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So it's true, Diana thought. Because of the rumor with pieces of evidence against the crown prince, the Ducal House of Hearth has shown hesitation to the Royal engagement. With a family strict about lineage, the Hearth's, whose family was powerful enough to be neutral in the royal court, requested the king for the engagement to break off, under the circumstances that their only daughter was sick and couldn't perform the duties of a crown princess.
The future is changing, the maid Scarlett told her, but it seemed it isn't. The queen's offer was the same ring in her vision. And in it, Diana saw herself smile, as if she was already drooling of the title as the new crown princess.
She did the same now. She smiled at the queen and put on the ring in her finger. "It fits perfectly, Your Majesty!" she exclaimed.
"It does, my dear. Although it is not yet official, it will be soon."
"I'm still engaged to the bastard prince, Your Majesty."
"Not for long," was Claudette's answer.
With that, their conversation swerved to Diana's bridal training. She said that Countess Huxlin from the North was a good teacher, and she was the princess' bridal teacher as well. The queen then ensured that she could give better mentors if she wishes so. "After all, you'll be engaged to my son," she said.
"But, the second prince will notice. He might be suspicious, Your Majesty."
The queen blinked at her... then laughed, genuinely. Someone with no knowledge of her schemes might fall for the genuine life in her voice. For a moment, Diana was taken with her.
Queen Claudette was indeed beautiful. Her brown eyes sparkled, and there were no lines on her face despite the age. Her brown hair, usually tied into a bun, her only accessory was her crown. She was never seen without one, and that was her only difference to the king's harem. It was her foremost authority, not to let anyone of the women in Ruby Palace step into the Gold Palace, no matter how much the king fancied a concubine.
She was a woman who clung to power once it was in her hands.
"My dear, you are as ambitious as I was," she said. "That's good."
Diana agreed, well at least her past was. Diana kept her mask of an ambitious woman and asked the queen of her pieces of jewelry, to nail her performance, she pointed to the crown. "Will I wear that too?"
The servant frowned, but the Queen answered a gracious, "Absolutely. But there are things you must do."
It's not like she wanted to wear a jeweled crown that bore the weight of the dead bodies and sins done to achieve it. Diana never wished to be queen, nor be part of the royal family.
As the mysterious maid said, the future is changed, yet here she is, with the same image of the ambitious Diana Alcotta in her vision.
"Of course," she replied. "I can do everything."
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She bid farewell to the Queen and promised she would visit again. Both of their masks were taken once the door was closed.
Diana, with Xander's servants, left the queen's quarters. However, just turning io a hallway decorated with golden statues, she caught a dancing crimson at the corner of her eyes. Red hair, as vibrant as angry flames and a maid's uniform then it was gone.
Scarlett. "Wait!"
Diana took her steps faster and ran towards where the maid was. She asked Xander about her and the servants before, but no one ever saw a maid with red hair. In fact, a woman with such rare hair color would be unforgettable. It was as if Scarlett never existed.
"Please wait!" As she called, the servants did the same, calling out Diana.
And as she reached the corner, the red hair disappeared to; she halted at her steps at the man and his vassals who were just as surprised as she was.
Diana bent her knee immediately, the same with the servants behind her. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
King Augustus watched her in silence as her chest rose up and down for chasing her breath, a few strands of her black hair fell in her naked shoulders. King Augustus smiled. "What a beautiful surprise."
For a moment, Diana could not speak, glancing at the empty hall behind the king and his vassals. There was no sign of Scarlett nor a strand of her flaming hair. She was gone as if what she saw earlier was a figment of her imagination.
With a lost cause, Diana faced the current situation thrust upon her. She looked up the king, and the way he stared make her skin crawl. "Raise your head."
She finally did, but the servants and the knights behind her didn't as customary respect to the king.
"What brings you to the Gold Palace, Lady Alcotta?"
"I visited the queen for tea, Your Majesty." King Augustus' smile faltered for a moment. Since the rumor erupted, it was known that the couple argued, and the queen had a bruise on her cheek.
When she had tea earlier, one could not tell without getting up close to Queen Claudette. But the woman herself acted normal. A magician was called into the castle to prove Niccolus' legitimacy. But the still suspicious king called for another magician from outside the kingdom, with no influence from the royal court, and he was yet to arrive.
Thus, the tension in the palace suffocated everyone. Because Queen Claudette let him frolic with the harem, and he let her rule over and assured that Niccolus is next in line, the two had a harmonious relationship. But the fickle symbiosis of the couple was broken.
Diana smiled within. What a perfect opportunity.
"Then, what bring's you to this part of the castle? I believe the easiest and the most familiar way out was where you came from."
"I apologize, Your Majesty. I am still unfamiliar with the place. I got lost while chasing... a butterfly."
"A butterfly?"
His face openly exclaimed he didn't believe her, in fact, he was more interested in the silver necklace dangling between the two swells of her partly exposed chest. Or maybe, it was not the necklace he was looking after all.
She may not be the best in seduction, but she had her practice four years ago. So she dipped her body forward, for him to get a better peek. "It was a beautiful butterfly, Your Majesty, with red like the flaming afternoon sun."
"Beautiful indeed."
Then she straightened. She must not be that easy... yet. Even if she embraced the queen's offer so easily, but not with Augustus.
A fruit so hard to get is a fruit so delicious to taste.
"I may have taken much of your time, Your Majesty. I shall return to the palace. I have promised the prince a walk in the garden."
The mention of Xander faltered his smile once more, but it returned just as quickly.
Additionally, a fruit desired by another entices the primal instinct of a man to be the only one.
"...Until we meet again, Lady Alcotta."
Now, she had made herself a target.
She picked the right dress. Some may say that she was exotic and different compared to the standards of Gran Dacchia. But it was her weapon.
So Diana curtsied to the king, her voice as sweet as honey purposely using Alcotta's strong accent. "Hopefully soon, Your Majesty."
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Diana returned to the castle with a disorganized thought. Too much, the day was too much-from the queen's offer, her mind playing tricks on her and meeting the king. She'd report everything to Xander, minus the incident with Scarlett.
The ring was kept by the queen and would be given once everything is settled. But, as a way to assure and bait her, bracelet with the same design but less stone was given to her, now in a box handled by her accompanying maid. She assumed that the king's interest in her had also risen, just to keep their opportunities of winning open.
It might be too much, but the day was fruitful. Xander will be in a good mood. After exiting the carriage, Diana went straight to Xander's office. After a knock, Ysivan opened the door and paused. "...My Lady."
"Is he occupied?"
"...Oh my, is it Lady Diana?"
She too paused by the familiar voice. Kirien had already bid her farewell, returning to the North. She could also distinguish the singsong voice anytime. Ysivan looked away as he opened the door wider to let her in.
What a beautiful surprise, she wanted to mimic the king's words.
Her eyes flew to Xander, who had nothing but an amicable mask, then to Lady Therese and her beautiful visage of elegance.
"What a beautiful surprise." Too late, Diana already mimicked the king's words.
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