The first time Vex had seen the Royal Palace of Serenno she had just been Nahri Nalju. She had not set foot inside, only observed it from afar. It seemed so much grander than the mansion she had grown up in; and that seemed impossible. As a girl, she had once dreamed of living in it. Of resting her chin on the stone balconies that overlook the Belsallian Sea, drinking in the cool ocean winds, and watching with a light smile playing at her lips as the gulls circled overhead.
Those dreams seemed so far away now. The girl who had dreamt them was dead. A mere mask for the woman now in her body. But Vex could not deny the ghost of excitement that possessed her when she received the Empress' summons. She had been so consumed with securing the necessary resources to build the new prison she was working on on Belsavis that she had not been home in many months. Setting foot on Serenno again...
It felt more nostalgic than it should have.
She arrived at the gates of the palace five standard minutes early. From this angle, the palace looked bigger than any Star Destroyer. Vex felt antlike next to just the massive iron gates, her chest tightening as they swung open for her. She had come as herself, without armor to hide her face. Such disguises were useless before the one she had come to see. And she had to admit it felt good. Being herself. She wished she could feel like this all the time.
She found the Empress in a large garden on the other side of a stone moat bridge. The garden alone was larger than all of Nalju Manor. It was also one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Vex greeted the Empress with a bow, a polite smile already on her lips. "Your Grace," she said. "It is wonderful to see you again." @Phoenix