the white fox

CHAPTER ONE,

THE WHITE FOX | ONE

  THE CARRIAGE GAVE a little jolt, causing Asteria to blink in surprise as she was thrown back into her seat. Across the carriage, neither Danna nor Io seemed even mildly bothered. Rubbing her forehead, she muttered, "I was so close to falling asleep."

"Boohoo, poor you," Io shot back, pulling her gaze away from the window, piercing her with a striking look. "We're almost there. Hang in there, Ast."

"Be polite," Lady Kuroki scolded next to her. "At least try, Iolanthe."

Io's eyelids fluttered shut. "Sorry."

They were all a bit on edge. It happened when you were on your way to a mission. Asteria's shoulders slumped, and she no longer cared if she wasn't sitting ladylike as she leaned against the wooden walls of the vehicle. "How long is almost?"

Io scrunched up her nose. "Half an hour?"

"Can both of you shut up?" Danna whispered, irritation clear. "Not you, Lady Kuroki. Just these two. I need at least a bit of peace and quiet before I'm swarmed by privileged, prejudiced brats deciding I'm easy prey."

"Yinyi."

"Sorry, ma'am." But Danna didn't look apologetic at all, and Lady Kuroki knew her students well enough to know this was pointless. She sighed and leaned her head against the cushioned seat. "Asteria, my dear, why don't you brief your classmates on the mission once more?"

Asteria bolted upright, as if struck by lightning. "Caershire is—"

"Melique but on our side?" Io suggested, eyes alight with mischief.

Danna, voice muffled from the pillow she had planted her face in, muttered, "The word you're searching for is a republic."

That made Io blink. "I thought it was a democracy."

Asteria, at the end of her rope, blandly said, "It's both." She sent a long-suffering look to Lady Kuroki, who shrugged in reply. "But that was not my point. Caershire's government may be on our side, but not all of its people are. The people here are given a huge amount of political power, and share many different ideas. Hence, watch your tongues."

"As if we don't do that all the time." Sleepy eyes met hers. Asteria glared at her friend, and Danna shrugged before leaning back into the pillow, not giving a damn about her mussed-up hair. "I'm exhausted. I barely had a proper break before being shipped onto that boat, damn it."

"Language, Yinyi." Why Lady Kuroki insisted on using their Saian names even when speaking in foreign languages, Asteria had no idea.

Danna mumbled her apologies before returning to her sleep, or some mimicry of it. Asteria continued on with her prepared speech. "People from all around the world would be at this party. Future dukes, duchesses, marquesses, marchionesses. You name it, they have it. These are people who have, or will have great influence. Don't make enemies."

"Easy for you to say."

Io was a complicated case. At the end of the day, the girl was illegitimate. A bastard. They could make up backstory after backstory, each more detailed and sophisticated than the last, and the aristocracy would still look upon her and see something different.

"You realise you're the only person here anyone has any chance of liking?" Danna asked, one elegant brow raised, being the expert she was at speaking with her eyebrows. There it was, the truth. Because even polite, educated and sophisticated Danna was half-Meliquean, and hence tainted in the eye of the haut ton. It didn't matter that her sister was a Saian baroness. She was half enemy, and she'd never be accepted.