A very worthwhile read

Awwwwwwwwww I freaking love it! Absolutely awesome how you ended them using each other’s titles. The reveal was great - yeah I’d laugh harder at the wine being moved too - but honestly I like how you built their friendship. How you had them both buy into the mask the other wore for a bit before instinct overrode what they showed the world. Great job with that. And with showing the challenge of bringing change with the female guard. Loved the “you have my sword” part because it honestly means so much and is compounded given who is saying it - another female raised to fight.

Anyways, this was awesome thank you for posting!

This is wonderful!

THIS. THIS is exactly what I want from fanfiction. Making the connections that are SO OBVIOUS in retrospect. Of *course* Kalasin and Sarai would be BFFs as foreign royalty married to Carthakis. I want to hear more of them!

Great fic. Showed the hardships for both so well...

Thats just priceless. All of this

Amazing story! I love it more every time I read it! (I think this is the 3rd time? :) )

This. This is just absolutely perfect. The initial awkwardness, Kally's revelation that Sarai is not who she seems and vice versa, the flowers, Kally caring for her horse - all these work so beautifully to set the scene.

"Dove was too sensible and too far removed to understand that the heart had to come first, sometimes."

That is Sarai to a T. She's not selfish enough to shirk her duty entirely, but she understands that duty done as a pawn isn't always the best choice over a person's right to happiness, love and liberty, not to mention the potential for doing good. And I love that she thinks Aly would disapprove, because of course she didn't know pre-Trickster Aly. The detail here is just right, too - Sarai's sigh highlighting the emptiness, the camels on the street, the humidity in contrast to Sarai missing the smell of rain.

You've shown the contrast between Kally's public an private faces really well in the last chapter, and here you've again addressed Sarai's irration but perfectly understandable fears in more detail.

I love the idea of Zaimid's mother reminding Kally of home, and also of Sarai's determination making Kally realise how left out she was. The little bits of Kally/Kaddar are adorable. I enjoyed your descriptions of the Carthaki court as much more formal than the Tortallan, though I suspect that Kally will find others who break that apparent trend. :)

Oh, my, potential Sarai and Kally interaction. *swoons*
Fangirling aside, I love the way you've shown that she's proud of her raka blood and her ancestry, but also addressed her insecurities about her status as a raka in a new country. O especially liked the bit about hiding potential suitors away in Sarai's case vs. clamouring for them in Kally's. This chapter is suffused with Sarai's thoughts about her status as a dark-skinned person, but those thoughts are never trivialised.

lmao. I was waiting for that as soon as I saw the blurb. Good old tricky Aly. I agree about Kally though. I was argued with a lot when I said she would be demure and Catharki like in public, or she wouldn't be listened to and taken seriously. Not to mention your point of starting a war with the malcontent's. I think she wins the lords over by the time that short story is written about kitten though. Because Kally is left running the empire when Kaddar goes on progress. Lovely story though. I always enjoy your writing. :)

loved this!

But what about the Baby Sarai was going to have?