Me? Engaged? To the first prince...? Now, what the fuck is this nonsense?
"Haha...ha... What are you talking about, Mom? I'm not crazy enough to jump from one prince to another..." I glanced at my mother's awkward smile. "...I see. I'm crazy."
Damn you, Amarizi! You crazy twit! I just want the earth to open up and swallow me whole!
"Argh, Mom! Why didn't you stop me?!" I yelled, ruffling my hair, completely forgoing all proper decorum of a lady. Mother slapped my hand with her fan as I let out a loud yelp.
"Mom-" Before I could even voice out my protest, she already showered me with numerous slaps. "Don't raise your voice at me! Don't you think I already did that? You were the one who was too stubborn to listen!"
"Still–! You should have knocked some sense into me!" The humiliation I felt after hearing it was overwhelming. No wonder, people looked at me as if I was crazy.
Mother let out a loud huff as she settled down on her seat again. "I did. I didn't even know how you could change fancies overnight. You were practically glued to Deltix's side since you were young, and you suddenly clung to Derrin as if he's your lifeline after you–"
She suddenly stopped as her face suddenly turned grim. I plopped down onto my seat as I tried to tame my messy hair. "After what, Mom?" She scoffed as she turned her gaze towards me, lips forming a thin line.
"Alyn, tell me honestly. What did you and Reasmey talk about?" I tilted my head to the side. Why is the name of the queen popping up in our conversation?
"I've never talked to her before...?" I answered carefully. Mother's eyes widened as her lips formed into a sneer. "That bitch..."
I immediately glanced at our surroundings, checking if there was someone who might heard our conversation. After checking that we're completely alone, I let out a sigh of relief. "Mom! You could have gotten us thrown to prison for treason."
She rolled her eyes. "As if you haven't cursed the crown prince regularly." My eyes snapped towards her, eyes widening. "You heard that?"
"Nope, but I can practically see how much you verbally butchered the prince in your mind." I let out a small cough.
"Am I that easy to read?"
"No. I'm your mom, so I can practically read you like an open book. Which brings me to this question," I gulped as I clenched both of my hands together, "What's with the sudden change of heart? Did the crown prince bore you and wear out your fancy?"
"Yes?"
"Nonsense. I knew you far too well to change for a simple reason." She really is Phoebe's blessed child. Too quick to pick up on things.
"I don't know, Mom. I just realized I don't like him anymore." She raised an eyebrow at me, still dubious. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to remain calm and nonchalant. After a few minutes of nerve-wracking silence, Mother sighed.
"If you say so. Though whatever reason may it be, I am still glad you no longer obsess over that prince. Maybe, I should offer some offerings to the gods for finally answering my prayers."
"Do you really hate the crown prince that much?" She raised her index finger and waved it from side to side. "Not the prince, but his mother."
She opened her fan and placed it in front of her face, covering her lips. "But I was seriously hoping to become the first prince's mother-in-law."
She glanced at me, her eyes forming into crescent moons. "Now that you don't fancy the crown prince anymore, do I take this as a sign that your fancy towards the first prince has rekindled?"
"Mom!" I glared at her, cheeks burning. She glared back at me. "What? One has the right to hope. Moreover, I really like that kid. Didn't you say he was your first and probably last love?"
"Mom!" I called out again. Seriously, Amarizi. If you were going to say something as cheesy as that, you should have seen through it! Not jump ships in the middle!
Mother raised her hands in the air. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. But seriously, why don't you give it a chance? The first prince still seems to like you a lot-"
"Mom, seriously, stop it." I sighed as I covered my face with my hands. Seeing my state, Mother let out a hearty laugh, which made my cheeks redder. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this stupid heart of mine! Stop pounding already!
"Alyn."
I slowly removed my hands from my face, eyes meeting my mom's. Her face turned serious again. "Promise me that you will never meet with the queen alone."
I already had an inkling that the queen might have had a hand in Amarizi's sudden change before, given my mother's attitude towards her. She might even have had a hand in my current predicament where I can't remember anything before I turned 5.
I placed my hands on my lap and straightened my back, lips forming a smile. "I will, Mom."
~*~
Despite the sudden appearance of the two princes at our manor, I only saw them once or twice a month due to their busy schedules, which was quite a joyous news for me.
