Eira felt an odd sense of foreboding as she walked down the hall away from Meuric. Something bad was going to happen. She could feel it. The only question was what and when. The when was easy enough, considering the had no more than a few precious hours until she took the throne, which meant that whatever he was planning would happen soon. What he was planning, however, she couldn’t say. Would he attempt to kidnap her? Attack her straight on? Poison her? She had a feeling that he’d already tried the latter when that tea. She wouldn’t put it past him to poison the tea and then take the antidote so that he could drink it and throw off suspicion.<br/><br/>Whatever he was planning, she doubted that discovering it would be easy, not without knowing where to start. At any rate, she had a lot to do before the coronation tonight, she hardly had time to go sulking around the castle looking for hints. Not that this dress was suitable for such activities, either. Still, she couldn’t afford to be careless and ignore the threat, so at the very least she would remain vigilant and keep her guard up.<br/><br/>As she walked down the hall she eyed the guards outside of the throne room for a moment, considering her options. “Daryk, can I speak with you for a moment?” she spoke to one of the guards with her usual cool, nonchalant tone, the words phrased as a question were actually more of a request, but the guard knew this and bowed his head quickly before following her into a nearby room. She knew he was loyal to her and she trusted him, as much as it was possible for her to trust anyone, anyways.<br/><br/>“I need you to do something for me.” She spoke up and he nodded an affirmative before she continued. “Can you find out if any of the guards or anyone else has left their post for any reason, or if anyone has seen anything strange?” she asked and the man looked a little bit curious but didn’t dare to question her orders.  “Be sure to check on Meuric, too. Find out what he is up to this afternoon. And captain…” she paused, eyeing the man with an even more serious and stoic look. “Be discreet about it.” She finished before dismissing the man, who bowed and left to follow the orders of his princess and soon-to-be queen.<br/><br/>Eira turned once the man had left and strolled down the halls of the castle, watching the hustle and bustle going on around her as everyone prepared for the coronation. Outside of the castle she could see children playing in the snow, laughing and running around like they didn’t have a care in the world. She wondered what it must be like to be that free, but dismissed the thought, knowing that dwelling on such things was pointless.<br/><br/>She passed the kitchen and the main dining room where food was being prepared and decorations placed, passed the ball room where decorations were being hung and a few brave souls took small breaks to dance across the floor of the grand ball room, where they would otherwise never have a chance to dance. Regardless of their status of the fact that they were working, or the fact that Meuric would be angry if he found out, they looked happy. She supposed that being with people they cared for and being able to make the most out of every situation were responsible for that. The former was something she couldn’t relate to, but she wondered what it must feel like.<br/><br/>She’d never known love, at least not in memory. She knew that she must have once, before her parents had died. Everyone always told her how much her mother adored her, and she had that single memory that she clung to—if it was indeed a memory, that is—but otherwise she had nothing. She had no memories before that night. She didn’t know why, she’d never gotten an answer to that question, and she didn’t know if she ever would. Just as she’d lost hope of finding the answers she needed, she’d also lost hope of finding love or even anything resembling it. She’d even found herself wondering if love was even real. She knew on some level that it was, at least in some form, because she could see it in the actions of those around her, one towards another, but without having experienced it, it was hard to accept the reality of it.<br/><br/>At any rate, she didn’t want to focus on that. She had more important things to think about than hope or love or any such fleeting notions. She had to focus on those things that she knew were real; greed, disloyalty, a lust for power, and the inevitable betrayal that they would lead to. Most importantly she needed to focus on the reality that, in a few short hours, betrayal or not, she would take the throne and officially be the ruler of her kingdom. It was a big responsibility, and one that she had spent most of her life waiting for, yet despite all of her training, it was still a daunting task, especially for one so young.<br/><br/>Everyone expected so much from her. She had a lot to live up to, becoming the Snow Queen, taking up the mantle that so many before her had, including her mother. They had led with such wisdom, grace, elegance, and kindness. She didn’t know if she could fill their shoes, but she had to try. She couldn’t let fear control her. She would be Queen and if the rulers of the other kingdoms allowed her to take her mother’s place as head of the council, she would do that, too. She wouldn’t let anyone down. She would fulfill her role and she would do it to the best of her ability, no matter what.<br/><br/>-------<br/><br/>Meuric instructed the guard to meet with a group of mercenaries and get them to assist in the capture and detention of the princess. They couldn’t kill her, but they had ways of putting people to sleep, magic or herbs, he wasn’t sure, but it was effective enough. If they could capture her and he could prevent her from using her magic, then he could deliver her to Lord Dardanos as a gift and he could take his rightful place on the throne. Since Eira had no husband and no heirs, if she were taken out of the picture, power would be reverted to him as steward. He could put on a show of trying desperately to find Eira in order to take some of the suspicion off of himself and potentially gain the favor of the citizens of Eirwen. He wanted to rule with their blessing for now, if possible. It made things easier. But if they wouldn’t cooperate, he would make their lives hell and keep the throne anyways. All he had to do was get rid of the princess.<br/><br/>The guard left when he was dismissed, getting a horse and going to a small town nearby to recruit the mercenaries. Meanwhile, Meuric slipped out of the tunnels, seemingly unseen, and strolled down the halls to the other dining room where lunch would soon be served. He took his seat at the head of the table and wondered ideally whether or not the princess would join him for lunch. He doubted she would, though. After all, she’d already gotten dressed for the coronation and he had a feeling that, after their last meeting, she wasn’t terribly in the mood for socialization. Or was it just him? It didn’t matter either way. He would eat alone and in peace if she didn’t show up, and that was just fine with him.