I still had not met with Thomas since I had learned such unsettling things about him. Though, our scheduled time together was growing ever the closer and I knew I could not avoid him without consequence for much longer.
My mind had not yet been made up, for only three days had passed and in reality, I probably needed a month if I really wanted to think it over completely. But that was not a luxury I had been afforded at that time. So, five days had to have been enough.
It was more than a difficult task to complete, however, because I was alone in my deliberations. I could not trust Rheda and Sheera with such knowledge, even though I desperately wanted to, and Cordelia would have demanded I go home at once and just marry the boy father had offered up as payment for my obedience.
I sat there staring off into nothing as I mentally went over things in my mind. Occasionally reaching up, every once in a while, to unconsciously fiddle with the necklace that Thomas had given me.
It was a wonder that I had not snatched it off my neck the moment I had arrived back to my room that day. I suppose, however, that the reason why I had not was, because out of everything that had transpired, it was the last thing on my mind. So much so that it had completely slipped from my thoughts that he had given it to me. That was until Cordelia pointed it out the next morning.
By then, I couldn't have just simply removed it, because then she would have questioned why I had. Not to mention, if I had just happened to have run into Thomas before our meeting and he saw me without it, he would have most likely been rather upset. Thus, forcing me into an unwanted, yet very avoidable, predicament.
Because, for all he knew my feelings for him were still the same, and me not wearing his gift was basically me declaring, outright, that they weren't.
"You've been flaunting that thing for almost a week now." Her calm yet serrated tone was unmistakable. "Do you really think that little bauble of yours places you higher than the rest of us? That it solidifies you as his favorite?"
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply before I turned to face her. "Castellana, its very nice to see you."
She breathed out a chuckle, amused by my dodging of her question. "You know why he did it, don't you?" She ran her hand across the back of the chair which sat in front of me. Almost mimicking a cat stalking a small bird, and she did it with a malicious twinkle in her brown eyes, juxtaposed by the faux friendly smile that her painted lips had curled into.
"He gave his reasons." I smiled back, watching as she slowly crept closer to me. The gazes of the other girls in the drawing room had now been fixed on the two of us.
"Because, since you are devoid of any modesty and parade around your lack of loyalty, Thomas had to assert his dominance over you. Making a loud statement to the man you so shamelessly entertain in his stead, as well as any other man who dares attempt to covet any of the rest of us while we are his." I watched her eyes fill with pleasure as she glanced around to make sure everyone had heard what she had said. "It is nothing more than a simple collar for his bitch in heat."
My heart sank at her accusations. Though it was subtle, I knew she was speaking of Henry. I couldn't have cared less that she had compared me to that of a dog, truly. However, I was more concerned with the scandal that could have arisen from such misinformation being spread about the palace.
"Oh, my dear Castellana, I was unaware that you envied my gift from Prince Thomas to the point of harassment." I unclasped it from my neck and held it out for her to take, knowing she wouldn't, "If you want one so badly, you can have mine. Though, I am sure that if you just told Thomas of how you want proof of his affections towards you, he would immediately get one for you as well. You know, since he is just so fond of you and your nightly company."
In truth, I had never seen her leave to visit him at night, but it was the most shocking thing I could have said, at the time, that would have stayed in the minds of those who had been listening in on our conversation. For whether it had been true or not, did not matter, I just needed them to remember it over what she had said about me.
Her tan cheeks immediately went flush, making me wonder if it was in response to her being bested or if I had accidentally hit a nerve. "I-I am sure he has something far grander in mind for me than such a small pitiful trinket." She collected herself, anger now showing in her highly arched brows, "Why Thomas lowers himself by entertaining a Baron's second born is beyond me, though I am sure he will bore of you in due time."
She looked down at my still extended hand, then grinned. "Oh, and one more thing." She gently took the necklace from my hand and then leaned in, hovering her mouth near my ear while she fastened it back around my neck, "The next time you try to embarrass me again, I'll show you the reason why they call us Dampierre's the blood dragons of Vitalis."
If I had been any one of the other girls in the room, her threat would have brought me to tears. But, in truth, it had fallen on deaf ears. I had been bored of her empty threats and hostility. Yes, I had let my anxiety get the best of me before, but now that she had continued to do absolutely nothing other than bark like the bitch she was, she had lost a lot of her menacing glow. And so, her power over me as well.
Though, despite it not being the way she intended, something she had said did catch my attention. Before she had mentioned it, I had completely forgotten that her family was not originally from Myrce. That it had only been about sixteen or so years ago since they had taken up residence in our kingdom. But in Vitalis, the kingdom in which they hailed from, her father, the Duke of Veuton, was also the third in line for the Vitalis throne.
