A crown of flames

Chapter 16

I walk into the room at the top of the eastern tower.It looks like a college lecture hall but a little bit smaller.

It's made of deep mahogany pitched floors , and matching seats with deep red cushioning and silver embroidery.The room sits around 20 and at the bottom of the pitched seating area lays a small stage with a desk in the middle.

A middle aged woman was sat at the desk , her blonde hair almost as bright as snow tucked into a neat but loose bun.She was wearing a pair of half moon glasses whilst reading a leather bound journal.

"Miss Dwyane ?" I ask hesitantly.

She looks up from her book at me . She inspects me for a moment before she gets up.

"Miss Melian"she says,her serious face brightening up with a small smile and a nod.

She walks towards me and extends a hand that i shake.

"Take a seat" she says gesturing to the empty hall.

i oblige her request and take a seat at the front as she makes ur back to her desk.

"I have constructed a curriculum under the wishes of princess Alana for you to follow the upcoming 6 months comprised of the different branches of fine etiquette in hope that you will by the end be able to comply with the customary code of polite behaviour in high society,specifically that of Medrania,but believe me there is no higher society than that of the court"she looked distance for a second before she continued.

"If you succeed in Yorthendon , you will succeed anywhere"she pointed out "i will be rigorous with you so do not take me lightly , and i expect nothing but the best" she said sternly

"Then we will get on well , i usually give nothing but the best" i say with a smile.

"I'll be the Judge of that Miss Melian"She replies but a flicker of amusement swept her face.

She lays out a set of kitchenware on her desk , 4 types of forks , 2 types of spoons , 3 types of knifes and 3 types of plates and cups.

"We will start with dining etiquette"She says.
"All of these utensils and plates will be available for one meal , so you have to know the uses for each items"

She starts by explaining the difference between dinner forks and fish forks and salad forks and by the end of the lesson , i was pretty much a professional eater.

"Next lesson i'll test you"She says whilst packing up "And then we will move on to social etiquette"

"Sounds good to me" i say packing my notes into my bag, but then i notice the sheet of paper i stuffed in it from the library.

With all the chaos i'd forgotten to check it.I open it up and i am horrified to discover horrible writing in red ink saying:

DO NOT TRUST THE JONES FAMILY

I think for a second , the jones family? Victoria Jones?

I only met Victoria 3 days ago , i have grown to like the girl but i do not trust her with my life obviously , i expect to one day as trust is earned not given but she's done nothing so far to make me suspect anything of her , so why is this note so unsettling ? Either way i'll defiantly be wary now.

I look up to find Miss Dwayne watching me , her soft blue eyes gazing intently at the paper in my hands.

"May i have a look?"she asks.

"At this ?" i say pointing to the paper in my hands.

She nodded.I hesitated, but found no reason to deny her so i handed her the note.