<strong>Princess Juliette, Lord Florencia’s Solar</strong><br/><br/>Juli found herself considering all the obvious chaos and bruised feelings since the Aserit’s arrival. There was a fine line the Theiri side would have to walk—to be accommodating and respectful enough not to further offend the egotistical Aserit sovereigns, but not be so obsequious as to appear weak. The cultural differences and xenophobia on both sides might make the task impossible. Was it arrogant to suppose she could even make a positive difference here? For the first time since she had been acknowledged by the king a month ago, Juli seriously wondered if leaving the Ghosts willingly had been a mistake. Better to be miserable over death and destruction than to be miserable over being useless.<br/><br/>The princess caught up with Lorenso in his solar not long after he sat down. She had mixed feelings about the place—it was a little more extravagant than her peasant-like sensibilities would prefer, but on the other hand he had such a good library, and she loved the telescope.<br/><br/>Juli sat down near him, annoyed with trying to fit her awkward dress into the chair. “I can’t believe how poorly this has gone so far—the Aserit may make for poor diplomats, but I’d say our side has given them a run for their gold. And did you hear about the business with their “scout” earlier—I couldn’t believe it. The man threatened the life of the king and is still wandering around our castle as he pleases!” After this rant, Juli did her best to calm herself—outbursts like this from her were very rare, and it spoke to just how disappointed and worried she was.