The sea breeze felt amazing rushing through Kyra's short-cropped hair, but even the joy of sailing was outweighed by the happiness of returning home for the first time in three years. Despite, or perhaps because of her upbringing within the walls of the royal palace, Kyra always longed for adventure, discovery, and novelty, and every day she thanked her lucky stars that she was born second in line for the throne. Cassie would never have the freedom she did, to travel the world beyond the Queendom's borders and see for herself what the world had to offer. But three years was enough for her--at least for now--returning shortly after her twenty-first birthday, having set sail as soon as she was of age. While she enjoyed every day of her odyssey, she was eager for the familiarity of her home, and the people within it.
With so much time having passed, Kyra wondered how much everyone she knew and loved had changed in the time she was gone. Cassandra, Cassie, her sister and crown princess, would now be closer to thirty than to twenty, grown into the role meant for her since birth. Her mother Johanna, the queen, would likely be unchanged, stubbornly refusing to age as she approached her fourth decade of her long and prosperous reign. But most of all her thoughts fell back to Elaina, her closest friend and confidante since she was just a child. She had been the hardest to leave behind, and Kyra had left her with a kiss on the cheek and a longing look as the other girl slept. Kyra wasn't sure what Elaina would be like upon her return, but that hadn't stopped her mind from wandering and imagining it every day since she set sail for home.
Thinking about how much everyone else might have changed made Kyra reflect on just how much her journey had changed her too. When she left she had been naive and sheltered, awkward and lanky. Her travels had grown her understanding of the world and all the types of people in it, grown her confidence and her build. She had always been tall, a head taller than even Cassie, but now she filled out that height with lean muscle. Her hair was now kept in short, blonde curls, and her skin had grown tan under the sun, picking up a few scars to go with the small smattering freckles that dotted her cheeks and shoulders. Before her journey, she held some self-doubt for not matching the typical ladylike build her mother, sister, and Elaina shared, but now she was proud of her appearance.
The ship had hardly dropped anchor before Kyra was leaping from the deck of the ship down to the docks. Her trunk would follow her up to the castle, but she was eager to get home before the sun set. It was a joyful thing to dash through the streets so freely, no one around the docks or in the markets recognizing their young princess after her years abroad. It was freeing, one last burst of independence before returning to her duties as a royal.
The guards first blocked her way as she jogged up to the gate, but as she drew closer, recognition dawned on them, and they let the princess through. Elaina, of course, was the first one to meet her within the palace, waiting for her just beyond the gate. Kyra almost toppled her friend over as Elaina stepped out into her path, but she managed to wrap her arms around the smaller girl, sweeping her off her feet and holding her closely, faces only a few inches apart. It took Kyra a moment to come to her senses as she took in the sight, smell, and feel of how the three years apart had affected Elaina.
She was not any taller, that was for certain, still barely reaching Kyra's shoulders, at least when Kyra wasn't holding her up in her arms. She had filled out as well, pleasantly soft with curves that Kyra could feel with her hands supporting Elaina's rear, and Elaina's large chest pressed up against her own. Her black hair had grown somehow even longer, done up in a long braid that whipped around as the pair spun to a stop. Elaina's green eyes met Kyra's brown, a long stare that morphed from surprise to elation to something that looked like hunger, before Kyra finally set her back down on the ground.
"You're back! It's been so long. We're all so glad to have you home, Kyra," Elaina said sweetly, pressing her face into Kyra's shoulder. Kyra got the sense that as much as her family would be eager to see her again, Elaina might have been even more so.
Elaina was not quite part of the royal family, not by blood, but as close as one could get without it. She was the daughter of Queen Johanna's most trusted advisor, and she was brought up in the same mold. She was raised to be smart, resourceful, and curious, and even after her mother passed, Elaina was raised right beside the two princesses. Being the same age as Kyra, they became inseparable, at least until Kyra went out on her journey. While the two of them had changed, Kyra hoped that their connection had not, even in the three years apart.
"Come on. It will be time for dinner soon, and your mother and sister are eager to see you, but I want a few moments to catch up first. Are you hungry, thirsty, Kyra?" Elaina asked sweetly as she took Kyra's hand and led her inside. That was something new, Elaina taking the lead. When they were little, it was always Kyra leading her around, dragging her into misadventures, but it seems that time apart had let Elaina grow more confident in taking charge.
"Oh, I'm alright, I don't need anything," Kyra laughed as Elaina dragged her through the halls, up to Kyra's room. Elaina was always looking after her, that hadn't changed it seemed.
"Oh but I got a special bottle of wine to celebrate your return. Just a quick glass, it will be like old times," Elaina pouted, turning around to face Kyra, still leading her through the castle. It was true, so much of their time spent together had been in Kyra's room, including multiple smuggled bottles of wine. It would be nice to spend some time back where they grew up together, before she had to figure out what her new life would be in the capital. She also couldn't resist her friend pouting, a trick Elaina seemed to have improved at even more in their time apart.
