Victory's Spoils

*Kieran*

“Oh, my. That is a bright shade of pink.” My mother blinks her eyes a few times before sipping her wine again. She’s commented on Nessa’s dress at least five times since dinner started only a few moments ago. Every time she does, Nessa giggles and squeezes my hand beneath the table, as if it’s a compliment.

It’s not one. My mother doesn’t give a lot of compliments, but when she does, one can tell she is pleased. At the moment, she looks as if she’d rather down the rest of the bottle of wine sitting at the end of the table than look at Nessa again.

“Mother helped me choose it,” Nessa gushes this time, smiling at her mother whose bright yellow gown is almost as capable of burning retinas as the one Nessa has on.

“We can’t tell you how excited we are to further unite our two kingdoms,” Nessa’s father says. He’s been practically giddy since we announced we were mates. He knows his own king will reward him greatly for creating such a tight alliance between Dun’s Crossing and Snowc