Regal [h.s au]

20. Cake-tastrophy

AMELIA

After taking a break on Prince Harry's demand, I return to the palace three days later. I had time to deal with The Border, making sure there are no sudden raids nor attacks. It seems King Edgar has commanded his soldiers and pirates to lay low, probably to make it seem as if his goal is to truly help the people living there. But as someone who had spent years of her life surrounded by ruthless people working under his commands, I know better than to trust him.

"Thank Lord you're back!" Anton -my assistant- shouts, throwing papers in the air as I enter my office. "The schedule Silas made is all wrong and the Prince won't be able to do anything on time! I- I'm incapable of dealing with this any longer, I'm a Gemini, we do not handle stress very well!"

"Don't forget to breathe again, Anton, you'll faint. Again." I smile cheekily at him as I collect some of the scattered papers, briefly scanning through each. "Wait, who let Silas be in charge of all this?"

Anton stops pacing and clutches his chest, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. "You are a flower on a meadow... a light breeze is blowing and birds are chirping..." he mumbles. "He claimed he is your adviser, and therefore in your absence he is to take over your role."

"I see Lilly has shown you stress relieving methods," I comment flatly, still looking at the papers. "And perhaps you should have let his cat do this job, Silas is only doing this because the job is paid and he has servants bringing him food whenever he wants."

"He did leave his cat in charge one time..." Anton mutters, making me mumble "not again" under my breath.

"All right, business time. Call me all of these tutors-" I hand him a paper filled with names "-find me the head seamstress, head chef, generals Carter and Bennett and send them all here. Oh, and go to the Prince's office and bring me all of his official letters, he probably hasn't gone through them since he never does so I can organise them by importance. All clear?"

"Oh yes, right away! She is back!" Anton happily exclaims before running out of the room.

👑👑👑

"Silas, leave the bird alone!" Lilly says as she paces around the garden, holding a small bird in her hands, throwing an angry look at him.

"I am just saying, if the bird dies I can have use of it for my potions and spells and by the looks of it, that bird has only a short time to live!" Silas protests as he chases her.

"It doesn't, it has an injured wing but it shall heal! Don't make me release a mean Lilly on you." She glares up at him while he snorts.

"You and I both know mean Lilly appears only when you're drunk!"

"Are you sure?" She takes a step forward, making him insecurely recoil back. "I don't need any toxic substance to protect defenceless animals."

I see Zayn make a mocking expression directed at Silas behind Lilly's back, making Silas curse at him in Latin. "Listen Lilly, remember how I used to help you care for injured animals when we were younger?" Zayn says, his cheeks turning red.

She turns around and smiles brightly at him, nodding. "I do. Wait... you can help me now too!" She gets visibly excited. "Let's go." She carefully holds the bird in one hand close to her chest while grabbing Zayn's hand, pulling him away, but not before I notice him actually smile.

"Ahh, young love. Really puts a smile on your face, doesn't it?" Prince Adrian says as he appears beside me, his hands clasped behind his back, a dimpled grin on his face. "Unless you are bitter like me and it makes you jealous and crave food," he adds jokingly, making me laugh.