Now, I did not know much about their kingdom, or their rulers, but what I did know was that the alliance held between Vitalis and Myrce had been very weak. That being so because Vitalis has, on more than one occasion, tried to invade and assimilate Myrce since our first ruler King Odren the first founded it some six hundred years ago.
Yet, thinking about it now, that might have been the very reason Castellana's family was not a part of either the king or queen's courts. Because in truth, it was very unclear where their family's allegiance would have rested if the time ever arose that they had to choose between the two kingdoms.
That made me wonder if when she attacked Rheda, saying that the royal family would have never allowed someone like her to marry into it, that she may have also been talking about herself.
She slowly backed away with a devilish grin plastered across her perfectly structured face. Brown eyes gleaming in the candlelight like two little amber spheres of fire. Castellana was not someone to trifle with, surely, but I knew she was much smaller of a person than she tried to seem. Whether it had been her insecurities that she tried to cloak under her very boisterous arrogance, or her childish need to be the center of attention, I wasn't sure. But something about that fiery girl made me start to feel more pity for her than anything.
I wanted to believe that she wasn't truly an awful person deep down, and that she was only mean to people because it was her way of coping with her problems. However, I also knew some people were simply terrible just because they could have been.
It wasn't long after Castellana had left that another one of the girls in the room had approached.
Merona Harton, to be precise and to my confusion at that. I had not once spoken to her prior, so my bewilderment by her approach was warranted. Conversely, I was not opposed to her, or any of the others in that matter, attempting to speak to me as long as it was in a kind manner.
"It is a wonder why she even comes in here at all." She took the seat next to me, "I don't think anyone actually likes her."
"I doubt she likes anyone of us either." I chuckled. "Though it seems that she somewhat tolerates Georgiana."
Merona was even more stunning up close. Her tawny skin was complemented by her plum-like purple colored dress that had been embroidered and embellished with silver and beige needle work. Though, unlike the rest of our dresses, hers was slightly modified to look more like those of Navarre, which in my opinion, looked extremely comfortable, yet even more regal than ours.
I had heard of Navarrian women's unmistakable beauty and stunning fashion, but I had never met one for myself and had only seen a handful of them from afar. However, she did not disappoint and in fact far exceeded my already high expectations.
"I have noticed your dresses are always slightly different than the style usually worn in Myrce, and I must say they have all been breathtakingly beautiful." I refrained from touching her gown out of respect, but it looked so soft.
"It is called a Sari in Navarre." She smiled, her warm brown eyes beaming at my interest in her gown, "This is just a Myrcian dress that has been adjusted to look more like a Sari, but in truth it does not compare to the intricate craftsmanship that the tailors in Navarre are known for. Not to mention the silk here is nowhere near as soft."
It warmed my heart to hear her open up to me. To see the joy in her welcoming brown eyes as she talked of Navarre. In truth, this was all I had wanted out of all the others here. I wanted a friendship with all the others like I had with Rheda and Sheera, but I knew that it was not possible, nor wise.
"If you do not mind me asking, why is it that you are here in Myrce, when it is very obvious you miss Navarre?" I asked as I inspected the thick ornate golden bracelets on her wrists.
"Oh, I do not mind at all, it is rare that anyone actually asks questions about these things, even though I enjoy talking about them." She looked down at her hands, "My mother is from Navarre, but she fell in love and married my father who happened to have been a Lord here in Myrce. So, despite my love for Navarre, I was born here and Myrce is my home. Though Myrcian fashion leaves much to be desired."
I never thought about how hard it must have been for those in Myrce who had families in other Kingdoms after the gates had been closed and all travel out of the Kingdom was barred. Merona had probably been silently longing to visit Navarre for several years. And with the seemingly never-ending illness that kept the gates shut, it may still have been many more before she would have been able to see it again.
"Perhaps since Navarre is one of the few kingdoms bordering us that has not been affected by the sickness, the King, in time, will consider opening it's gate and allow our kingdoms to mingle once again." It was a possibility, sure, but I also knew it probably would not have happened for several more years.
"Perhaps." She smiled, "Though with how strongly the king feels about protecting the kingdom, I'm not so sure."
She had a point too. However, sooner or later, King Alwyn had to open the kingdom back up to the world. Because if he kept alienating Myrce from its allies, specifically the healthy ones, it was only a matter of time before they turned against us.
And with everything that had been going on in the kingdom, war was the last thing we needed.