The morning sun streamed through the palace windows as I made my way to the formal dining room, expecting another day of careful negotiations and diplomatic maneuvering. Stella had already been awake for an hour, chattering excitedly about her new name while Reika helped her get dressed in one of the Southern continent's traditional children's outfits—a flowing dress decorated with tiny embroidered dragons that made her look like a fairy tale princess.
"Daddy, look!" she called out as I entered the room, spinning to make the dress's skirts flare out. "The dragons move when I twirl!"
"Very impressive," I said, scooping her up for a morning hug. "Good morning, Princess Stella Luna."
She giggled at the formal address, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Good morning, Daddy. Are we having more boring meetings today?"
"Hopefully not too boring," I replied, settling her into her chair before taking my own seat. "Prince Ian should be joining us shortly to discuss—"
