115: Princess Ira Kin'jal (Maiya) (Patreon)

“Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact.”

Maiya sat at the handmaiden’s mess with her colleagues. If there was one thing the group of young women enjoyed, it was gossip. And giving out unsolicited advice.

“And don’t speak unless you’re spoken to! In fact, it’s better not to speak at all, lest you make a fool of yourself.”

Gee, thanks, Maiya thought. Through sheer willpower alone, she managed not to roll her eyes. Such ‘unbecoming’ behavior would’ve earned her a fresh round of advice and snooty gazes.

Ordinarily, she’d have retorted, but the knot in her stomach kept her lips sealed. Today, she’d finally meet with princess Ira, and with all the warnings and instructions she’d been given, she wondered whether the princess was some rabid beast, liable to bite her head off at the most minor breach of etiquette.

Truthfully, Maiya didn’t know what to expect. Only the head handmaiden had met the princess, and by how much she’d drilled Maiya for this meeting, Maiya had to wonder whether Ira might just be the demon everyone feared.

Either that, or a frail, sickly girl, which was her generally accepted persona. But given that she’d personally created the handmaiden audition fight, Maiya doubted she was as weak as everyone thought.

She could only hope she gleaned some useful information from this meeting. Tanya had been pestering her for updates, and her tone had become strained lately. Whenever Maiya confronted her about the state of Riyan’s abode, Tanya merely replied that this was all according to Riyan’s plan.

Maiya very much doubted the man would destroy his own home, so she suspected something had gone horribly wrong. Princess Mina hadn’t been sighted lately, and she was now almost certain that the man had Vir assassinate her. But whether her friend had succeeded or not, it seemed the cost to Riyan had been steep.

At least Vir’s safe. She took comfort knowing her friend was safe, but her anxiety grew with each passing day. She hadn’t yet found an opportunity to sneak over to the Rani Queendom, a fact that nearly drove her mad.

“Promise you’ll share the details?” a handmaiden asked as Maiya rose from the table.

“Only if it won’t get me killed,” she responded with a smirk, walking over to the refreshment cart that the castle chefs had prepared for her. Though she was due to meet with the princess, as a handmaiden, she was expected to serve.

Waiting for her was none other than the head handmaiden.

Maiya promptly got to work making tea. While the chefs had prepared the food, it was the handmaidens’ job to brew the tea. And unlike every prior evaluation, this time, it’d be the princess drinking her tea.

She carefully manipulated the Magic Heat orbs, measuring exactly the right amount of tea leaves and steeping them for exactly the right amount of time before pouring into two cups. One for the head handmaiden to taste test, and the other for princess Ira herself.

The stern woman took a sip… then another. Maiya waited with bated breath.

“Acceptable. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not make eye contact with the princess. Understood?”

That wasn’t just idle gossip? Maiya thought, alarmed.

“Understood,” she replied.

“This is an honor few handmaidens ever receive. I expect you to exceed your best behavior. Now go, before the tea cools.”

This is gonna be a painful meeting, isn’t it? She thought as she wheeled the cart down the castle’s narrow hallways—narrow to hamper large invading forces—to the west wing. She’d never been to this side of the keep before, and ended up asking for directions to the princess’ room.

Turning the last corner, she spied two impressively armored Balarian Royal Guard in parade rest, standing tall in front of a door.

The wooden door looked the same as all the others in the castle, and had it not been for the guards, Maiya might have walked right past it.

“Handmaiden Maiya, here at princess Ira’s personal request,” she said, addressing the guards.

The guard said nothing, but turned and knocked on the door. “A visitor here to see you, princess. A handmaiden by the name of Maiya.”

A long pause ensued, and Maiya began to wonder if the princess had heard her guard.

Just when the silence turned awkward, a delicate voice replied from within the room. “Enter.”

Ira’s guard swung open the door. Maiya pushed the cart inside, and the moment she was through, the door shut behind her, leaving her alone with the princess in a space that stunned her.

So much pink!

The walls were painted pink. The bed was pink. The carpet was pink and white, but mostly pink. Even the glass windows were stained in pinkish hues.

For some reason, the explosion of color only made the small room feel even smaller.

Occupying a full corner of the room, a giant stuffed toy bear sat hunched over as if its back was broken. Surrounding it was an army of its smaller brethren, as well as several other plushies of Ash’va and Acira. Altogether, they took up nearly a third of the room’s space.

Maiya didn’t recognize many of the others, though she suspected they were plushie versions of various Ash Beasts.

So cute!

If Maiya wasn’t currently serving a royal princess, she’d have immediately run over to play with them.

Instead, she kept her eyes lowered, and with perfected motions that had become as familiar to her as breathing, wheeled the cart up to the princess.

The princess was a small-framed platinum blonde teen who couldn’t have been any older than Maiya herself. Her emerald green eyes looked out of her window onto the courtyard below, and she sat in a very unrefined pose, with her head propped up on her elbow.

