Tense

26 - Powerplayed

•••
"We should tell him!"
"I would advise against that, Your Majesty."
"How so?"
"She is a girl in our care, we made her a Lady of America for goodness sake! If we tell him and I was wrong, we would put an innocent life at risk, Your Majesty"
"Hmpf. But if he believed us regardless of truth, we would have the most excellent bargaining chip, don't you think?"
"Your Majesty...the girl would die."
"And serving them their traitor on a golden platter would solve all our problems!"
•••

The outside area where afternoon tea was being served was on the south side of the palace overlooking the vast orchards and blooming flower fields the palace offered. Equipped with a lot of garden furniture and sun sails to shield from the glaring heat of the afternoon sun the palace staff had created seating areas for groups of 15 people to sit. It was the first time all intended were in attendance at one of the social events in the castle that didn't involve a ball and this time everyone was accompanied by their Ladies in waiting. As the girls filled the garden Eve gave me a reassuring smile and a thumbs up when spotting me, while Yana made hasty a bee line towards us.

"Oh my god, I was so worried about you! I really should have given that bitch a piece of my mind!"

I chuckled at her outburst.
"Please, don't put your own life at risk just because of me." I hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for wanting to stand up for me though."

"But she slapped you! How could you just sit by and do nothing?" She asked me with concern in her face.

"Oh, believe me, if Lady Charlotte hadn't come in the situation would have ended far differently." I tried cheering the situation up with a joke as I made punching gestures.

"I hope you are not mad, but I chose you as my Lady in waiting. Cassandra did as well, but Lady Charlotte made her choose someone else." She stated, looking somewhat flustered.

"I could not be happier, Yana!" I tell her hugging her again. "And thank you for saving me once again!" I add while spinning her around making her laugh.

"Well, hello Ladies I hope I am not interrupting you right now." Prince Stefán's voice was heard behind us as he approached the two of us, I eyed him with caution. "Would you mind introducing your friend to me, Lady Leah."

I sighed in defeat, choosing to forget what happened in the garden in the last hour and behaving like my role as Lady in waiting commanded of me.

"Prince Stefán, may I introduce to you Lady Yana Tanners of Drummers State, intended to the prince and my Lady to wait on."

He smiled politely. "Nice to meet you, my Lady"

Yana curtsied. "Likewise, your Highness."

"Lady Yana, will you excuse me and Lady Leah for a second. We would be joining you again shortly."

Yana nodded and with a wink towards me left the Prince and me alone.

"Don't make me wait too long, I would not want to miss my friend too badly, your Highness." she said jokingly as she turned around and left us to be.

"I wanted to apologise for my behaviour before. It was uncalled for and I shouldn't have talked in that manner."

"Well then. Thank you for seeing the errors in your ways, your Highness." I tell him politely still eyeing him with suspicion.

"Is there anything else bothering you in regards to me?" He said noticing my distrust towards him.

"A lot, actually, your Highness." I say curtly.

"Well, will you let me rectify these errors of mine as well?" He asked me again with a hopeful smile.

"I don't think I would appreciate that, your Highness" I answer him.