"...n-n-n-n-no…the dragons ate the pancakes…" Vaela mumbles into her drool-stained pillow.
Kai chuckles softly from across the room as he stands before a large mirror, shirtless, buttoning his slacks. He stares at Vaela for short moments, grinning widely as she rolls through silk sheets, snoring tenderly and mumbling to herself as soft sea-light pours over her from the starfish-covered windows above her bed.
"I asked what you would like for breakfast." he says as he leans over, tugging strands of hair from her lips. "And do you have any plans for today?"
Vaela slowly rolls over as she licks the remnants of the previous night's decisions out of her mouth. Her hair tangled into a crude halo and her makeup smudged into warpaint as she stretches and yawns like a paraplegic cat before pulling the covers back over her head.
"Breakfast… Twenty aspirin and a defibrillator." she groans. "Plans… Sleep. Die. More sleep."
"Nobody told you to try and outdrink Nerina. Even I know better than that."
"Oooooooh!" Vaela croaks, "Now he tells me. Niceeee!" she says, slowly, poking a thumbs up at him from under the sheets.
"I take full responsibility for my sisters'—"
Kai's apology is cut short by the arrival of his eldest sister, Elsuana, bursting through the door, tablet in one hand and fury filling the other.
"Kai!" she yells, looking for her brother as she enters.
He turns to his sister, then Vaela and back to his sister again.
"Um… could this wait—"
Elsuana's eyes widen and her cheeks flash red as she realizes Vaela lay tangled in the sheets beside her bare chested brother."
"U-Uncle…" she stutters, flustered. "The business summit. It's cancelled!"
"That's brilliant news!"
"No!" Elsuana snaps, turning her attention fully to her brother. "He's planning something worse. A private gathering with only the top investors, the major power players in every industry. He's trying to sell off the kingdom from the inside!"
Before Kai can respond, the bedsheets fling open and a groggy, drool-soaked Vaela sits up. No clothes. No shame. Just confusion and a severe hangover.
"I'm up!" she grunts, rubbing at her sleep-encrusted eyes. "Why are we shouting?"
"Oh!" Elsuana gasps as her eyes shoot open.
"Go back to sleep, Vanessa." Kai coos softly, his face glowing red as he gently usher's Vaela back into bed. "We'll meet for breakfast. In an hour."
"...twenty aspirin…" Vaela murmurs, already curling herself into the sheets.
-------------
An hour later, Vaela, now cleaned, composed and draped in a regal blue ensemble, while a variety of Aquesterian jewellery adorns her head, neck and limbs, most of it foisted on her by Kai's sisters.
Kai and his older siblings were still off dealing with their uncle's usurpations, leaving Vaela to endure breakfast with a 10-year old warrior-poet and his queen-mother.
"...then I whacked it on the nose with my sword and it swam away, crying. So I saved three baby turtles!" Aurelin proclaims proudly, puffing out his chest.
"How very brave of you, little prince." Vaela smiles.
"Oh, and I wrote something for you." the little boy says as he excitedly shuffles through his pockets. He pulls out a tattered paper with barely legible Aquarian script scrawled over it.
"Oh, what is—"
"A poem!" he beams, before clearing his throat as regally as he could. "Lo! Her eyes are pearls, like diamonds of the sea. Her hair, like moonlight, so beautiful, to me—"
"Thank you, Aquelin." the queen interrupts, saving Vaela and herself from her son's heartfelt aural assault. "I think Miss Moonblood gets the gist of it."
"You stand in the way of our love, Mother!" The young boy sobs as he leaps from his chair and storms back to his room with a furious pout.
Vaela giggles politely, nursing a tall glass of mineral water in an attempt to tame her snarling hangover.
"He's thoroughly smitten with you, the poor thing." the queen smiles as she sips on her goblet. "Runs in the family, it seems."
Vaela blushes. "He's cute. And very charming."
"Just like his brother." Queen Syranelle says, her smile sharp and knowing. "You and Kai… you seem close… perhaps… even intimate?"
Vaela almost chokes on her water.
"We're… friends, Your Grace. Good friends."
"Oh, my sweet girl." The queen sighs with a chuckle. "I was a good friend too… before I became his queen. And this role… it sucks you in and swallows everything you once held dear. Time, love, attention. It takes it all and leaves nothing but a sense of duty… and longing for simpler times. You're kind, Vanessa. I like you. But know that Kai will need to harden, and if you plan to stay with him—"
"He's not meant for me." Vaela interrupts softly. "His kingdom needs him more than I ever could. I'm… I'm just glad I got to meet him. And help him. And see Aquesteria. It's been like a dream. Your kingdom is beyond beautiful."
The queen watches her for a moment longer as what little remains of her caution and suspicions are washed away my Vaela's honesty and emotional maturity.
"You truly have a good heart, Vanessa Moonblood. Even Darion sings your—"
Before another word could be said, a door swings open as Kai and Nerina come barreling into the room.
"Mother!" he yells out as soon as his gaze finds the queen. "We must speak to Father. Immediately!"
"No." the queen answers calmly. "My husband needs his rest. He cannot suffer the weight of his decision. Not not. It falls to us to correct his wrongs."
"Uncle Naestle's plan is worse than we thought. He wants to carve up the kingdom and sell it wholesale to governments and corporations. Everything from food supply to security. If these deals go through, Aquesteria will no longer be owned by her people."
The queen's eyes narrow and her jaw tenses. "Then we must act. You have my blessing, son. Do whatever you must. I will harbor responsibility for whatever consequences may arise."
Kai clenches his fists at his side and bows deeply, his eyes filled with gratitude and conviction. "Thank you, Mother. I will not disappoint. Not this time."
He turns to Vaela, his eyes now soft and solemn. "Vanessa, you must forgive me. But I must—"
"Take me with you!" she blurts, barely considering her request.
Kai blinks. "Vanessa, this is not your fight. You've already—"
"I have to come." she pleads. "You started this with me. I want to be there… with you."
"Vanessa…"
Kai turns to his mother, who nods approvingly. "She's earned her place, Kai. She can go."
Kai nods before turning to Vaela, whispering. "Let me handle this, okay. Just… don't do… anything."
"Me?!" Vaela smirks. "Never!"
He runs off to make preparations for their departure while the Queen leaves to gently break the news to her husband, leaving Vaela with her thoughts, and a very concerned Lilith.
"Need I remind you that your work here is done, kitten?" Lilith says as curls across Vaela's chest wrapped in wisps of smoke. "Are you really gonna keep running after—"
"I'm not going for him, Lil." Vaela mutters under her breath as she pulls her phone out of her pocket.
"Oh, of course…" Lilith sighs. "... for the people."
"Not them either." Vaela grins as she opens Lilith's Seduction app on her phone and scrolls to the top of the list.
"Ooooh… daaaarling!" Lilith gushes. "You jest! Surely not!"
Vaela's finger lingers on the silver-haired, golden-eyed, Virgil DuCroix, the name at the top of her list of targets and the key to unlocking her curse.
"Honey! I believe in you… I really do. But Virgil—"
"Not Virgil. Not yet." Vaela smirks ."But there will be others at the meeting. Powerful men. Broken men. Men that need Vanessa Moonblood. And with the new gift you've given me—"
"Oh my, my, my…" Lilith giggles, licking her lips like a predator ready to pounce. "My little kitten is turning into quite the tiger. Meeee-ow!"