It was probably a bad time to close ranks -- strategically, it might make them the subject of even more suspicion. But this morning, walking through the halls of the Lal Qila and drawing every distrustful eye, she couldn't bear to even think of building bridges. All she wanted was to be around her brother. To have his reassurance that it was all going to be alright, even as the tensions surrounding them seemed to lift to a fever pitch.

She greets him with a squeeze on the shoulder and a soft kiss to his temple, same as their mother might have. "Do you remember when I was eight, and that goat chased me around the morning of Abba's first Leul Ras appointment? And I tore my ceremonial corset." Her aunties had been so upset, scolding her for hours. Her lips tilt in a resigned smile. "I used to think that would be the worst thing that happened to me before the sun rose."