Three Pretty Princesses

Chapter 13- Evalyn

The privy council meeting was adjourned, and smart-looking dumb men filed out of the council chamber. A smart-looking smart man, Duke Edward, was the only who was observant enough to notice Evalyn lounging against the wall. He stopped for a second, giving her a warm smile. Despite his age, Evalyn felt an magnetic attraction to him. It's like she could understand his smile. She wasn't quite sure what it meant, but she understood it.
"Typtris be with you, Evalyn," he beamed before busily plodding away.

He had learned her name. As the King's most trusted advisor, he knew about the look-alike scheme, but he was under no obligation to know Evalyn's name. With this sort of concern for others, it was a shame that he was born second after King Thomas. Evalyn immediately destroyed this thought from her mind, knowing it was treason.

Evalyn strode into council chamber. King Thomas sat alone, tiredly muddling over his papers. As he looked up, Evalyn could immediately recognise the fatigue in his eyes. This made it the perfect time for her to ask for something.

King Thomas searched for a name. "Pauline...?"

"Evalyn," she corrected him. It was almost poetic how much the King fell short of his younger brother.

"Why are you here, Evalyn?" he said gently, displaying some sort of tenderness that one would not expect from a King known to be so impulsive.

Evalyn slid into the seat opposite him on the council table. She had the confidence to pull off the brave move without seeming rude. An onlooker would almost believe that it was her prerogative to sit on that seat. She began her proposal, "I would like to ensure that my family is paid and well looked after."

"One, two, three, four, five," she said to herself, as she examined King Thomas's face for any sign of anger. Evalyn had learned from her customers at Hawthorne Quality Merchandise that took exactly five seconds to get angry. Patrons would take a few seconds to contemplate that the shop didn't have the goods they were looking for and the fact that this was something worth getting angry about, and then burst into rage. If they made it past five seconds, they had analysed the situation more thoroughly, understood that it was not something worth getting angry about, and thus wouldn't become enraged.

After five seconds, King Thomas was still calm, albeit a slightly bewildered expression on his face. Evalyn sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to feel the wrath of the King.

"And why would you want that?" the King asked.

Startled at the strange question, Evalyn lost her composure. "What?"
"Both of us know the incredible risk you're taking by asking me for this. I've had men beheaded for asking for lesser things," King Thomas acknowledged, "You live a wonderful life at the Palace. Everything is provided for you. Why would you want to risk that all for your family?"

"Because for almost everyone would risk themselves for their family. Us peasants don't have much these days, but we do have our kin, so we look after them. Even nobles look out for their family- mothers marrying off their daughters to rich lords, cousins securing mutually beneficial trade deals. It's instinctual, strategic, and kind of beautiful, but that's beside the point..." Evalyn suddenly, stopped, realising where she could go with this train of thought, "Actually, that's exactly the point. Most people, if put in the position you are in, wouldn't assassinate loyal subjects of their brother simply because they expressed their desire to have the brother on the throne."

Evalyn was met with a grave look from King Thomas, who asked, "How do you know about that?"

"I found a note in the hall outside your chamber. It must have been dropped by an incompetent messenger," Evalyn replied.

"I could have you arrested right now," the King threatened, but his words weren't filled with rage, with simple, cold logic; the sort of stuff Evalyn would expect from Ava, "I could have you beheaded on the spot for treason. We don't need you. The other girl.. Pauline, could do twice as much work as you if need be."

Evalyn smiled. "You could, but you don't know where I've hidden that note. In fact, you could tear my chambers up in search of it, but you wouldn't find it, because I've given it to someone with the instruction that if I die, they must give it to Duke Edward."

For the first time in the conversation, Evalyn saw a trace of fear in King Thomas's eyes. He closed them, as if he was aware of what Evalyn saw in them.

"You would sent Dulcinea into a civil war. Thousands would die, perhaps even you family, despite you trying so hard to keep them safe," the King said, "You're a peasant girl who doesn't know anything about politics. Duke Edward and I in a stalemate. If Duke Edward got his hands on that letter, he could, to continue the metaphor, kill the king."

With the understanding that his last sentence was not entirely a chess-metaphor, Evalyn inquired, "Why does Duke Edward want to rebel against you? Everyone knows that fighting families destroy themselves. Look what happened to Avauntwood. It's in shambles after it declared independence from Frostvale."

"He wants power, because he is close to it," King Thomas explained, "The closer you are to power, the more you can feel it's pull. It's elusive. Edward is one step from ultimate power, and that is the simplest reason why he wants it. All that propaganda that his fills the Jabobmirans with- that he "wants to help the people" and "look out for the lowliest peasant"- is bullshit. The Duke only looks out for himself, and giving him even the slightest advantage in this cold war would mean chaos."

Everything clicked, and Evalyn was hit with a realisation. "That's why you pretend to be so close with him. That's why you go out drinking and brothel-roaming with him. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. If you let him return to Jacobmire, it would be easier for him to build a rebellion."

There was a brief pause as King Thomas stared into the table before him. "Evalyn, I think you would be a better councillor than most of the men who sit at here. It gets tiresome, really, being around so many men who believe that just because the Gods blessed them with lands and wealth, the Gods also blessed them with wisdom. They do not work hard, yet they act like they deserve their positions."

Evalyn hesitated. Surely this was a trick.If she agreed with the King, she was implying that he didn't deserve his power. If she disagreed with the King, well, she was disagreeing with the King. No amount of analysing and deduction could save her from this one, so she spoke honestly.

"The only reason I'm here is because of the way I look. I didn't work hard to find myself here in the council chamber. It's just how fate worked," as she said that, Natasha Willow appeared in Evalyn's mind in a quick, fleeting image, but she pushed it away, "Most people don't deserve much of what they have, or what they get, but that doesn't mean they don't have a responsibility to work hard and be good."

"Evalyn Hawthorne," King Thomas contemplatively sighed to himself, "I'll pay your family 100 gold a month. If one of them falls ill, I will sent a court physician to look after them."

Evalyn stood up, and curtsied, " Thank you, your majesty."

"But Evalyn," he continued, his voice raising slightly, "You are good at games of people, but not flawless. Do not overplay."

"I won't. "