The heat was unbearable and it was barely mid-morning as Louisa stepped off the ship in Auric Harbor. All around her, sailors and tradesmen bustled about, shouting to one another and hauling crates and livestock off of boats.

A strong smell of rotten fish and musk wafted through the harbor, causing Louisa to wretch and breathe into the sleeve of her coat.

Lugging her suitcase through the crowd, she wondered exactly how she was going to get to the palace. She was not here on official business, so there would be no escort to guide her through the city. In retrospect, it had been a foolish idea, as her parents told her repeatedly as she packed. But once Louisa set her mind to something, there was no going back, especially where Neve was concerned.

The princess hadn’t shown any sign of waking when Louisa set out for Cendril capital, and the exhausted physicians hadn’t seemed confident while she questioned them. The memory tugged painfully at her chest as she trudged through the throng of bodies, but she did her best to brush the feeling away. Fretting wasn’t going to save Neve.

Finding a carriage had been shockingly easy, as rows of them lined the street along the harbor. The rate was a little exorbitant, but she didn’t have much choice.

So she handed over her gelds and settled into the wooden carriage as the driver loaded her suitcase.

Peering out the window, Louisa was begrudged to admit that Auric was rather beautiful. White brick buildings with pale blue roofs lined the streets, large temples with extravagant carvings positioned at every corner, and beautifully dressed people mingling outside awning-ladened shops.

The smell had changed as the carriage pulled away from the river where the harbor was situated. Instead of fish and stale sweat, there was an aroma of flowers mixed with baked bread, hot pavement and horse dung.

As the carriage pulled up the high golden gates of Auric Palace, Louisa was once again taken aback by the beauty of the building. Like the rest of the city, the palace was bricked in white stone that glistened in the golden morning light. Tall windows lined the walls and towers, so much so that it gave the palace the impression of being made of glass. Great vines clung to the base of the building, and the moment she stepped out of the carriage, she could smell blossoms from the famed palace gardens.

It was no wonder King Cygnus sought to emulate Auric back in Essen. Now that she’d seen the inspiration, Louisa couldn’t help but feel the king’s palace was garish in comparison.

A handsome guard at the gate questioned her, before ultimately letting her through. Cheeks reddening, she dragged her luggage through the courtyard, feeling more ridiculous with every scrap along the cobblestone.

An attendant met her in the palace foyer, which was done up in pale blue and cream with golden filigree decals detailing the walls.

Louisa was brought to a small receiving room, where she was presented with tea, cakes and little sandwiches, while the attendant went to check on the whereabouts of the prince.

Popping a cucumber sandwich into her mouth, she was thinking about how easy this all seemed when the attendant returned with a tight-lipped smile and informed her the prince was not available.

“What?” Louisa asked, her question muffled by the partially chewed sandwich still in her mouth. Face heating, she forced herself to swallow before addressing the attendant again. “When will His Highness be available?”

“Not for some time,” she said, a handsome woman of about forty with golden blond hair. “His Highness has several engagements that require his attention.”

Louisa bit her lip awkwardly. She didn’t like the way this woman was speaking to her, as if she were a fly that wouldn’t go away.

“Am I able to make an appointment?” she tried, fidgeting with the cuffs of her jacket. Sweat trickled down the nap of her neck from both the heat and nerves.

“I’m afraid he’s not making appointments at this time,” the attendant replied, clasping her hands tightly in front of her, a display of thinly-veiled patience.

“Does he know that it’s me here to see him?” Louisa asked, her voice rising slightly in anger. “Lady Louisa Bowers. Princess Neve’s lady-in-waiting. We met during his time in Hercynia.”

“He is well aware,” the attendant said, the polite smile on her face growing tighter until it was a barely visible line. “But as he is previously engaged and there was no notice of your intentions to visit, he is not able to see you at this time or anytime in the near future.”

Anger flared through Louisa’s chest in hot bursts. She hadn’t expected that he would flat out refuse to receive her.

The attendant appeared to be growing wary of her presence. “If that will be all, My Lady? I do have work to attend to.”

“I suppose so,” Louisa snapped, standing up and brushing the crumbs from her dress. “Though if it wouldn’t impose on your work too much to point me in the direction of a decent inn?” She was under no delusions that she’d be permitted to stay at the palace.

Thankfully, the woman wasn’t completely heartless and arranged for another carriage to bring her to an inn, The Little Lily Inn, a cozy establishment a few streets over from the palace. Once she was settled into a room, she sank into her bed and let out a prolonged groan of frustration.

