The first time I realized I held no power in Stonehaven, it happened quietly. No raised voice, no insults or public humiliation just absence.
I stood in the council chamber that morning, fully prepared. I had spent the night reading reports, learning new names, tracing borders on maps until my eyes burned. If I'm going to survive, I would not do so blindly.
The seats were filled up.
The Lord of Stonehaven entered, nodding at Dane, looking at me with polite detachment. When the last man sat down, I waited for the meeting to begin.
It did not, instead Dane rose.
"We will proceed", he said calmly.
And just like that the discussion started.
They talked about roads, borders, and grain shortage in the eastern valleys. Dane just listened, asked questions, and decided what to do.
I waited, minutes passed, then hours. No one asked for my opinion or even addressed me directly. Even when the topic was about Aurelia, the words were carefully angled around me and never towards me.
I was present but irrelevant.
When the meeting ended, my jaw aches from holding my composure in place.
As the men stood up and began to leave, I rose too.
"My lords", I said.
The sound of my voice stopped them.
"I understand Stonehaven values strength and clarity", I continued. I am not here to decorate this chamber. I was crowned in my own land, I ruled before I married and I will not be silent simply because this is not my home.
Everyone in the room murmured.
Dane turned slowly then he nodded once, "she will speak, when she chooses", he said.
That should have been enough but it wasn't.
Because when the council met again the next day, I wasn't summoned.
I heard it from a servant spoken in whispers as if it was a mistake.
"The council is meeting early, Your Majesty".
"Where", I asked.
"The western hall".
"And my place?" I asked
She hesitated. "We were told only the king was required.
The word hit me hard.
I dismissed her and stood there u til my anger turned into something sharper.
"If they will not give me a voice then I'll give myself one", I said.
I made my way to the western hall unannounced. The doors were guarded.
"My wife", Dane said from inside, let her in.
I entered with my head held high.
When I entered the room began silent.
"Am I interrupting", I asked.
"No", he said. "You are joining".
The discussion resumed, strained but controlled. This time, I spoke when I had something to say, I corrected a miscalculation and I pointed out a supply route that would collapse under winter snow. Slowly, reluctantly, everyone listened.
Afterwards, as the Lords departed, Dane came closer to me.
"You should have told me", he said quietly.
"That I was being excluded?" I replied. "I wanted to see if you would notice".
His silence answered everything.
That night, I waved around the castle by myself.
Stonehaven was restless after dark. Soldiers changed shifts, messengers arrived and departed. Somewhere below, a woman laughed softly, then fell quiet.
I wondered how many people lived their entire lives within these walls without being heard.
A voice stopped me near the inner corridor.
"Your Majesty".
I turned and it was Lord Varek, one of Dane most trusted advisers. He was clever, older and dangerous.
"You carry yourself so well", he said. "For someone so far from home.
"I did not come here to be pitied", I replied.
"Ofcourse not, you came here to matter", he replied.
I studied him for some seconds. "What do you want", I asked.
"To warn you", he said.
"About what", I asked, my heart beating fast.
"You are being discussed quietly", he said.
"By whom".
"The council", he said. They question your presence and influence.
"And my husband", I asked.
There was a pause.
"The king has not spoken in your defense", he said.
The word hit her hard,
"You are lying", I said.
"I wouldn't dare," he replied. "Not to a queen who could one day rule this land."
He came closer. "They believe Aurelia weakened Stonehaven, that the treaty favors your people more than ours."
"But that isn't true", I said.
In politics, you can bend the truth, but people believe what they see.
I looked at him carefully, "why tell me this",I asked.
He said if you don't do anything, people will just keep thinking what they already think about you.
"A thing to trade", I said.
"A temporary inconvenience", he agreed.
He bowed and left me standing.
I returned to my chambers with a storm in my chest.
Dane arrived later that night.
He looked very tired, his amour home and his expression worn thin.
"Why didn't you tell me the council was pushing me aside", I asked.
"They weren't", he said.
But Varek says otherwise.
His eyes sharpened, "Varek talks too much.
"So it's true, you let them sideline me", I said.
"I didn't stop them fast enough," he said. "That is not the same thing."
"It feels the same," I said.
The room became silent.
"Stonehaven does not give power easily, you are forcing change too quickly, he said.
"I didn't come all the way here to just sit behind you and be ignored! I gave up my kingdom, I'm not gonna be invisible".
"You think I don't see that or you think I don't understand what this costs you", he said.
"Then why am I alone in this fast", I asked.
He opened his mouth to talked then stopped. He left shortly after without waiting anything further.
I tried sleeping but sleep did not come.
Near dawn, a knock came at my door.
I opened the door to find Liora pale and shaking.
"They sent a message from Aurelia", she whispered.
My heart beat increased.
"What message", I asked.
She pressed the sealed letter in my hands.
The wax was broken, the words inside were few.
Stonehaven troops are near our border and your marriage did not protect us.
I felt like I was going to fall.
This was the twist I had not seen coming.
The peace was already breaking and suddenly, the question was no longer whether Stonehaven trusted me. It was whether I could trust my husband at all.