The court buzzed like a hive, thick with rumors after last night's ballroom exchange.
Lady Seraphina, they whispered, had caught the prince's eye again.
Some believed it was an attempt to rekindle a failed courtship. Others claimed she had returned from her family's estate with a secret weapon. Either way, her name was on every tongue.
Seraphina didn't mind. Let them talk.
A reputation was power—and today, she intended to use it.
---
Velora Carriage – En Route to the Imperial Market
Marianne, her lady's maid, peeked out the curtained window.
"Are you certain you want to visit the market, my lady? The court is watching you closely…"
"That's why I'm going," Seraphina replied, lacing a bracelet around her wrist. "I want them to wonder what I'm doing out in plain sight."
Marianne hesitated. "But this vendor… You said he sells information, not silks."
Seraphina's gaze sharpened.
"Precisely."
---
The Imperial Market
Beneath fluttering flags and merchant shouts, the lower tiers of the capital came alive. The noble district would never dare lower itself to this chaos—but Seraphina knew better now.
Truth didn't live in the palace. It lived in shadows.
She stepped lightly between perfume stalls and silk merchants, her hood drawn.
She stopped in front of a nondescript herbalist's booth.
"Three thistles, two crowberries," she murmured.
The vendor—an old man with a missing eye—nodded once.
He reached beneath the counter and handed her a satchel.
Inside: a scroll. Sealed in black wax.
Seraphina didn't open it until she was seated inside the carriage again.
She unrolled the parchment carefully. Words danced in a fine, slanted hand.
> "Your death was ordered six days before the trial. The prince's order was forged. Start with the Chancellor."
She exhaled.
A forgery?
Her entire downfall… might not have come from Kaelith at all?
---
Scene Break: The Crown Prince's Study
Kaelith sat at his desk, fingers drumming on the wood. Before him lay a copy of the palace guest log—and Seraphina's name circled in red.
"She's playing a game," he said aloud.
A figure stepped from the shadows behind him.
Captain Aldric, the head of the palace guard, bowed.
"She's been meeting with someone in the market, Your Highness. A vendor with ties to… questionable sources."
Kaelith's jaw tightened.
"She isn't stupid," he muttered. "She wants to be seen."
"Should we intervene?"
He shook his head.
"No. Let her keep moving. The moment she steps out of line… we'll act."
But deep down, Kaelith wasn't certain what he'd do.
The woman who once clung to him in desperation now moved like a queen without a crown.
And that unsettled him.
---
Scene Break: Velora Manor – Midnight
Seraphina stood alone in her library, the black-sealed scroll spread out before her.
A forgery.
Her heart beat faster—not from fear, but from fury. All this time, she had hated Kaelith for a crime he may not have committed.
But if not him… who?
"Start with the Chancellor," the message said.
She knew him. Chancellor Verren—silver-tongued, respected, loyal to the crown.
Too loyal.
She needed evidence.
A knock shattered her thoughts.
"Come in."
Marianne entered, pale-faced.
"My lady… there's something you should see. It was left outside the gates."
She handed Seraphina a velvet box. Small. Locked.
Seraphina opened it with care.
Inside was a single white chess piece. The Queen.
And beneath it, a note:
> "Checkmate is sooner than you think."