Finding out what had happened to Neve had just become so much more difficult.

“Too busy my ass,” Louisa grumbled, shrugging out of her jacket and waving a hand against her face. “I know very well that spoiled rake has about as much responsibility as a toddler.”

Tossing her jacket on the floor, she rang her fingers down the baby hairs at the back of her neck, which were plastered to her skin with sweat.

“This country is too damn hot,” she huffed, glaring around the room as if it were to blame for the heat and her troubles. The room was decorated in soft pinks, with lily printed wallpaper and bedding. If she were there under happier circumstances, Louisa would have actually like it, but right now she wanted to tear the wallpaper down and set it on fire.

Loosening the buttons at the front of her dress, she continued to wave herself as she paced the room, wondering what to do next.

“Alright,” she was as she circled around a plush armchair. “So Prince Asher is refusing to see me. Not making him look very innocent in my books, but he’s also a self-centered asshole so that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” She paused to look at herself in an ornately decorated mirror that hung from the wall, wincing slightly at her disheveled appearance. “Well if he won’t speak to me, I’m going to have to find someone who will.”

She vaguely remembered Lord Abbot, the Cendril trade officer, had been friendly with Queen Cordelia, and figured he might be a good place to start. He’d been there, knew the prince and was likely at least somewhat compassionate to Neve’s circumstance. Surely he’d at least grant her an audience? But after Prince Asher’s firm dismissal, Louisa wasn’t so sure.

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She could write to the Queen and ask for her to set up an audience, but that would take at least a week, to which Neve could very well die in that time, and the Queen had still been rather frosty with her when she’d left Essen.

Louisa decided to write up a letter to Lord Abbot, expressing a desire to meet. She sent it off with one of the inn’s staff before bathing and changing into a more weather appropriate dress. Or as appropriate as she could get with the wardrobe she’d brought. She’d known that Cendril was typically warmer than Hercynia, but the latter’s summers weren’t this hot, and it was currently still winter.

Once she’d changed into one of her summer dresses, a thick cotton dress in striped cream and eggshell blue, Louisa set out to find some lunch. She had no acquaintances in Auric, so a local restaurant it would have to be.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t a little excited at the prospect of eating in a public place. There were taverns of course in Hercynia, several good ones in Essen if the guards were to be believed, but Louisa had never been permitted to go to one. Her mother probably would have fainted at the thought of her daughter drinking in a pub, and several of the other courtiers would have scoffed at her if she ever did. It simply wasn’t something a lady did, and certainly not a lady-in-waiting to the future queen.

Her heart tugged at the thought of Neve. They had spoken about sneaking out of the palace gates, dressed in wigs and servant's garb and going from tavern to tavern. They never had the opportunity, or the courage, to actually go through with it, and now they might never get to.

Louisa mentally shook herself as she walked out of the inn and into the busy street. “Don’t think like that,” she scolded herself. “You’re going to save Neve.”

A pair of older women in stylish dresses gave her an odd look as she passed, and Louisa blushed to realize she’d been speaking out loud. Averting her eyes, she hurried past them and down the bustling street.

There were even more people out now, ducking in and out of shops with pretty signs and clear glass displays showing an assortment of goods Louisa had never seen. Most of her life had been spent between her parents’ estate and Essen Palace. She’d never had reason to venture into town before.

Now she marveled at the stores around her. Passing a particularly busy atelier, Louisa’s heart skipped a beat as she eyed gowns of pastel silk displayed in the window. They made her cotton dress look shabby and if she wasn’t on a mission she’d be tempted to write to her father begging for extra gelds. But no, she needed to focus on finding a way to help Neve, not go shopping. Besides, her father had been less than pleased when she told him her plans and would probably refuse to extend her allowance anyways.

Louisa settled on a small cafe close to the palace. She figured if she stayed close to the prince’s home, she might be able to find some people that could tell her more about Prince Asher. It was a long shot, but she wasn’t sure what else to do until she got a response from Lord Abbot.

She sat inside and ordered some cucumber sandwiches, begrudgingly having enjoyed the ones she’d eaten earlier at the palace, and a glass of something called an “ice tea.”

While she waited for her lunch, she gazed around the cafe. There were several other patrons dressed handsomely, once again making Louisa feel out of place in her Hercynia-style dress.

An older gentleman sat at the table next to her, reading a newspaper called the Auric Gazette. Louisa, with not much else to do, couldn’t help but glance over at the paper. The man was reading something about fish stock prices. Hardly an interesting read, but it was better than staring off into space.

Or so she thought.

