honest, I'm not sure what that human sees in Serenah. She is so weak that it is laughable. Yet, her hold over him is amazing. Maybe humans are less intelligent than we believe them to be."
King Bayrel nodded. "I think it's because the younger ones have not lived as long and don't understand the importance of status. I've noticed that in their culture, men who are "saviors" are often praised more than others. Such foolish romantic leanings are laughable."
"I agree, Your Majesty. I think that Romeo has a "savior complex." He thinks of Serenah as a damsel in distress and wants to play hero. I feel that the Crown Princess's strength intimidates him, which is why he refuses her advances."
King Bayrel tapped his finger on his desk, his expression thoughtful.
"Perhaps. Regardless," King Bayrel waved his hand dismissively. "Separate them using whatever means necessary. I want Amanah to have her future consort firmly in hand by the Spring Dance in March."
"Understood, Your Majesty." Alastar bowed once again and left the office.
As he made his way to the garage to meet Serenah for school, he thought about when he had decided to leave his loyalty to Serenah in the ashes of his rebirth.
It had happened when she turned twelve. He'd been her guard for roughly four years at that time. The year before, at Serenah's incessant pleading, he'd begun sneaking her out of the castle to see the world outside. In the beginning, it didn't bother him. He had felt sorry for the neglected young princess.
However, once she started to care more about the common folk than the nobility, Alastar grew dissatisfied with Serenah. What did this naïve, young, and useless princess even know? Nothing. She was cut off from reality, and her idealism was dangerous.
He decided he wanted no part of the dead-end life that serving her would bring him. He was greedy and craved more power than he could get from loyalty to Serenah. When the opportunity presented itself, he took it. That life-changing moment marked the end of his loyalty to Serenah and the beginning of his faithfulness to King Bayrel.
It was an every man for himself type of world. If he didn't take care of himself, no one else would. He slowed as he neared the garage. He schooled his expression to one of happiness and entered.
Serenah stood by the car. She jumped when he cleared his throat. He almost laughed at her fear. This was why she always lost to Amanah.
"Your Highness, let's go."
She got in the passenger side, and he took the driver's side. For the first few minutes, silence reigned.
"Your Highness, I'm sure you're glad to be going back to school. Please keep in mind that you were punished for two weeks. You don't want to upset Amanah anymore, do you? You should work on distancing yourself from Romeo. Just let your sister have him."
From the corner of his eye, he saw her stiffen. Her eyes flashed in defiance. He hid his smirk. Yes, this was Serenah's stubbornness coming out to play. Oh well, if she wanted the king to punish her some more, who was he to stop her?
"I want to remind you, as per His Majesty, that you are not allowed to hang out with Romeo outside of school and the internship. Once we are done with the internship, we are to come back home immediately. You are not allowed to do anything extra. Did you hear me, Your Highness?"
"I heard you," she mumbled.
He didn't say anything else. He didn't have to. He had this situation firmly in control. He just needed to keep an eye on her and make sure she obeyed the king's edict. He couldn't wait to see Romeo's reaction when he realized that Serenah was about to be taken away from him.