"Antoinette!"
Anastasia froze, turning around to see 6 figures sitting at a table in front of her. She bit the inside of her cheeks- the capture targets.
Left to right around the circular table sat Ryan Faynst, the same short-cut navy hair and quiet air that had surrounded him since childhood. Beside him sat Austin Ainsworth, the second prince and the man who played the violin earlier in the first performance. She noticed his grimace as he spotted her. At another seat at the table sat Lucas Chester, his bright red hair even longer than childhood, tied back with a single ribbon. Beside him sat William Rosenburg, the same platinum white hair that Anastasia hated. It brought back all the memories of the her who was a foolish child. Anastasia could laugh at the fierce look of disdain he threw her way as he looked ready to up and leave in that moment. On the other side of Lucas, sat a man with wavy blonde hair and deep blue eyes, a quiet and sophisticated air around him- her former fiancé. They all looked much taller now, if standing then towering over her in height. She was brought out of her thoughts by a short, salmon-haired girl waving at her from the centre of the table, surrounded by the others. She turned to the others, an air of fake excitement that made Anastasia want to throw up.
"I told you it was her! Who else could it have been!"
The platinum-haired boy gave a light scoff, brushing his hair back, and masking his intent with a fake smile as he turned to their group.
"Well, she really has changed a lot hasn't she- she played amazingly."
Anastasia kissed her teeth, mind racing to translate the noble's language.
'Who could have thought such a useless thing could play so well, it's impossible to think of.'
She could feel Jamison tense beside her and see the masked confusion on the three other international students' faces. The girl with the light rosey hair called out to them once more.
"Come- sit down!"
Anastasia bit her lip for a second, before moving towards them, the others following. She couldn't deny the request without seeming rude, and she had a reputation as a Kou representative to hold and cherish.
She was seated at the opposite side of the table, Jamison and Sebastian on her left, and Nathaniel and Benjamin on her right.
'Great, how the hell am I supposed to eat comfortably at a table full of the people who were supposed to kill me off.'
"Prince Austin Ainsworth greets the envoys of Emanten, Deyrion and Kou."
As she sat down, they began to introduce themselves to the three unfamiliar faces.
"Ryan Faynst, attendant of the second prince, greets the envoys of Emanten, Deyrion and Kou."
"Lucas Chester, attendant of first prince, greets the envoys of Emanten, Deyrion and Kou."
Lucas looked at her, an intrigued but somehow dangerous look in his eye. Next to speak was William- who was seemingly hostile towards her.
'I guess he still has the mentality of a child.'
"Greetings, I go by the name William Rosenburg, though you might be aware of that."
'Fucker.'
"And I'm Emily Myers! I might not be of high enough status to be here but I hope you won't think any differently!"
'Oh fuck off-'
Her thoughts were interrupted as she made to bow her head alongside the others.
"Of course not, miss. Sebastian Deyrion of Kingdom Deyrion greets the princes and nobles of Kou."
"Nathaniel Emanten of Kingdom Emanten greets Prince Austin, Prince Noah and the nobles of Kou."
"Benjamin Meraphy of Kingdom Emanten greets the princes and nobles of Kou."
"Jamison d'Nora of Kingdom Kou greets the two princes of the Ainsworth Kingdom and their nobles."
"Anastasia d'Astelo of the Kingdom of Kou greets the princes and high nobles of Ainsworth."
She noticed how Emily narrowed her eyes and a few of the others raised their eyebrows at her introduction.
"Umm... Miss -uh- Anastasia?"
Anastasia's eyes twitched, and she noticed the others around the table stiffen slightly.
'Who does she think she is referring to me by my first name straight off the bat?'
Noble etiquette is to always refer to a person by their title if holding one or their family name.
"Yes, Miss Myers?"
"Why did you introduce yourself as 'Anastasha Dasteelo?' Isn't your name Antoinette Rosenberg, previously of House Rosenberg before being banished?"
'This little bitch.'
The others around the table glanced at Anastasia and Emily, some more unkindly than others. Emily raised her hand to her mouth is mock horror as tears overflowed.
"Oh my- I didn't mean to mention that! Forgive me for speaking out so!"
Anastasia watched the play before her eyes, as the girl was comforted by the second prince beside her. She felt her former brothers eyes glaring at her as she resisted rolling her eyes. She had also noticed how the first prince's expression had fallen slightly, eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at Emily.
Before she could speak out, Jamison cut in first, words to say.
"Sorry for interrupting, but Miss Myers?"
The girl looked up from her tearful performance, looking up hopefully at Jamison.
"Yes?"
"Excuse me, but why are you addressing Anastasia by her first name?"
Emily froze. Looking up at him.
"P- pardon?"
"Anastasia is of a higher status of noble and of one of another kingdom. She holds the title of Duchess back in the Kou Kingdom. You are not particularly close to her so shouldn't you be calling her Duchess d'Astelo or Miss d'Astelo? Calling her by her first name would be a form of disrespect- would it not?"
'Bless this man.'
"I- I apologise... I didn't mean any disrespect, I thought it would be fine since we had known each other before her leave..."
By this point, the others around the table had stilled, eyes on the two envoys from the Kou Kingdom.
At that moment, William spoke up, an air of confidence and disrespect in his tone.
"Well then, won't you answer Emily's previous question? It's no secret that you were asked to leave the Rosenburg House."
Anastasia put on the fakest but brightest smile she could muster, looking at the crying girl in front of her.
"Why, Miss Myers, that's no problem- you know to address me properly from now on. As for your initial query, after my retreat from the Kingdom of Ainsworth, I lived under a new identity and soon was granted a noble title. Therefore, I would like to request that you address me by my current name of Anastasia d'Astelo rather than my former."
It seemed like William has something to say in return, but he was swiftly cut off by a blonde-haired Noah Ainsworth and red-haired Lucas Chester who sent a small smiles Anastasia's way.
"But of course, Duchess d'Astelo."
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Sorry for the late chapter! I wrote more than usual to make up for it but my online school is really tiring and homework is taking up quite a lot of time. I also have online tuition calls to deal with so please bare with me until I can get comfortable. I also ended up missing 2 school calls because the wifi went out and one teacher even logged it on my homework system when she really should've waited for it to happen more than once in one subject or at least emailed me asking why >:( but hey she said she would remove it even though she hasn't
a n y w a y, Jamison KING for standing up for her! This is actually less than I planned for this chapter but I just decided to split the chapter plot into two chapters for the next one's the next one! Also s w e a r i n g 🤭 I didn't want to use any language that would make her seem more childish and since they were her thoughts I thought it would be fine to be using my modern terms and swearing when she's talking to herself or in korean!
aND thank you for 500+ votes and (almost) 150 comments! I love reading your comments no matter how small and seeing the votes go up is so incredible to me! Thank you and I'm sorry (again) for the posting delay💓