A Dove's Tale

Chapter 37

The rain fell steadily outside the library windows, washing the outside of the glass while I washed the inside. Behind me, the princes were still laughing and talking around the coffee table cluttered with empty plates and full cups and glasses. They weren't any quieter now than before Prince Chevalier arrived, but he hadn't made an appearance from the back room to correct them. I smiled to myself at the thought of him doing so. The princes were like children right now, bored because it was raining and they couldn't go outside, although I was sure there was plenty for them to do inside. But, as Prince Luke said, everybody needed a break.

Still, I shouldn't be the most mature person in a room full of grown men who were all older than me and directly responsible for the government of the kingdom.

"Hey, Ivetta!"

I glanced back to see which prince was talking to me now. They were all peppering me with questions from time to time, some serious, most not, and nobody really minded if I didn't answer fully. This time, it was Prince Luke.

"Yes, Prince Luke?"

"Come over here."

"Why, your highness?"

"Jin doesn't believe you're as light as I say, so he wants to pick ya up himself."

I turned back to the window and rolled my eyes at the gardens. Children. Actual children.

"Prince Jin is too drunk to pick anyone up, your highness."

"You can't just go picking people up without asking them, Luke!" Prince Yves scolded him.

"I disagree," Prince Nokto said smoothly.

"I just don't think she's as delicate as she looks," Prince Jin said. "She's gotta have some muscle or something from all the work she does, right?"

"She's stronger than she looks," Prince Leon agreed. "Darn it. The bottle's empty."

"But still light as a feather," Prince Clavis volunteered.

"Wait. You've picked her up?" Prince Luke asked incredulously.

"Well, I couldn't let her collapse on the floor, could I? That wouldn't have been very gentlemanly of me."

"Drugging her wasn't gentlemanly at all," Prince Yves pointed out. "Why did you even do that?"

My ears perked up. Prince Chevalier's explanation that Prince Clavis was trying to scare me seemed a little too simple for the way Prince Clavis' mind worked.

"Probably to mess with Chevalier," Prince Nokto replied, his smirk evident in his voice.

Prince Leon laughed. "Bet there was some fight after that. Did he draw blood this time, or did it stop before it got that far?"

A fight? Like a...sword fight?

"Really, you're all so suspicious," Prince Clavis said, his cheerful voice undaunted. "She looked tired, and I needed to test my newest concoction. Chev understood completely."

Prince Jin laughed this time. "Yeah right."

"Leave her out of your twisted contest with Chevalier," Prince Yves said firmly.

"Hey, Ivetta," Prince Luke called again. "If ya ever see Clavis throw a small glass vial, hold your breath."

"You're no fun," Prince Clavis muttered.

They put me in mind of Mr. Stotts and his brothers, or, at least, how Mrs. Stotts described them. She always marveled at how her husband, a hard worker, a reliable father, somehow reverted to an immature boy when he was with his brothers, who were also mature, competent adults at any other time. Apparently, the phenomenon was more widespread than she realized.