Sefina Hale wants one thing and one thing only - to save her parents' dying sugar plantation. She doesn't care about her friend Elia's plight to win the king's heart, she doesn't care about the healing tensions of the war between Mavacuria and its n...
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Sefina was still shaking three hours after the attack on the ballroom, not out of fear – but of anger. She was angry at herself for agreeing to come to Mikido with Elia, angry at the incompetent palace security, and angry at smug-faced nobility like Azumi who condescended others without thought.
But above all, Sefina was the most irritated at the silver-haired nobleman who had been hellbent on dragging her away from the ballroom. He had shouted at her the whole time, but over the booming explosions and blood coursing in her ears, Sefina hadn't been able to hear a thing.
Well, that may have been more from the fact that she had lost her hearing aids. They had slipped out at the very beginning of the attack when Elia had accidentally knocked her to the ground. Sefina recognized the blanketed silence over her ears immediately, and while Elia had sprinted away in mere seconds, Sefina had no choice but to scrounge the floor for the tiny devices. She would rather be dead than truly deaf again.
Her fingers had just closed over them when the infuriating nobleman first hauled her away. The hearing aids had slipped away from her like the freckled hawkfish that crowded Pohewater's bay. She hadn't had the chance to recover them since, but after the castle went to sleep, Sefina planned to sneak out of her room and search for them again.
Until then, she would have to suffer through a muffled dinner with Elia, a handful of other noble ladies, and the royal family. Laced into yet another too-tight gown, Sefina curled her toes painfully in her shoes. It was the only thing she could do to keep from running straight back to the ballroom for her hearing aids.
Sitting on a puff stool in her room, Elia looked gorgeous in a glittering emerald dress. Sefina attempted to braid Elia's hair back into an elegant twist, but she had never mastered hairdressing like other proper ladies-in-waiting.
Elia hissed as Sefina pulled a brush through a tangle of hair. "Sorry!" Sefina said, dropping the brush to dip her fingers in perfumed oil that would coax the knot better. "You know I'm not the best at this."
"No, you're not," Elia said. "But I didn't ask you to be my lady-in-waiting because of your skills with hair and makeup."
To be honest, Sefina wasn't sure why Elia had chosen her. They had never been particularly close growing up, even though they were the only two young ladies of noble heritage from the Hilmore Isles. Elia had always been more interested in tending to gardens and painting, while Sefina preferred exploring the island's labyrinth-like jungles with Taehyung and hearing the jumble of languages at Pohewater's docks. It wasn't until Taehyung's funeral they began to connect, mostly due to their shared grief.
Elia hummed as Sefina worked her fingers through her hair. Sefina made sure to keep Elia to her left, which was her side with only a partially deaf ear. After another ten minutes of snarled hair and snapping barrettes, Sefina sighed. "I'm pretty sure I just made your hair into a bird's nest."
"Hey, it could be the new fashion, who knows?" Elia smiled sweetly. She gently pulled the brush away from Sefina's hands and added, "I'll take it from here."
