"I don't know, uncle. Maybe the job was too much for him. He just disappeared." I finish with the thin braid I was making out of my hair and pin it up before staring on the next one. My uncle, leaning in the arched doorway of my rooms, uncrosses his arms and shifts irritably.
"Yolaise, you've got to think of your own safety. You are my neice, my sister entrusted you to me because she knew I would care for you as my own! With the unrest in the south, it's becoming more and more dangerous for you to continue these defiant displays of independance!"
I put down my comb and turn toward my uncle, the emperor of Vals Stagund, the central and largest nation of seven powerful regions.
"I won't put myself at risk unnecessarily, uncle. I know you worry, but I swear to you, I'm not just being defiant."
"Am I to understand you won't stop this foolishness?" He stands up straight, giving me the "imperial glare" as if it would work on me this time. I quirk an eyebrow and give a haughty smirk.
"Uncle, that didn't work on me when I was a little girl any more than it does now." I chide.
"I've already selected the replacement for the security you ran off."
I let out an annoyed huff, turn back to my mirror, and take up the comb again.
"I don't need a nanny." I say shortly. My uncle leaves the corridor quickly. I can tell by his walk that he isn't happy with me.