TIMESlike these, Emery almost regretted not being closer to anyone in court. As she’d only heard murmurings of the new foreign visitors. From what she’d gathered, the prince was well-liked &his two companions argued viciously. Despite, if what she’d heard was correct, their life-long engagement.
THISwas her first time encountering one of them, the woman, && Emery hadn’t the slightest clue as to what her name was. A rare occurrence in the tightly knit world of politics, she was sure. But seeing as to how the princess relieved the majority of her gossip from eavesdropping on servants, it wasn’t surprising.
FORperhaps the first time in recent memory, Emery actually wantedto start up a conversation. The prospect of talking to someone who wasn’t from Ianthe was near-exciting. Perhaps she’d actually get to have a discussion, rather than spend the whole interaction trying to politely ignore that everyone thought her some kind of spy.
“Miss…Winters, was it ?Apologies,I struggle with names . “
something like this would never happen in galanthus and while fay did not miss the court she could usually be found at very much, she did miss the lack of questions she encountered there. she had not spent the better of her adult life around prince noel, serving as an adviser despite her age, so that a foreign court suddenly QUESTIONED her qualifications. and even worse: she was the only one who had had to deal with this kind of nonsense. and while she hardly envied her fiancé ( the amount of VULTURES circling over his head was ridiculous, truly ), she wished that she would not have to constantly introduce herself.
( especially since her patience for these people was dwindling down, quickly, and she was growing increasingly irritated with everyone around her. )
❛fay hunter, your royal highness. daughter of the duke of astrinas. i advise the prince of galanthus. you are princess emery, unless i’m mistaken? ❜ an eyebrow rose. because fay had done the reading, would be able to recite everything galanthus knew about each and every person at this court in her sleep — not that anyone would dare to wake her. ❛is there something i can do for you, ma’am? ❜
Joné seized up the woman who had just addressed her so icily. Lady hunter looked undeniably irritated tonight.
The dark haired baroness had just finished a conversation with the heir to Duke Montgomery and gone to fetch herself a drink, when she was approached by the other noblewoman. Of course she already knew who the icy blonde was. There had been rumors about her already problematic engagement to the young man joné had just chatted with. In fact, that was why her meddling father had sent her after the young Duke. Because it was said that the match was on thin ice and they had been seen arguing on several occasions throughout the years. Many people agreed that the two of them could not stand each other and there would never be a wedding.
Now, the simplest and most obvious reason for the other’s cold greeting would be that she thought it imprudent to flirt with an engaged man. Especially when his fiancee was present. True as that may be, it was also pretty boring. What if that weren’t the reason, though? A mischievous voice inside her head just had to ask. Well, she would have to test the waters a bit, wouldn’t she? Her smile was half friendly and half smirking as she spoke to the higher ranked noble.
“ Good evening, Duchess Hunter. I’m baroness Cruz. You’re from the North as well? Why, i have never met anyone from the north and now i am introduced to the second noble from there. It’s always a pleasure to make the acquaintance of new people. I am honored, ma’am. “
fay found herself in a state of SPEECHLESSNESS at the other woman’s nerve for a split second before she remembered her upbringing, something that could apparently not be said for the other woman. it was near insulting that the other CLAIMED not to know the blonde — everyone who was not living under a rock would know that prince noel had arrived in ianthe with his advisers in tow. and while right now, fay was starting to loathe the country, she was still proud that she had been CHOSEN for this trip despite her youth, despite their being people at her home court that were potentially better suited to steer the prince through the challenges ahead.
❛the pleasure’s all mine. ❜ a lie — and it was not even a good one. because if they were not surrounded by other noblemen and guards right now, fay’s hand would surely have found the shorter woman’s throat by now. however, she was no child anymore and although she still hated the idea of others taking what was hers, she had grown much better at keeping herself in check since her childhood. ❛and yes, i saw you were talking with my fiancé earlier.❜
and the awfully smug baroness would have to be quite the airhead to miss the message in the blonde’s words. it was a warning, perhaps even a threat — fay did not care very much about the specifics but she did care about the other KINDLY backing off before things could get ugly and alliances tested. fay was in no mood to play around and she was certainly aggravated at the prospect of someone — anyone — threatening her engagement. because despite the many staged arguments she had had with richard over the years, she was looking forward to eventually marrying him after twenty years of being engaged to him.
