To Keep a Promise

.4.

There was no formal events the first few days of the debutantes being in the palace. Most of the time was taken for them to get to know their way around, meet the maids who would be assisting them, and hopefully get some one on one time with the Prince.

He did not seem overly keen to spend time with them, despite the fact that one of them may have ended up as his wife.

Aria made sure I was present when she officially met the ladies. I sat with her on the snow covered lawn outside, doing my best not to shiver even under the thickest coat Estelle could conjure up for me from one of the maids. One by one they came up to us and introduced themselves.

Miss Ashley Maeve and Lyanna Welsey were as haughty as we expected, with a large curtsy to Aria and barely a head nod to me. Miss Georgina Van Gellar and Miss Clarisse Demoine were both a bit more reserved and curtsied to us both, and Penelope Withers was without any great features to make her memorable.

Out of them all Miss Demoine was my favourite, but when we all sat down she was near Miss Maeve and Miss Welsey, so she clearly did not have good taste in friends.

The rest of the ladies seemed perfectly at ease with the weather, and I was the odd one doing my best not to move so as not to get any snow on me. I also kept my body close to the hot stones that one of the butlers was kind enough to bring out.

The Queen sat on her seat and eyed the ladies who were all doing their best to impress her. I thought that she was watching me closely, but when I turned she was always occupied by something else. I could see the small dark marks below her eyes that betrayed a bad sleep. I wondered what she could have been thinking of that would have kept her up.

Miss Wesley was standing before her now, and I could hear her chattering endlessly on about her family and the properties they owned in the East. Of course, the east being where most of the wealthy people lived, it made sense that her family was rich.

Aria brought her chair over to sit beside me laughing at my proximity to the heated stones. 'If your blanket catches alight you are toast!' I was only able to smile at her joke because any extra movement would stir up the cold air.

'Tell me why we are sitting out here when there is a perfectly warm - well, warmer - castle right there' I pointed at the castle to make my point then had instant regret at taking my arm out of the cocoon of heat the blanket provided.

'Oh come on Eve, it is not that bad'

Sensing her rising frustration, I encouraged her to go talk to some of the debutantes. She rolled her eyes but did what I suggested.

I watched Aria walk over to where Miss Demoine and Miss Maeve were tossing around a ball, getting snow all over their legs. Just the sight of it made me shiver again.

'Mother, why do you have these women out here in the cold?' Prince Masons voice called out over the lawn and the sound caused the women to stop what they were doing and turn to him. The ball that Aria had thrown to a now distracted Miss Maeve barely avoided colliding with her head. I hid my laugh behind a cough.

The Queen lit up seeing her son coming toward her. She stood and embraced him when he was close enough, 'For the most part they are ok. It was only Miss Davenport that requested heating rocks'

The Prince looked over at me all bundled up in coats and blankets and smirked, when he made eye contact my body shivered, and I convinced myself it was from the cold.

Miss Welsey sat up even straighter in the Prince's presence. 'Your Highness, you are looking incredibly warm' he looked at her oddly 'Yes Miss Welsey, I am warm, thank you'