Knight And Love

25: Odd friendship

This....is weird.

"Please have a seat Charlotte"

"Yes, my lady"

I took a seat infront of Madison Amrita...the Villainess.

It was supposed to be my day assigned with the third prince but the emperor grounded Akio for...we all know why(he skipped his lesson and came home with a herd of girls hot on his heel) so the empress invited me instead to her tea party....I hate this.

I mean by the way the noble girls who looks at me with mocking gaze and whispering to each other, I can tell that I'm not that welcome...the empress and I are not that close, she values noble titles, and because I'm a fallen noble--an illegitimate child at that of a fallen house she doesn't see me in the light that much, she still does have a little bit of respect for me--just a pinch though.

Each table have two or more ladies, they should be equal in noble title or the other girl with a higher standing invited you to seat with them, they are no other noble girls of duke title and madison didn't invite other to set by here so she have a table all by herself.

The other girls gasped in surprised, I almost did too but I manage to hold it back.

The two of us sat quietly while the maids pour tea in our cups....you know for a villainess and her supposed(former) shadow guard slash killing machine, this is...nice.

Even if they hate me, Madison clearly placed me in a double edge sword, They knew the power Madison holds within the social circle that even the First Princess can't touch, to be at the same table with her means that a connection had already been forged between us..but at the same time I know that Madison will use me as a bait to get attention from both her enemies and friend.

Is it possible that Madison and the First prince Niko are related? Because I sure do think so.

Madison is like a rose with nasty thorns, in a garden where only she blooms, those weeds and other flower who dare to upstage her will drown in the spiral of her thorns that could cut deep and leave scars.

In every garden there is a gardener, their job is to make sure the rose is well and safe while they cut the other unimportant weeds with their big scissors of death, in the novel, seraphina was her Gardner but in this life.....Madison was a lost garden surrounded by her own thorns to keep her safe until someone finds her....but if she's not careful, she will be buried under her own thorns, hiding her true beauty from the world.

"My mother likes this tea" she initiated first, sipping from the cup slowly, I tasted the gentle taste of the drink.

"She would teach me how to make the perfect tea, if I get it right she would smile but if I get it wrong--" she said, I then said..

"she would frown along with a hit on the hands with a stick" Continuing her words, looking at her with a knowing look, I know exactly what she means.

"Exactly" she said, smiling once more before sipping from her cup again, this time I was the one who spoke first..

"In every event or greeting, she would always say--"

"Don't cause trouble" in sync we said.

.....

Confuse while looking at each other straight in the eye, after a moment laughter softly and quitely erupted between the two of us.

Like I said...this is weird.

"Patriarchy and misogyny are old traditions uphold by nobles...though I myself thinks that the era has come to change" She said, the tables are far apart from us so we could talk without the fear of anyone hearing us.

"Hear, hear" I said, raising my cup in the air for a moment before chuckling a little, she did too.

"How I would love to peirce my sword through every prideful men out there, thinking that they are much better than women" I added, she twirled her index finger in the air while saying "I will gladly support you on that"..

Through the tea party, Madison and I developed an...odd friendship.

We spent the time talking about how similar our mothers are in their punishment and teaching while finishing and guessing each other's words, it was fun.

We also talked about how we want to destroy the patriarchy and supported independent women who stood up for themselves, it was fun.

I never smiled or chuckled that much since Akio and Ellie, Madison is a kind soul born in the wrong family, she grew up with her mother teaching her that a 'girl would never go anywhere without a powerful man as his husband' she believed that women should be submissive to men, that the only purpose of a women is to take care of the house, her husband and give him an heir.

It's bullshit! pure stupidity!.

"It's disheartening to know how many talented minds are wasted just because of this" she said, sighing long and hard, with her fan in hand as she waved in gracefully in the air.

"My mother would personally oversee my mannerism class, she would make me stand for hours while reciting the
'A lady should be....' thinking about it now, I find it ironic that I ended up as a knight rather than a lady and a wife" chuckling a little before releasing a heavy sigh like hers.

"My mother did the exact same thing to me, even now she would still make me recite it to her every night as if it's a bedtime story to her" laughing a little, her radiant yet shivering sound of laughter rang in my ears like how the church bells usually rung during a funeral...the sound of grief and death.

"Although, I find you quite admirable, being an Escort Knight and guarding the princes, The Charlotte Female Knights have always been the image of an independent women, standing valiantly in the front line and holding their honors and head up high...." She praised, but after a dark distaste appeared on her beautiful face.

"Yet it's sad to know that such women died from protecting such weak creatures under them, a great lost to the world just so a man can play his king and queens game, after their sacrifices they would be forgotten, their names rarely written on our history, the only names mentioned and written were names of mens flaunting their small reigns...." Her eyes reflected emptiness, the usual graceful and elegant aura turned sour and heavy.......

She's a Queen, alright.

That is a figure you should respect and avoid to offend at all cost.

For a Villainess born and her supposed-former Shadow guard.....in this life we formed a peculiar bond...a friendship as they call it, different from my friend with Ellie and Akio and maybe Alistair too...but the friendship between me and Madison was.....Odd.