Her room was clean, no dust to be found even after years away thanks to the diligent staff of the castle. The only thing out of place was a bottle of wine and two glasses, waiting for her and Elaina. She sat down on the bed while the smaller woman poured out two glasses, and it all felt so nostalgic as she took a glass from Elaina and quenched her thirst with a big sip.
Elaina just watched on, not even looking at her own glass, just watching Kyra. The princess began to feel dizzy, like she was back out to sea, swaying back and forth, and yet Elaina continued to only watch. Kyra wanted to call out for help, but her mouth didn't seem to work. Why wasn't Elaina helping her? Only as she began to fall over to her side did Elaina move, snatching the wine glass from her hand before it could spill across the bed. And then everything went dark.
When she awoke, Kyra's senses came back slowly, one by one. The first to return was the taste of the wine, cloyingly sweet on her parched tongue. Next came her sight, fading in and giving her the fuzzy picture of her bedroom ceiling directly overhead. With agonizing sluggishness, Kyra became aware of her body and its unusual position. The fuzziness of her senses was now fading away, but was replaced with dread at the predicament she was now in, as she found herself bound, each limb firmly, carefully tied up to the corners of her heavy bed frame. Once her mind caught up, Kyra began to thrash against the ropes, but there was barely an inch of give in any of them, and even with her strength, it seemed to have little effect on actually freeing her.
"Struggle if you want, but I've done those knots up well enough, even for those pretty muscles you've built in your time away," a voice called out from beside her, the tone dry and full of snark. In her addled state, Kyra felt like she should know who was speaking, but it didn't fully process in her mind.
Turning her head to try to locate the sound of the voice, her gaze fell on Elaina, sitting patiently on a chair beside her bed, just watching her curiously.
"Elaina, please, help me out. What's going on? Who? Wait, no... you? Did you do this to me?" Kyra called out to her friend, her voice cracking with emotion. It was a mix of confusion, betrayal, anger, sadness, and loss, all rolled into a nameless mix that washed over Kyra and left her feeling even more weak and powerless.
"Yes, yes, it was me, I won't leave you in suspense," Elaina sighed as she stood up and meandered over to Kyra's bound form.
"But why? How could I do this?" Elaina pantomimed with mock astonishment, casually resting a hand on Kyra's arm, her thumb gently rubbing circles into the sun-tanned skin. Kyra was still shocked into silence at the apparent betrayal of her closest friend, and she had no response for Elaina's rhetorical questions.
"It's not a betrayal if you betrayed me first, wouldn't you say, Kyra?" Elaina asked, sitting down on the bed, leaning over Kyra's face and looking down into her dazed eyes with scorn and fury.
"Elaina, I--I never betrayed you, I never would," Kyra pleaded, struggling once more against the ropes now, but even as she shrugged off whatever was laced in the wine, there was nothing she could do against Elaina's tight bondage.
"Oh but you did, didn't you? You left me here, alone, with just a note to explain yourself. You ran away in the middle of the night, and you didn't even tell me!" Elaina nearly shouted, and close as they were, Kyra could see tears welling in Elaina's green eyes, but they were quickly rubbed away and evaporated by a burning fury.
"Do you know how everyone else in this castle sees me, hmm?" Elaina continued, her voice growing raspy with sadness and anger. "Your mother, your sister, they treat me like I'm your little pet, like all I'm good for is running around in your shadow. I could be so much more, you know how smart I am, how well I could run things, don't you Kyra. I could be what this Queendom needs, but I was content to just be with you. I thought you trusted me, valued me. I thought, unlike everyone else, you saw that I was worth something. And then you ran away and left behind without even looking me in the eye, and I knew then what you really thought of me. It almost broke me, Kyra, but I'm strong, stronger than you or your family ever thought. Yet despite all this, I still care for you. If I didn't, I might have just left and never came back, but I still wanted you, wanted what we should have been. So waited, I planned, counting down the days until you returned, and I could make everything right. And now, it's finally time."
By the time she finished, Elaina's face had dropped to within an inch of Kyra's, and she was panting for breath, the words rushing out of her like a howling gale. The two young women just stared at each other for a moment, one hurt and confused, one hurt and determined, before Elaina pulled away.
"This isn't going to work, Elaina," Kyra said mournfully, grieving the sudden loss of her closest friend. "Whatever your plan is, my mother and sister, they'll catch on. You won't get away with it."
"Oh Kyra. Just when I thought you might have finally stopped underestimating me, you do it again. You really never did believe in me, did you? Did you think I hadn't thought of that? Did you really think I hadn't gotten to them first? You're not the first part of this plan, you're the last," Elaina gloated, sitting up from the bed, and striding over to the servant's room attached to the princess's bedchambers, and giving a sharp knock on the door.
Stepping out from the small room were two familiar faces, though they had changed slightly in their time away, but not nearly as much as either of the younger women. Her mother and sister were dressed up in their finest royal clothes, but the look on their faces was like nothing Kyra had ever seen. Their eyes seemed glassy and unfocused, as if nothing was going on inside their heads. And they moved without purpose, like puppets suspended on strings.
