Alice Sandoval stood in the centre of the ballroom, clad in an elegant blue sleeveless gown that ran down to her ankles but did not restrict movement, blond hair carefully plaited and decorated with a floral ornament. The capital's nobles stood at a safe distance; far enough away that they couldn't be accused of association, but close enough to ensure they would have no difficulty hearing what was to come. Before her stood Raymond Slandhaile, the crown prince of the kingdom of Slandhaile and, unfortunately, her fiance. Wearing a face of thunder, he seemed to be the only one in the room who wasn't infected by the air of anticipation.

"Alice Sandoval. For many years I have tolerated your jealousy towards Emily, and your pathetic attempts at bullying. But to think you would actually send an assassin against her!"

The girl in question, Emily Crawford, stood closely behind the prince, a vindictive smile on her face. Alice glanced at her, keeping her expression carefully neutral.

"I have done no such thing, nor have I ever engaged in bullying. What would I stand to gain from such behaviour? For what reason would I be jealous? You know as well as I that our engagement was decided by our families, and not of our own will. If you are to be taken from me by another, I would be only thankful, not jealous."

There were some muted gasps from the spectators, surprised not at the accusations or denials, but only at the obvious insult towards royalty. Alice couldn't care less; everything she had said was true. Raymond frowned even further, to an extent that Alice was concerned his forehead would tear.

"Whatever your opinion of me, you are still aiming for the position of queen. All of your tutors remark how diligently you study. Isn't it natural for someone like you to want to do away with the competition? In any case, your guilt is not in question here. I am simply declaring your punishment in front of these witnesses."

The ball was being held by Raymond in the royal castle and all the nobles residing in the capital had been invited. An invitation from royalty is not easily declined so the ball was well attended, but being the summer many nobles were dwelling in their own territories. Alice was in the capital to attend the royal academy, but no other members of her family were present. The large number of nobles present to witness these events, none of which were close acquaintances of Alice, was likely planned for precisely this moment. Alice found that amusing, although she made very sure to keep any expression off her face. Organising a ball out of season, just to gather nobles to watch her be humiliated. How very Raymond of him.

"I have never desired the position of queen. However, since it was to be forced upon me, of course I took my education seriously. My honour as the first daughter of House Sandoval demands that I exceed any expectations held of me. Furthermore, you dare to declare my guilt without even a trial? Is the crown prince so ignorant of the law of his own country?"

There was some murmuring from the surrounding nobles. The disrespect for royalty continued, but Prince Raymond was not exactly coming off well in this exchange. It was certainly true that Alice had a right to a trial and that Prince Raymond had no rights to unilaterally inflict a punishment.

"How dare you. A would-be murderer like you demands rights? But no matter. This decree does not come from me, but from King Edward himself."

That got the largest collection of gasps yet, which only doubled when Raymond held up a sheet of parchment clearly bearing the kings seal. Alice grabbed it from him, and read in silence. Raymond smirked.

"As you can see, you are hereby banished from the kingdom of Slandhaile, for the remainder of your worldly life. You are to be out of the capital by dawn tomorrow. You should be thankful for the leniency of my father; if it were up to me I would have your head for the crimes you have committed. But I will have to take my comfort in knowing that you will probably end up spending the rest of your life in some whore house, while Emily takes your place as queen."

The room was stunned into silence. Alice was the first daughter of Duke Denis, one of the highest ranking nobles of the kingdom, and possessed both beauty and talent in abundance. Emily was only the third daughter of a lower noble, and while beautiful did poorly in her studies. Combined with the lack of relevant training she had received, it was obvious who was the better choice for queen. Even if Alice had tried to have her assassinated, this situation was strange. The royal family should have preferred to sweep the incident under the rug, perhaps secretly holding Alice under house arrest with the excuse of illness or something. To not only openly declare it in such a grandeurs manner, but to banish Alice from the kingdom without even holding a trial was... odd. Furthermore, to be blunt about it, had Alice wanted Emily dead, Emily would be dead. Despite her youth, Alice was not known for failure.

"Very well. I continue to declare my innocence, and I swear an oath here and now before these noble witnesses that I made no attempt on Emily's life. But I will not deny the will of the king."

So Alice turned and left the room. The murmuring picked back up, a range of expressions from shock and worry to amusement and outright gloating visible on the faces of the assembled audience. And distracted as they were, nobody saw the faint smile that played on Alice's lips.