The Queen had once again ordered for a banquet to be held to celebrate the birth of the king's heir, and once again, all nobles of high rank were forced to attend.
I wondered how much joy can a wrinkly red baby that cries all the time and stinks of rancid milk can bring, but to the Queen, it seemed as if that little creature was the only good thing in her life.
I then curtseyed politely in front of her and smiled sweetly as if I were not about to poison her sister to death that very same day.
Lady Grace Ainsworth was standing right behind the Queen, dressed in a pale-yellow silk dress trimmed with lace, and a cone shaped escoffion covered her golden blonde hair, and at the same time revealed the white skin of her neck.
When I looked at her closely, I noticed that her teeth were not as large as Corinne had said, and her nostrils were not that wide either.
Afterwards, I went to sit down next to my sister Lisbeth.
The pearl tassels on my wrist jingled eye-catchingly, and I thought that they were truly beautiful, but the thought of that single dull pearl made my heart sink.
Right in front of me, Gilbert began to pile up heaps of food onto his plate and wolfed down heartily, while I only swirled around the watered down grape wine in my goblet, occasionally taking a very small sip. I could barely swallow anything, and whenever my gaze landed on Lady Grace Ainsworth, the crippling fear that I thought I had under control began to swell up my chest again.
"Eat," my mother hissed into my ear. "Do you want to be discovered?"
I flinched at her harsh tone, and reluctantly ate the roast chicken leg that Gilbert had so lovingly put on my plate. It was when I bit into that cold chicken leg seasoned with nothing but salt did I realize that I was truly starving.
I helped myself to some bread and honeycomb, but the stickiness of the honey did not fare well with my long hair. I licked my fingers clean and pushed my plate away and picked up my wine goblet. As I drank the wine, my eyes began to wander around and eventually landed on Edmund, the Duke of Cindertrappe.
He was conversing light heartedly with the ugly princess, his eyes curved sweetly and his smiles were so genuine and tender. I could not believe that he is the same person that I met in the gardens a few weeks ago.
However, when he glanced at the young prince, his gaze hardened, and I knew that he and that anguished, vengeful young man were the same person.
Before the birth of the young heir, Prince George, Edmund had been the unnamed heir to the throne, and many speculated that if the Queen had continued to bear daughters, Edmund would rise to power after the King's death.
However, an heir has been born, and the King does not need Edmund anymore. I had wondered how he feels about the birth of his new cousin. Even though he smiles at the Prince, how could he truly be cordial with the person who would someday deprive him of his rightful position?
He then glanced over to me, and his gentle smile morphed into one of ridicule. That was when I realised that I had been staring at him the entire time I was lost in my thoughts. I rolled my eyes, fruitlessly trying to hide my embarrassment. I hastily looked away, not noticing the genuine smile that appeared on his lips just moments later.
That evening after the banquet ended, a small jousting event was held in the palace courtyard. The King was already grey and weathered; hence he did not participate.
The Duke did participate however, as did my cousin Benedict. The surprise participant ended up being my own brother, who was pressured to join in by our cousin.
When he finally resurfaced from the changing room, I let out a loud chuckle at the sight of my scrawny brother wearing a big and mighty armor.
"Shut up Annie," Gilbert hissed, but he only made me laugh harder. He was like a small kid trying to play knight, and it was adorably comical. As I laughed until my sides began to hurt, another person emerged from the changing room, and I immediately fell silent.
"Lady Winterbourne," Edmund greeted amiably, and I had to awkwardly smile and curtsey in return. "How was your stomachache?"
My already fake smile began to crack as I became overwhelmed by waves of embarrassment that washed all over me. "Pardon me?" I questioned back, attempting to sound bold and unbothered, but only a small squeak escaped me.
"When we last saw each other, you said you had a stomachache and needed to leave. I do hope that you reached the lavatory in time, but to get to the palace from the gardens is quite a long walk. Did you get there safely, Lady Winterbourne?" he questioned shamelessly, and I prayed that the Earth would open up and swallow me whole.
"I ran, Your Grace, and yes I did get there in time. Many thanks for your concern," I said through gritted teeth.
Never have I ever regretted lying so much in my entire life. Gilbert was holding back his laughter and managed to mask it as a yawn, but I knew that I would never hear the end of this for as long as I exist.
I then escorted Gilbert to the stables and went to join Lisbeth and Mother in the stands. Only several feet away from me were the King and Queen, sitting on their sumptuous thrones and surrounded by their beautiful children.
I had not seen Lady Grace Ainsworth anywhere, and I began to fear that I would not be able to fulfill the task that Father had given me.
"This is nothing more than a simple task," Father had said while he fastened the bracelet on my wrist. "See this odd pearl? Simply uncap it, and I want you to tip the powder inside this pearl onto Lady Grace Ainsworth's skin."
"But why, Father?" I asked, afraid of what I had to do.
"You are my smartest child, Anne. I am certain that you know what needs to be done."
The cheers and high pitched shrieks of some shameless ladies could be heard when the jousters rode into the arena on their tall horses, distracting me from my thoughts.
My brother Gilbert looked as if he wanted to throw up, and his already pale face became even paler.
He held the blunt lance with shaking hands, but when he saw me and my mischievous grin, he rolled his eyes and broadened his chest to look bolder and more intimidating.
I went to edge of the stands near Gilbert and said, "They should've given you a kid sized armor, Gil. With an armor this big, you can crawl inside and hide your head like a tortoise."
