Celesti's arrival in Ketra was as quiet and uneventful as any other she had made before it. A simple flash of her documents here, a little hush money there and she was inside of the city; certainly not the grand entrance that so many with her level of wealth and influence seemed to prefer. Then again traveling in caravans surrounded by guards had never really been the princess' style. Even as a child she had preferred to travel with a small group of attendants, if any at all. Sure it was a bit more dangerous, but at least it drew less attention.
And the last thing she needed was more attention being drawn to her...
She had more than enough problems blending in with most crowds as it was, standing over the heads of most men and looking like a foreigner from who knows where. Oh, and let's not forget the flutter of ethereal butterflies riding in her hair. Those tended to draw more than their fair share of stares wherever she went. Fortunately for her they were pretty close to transparent in the sunlight, so for the most part they weren't really noticeable at a glance.
Her reasons for being in the capital while similar to so many other nobles that were either on their way or already in town were somewhat different. Word of the King's passing had already spread throughout the land, and with no clear heir apparent more than a few noble houses were already angling to increase their power, if not take the throne for themselves.
Celesti too had come because of the vacant throne, but unlike the others she actually had very little interest in seeking it. The title of Queen would never agree with her and she knew it. She simply did not have the patience to tend to the duties that came with it. She had merely come to observe the bickering and the fighting between the other nobles; to see which of them had the balls to declare themselves King first, and to see if they had the strength necessary to actually hold onto that title.
To be perfectly honest she didn't really care who was triumphant in the end. As long as the events to come were as interesting as they had been the last time a monarch had neglected to leave an heir behind she would be happy.
As she walked she couldn't help but smile as she watched more and more people filled the city streets. The city had changed a fair amount over the years, but there were certain things about it that seemed like they never would. It was still as active as it had been when she was a child. Aside from her butterflies she hadn't bothered to bring anyone else with her on her little morning stroll. There was no need to since the creatures had always done a good job of protecting her. That and she hadn't intended to go too far from the inn she was staying at...or at least that had been the plan anyway.
For some reason the further in town she walked the more she wanted to go even further. It was as if she was being drawn in by her nostalgia. Everywhere she looked she saw something that brought back memories from her youth, and by the time she had caught herself the sun was already overhead. She could've only imagined how worried her escorts were by now; her daughter would have had their heads for letting her go out alone if anything happened to her. They were probably already out franticly searching for her.
On top of that her stomach was also beginning to growl as well. She had set out before breakfast so she hadn't eaten since the night before, and with her mind no longer distracted by old memories it was almost instantly brought toward her hunger. Fortunately for her she had spotted a small tavern out of the corner of her eye not too far back, so she decided to stop in on her way back.