Chapter 33
1287 Words
“He is arranging an engagement with a lady from the kingdom of Perimas...”
“Wow. That’s disappointing. So, what was that, like a romantic last dance? Melancholy of lovers that can never be together?”
Amelia put the back of her wrist on her forehead, striking a dramatic pose. I rolled my eyes, chuckling.
“I wish it was that significant. Come with me.”
“Do you have to ruin everything?” She grumbled, clicking her tongue. She stood up straight and walked with me to our quarters.
“He wants to make her his queen and I his concubine. He says he loves me and he needs to marry her.”
“Oh my goodness! So, what did you say?”
Instead of answering, I opened the door to our room and let her in, closing the door behind us.
“Don’t keep me hanging! What did you say?!”
“I rejected him. I told him to think of his reputation.”
“Elayne! What has gotten into you?! That was your chance to get a comfortable life and you blew it for what, Pride?”
“Calm down Amelia, it’s not that serious.”
“It IS that serious! You want to live out the rest of your life caring for a child?!”
“Amelia!”
She didn’t say anything again but I could see she was still furious.
“I understand your frustration and I know you want me to face reality and do what is best for me. Trust me, this is what is best for me. Being the concubine of the future king sounds incredible but I’ve seen his family. It would be nothing but pain and sorrow for me. I would rather be alone for the rest of my life, caring for this child than go back to a low life of being a concubine. I do not condemn it. I just find this to be a better choice.”
“You... you’re always so infuriating.”
“But you love me anyways.”
“Argh, I cannot deny that. If you come back crying to me...”
“You’ll comfort me, as always. You love me.”
“Whatever. Now that he’s asleep, when is our midnight drinking tradition going to start?”
“Now. I stocked up on some of your favorites.”
“Really?! Ooohhhh! Where did you get those?”
“That’s a secret.”
They were a gift from Duke Erik. After finding alcohol in the goods I bought, he decided to gift me some. He’s too generous for a man with an undefined purpose.
“It’s probably from that young lord.”
“Of course not.”
“Please. You can lie to anyone but me.”
“Whatever. Let me get rid of this suffocating dress and change into something else. Do you want to change?”
“Of course.”
“Wait, what about your date?”
“Who cares about him? He disappeared with another bimbo a long time ago.”
I shook my head and handed her a plain cloth from my dresser.
“Isn’t the mistress going to complain?”
“It’s Casella Day! She won’t be too stringed up. Besides, she had to entertain that Earl. I doubt I’ll be at the top of her worries.”
“You’re right.”
I change out of my ball gown and store it away safely. Amelia tosses hers to me and changes without a care in the world, like she always did. I also store her clothes away and wait for her to pop the drinks open.
“Ahh. This is good stuff.”
“You’re right. It’s amazing.”
“Elayne, sometimes, I’m jealous of you. You’re so lucky, it’s not even funny anymore.”
“Is that what you really think?”
“Yeah. All the girls are green with envy that you’re somewhere you can be with the prince who danced with you on your debut and here you are saying no to such a juicy request. Don’t you know for people like us, requests like that are dime a dozen?”
“I know. But sometimes, I’m jealous of you, Amelia.”
“How? You have a better life than I do.”
“You have a fire in you, something rare for people like us. You’re beautiful and energetic, on top of that being realistic and outspoken. You have the ability to catch the eye of anyone you want. If you weren’t so avoidant of trouble, you would’ve caught the eye of the prince by now. After all, you scored a Duke and you’re not even worried of the consequences of doing that. You’re just like Noelle.”
“I liked everything you said except the last part.”
“Why? What's wrong?”
“I cannot use hate as a word to describe how I feel about her. The most accurate description I can give is; if the demons of hell were standing in one part of a crossroads and Noelle was standing on the other, I would take my chances with the demons.”
I gave her a small frown as I tipped my head to the side. “That’s drastic.”
“I said it was accurate and I stand by it. I never knew a creature that could be more terrifying and annoying than Lady Andrella existed. To my surprise, I had the misfortune of meeting Noelle.”
“I liked her.”
“Of course you did. She never showed her true colors in front of you. I hope she’s suffering right now.”
I furrowed my brows slightly as I stared at her, wondering why she was lying. Noelle was a sweetheart. Everyone in Lady Andrella's house knew it and they all loved her because of how incredibly kind she was. The courtesans and Lady Andrella had been really happy for her when she caught the eye of the Prince - now King - of Perimas and there had been bittersweet tears when he decided to whisk her away to Perimas to marry her. Even till now, the courtesans still spoke about her kindly and they sent her letters whenever they could.
I couldn't figure out why Amelia was trying to make the sweetest girl in the world seem like an evil person though.
“She’s a Queen.”
“Doesn’t mean she can’t.”
I shook my head sideways a little bit and cleared my throat, deciding to change the topic because I was really not interested in listening to her badmouth Noelle. “Speaking of Queens, lean in closer.”
“Ooh, good gossip.” She leaned in and I began to whisper in her ears.
“Have you heard any rumors of the Queen having an affair?”
“... Not exactly. Did you hear that in the palace?”
“Something like that. Do you have any rumors about the palace?”
“They’re not that common. I’m only up to date with the people in it because of the nobles I associate with. The servants are sworn to secrecy.”
“I was not. I wonder why.”
“So, does that mean you have juicy gossip?”
Telling Amelia about the Queen having an affair in the palace was nothing short of a bad idea.
“Barely. People don’t talk to me here. Ok too breathtakingly beautiful for them to handle.”
“What? You look like a frog!”
“I do not... take that back!”
“Make me!”
And so, our traditional Casella Day celebration went by with us having the most fun with alcohol.
- Writer