Gilbert's cheeks became red with embarrassment and he hissed, "Shut up Annie! Let's make a deal, if I win, you must give me the rest of the candy in that jar of yours."
"If you win," I giggled. "If you lose, you must give me your portion of desserts for a year!"
Gilbert's eyes widened in horror, and he said, "That's a bit too much, Annie. You can have my desserts for a week at most!"
I could not answer him however, as Father had called out to him to go enter the jousting arena, and I was left standing there like an idiot. I was ready to return to my seat, but then I heard someone calling out for me.
"Lady Winterbourne," the familiar voice said, and I reluctantly turned around.
"Your Grace," I greeted, confused as to why he would want to speak to me yet again.
My father had told me that the Duke of Cindertrappe was far from a friendly person and possessed a heart full of grievance and vengeance. Did he want to ridicule me again, or did he want retribution after I accidentally stabbed his arm?
"Would you mind giving me a token of your favour, Lady Winterbourne?" Edmund said, and my whole face flushed red. I had not expected him to say that. No one had ever asked for such a thing from me, and I did not know how to react.
"A token?" I repeated awkwardly, too shy to meet his gaze.
The Duke of Cindertrappe was an attractive man indeed, having inherited the House of Chauvelot's dark and sensual good looks.
"A token to give me strength in winning this tournament, Lady Winterbourne," he said, smiling softly, while his vibrant green eyes were lingering on my face. I glanced at our surroundings, and I could see that there were multiple young ladies tying their scarves around the lances carried by the knights.
Tokens of favor, that's what it is called.
On that day, I had not worn any scarves, so I decided to give him the ribbon that I used to tie my hair. Edmund raised his lance so that I could tie my ribbon around it, and as soon as I was done, he lifted it in the air, as if to show the world that he has received my favor.
"I shall win for you, Lady Winterbourne," he declared heroically and rode off, leaving me alone by the stands. I could feel my heart beat in different rhythm, a different pace, and it somehow made me feel unequivocally happy.
I returned to my seat, smiling giddily, and all thought about the bracelet had escaped my mind. It was as if I were just a simple young lady that is mad in love. But then, I saw Grace Ainsworth enter the stands, and I remembered about the task that I had to do.
To go to the Queen's seat, she would have to pass in front of me -- a perfect opportunity for me to spread the poison.
Concealing my hands underneath my long cascading hair, I uncapped the small capsule, smartly made to look like a pearl.
Once Lady Grace Ainsworth was close enough to me, I put my left foot forward out to trip her, and sure enough, she tumbled down like a bunch of building blocks.
"Oh dear!" I exclaimed and quickly went to aid her. "Let me help you up." I held out the arm which I put the bracelet on, and I subtly shook it to make the powder sprinkle down all over her.
She looked at me with discontent, and held out her hand instead of grabbing my own outstretched one. Little did she know that her indignant self would soon cost sweet, delicate Grace her life.
I leaned down to grab her wrist instead of her hand, ensuring that all the powder would sprinkle all over her palm.
The Lady Grace Ainsworth purposefully did not cooperate with me, putting all her weight on the floor and expected me to lift her up, and during the struggle, there was a lot of pulling and struggling.
On the outside, I frowned and smiled weakly, making it look as if I were wronged.
But deep inside, I was laughing. Who would have thought that Grace would make it so much easier for me?
I let go of her hand when she finally decided to stand up, yet she continued to glare at me. The Lady Grace Ainsworth was not a complete idiot, she must have realized that I caused her to trip down on purpose, but of course she would not dare to question me, the daughter of the powerful Earl of Rhyland.
"Many thanks, Lady Winterbourne," Grace seethed through gritted teeth, and I simply smiled sweetly at her in return.
"Pardon me, Lady Ainsworth," I suddenly said. "There's some dirt on your face."
Grace's eyes widened, and she quickly exclaimed, "Where?"
"At the tip of your nose," I said, pointing to my own nose, but I did not dare to touch it. Grace Ainsworth however, continued to vigorously rub her nose in order to get rid of that nonexistent patch of dirt.
"Is it gone now? " she asked vainly, as if her whole life depended on her beauty.
"Yes, Lady Ainsworth."
She nodded in satisfaction and walked away callously, and I silently returned to my seat. I carefully lifted my sleeve to reveal the bracelet, and sure enough, the capsule was already empty.
I tactfully plucked off the tassel, threw it onto the floor and crushed it with my heel, while fluttering the sleeves of my dress out of fear that there might be some residue of the poison left behind.
"Has it been done?" Mother asked nonchalantly, not even turning around to look at me.
"Yes," I whispered back, and put on a calm, unbothered façade, as if I did not just poison someone mere seconds ago.
"Good," my mother said. "Now you should probably go check on your brother. He was beaten by the Duke of Cindertrappe just moments ago. He wasn't hurt, but his little pride must be greatly wounded."
"Will you not come?" I asked her, but Mother simply shook her head. "I will not. He shamed me by losing that fight," she scoffed.
I looked at her in absolute disbelief. "Gilbert is barely a man yet, how could he hold up against the Duke? He is still a child!" I retorted.
"And so are you, Anne," Mother answered coldly. "You think that you are smart, that you are a prodigy because your father prides your intelligence so much. But the truth is, you are no different than any other girl your age. You, my dear, are nothing but a child with a smart mouth."
I huffed in disgust and turned away from her, swiftly heading towards the infirmary where my brother was. I had completely forgot about Grace Ainsworth, and the grievous events that would follow very soon after.
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