The Voyage to the CrownThe harbor stretched wide beneath a bruised evening sky.
Massive royal ships waited at the docks, their sails marked with the crest of the Crown Palace.
Guards lined the pier in silent formation, and lanterns flickered as the wind grew colder with night’s approach.
Jasmina stood among the chosen group of four, her cloak pulled tightly around her.
This was it.
The departure.
Finn stretched his arms dramatically beside her.
“I have officially decided I don’t like boats,” he announced.
“You’ve never been on one,” Lyra replied flatly.
“Exactly,” Finn said.
“Bad first impression.”
Kael stepped forward without comment, already analyzing the ship’s structure like it might attack him personally.
Jasmina remained quiet, her fingers brushing the pendant beneath her cloak.
Warm.
Alive.
As if it was reacting to the sea itself.
A royal officer barked orders.
“Board immediately! You will sail under direct Crown protection.”
One by one, the candidates climbed aboard the ship.
Finn stayed close behind Jasmina.
“Careful,” he said lightly.
“If you fall in the water, I might have to jump in and save you.”
“I can swim,” Jasmina said.
“That’s what everyone says before the ocean disagrees.”
She shot him a look.
He grinned.
“Relax. I’d still save you.”
“You talk too much.”
“And you notice me too much,” he replied instantly.
Jasmina froze slightly.
Lyra groaned behind them.
“Please stop whatever that is,” she muttered.
Kael didn’t even look up.
“It is exhausting.”
Finn shrugged.
“Jealousy looks different on everyone.”
The ship’s horn sounded.
The voyage began.
Hours LaterThe sea stretched endlessly in every direction.
Jasmina stood near the railing, watching the water shift like something alive beneath her gaze.
Finn leaned beside her again.
“You know,” he said, “if I disappear mysteriously during this mission, I want it written that I was brave and incredibly attractive.”
“You’re not disappearing,” Jasmina said.
“That’s what all the doomed people say.”
She sighed.
“Why do you never stop talking?”
“Because silence makes me think,” Finn said.
“And thinking leads to fear. And fear leads to bad decisions.”
Jasmina shook her head slightly.
Despite herself… she wasn’t annoyed anymore.
Just used to him.
A bell rang across the ship.
A royal officer appeared on deck.
“All assigned spies will report below deck immediately for role allocation.”
The group exchanged looks.
It was time.
Below DeckThe air below was colder, tighter, filled with rows of wooden chambers.
The royal officer stood waiting.
“You are no longer candidates,” he said.
“You are servants of the Crown within the palace system.”
A pause.
“Your identities have been changed.”
He handed out sealed envelopes.
“From this moment, you will enter the Crown Palace as maid servants within the inner court.”
Silence dropped instantly.
Finn blinked.
“So… we’re pretending to dust things while gathering secrets?”
“Yes,” the officer replied.
Lyra frowned.
“And if we are discovered?”
The officer’s expression darkened.
“Then you will not be protected.”
A heavy silence followed.
Kael tightened his jaw.
Jasmina opened her envelope slowly.
A maid of the Inner Court.
Her stomach tightened.
This was no longer a mission.
It was survival.
The officer stepped forward.
“One more thing.”
His voice lowered.
“There have already been reports of unauthorized spies attempting to infiltrate this mission.”
The room went still.
“If any of you are found working with outsiders or competing factions…”
A pause.
“Punishment will be immediate removal from Crown protection.”
Finn muttered, “That sounds like a polite way of saying death.”
“Probably,” Lyra replied.
Jasmina stayed silent.
The officer closed his scroll.
“You will not meet the King during this phase.”
That statement landed heavily.
No audience.
No recognition.
Only shadows within the palace.
“You will disembark at the Crown docks at dawn,” he continued.
“From there, you will be escorted into the palace service quarters.”
He turned away.
“Prepare yourselves.”
And just like that, he left.
Finn exhaled dramatically.
“So,” he said, leaning toward Jasmina, “we’re officially undercover maids in a palace where people get punished for breathing incorrectly.”
Jasmina looked at him.
“You’re not helping.”
“I’m providing emotional commentary.”
She shook her head slightly.
But this time…
She didn’t tell him to stop.
Ahead of them, the sea kept moving.
And somewhere beyond the waves, the Crown Palace waited.
So did danger.
And neither of them had arrived yet.