Akila began with simple observation.

  She needed to find something first — some information, some weakness in the Prince, in order to defeat him. She knew that simply complaining that he had killed her brother would not help; they would say that it was his own fault and no one would lift a finger. However, she knew her brother: yes, he was stupid and naive, but that was precisely the point — he couldn't attack the Prince first, he just couldn't. Her brother wasn't the kind of person who solved things with violence. He was always kind, endlessly kind — Akila made sure he didn't lose that kindness, so she always took the brunt of it herself.

  But the time came when she regretted it, because it was her brother's infinite kindness that destroyed him.

  Even so, it was the Prince who was to blame, because it was he who plunged the dagger into her brother's body. And even if her brother was a thousand times to blame, she was not going to let it go.

  Aquila watched the Prince; fortunately, her position as a maid allowed her to do so quietly. At first, she didn't notice anything unusual, but then she saw him enter a room that was not meant for him — it was not his father Pharaoh's study, it was not his bedroom, it was not the dining room or the kitchen, but some completely different room.

  It was risky to eavesdrop, so she just stood and waited for him to come out — maybe he wanted to take something from there?

  But it turned out to be much more interesting, because he came out not with an object, but with a person.

  A woman.

  Or, more precisely, a young girl.

  She was Akila's age, perhaps only a few years younger. She had rough features, a petite body, even compared to many of the maids, long black hair, and what Akila remembered most — golden eyes.

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  This told Akila everything she needed to know: this girl possessed divine power, for only they could have such richly coloured eyes that changed according to their mood.

  She knew this because in the old days, when she still had parents who were part of the aristocracy, they had access to historical records, and at that time, she read a lot, absorbing information after information. But then, finding herself on the street, she no longer thought that this knowledge would ever be useful to her, but she was wrong.

  Now was just such a moment.

  The girl also looked very well-groomed and did not resemble a slave: she wore a beautiful, clean dress, which even at a glance could be considered very expensive, and her hair was clean and combed. The only thing that alarmed Akila was the numerous bruises and abrasions on her body. But even if it was the Prince who had caused them, the girl did not look as if she was afraid of him. On the contrary, she behaved insolently towards the Prince: she pushed him, shouted at him and insulted him. However, what surprised her even more was the Prince's reaction to her behaviour.

  He did not hit her in return; he did not threaten to execute her; he just laughed. A loud, sincere laugh — as if everything the girl said was nothing more than a joke. As if all her disrespect towards him did not bother him at all. As if all her shoves and blows were not violence at all, but a kind of friendly gesture.

  However, the way he brought his face close to hers, the way he often touched her skin, the way he often looked at her with that gaze that was obvious to everyone around... it all seemed extremely obvious.

  His Highness Crown Prince Arenor loved this girl immensely, whoever she was.

  However, as far as Akila knew, he already had a fiancée—they had been engaged for many years. Unfortunately, since she had only recently arrived at the palace, she had not yet met his fiancée and did not know what she looked like, but according to other maids, his fiancée was an aristocratic girl named Rahisa. Her family was important to the Kingdom, so the Pharaoh, for obvious reasons, decided to make her his son's wife. According to other, older maids, Rahisa had already visited the palace once, and her beauty was incredible: delicate and fragile, like a flower in the desert; her skin was much whiter than even the Prince's - there was no explanation for this, except that she had lived most of her life inside her house and rarely left it, so that her skin was almost never touched by the sun's rays. Her eyes were light blue, like the surface of water, and reflected a purity and innocence that is rare even in the youngest children these days.

  Also, as far as Akila had heard, Rahisa had a twin sister named Rahifa. However, there was no information about her; she never appeared in the palace, never met with the Prince or the Pharaoh - even when the Royal Family came to visit them, she sat in her room while Rahisa socialised with the guests. It was obvious that her parents loved only one daughter, but who cared?

  Akil didn't really care either, because the main thing in this whole story was that the girl with whom the Prince was so close and flirted so openly was not his fiancée at all; Rahisa's delicate appearance, even if only from descriptions, was the complete opposite of the rough appearance of this unknown girl.

  Akila learned that this girl was not his fiancée; moreover, she possessed divine power. And even though there was corruption in the kingdom that forbade any divinity, allowing its possessors to be used as slaves, this information was enough for Akila to destroy the Prince's life, just as he and his entire kingdom had destroyed hers.