BTS: A Court of Embers

15: The Intrigue of Stars

The bath water rippled as Emberlynn sprinkled in more flower petals and scented oils.

Maren huffed and relaxed into the milky mixture, her shoulders shivering a bit as they rested on the porcelain backing. Her wet hands cupped a full pink daisy, her mind reeling with the same thought over and over again. She was not following Seokjin's snarky advice. She was taking care of herself because she was done with playing the role of antisocial prisoner. Besides, she could not remain in these quarters forever.

The events of a night ago were fresh in mind as Emberlynn worked shampoo through her hair. The Prince of existential gloom did not seem to have lifting her curse in his mind. By the cutting edge of his analysis, it seemed as though he would feel better letting her fester in solitude so that she could think about what she'd done. But was there any use in thinking anymore if her circumstances would not change?

No, it didn't seem like it. Self-reflection appeared futile when the better version of the self would be confined and not shared with whom it was intended for. Also, what use was improving oneself when they were destined to be at the side of another that had no choice but to take them as they were? The image of Penelope came to her head. She would likely never see her lady again.

"Maren," Emberlynn muttered. "Are you alright?"

Maren blinked herself out of her trance to greet the destroyed flower in her clenched hands. Sighing, she let it float away, opting instead to stare at the skylight in the ceiling.

"I'm okay," she answered.

The attendant proceeded cautiously, her fingers lathering the solution deeper into the human girl's scalp. "Are you still upset?"

"From what?"

"Him," Emberlynn said, tapping her shoulders lightly to signal the time to rinse.

Maren lowered her upper body into the heated water, eyes fluttering closed as her attendant ran fingers through her hair. Water rushed down her back as she sat up. She admittedly felt cleaner and better already.

As for how she felt about the not-so-masked menace...

She hated to give him the time of day, but he was the only thing on her mind.

At first, she planned his demise. There had to be a sharp object somewhere in the vicinity strong enough to pierce his heart of stone. At least cut the haughty head from his shoulders. These thoughts burrowed deep into her heart for the first few hours of yesterday after she opened her eyes and found herself laying on the floor.

The next thing she did was deny his claim. Fear was such a strong word. Fear of one's own shadow was a phrase in its own league of ludicrous. Calling her helpless was also a stretch. If she were truly so innate, then she would not have been able to infiltrate his palace, make her acquaintances, and nearly get away with her plan. To concede defeat meant being defeated. But she was not even close. She was simply being stalled from reaching her final destination.

After that, she mulled over the laundry list of negative traits he so graciously slapped onto her identity.

You are abrasive, hypocritical, insecure, stubborn, tactless, and weak-willed.

For each trait, she bothered to dredge up a reason as to why he would draw that conclusion. Abrasion was debatably the easiest to understand. Memories poured in from days in the Highmore house where she barely held her tongue or when she purposefully did petty things to get back at Juniper. Like bringing Penelope's tea set downstairs and forgetting the stirring spoon so that Juniper would have to waddle up the steps and fetch it herself. Or when she ditched her chores and made up a swift lie about Penelope calling her name when Penelope wasn't even on the same floor. But most of all, she recalled her last words to Juniper and her last fiery words to Seokjin before he still asked her to dinner.