I spent most of the months, training my archery and reinforcement magic with Elderon's father as my teacher. Due to that, I get to spend a lot of time with my favorite character, Elderon. I also spent my free days, gardening with my mother and practicing my divine magic with my father.
Oddly enough, Ageon was tasked into another mission again after a few months of training, so I haven't seen him since then. Time flew by and before I knew it, 7 months had already passed and I already turned 11. It was also finally the day of the harvest festival.
"Sia, anything yet?" The redhead turned towards me and shook her head. "My apologies, my lady, but to my dismay, I haven't gathered any information yet."
I let out a sigh. I already expected this, given that my request this time was a lot harder and dangerous as I was dealing with royalty matters. It had been 7 months since I gave Celsia the order to gather some information about the current queen and the previous queen, only to end up in a standstill.
Ever since that conversation with Mother, I had been diligently digging up information about the queen. Much to my chagrin, I could only gather some gossip that had been passed around the society.
Another sigh left my mouth as I stood up from my chair and made a beeline towards the bathroom. I'll worry about that later. For now, let's do some fun!
"Sia, how about we go visit the stalls at the plaza?"
~*~
"The plaza is sure lively today."
"Well, everyone is excited for the harvest festival as it is only celebrated every 7 years," Sia replied as we navigate through the dense crowd despite it still being morning.
My eyes scanned through the whole place as I glanced at each stall, looking for something interesting enough to catch my fancy. Hmm... Necklaces, bracelets, pendants... There are sure lots of trinkets being sold here.
"Shall we go visit that stall, my lady?" I glanced at Sia before looking in the direction she was pointing. It was the stall that sold trinkets— the one that caught my eye.
"Sure, I've been meaning to buy some trinkets. But before that," I faced Sia and gave her a stern look, "You should change the way you call me when we are out of the duchy, especially when we're trying to blend in with the festivities."
Sia shuffled her feet as she clasped both of her hands together. "I apologize, uh, Miss..."
I let out a sigh. "We're both wearing simple clothing, Sia. Drop the 'miss'. We're acting as close friends visiting the festival, remember?"
"R-Right... Ama—"
I raised my hand in front of her face.
"Stop right there! If you call me by my full name, you are basically blowing our cover. I even changed my hair and eye color to be less inconspicuous."
I glanced at Sia. "Just call me Lyn."
"I understand, My— I mean, Lyn."
I nodded in approval. "And while you're at it, you should refrain from speaking so formally to me."
"Let's go?" I stretched out my hand towards her. She glanced at my hand before gazing back at me and smiled, grasping my hand. "Yes, let's."
We made our way towards the stall. Despite the beautiful trinkets displayed on the stall, there were few to none customers lining up. The surrounding stalls who sold trinkets, too, were bustling.
As we drew near to the stall, the merchant gladly welcomed us with a wide smile. "Welcome, miss! What are you looking for? I have necklaces, pendants, and even charms!"
I smiled at the merchant before looking back at the trinkets in front of me.
No wonder this stall was not that popular. The gemstones used in the trinkets were not in trend. As it is the harvest festival, emerald, topaz, or any gemstones that resemble either the color of the nature or the eyes of the royal family will be in high demand.
I glanced back at the merchant, who still wore a smile.
It also doesn't help with the fact that the merchant is a female.
"You're not selling any trinkets with topaz or emerald?"
Her smile froze. She straightened her back before glancing downwards. "I apologize, Miss. I do not have any of those. If you're looking for those, you might find them at the stall next to mine."
"Oh, no. I'm just curious as to why, as topaz and emerald are always in demand during this festival."
"Well, I just wanted to meet the right customers for my trinkets," She smiled," and I guess I found one."
"As you are my very first customer, I may have something that may take the fancy of a lady as beautiful as you."
She crouched down and grabbed a small violet box under the stall. She grabbed my hand and placed the box on top. I opened the box, only to see a very simple yet uncommon brooch. It was in the shape of a silver goblet with amethyst Hebes surrounding it.
"How—"
"Excuse me, miss. Will you be so kind to cede that brooch over to me?"
A/N: Not at me updating this story quarterly 🥲