the morning walk to the apothecary had been...tense.
mostly because every time evie opened her mouth to say something witty, she caught the emperor's cold gaze like a punch to the gut and immediately decided life was precious and silence was golden.
claude led the way, his presence so regal it felt like even the birds were bowing. athanasia walked beside him, posture perfect, a soft determined smile on her lips. kael and evie trailed behind, looking like two mismatched ducks trying very hard to be serious.
"you think if i trip right now, he'll have me executed?" evie whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
kael didn't even glance at her. "no. just exiled."
evie opened her mouth to make another smart comment-caught claude's frosty side-eye-and immediately turned her words into a polite little cough.
they reached the apothecary just as the door swung open and maerin came storming out, arms full of dried herbs, face set in a look of "i've already had enough of today and it's not even noon."
then her eyes landed on claude and athanasia.
to evie's everlasting horror, maerin straightened up, dropped the herbs without blinking, and quickly said, "blessings and glory upon the sun and star of the obelian empire."
there was a second of absolute silence.
then, from somewhere inside the shop, a small, disheveled voice yelled, "MAERIN, WHERE'S BREAKFAST?!"
a tiny whirlwind of chaos that was elias hawthorne burst into view, hair sticking up at odd angles, socks mismatched, and shirt halfway buttoned.
he skidded to a stop when he saw the royal family standing like very confused statues on the porch.
"uh," elias said, blinking hard. "are you...guys here for pancakes?"
evie slapped a hand over her mouth so fast she almost dislocated her jaw.
athy pressed her hand politely to her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.
kael just stared at the sky like he was trying to ascend to a better plane of existence.
claude...well, claude didn't move a muscle.
not even a twitch.
"this," evie whispered to kael, "is exactly why we can't have nice things."
maerin, completely unbothered, reached back and whacked elias lightly on the head with a sprig of sage. "go wash your face and comb your hair, boy. you're assisting today then you're off to school."
elias yelped, darted back inside like a gremlin caught stealing food, and slammed the door behind him.
the herbs maerin had dropped were still scattered everywhere. evie bent down to help pick them up, desperately trying not to meet claude's eyes.
athanasia, being the precious creature she was, smiled warmly at maerin. "it's very nice to meet you, apothecary hawthorne. i'm excited for today's lesson."
"good. we start immediately," maerin said, already bustling back into the shop. "follow me. and mind the cat-she's meaner than me."
"you heard the woman," evie muttered under her breath, scooping up a handful of rosemary and tossing it back into the basket. "pray for your lives."
she felt claude's gaze again-sharp and unimpressed-and immediately straightened up like she'd been caught committing tax fraud.
inside the apothecary, princess athanasia was already seated neatly at the work table, notebook open, quill poised.
YOU ARE READING
accidentally yours | claude de alger obelia
Fantasyone, she fell from the sky and into his arms-bloodied, burning, and already halfway gone. he's been chasing the smoke ever since. two, a monster hunter with too much magic. an emperor with too much power. they were never supposed to find each other...
