Once Upon A Princess

31: Poisoned

Leesil was limping, and Amelia noticed right away that she was trying to cover up her pain.

"Is there something wrong, Leesil?" she asked.

Leesil looked back briefly before she seemed to speed up.

"Of course not, princess."

"Really? You look like you've been injured."

The guard winced, suddenly stopping and turning around to face her princess.

"You're right, princess. I'm sorry I was covering it up. I suppose I'm not very good at it if you could spot it right away."

"You can tell me if you need a break from duties, you know."

Leesil nodded, looking extremely embarrassed.

"Yes, you're right, princess. I think it's best if I go to the infirmary."

Amelia nodded. "I can make it back on my own."

"Are you sure? I can take you back to the room first."

Amelia smiled. "That isn't necessary. The infirmary is in the opposite direction. Go there now. And be careful when sparring in the future."

Leesil smiled too. "I should've known you'd guess how I was injured. Yes, it was quite the match against Brand. Got me right in the shin. Lucky shot."

"Now, go." Amelia shooed her off with her hands. Leesil did, walking slower and leaning heavily on her other foot. Leesil was so concentrated on her duties she sometimes forgot to take care of herself.

"Without a guard, are you?"

Amelia turned around to see it was Theolon who had asked the question, a cocked head and mischievous smile. She felt herself glare before she really consciously decided to. A reflex, at this point.

"Don't think that means you can be rude."

He shook his head. "Why, I'd never."

There was a moment of silence. Amelia felt almost rooted to the spot. She didn't want to move past him to get to her room.

"Are you waiting for me to ask you if I could walk you back to your room?"

She scrunched her nose. "No."

His smile broadened. "Right. You'd never ask for help." He put out an arm, which she took with both her arms, fingers splaying over his bicep. They started walking towards her room, looking around but never at each other.

"So, how was the dinner? You found yourself among the best Gell has to offer. It had to be intimidating," he finally filled their silence and looked at her. He only had to tilt his head slightly, as he wasn't much taller than her.

She shook her head. "I guess so. I don't know. It didn't feel like that."

He raised his brows. "Really?"

She looked at him; his expression was seriously surprised. "Yeah. Everyone seemed so... fake."

He chuckled. "Everyone in court is fake. The quicker you learn that, the easier your life will get."

"I guess that's true," she said. "I'm not used to dealing with those kinds of people, though."

"You will soon enough." She looked at him when he said that, and he backpedaled himself. "Not here, of course. Back home. You'll be in the thick of things."

"So why were you gone anyway? Castiel said you were preparing for the test."

He snorted. "Right. I was not doing that. My parents were. I just didn't want to be there. Lots of people fawning over my brother does not sound like a good way to spend my dinner hour."