The Whispering Flowers

Eggs

I button up my white blouse and pull on a long brown skirt. I hurry quickly out of my room, down the halls, and into the dining hall where everyone is picking at their food and barely touching it. I take my usual seat between Rosemary and Magnolia and pour myself a cup of tea. "So... how did you all sleep?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone looks up from their food. "Horribly, I didn't get a bloody wink," says Magnolia, dropping her fork on her plate. "Me neither," whispers Cornelia, and everyone whispers in agreement. "Where is Alex?" I ask, quickly changing the subject. "Oh, I think he is doing his horse riding lessons." says Dahlia, taking a piece of toast and picking off the crust.

A door opens at the corner of the room and I hear footsteps coming towards us. From around the corner comes James, dressed in a lovely blue suit, his hair freshly combed, and a hat, tilted slightly to the side rests on his head. He walks in awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands, and sits down at the end of the table away from all the other girls. I can tell all of my sisters are trying to ignore his presence, but it is pretty hard since every movement came with a loud clatter on the marble floor. After a moment of silence that felt like forever, he places the napkin on his lap and slowly starts to take a piece of toast. He reaches out his hand and grabs the toast, placing each finger one at a time. Then he pulls the piece onto his plate and starts to spread jam on it trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Umm, would you mind... passing the eggs?" he whispers. He looks down at his plate and tries putting the bread in his mouth but fails. What a bloody idiot. "What?" askes Cornelia. "Would you... pass the eggs please?" he says a bit louder. "Do I look like a servant?" says Cornelia standing up from the table as the chair screeches against the floor. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." he stutters, his face struck with worry. "Well, you obviously are so dim-witted that you don't care for actual princesses. What are you, a duke?" says Cornelia angrily. Dahlia tries to pull her down by tugging on her dress but she isn't budging. "I'm a prince," mumbles James, even quieter than before. "What? Can you not speak? Are you a mute or something!" shouts Cornelia. Then Dahlia stands up from her chair creating a second loud bang, and she pushes Cornelia down. "You need to calm down Cornelia," she says firmly. "No! He comes into our home and bosses us around! We are the bloody princesses of this kingdom, not him!" screams Cornelia and then Dahlia shoots up from her chair and grabs Cornelia by the arm. "You have gone too far Cornelia. He is our guest and it is alright if he asks for bloody eggs. You sit down now and eat your food or else I will send you to your room." shouts Dahlia forcing Cornelia back into her seat and sitting down herself.

I glance at all my sisters and we all look down at our plates. I stand up, grab the plate of eggs, and take them over to James. I scoop two eggs off of the platter and onto his plate, the whole time, Cornelia giving me a stare. "I'm sorry for my sister," I whisper in his ear, "We didn't get much sleep last night and we are kind of all on edge."

He nods slightly to let me know that he understands and I go back to my spot and sit down. "Well, this was an eventful morning! I am going to go garden," says Magnolia patting her lips with her napkin and standing up from her chair. She struts out of the room and slams the gigantic door behind her. "I think I'll also go... paint... something." says Rosemary placing down her clean fork and leaving the room from the door James came through. A few silent moments pass where the only noise is from James' chewing. "Hey Primrose, wanna go stomp in some puddles?" Cornelia says quickly, dropping her fork in the middle of the plate, causing a loud, echoing clatter. "Sure," says Primrose excitedly, and they rush from the room, leaving Dahlia, James, and I alone in the room, except for a few maids and butlers. I grab a buttered biscuit and shove it in my mouth. James laughs a little and Dahlia gives me a look.

"I'll weave 'ou two to 'alk 'uess," I say with my mouth full. I grab one more biscuit and run out of the room. I close the door quietly and press my ear firmly against the large keyhole.

"So how did you sleep?" my sister says.

"It was okay," he answers.

"How do you like our palace?"

"It's lovely," he says, shoveling more food and tea into his mouth.

"You must really like our food,"

"'Ell, at 'ome, we 'ave 'eally bad food. Is not 'ood." he says, his mouth overflowing.

"Well, I'm glad you like it." says Dahlia politely.

I shove my eye into the hole and see them smiling at each other. My sister had moved her chair a bit closer to him. Then I feel a warm hand grasp my shoulder and I quickly turn around. "Are you spying on someone?'' says the deep voice of my father's advisor. I brush his hand off of my shoulder and take a step back. "No," I say firmly, "And even if I was, it is none of your business." "Well it's not very kind to listen in on your sister's conversation." he replies arrogantly.

"How do you---,"

"Shhh, let's take a walk." 

Note: 

Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay for this chapter but it is the longest one we have written so far. We have decided that the chapters will start getting a bit longer than before. We hope you guys enjoy it!

- S & S