Not Your Princess

Chapter Sixteen

Queen Julianne's tea party is a lot quieter than normal. They are twenty minutes into their weekly tea, yet none of the women have spoken to one another.

Each of the women keep sparing Asch glances, eyeing her strangely. It's beginning to make the young princess uncomfortable and unsure if she is doing something wrong. She has spent a lot of time with the queen learning how to act like a proper royal.

She'd feel upset to discover that she is disappointing August's mother in this manner. Especially with how kind the queen has been to her.

The queen flickers her gaze to all the women at the table. After a few seconds, her eyes land on Lady Ursula Balith, a woman in her forties who does not know how to keep information to herself. "Is there something wrong, Lady Balith?" The queen questions. "You've barely touched your tea?"

Lady Balith's eyes widen in surprise. Immediately, she grabs her teacup and its saucer and produces the fakest smile on her face. "No, Your Majesty. I was just... lost in thought."

The smile Julianne gives the woman is almost threatening. Asch can sense the shift in the queen. "Would you like to share what thoughts you have found yourself wandering through?"

It is not an actual question. The queen is demanding to know why all of her guests are so quiet. None of the women can resist telling her the truth.

Casting Asch a quick glance, the woman awkwardly shifts in her seat. Lady Balith gently places her teacup and saucer back onto the table. "I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty." She pauses for a moment while she thinks of an appropriate response. "We've heard about the second attempt on Princess Aschleigh's life."

Asch had been told that the incident that occurred in the library would only stay within the royal family. If all these women know, that means that one of the guards, the priest, the healer, or even the servants leaked the information. It's certain that the rumors have spread throughout the court, varying in detail.

Lady Heather Lin shifts in her seat across the table. She offers a lippy smile, refusing to look in Asch's direction. "We're just concerned about the... safety of everyone, considering how many attempts there have been on her life."

Hurt hits Asch in the chest, squeezing her lungs. If the Priestess's goal is to ostracize the princess, then she is succeeding. Of course the women would be scared about their safety while in the presence of a person who has had two separate people try to kill her. There's no telling what the Priestess is willing to do to get rid of Asch.

"We also heard that she killed Baron Elliot and his men," another woman claims.

Most of the other noblewomen nod their heads in agreement. Emboldened by the strength that they have in their numbers, all of the women begin to talk about their concerns.

Asch rises from her chair. She does not want to stay in a room full of people who do not want her there. None of these women understand what she has gone through. She's not going to waste her breath on people who do not care.

Queen Julianne grabs the girl's elbow before she can leave. She rises to her own feet, gently patting Asch's shoulder. "How dare you!?" The ruler demands. "Aschleigh has faced challenges that I hope none of you ladies ever have to face. The fact that you all feel comfortable enough to comment on her experiences absolutely disgusts me." She glowers at all of the women sitting at the table. "What my daughter-in-law has had to survive is not gossip for you to whisper amongst yourself.

"If you are so desperate for gossip to share, then why don't you discuss how Elinor is sleeping with Heather's husband."

The energy of the room shifts from uneasiness to tense. Heather looks away from the queen and the princess toward Duchess Elinora Clifton. There's a mixture of confusion and anger on the Lady's face. "What is she talking about?"

Redness tints the woman's cheeks. "I-I have no idea, Heather. I would never do something like that! You're my best friend."

Ursula glares at the Duchess. "Are you saying that the queen is lying?" The woman asks.

Elinor's eyes widen. "No! Of course not!" She looks at the queen as if to offer the woman reassurance. "I'm just saying that she has been... misinformed."

A short woman with dark hair points toward Elinor. "I saw Duchess Clifton flirting with him at the engagement ball!" She exclaims. Her gaze moves toward Heather. "They even snuck away together."

The Duchess's face reddens even further. She scans the table, looking for someone who will defend her. When she finds that no one is acting as her ally, she sets her sights onto one of the other women. "Yeah, well, Aliviana is sleeping with Lula's fiancé."

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone!" Lady Aliviana Tyle exclaims.

The women shout over each other announcing all sorts of betrayals. There are tear filled gazes and angry glares being thrown throughout the entire table.

Asch stares at the scene with wide eyes, surprised at the turn of events. It's strange how fast each of these women turned on each other. Their friendships are dissolving due to discoveries and poorly kept secrets.

Julianna watches the drama unfold before her with a glimmer of satisfaction. She turns her gaze to Asch, her eyes soften when she sees the girl's wide eyes. "Take note, Asch," she claims calmly. The queen leans closer to Asch so that none of the other women can eavesdrop. "These women will pretend to be your friends and then turn on you when they need to save themselves."

There's kindness in her voice, indicating that the queen is offering Asch genuine advice. Asch wonders if Julianne had to learn this information the hard way or if it's the type of knowledge held by all ladies in court.

Asch does not know very much about her mother-in-law. She knows that Julianne is a beloved queen and a dating mother. She knows that Julianne married the king when she was around Asch's age. She knows that Julianne is often more quiet and reserved.

That's all she truly knows about the woman. August does not know a lot of his mother's past either. He has simply never asked about it and doesn't think he needs to.

"Be careful who you choose to trust, Aschleigh Baker," the queen warns.

Then, she redirects her attention to the chaos and clears her throat. An immediate silence falls upon the group of women as they look toward their queen. "Well, hasn't this tea been eventful." She offers the woman a smile that does not quite reach her eyes. "I think we've all discovered that we have to worry about than being a casualty in an assassination plot."

She sits down in her seat, picking up her teacup. "Besides, you would have to be worth assassinating for something like that to happen."

If the queen were anyone else, she would likely receive a verbal lashing from these women or even be ignored in social settings. Since she holds so much power over them, the women say nothing less and they will do nothing.

One day, Asch will be in the very same position as this woman. She isn't sure if she would be able to rule the way Julianne does. Asch doesn't have the spine to put members of the royal court in their place with just a few words.

Based in the tense and angry atmosphere, Asch does not believe she even wants to. Given the opportunity, these women look ready to attack each other over the secrets shared between them.

Asch wonders if the queen has caused irreparable damage to this group of friends. She wonders if the lies and treachery will only become worse.

She wonders how they will all retaliate to what happened at this tea party.