The Silver Crown

23.

When I stepped out of my room clad in the red dress, my guards all stared. They had clearly never seen me in a proper dress. I was just as surprised as they were.

"Milady," Chale started.

"Kade," I corrected.

"Lady Kade," Chale began again, "You look beautiful."

I raised an eyebrow, "Hmm, I still feel like a bumbling buffoon. I can't do anything in this dress."

"What is it that you need to do, Lady Kade?" Emmet wondered. Great, all the guards had adopted Chale's title for me.

"Nothing urgent. I just like to be able to move. I wonder if mayhap I can still do a cartwheel?" I said thoughtfully.

"Princess!" The captain started, but he was too late, as usual.

I had already taken a few steps and was in the midst of my cartwheel. My skirts began to fall down inappropriately low but I was already sideways and then on my feet again before they could reach quite that level. I had done a cartwheel down the hall.

"Good," I remarked. "And Maurice put enough infernal pins in my hair that it wouldn't even move in a wind storm."

"Princess Alyssandra, please act like a women of your standing," Brinian scolded, but I was pretty sure he was trying to hide a grin.

"Fine, lead me t'ward my meal of doom," I said, straightening my uncomfortable dress.

Brinian guided me through the halls and my guards followed behind. My entourage and I were stopped outside of the same room with the double doors: the king and queen's private dining room, I deduced. The last time I had been outside these doors I had just come from a dungeon cell. Despite the dress, this should be a better visit.

Brinian glanced at me pleadingly, as though begging me to behave. I thought about it.

The doors were then thrust open by one of my guards and the entire table full of people turned to look at me.

Brinian waved me through the doors. As I walked by the captain, he slide the knife out of my belt. He clearly thought he had light fingers but I felt it anyway. I turned and by reflex made a fist and drove it toward Brinian's jaw, softening the blow at the last second when I realized who it was and where we were. Brinian brought his arm up to block my blow but he was a second late. My fist slammed into his jaw and his head cracked back against the door. I grabbed my knife from his hand and apologized, "Sorry, reflex. But a better question is why are you taking my knife?"

"You are not supposed to have weapons at all," Brinian said, rubbing his jaw.

"I already told you that I'm not going to kill them," I protested. "Just let me keep my knife and never, never attempt to steal from me again. You're not very good at it. You are lucky I didn't break your jaw," I retorted.

"Fine, keep your knife, but only because their majesties are staring at us. I think they noticed our small skuffle," Brinian said the last part with a hint of sarcasm; it would have been hard to miss the small fight.

I glanced in the room and saw that Brinian was correct. The king, the queen and everyone else was watching us interact with a sharp eye.

"Yeah, I am not making a very good second impression," I whispered, chuckling, but the slight tremor in my voice belayed my nerves.

"Try to be nice, show your manners, but just be yourself, too. You want them to like you for you. I think that they probably will once they get to know you," Brinian whispered to me nicely. I was shocked at how kind he was being after I nearly broke his face.