Felicie's Subterfuge

A Paladin's Power

A Paladin's Power

"How is it I can be so tired even after I've just woken up?" Manon asked, flopping down into the seat opposite of Felicie, across their small table sitting by the window of their suite, in a very un-princessly manner.

Felicie, sipping primly at her Lloegyrian tea, made a face at the bitterness before setting the cup down and grabbing the cream again. As she added a liberal amount, she smiled at Manon.

"It's from trying so hard to be something you aren't. It's very difficult to be a proper lady when you're, well, not. Sorry."

"Meh..." Manon grumbled, sinking further down into the seat. "I am a proper lady. I am a proper lady..."

"Keep telling yourself that. It helps make it true." Felicie grinned at her, taking another sip at the strong tea. "How goes your ambassador duties?"

"Boring. How are all of the lords here so very dull?" Manon forced herself to sit up straight. "All these people seem to do is party and celebrate and socialize. I have to take a trip to the park around noon, attend a tea after that, then a dinner social tonight. All for different people with different friends and, apparently, I need a different dress for each event."

"You can wear some of mine if you like. You'll have to pull in the bust and hips a bit, but I have plenty of things you can borrow."

"Do none of these lords and ladies work?" Manon ran her hand through her hair.

"Not really. They're land rich, so they don't have to." Felicie poured her some tea. "Put up with it for a while longer. Are the generals behaving?"

"I rarely talk to them. Emilien is polite though. How goes your job?"

"You don't need to know."

Manon frowned. "You don't trust me?"

"It's not that. It's simply better if you don't know. The less you know, the better for you. That way, if I'm caught, you can honestly claim no knowledge of my actions and you can condemn me as having acted alone and save the relationships between our kingdom."

"You would let me sacrifice you that way?"

"I would prefer it. Don't save me at the expense of the kingdom." Felicie lowered her teacup. "I am a tool to use, Manon, and it's better if I fall than if you do. Don't worry about me. I'm doing what I need to, you just focus on playing princess."

"I hate playing princess." Manon grumbled, crossing her arms with a drawn out groan. "I don't know how you can possibly be interested in fabric and colors and parties all the time. It's so boring and useless."

"It's not that boring. It can be fun if you let it be. Think of it as a creative outlet." Felicie looked up as someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Ferrant."

"Come on in."

Manon sighed, taking the cup and adjusting her position so she was more aligned with the proper princess image she had been trying to cultivate.

Ferrant walked in, stopping in surprise when he saw Manon.

"Oh. Princess, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were-"

"It's all right." She waved him in with a smile. "We were just having breakfast. Join us."

"Do you like this Lloegyrian tea? It's something else, isn't it?" Felicie offered him a cup.

Ferrant frowned, taking an uncomfortable seat, sending furtive glances at Manon who was doing her best to act normal.

"I actually do like this tea. It's strong. I want to take a case back home with me." Ferrant gave Felicie a smile as he accepted the cup. "I was just coming to see if you wanted to talk about your ballista design. I've made some changes and I thought we could talk about it. But, I don't want to bother the princess-"