“Would you like to read it?” the man said after a moment, his tone a bit harsh and Louisa felt her cheeks and the back of her neck heat.

“Sorry,” she said, giving him a small smile. “I suppose that was a bit rude of me.”

The man, a gentleman who appeared to be in her mid forties with a particularly well groomed mustache, waved a hand at her. He placed the newspaper on her table and sipped the tea in front of him.

“I was finished with it anyways,” the man said dismissively. The man glanced at her, eyeing her up and down. “You’re not from here, are you?”

Louisa felt her cheeks redden even more.

“No,” she said nervously. “I’m from Hercynia.”

The man chuckled before taking another sip of tea. “Figured. No one’s worn a dress like that in Auric in nearly twenty years.”

Louisa was definitely going shopping after lunch.

“I didn’t think it was that out of date,” she said, looking down at her clothing. Perhaps the neckline was a bit higher than the other ladies’ dresses, and a little on the frilly side.

“My dear, not even my eighty-year-old mother still dresses like that,” the man said plainly.

Louisa glanced down at the newspaper, wanting very much to stop talking to this man.

“Any good articles?” she asked, flipping the paper over to read the cover. She was greeted with the likeness of Prince Asher, and had to keep from tearing the paper in half.

“Not really,” the man said boredly, dunking a cookie into his tea before taking a bite. “Mostly a lot of hullabaloo over the prince’s welcome home ball. As if that man needs an excuse to throw a party.”

Indeed, the cover article highlighted Asher’s return and the masquerade ball that was being held in his honor. Louisa had to laugh; the bastard didn’t have an honor.

A waitress brought over her lunch as she scanned the article.

“The ball is tonight,” she said out loud.

“Good to know they teach women how to read in Hercynia,” the man said condescendingly. Louisa ignored him.

The ball was a masquerade. If she were able to get an appropriate dress and a mask on time, she might just be able to sneak in and corner the prince. Her heart swelled at the thought.

“Not thinking of trying to sneak in, are you?” the man asked, a teasing look in his eye.

Louisa, who’d been taking a sip of her ice tea, which she quite liked, choked. Was this man able to read minds?

“Of course not,” she gasped out as she struggled for air.

The man looked at her, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Calm down dear,” he said. “I was only joking.” He gave her a tentative pat on the back as if he thought that would help. “Not like you’ll be able to get in anyways.”

Louisa took another sip of her drink and when she was finally able to breath again, turned to the man. “Not that I’m planning on trying, but why wouldn’t I?” she asked haughtily. Invited or not, she was still a member of a noble family - in Hercynia anyways.

The man glanced around the cafe before leaning in. Louisa gave him an odd look but leaned in as well.

“They’ll have upped the security at the palace. You didn’t hear this from me -”

“I don’t even know you.”

The man gave her a vexing look. “As I was saying, a friend of mine owns some trade ships and some news came in through the docks this morning. Apparently there was an attack on Princess Zara as soon as she arrived back in Maris.”

Louisa blinked, her mouth falling open in shock.

“What?”

The man nodded, leaning in a little closer. “Not sure what happened exactly, but from what I heard it would have been pretty gruesome if it had worked.”

Louisa couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, which earned her an odd look from the man.

“I, umm, happen to know Princess Zara,” Louisa explained. “I met her when she was in Hercynia.” She didn’t offer anything more. She didn’t know this man and so she couldn’t trust that he would tell others that a lady-in-waiting to Princess Neve was asking questions about the prince and his cousin.

It was a relief to know that Zara hadn’t been hurt, whatever had happened. She liked the princess, significantly more than her cousin anyways. But that made everything so much more complicated.

Surely Asher wouldn’t have tried to kill his own cousin, especially not when the two appeared so close. The idea of a scorned lover was equally questionable now as well. Attacking Asher’s fiancé made sense; attacking his cousin didn’t. Unless of course he really pissed someone off and the culprit was going after anyone the prince cared for. In normal circumstances Louisa couldn’t say she blamed them, but Neve had been harmed in whatever game of vengeance the prince had landed himself in.

She wanted to ask the man more, but he was rising out of his seat, placing a few silver gelds on the table.

“Good day,” the man said, nodding to Louisa and leaving without another word.

“Good day,” she said quietly to his retreating back.

She glanced back down at the newspaper, her lunch barely touched. With a sigh, she picked up one of the little sandwiches and took a particularly vicious bite, causing juice from the cucumber to splatter onto the paper in front of her.

Extra security or not, she had to find a way into that masquerade.