The Queens of Calonea
an excerpt

The royal library at Calonea was not very large. There were some histories, some philosophy and theology, some military strategy, a few biographies, and the royal archives. All of it fit in one converted bedchamber. None of it was very well organised. The histories and biographies were arranged roughly chronologically, but the military strategy and the theology were all jumbled together. The royal archives was a jumble of boxes. Most of them were labled with the name of the king whose correspondences they contained but some were not and no one really knew what secrets those boxes might hold. Most of the documents were no more than one hundred years old, before that the royal archives had been in Ephiana. It was said that the library in the old capital Ephiana had been one of the wonders of the world, but it was destroyed when the city was sacked by the armies of the Southern Empire.

Saffi, Princess of Calonea and Ephiana, spent most of her free time in the Royal Archives. Officially, she was doing research requested by her father, the King. In this case she was supposed to be providing historical context for the upcoming celebrations of the anniversity of the birth of King Cyril the First and the designation of Calonea City as the capital, but she knew that it was fruitless to look for something specific in the Archives. She didn't expect that anyone would listen to what she found out anyway. Everyone already knew the story of those times. In truth, she just found the archives an interesting puzzle. Besides, it was quiet there and there wasn't usually anyone around to remind her of what a disappointment she was as a princess.