A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

Tale of the Evergreens

They didn't yet know that I was out of bed or wherever they believed I might be, so it wouldn't harm anyone if I had another swift look.

The handle to the Parlor slipped out of my fingers while my feet guided me to the opposite wall. I reached for the necklace that had previously granted me access and placed it on the surface of the magical door, eager to see the place and confirm that it hadn't just been my imagination playing a trick on me. Only, nothing happened.

The door didn't open like the last time, as if my access had been removed.

The pain of disappointment tore at my heart when I realized that I could never return to that place again, but I couldn't dwell on it out here. I wouldn't know how to explain why I was looking at a door that I probably wasn't supposed to have access to in the first place with teary eyes.

Reluctantly, I moved my palm from the door and stepped back to enter the Parlor, where the rest of the suitors were chatting merrily.

"Will!" Calla exclaimed as I entered the room, my eyes widening at the sight that greeted me. "We thought you might be sick."

"Good morning to you, too," I chuckled, joining them on the couch.

Multiple figures of the Sun were hanging from the ceiling, and dried slices of oranges — among other citrus fruits — decorated the windows or had been placed amongst the green decorations. That looked a bit more familiar and made a lot more sense than the trees and the greens.

The Winter Celebrations were about celebrating the Sun. The citrus fruits resembled that Sun and filled the air with the wonderful scent I associated with the Winter Celebrations.

I then noticed yellow candles surrounded by even more greens, pine cones, and slices of fruit in the windows and on the tables. I squinted my eyes to trace the design engraved into the wax and realized they were numbers from one to seven — as if it served as some sort of countdown.

"Where have you been?" Piper asked me before I'd sat down in the space between her and Calla.

"I overslept," I said, sighing heavily as if my body still hadn't realized it was time to wake up.

"Overslept? Did you fall asleep again after Faye came to wake you?"

"No," I muttered, massaging my palm as I bit my lower lip. "Faye didn't wake me. We had a minor dispute yesterday, and I think she may still be upset with me. Have you seen her today?"

Both Calla and Piper looked at me with questioning eyes, faintly shaking their heads. "What were you fighting about?" Calla whispered, leaning closer. "I don't mean to pry, but it sounds quite serious if she's still so mad she didn't care to wake you up. I mean, it's her job, isn't it?"

I carefully scanned my surroundings and found the perpetrator sitting in her queen chair, surrounded by her worshipers as if they thought she would help them win the prince's heart.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was still beyond my comprehension why they kept glorifying her like some goddess. Alia was a selfish-minded person without regard for other people. My personal experiences inside the Battle Arena and outside were living proof of that.

It was an outrageous thought that she was what Faye and I had been discussing yesterday. I still couldn't believe Faye had taken the witch's side instead of mine, and now she was mad about it. Or maybe there was a rational explanation for her unusual absence.

"Perhaps she's sick... or something. We've had worse arguments than that, so she must've had a good reason for being absent today," I said."

"Sick?" Calla said as if she found that conclusion strange. "Don't they have protocols for when a chambermaid is si— Ouch!"