@Tired-but-passionate
Rowena listened in utter silence. Slowly, little by little, she cracked, broke down. It took all her willpower to not let it show, and the only movement she made was a little twitch of her wings as Cicada finished. She wanted to be angry. She could try and defend herself, argue over the little details, make excuses. But no. She wasn’t angry. Cicada had struck down her pride like a skilled marksman, and now she must mourn its loss, how brittle it was in the first place underneath the Demon Princess’s tongue. Because she was right. At the very core, she was right. Rowena hated it so, for it was clear to her that Cicada would have been a better queen than she.
She took a breath. “I am ashamed,” she murmured. “I will leave you now.”
Without another word, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.