Rather than frail, she merely looked bored out of her mind. Rumors abounded about princess Ira. Unlike her siblings—who both espoused the valor and military prowess that defined Kin’jal—Ira was said to be antisocial, aloof, and isolated due to her weak constitutions. She refrained from all royal activities and was rarely ever seen in public.

“I see you’ve taken a liking to Lord Ser Mister King Bear,” she said, still looking out the window.

Maiya was about to reply when she remembered the head handmaiden's words—Do not speak unless asked to.

“Good taste,” Ira continued. “He’s one of my favorites.”

Maiya silently removed the cover over princess Ira’s refreshments and efficiently transferred them onto her table, before setting the tea down in front of her.

“Are you always this quiet?” Ira asked, shifting her gaze to Maiya for the first time.

Unlike the princess’ languid demeanor, Maiya had nearly burst out in sweat. What do I do? What do I do!?

Was the princess expecting a response? Was she allowed to speak?

Thankfully, her highness realized the issue. “Those maids. I know it’s partly my fault that they’re like that, but… they told you not to speak with me, didn’t they?” she said with a sigh.

“You may speak.”

“Thank you, your highness.”

“Call me Ira when we’re alone.”

Once again, Maiya hesitated. Was this a test? Was she supposed to decline?

“I wouldn’t dare, your highness,” Maiya said, keeping her eyes averted and head bowed.

“I insist.”

“Understood, princess Ira.”

“Good! Now have a seat. I’ve been wanting to chat with you for some time! Ah—you didn’t bring a cup of your own! No matter.”

The princess produced a cup from under the table and calmly poured Maiya some tea from the pot, making the redheaded girl freeze.

If the head handmaiden finds out the princess poured me tea…

That would be the end. Her life would be over.

Biting her lip, she gingerly took the seat across from the princess.

“Those who know me know that I don’t care for formality and etiquette. That stuff has its time and place, but like all tools, becomes a hindrance when misused. Here, in private, I’d appreciate it if you treated me more like a friend. Alright?”

“I shall try, your high—Princess Ira.”

“You poor thing. They really have done a number on you, haven’t they?” Ira said, gazing at Maiya as she sipped her tea.

Maiya, deciding it would be rude not to accompany her, took a few measured sips herself.

“Do you know why I have asked you here?”

Maiya shook her head. “Forgive me, princess Ira, but surely someone like myself isn’t of any note to someone of your standing?”

“Truly? I have never witnessed talent such as yours before. More than half of our handmaiden recruits fail to ever become full fledged handmaidens,” she said, calmly plopping a cube of sugar into her tea. Then another. And another. “The ones who do normally take years.”

Maiya did her best not to cringe. All that hard work brewing it perfectly… ruined by some sugar! The head handmaiden would surely have a heart attack if she knew how the princess defiled her tea.

“And yet,” Ira continued, “you managed that feat in just a couple of months. Not even the head handmaiden herself was as gifted.”

The princess paused a moment before continuing. “No doubt you’ve heard that I personally developed the handmaiden audition and training regimen. My maids are quite… multitalented. No doubt you have asked yourself why we train handmaidens to be stronger than our elite warriors? Why the minimum bar is Balar 100, and why we scout elite mejai into their ranks?”

“I expect all royalty to surround themselves with people of high… caliber.”

“Caliber!” Ira exclaimed, snorting in a very un-princesslike manner. “No, most royalty isn’t that crazy. Not even my brothers do that. Yes, we have our bodyguards, but not a small army of them.”

“Why, then?” Maiya asked. Not only did she genuinely want to know, but this might be the sort of information that would be valuable to Tanya. Maiya held plenty of reservations about giving away state secrets, but her arms were tied at the moment. She’d spent long hours contemplating whether to tip princess Ira off to Riyan’s plan. But in the end, she hadn’t been able to do it. What if Riyan retaliated against Vir? She wasn’t about to take that risk.

“You see, my handmaidens are far more than their names might suggest. They are my elite warriors. They are my scouts, my spies, my arms and legs, my eyes and ears. They are my trump card, and nobody can raise a finger against them.”

Maiya had suspected there was an ulterior motive to Ira’s battle maids, but how deep did princess Ira’s ambitions go? The frail, sickly princess facade was crumbling before her eyes. Ira wasn’t an ambitionless loner at all. That was merely a carefully crafted image. All to give her an edge.

“I will be open with you, Maiya. This country is destined for oblivion. My father seeks to rekindle another war with the Altani. A war that will bring great misfortune upon Sai, Hiranya, Rani, and most of all—ourselves. They will not listen to the voice of reason, and sadly, both of my siblings take after them. If Andros Kin’jal is left in power, or if either of my siblings ascend the throne, this country will meet its ruin, and soon.”

“How do I—”

“You, and the rest of my handmaidens, will help me ensure that never happens.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“I intend to oust my father and exile my siblings. And you,” she said, pointing her stirring spoon at Maiya, “will be the scalpel that cuts through the obstacles in my path.”