24 Hours GF Challenge (Granevere AU)

Chapter Forty-Four

The young Baroque woke up just before dawn. She threw her hair up in a ponytail and prepared herself a quick cup of tea. Grabbing a teabag from one of the drawers, she let it steep in the hot water and waited for it to be ready.

Guinevere quickly gulped down her tea, barely having the patience to enjoy it. As quick as possible, she got herself ready for the day, showering and changing into her usual purple dress. Truthfully, she wasn't ready to face anyone. Today is the first day for the birthday and wedding preparations.

As much as the word 'wedding' left a foul taste on her mouth, Guinevere had to make sure she was involved in every single detail. Through this, she could show everyone that she was interested and enthusiastic about that cursed wedding. On top of that, she would know all information necessary to make her escape successful.

"Pewboom! I'm too early!" Guinevere huffed as she mindlessly scrolled through her burner phone. Suddenly, the red-head was hit by a wave of nostalgia. "I haven't said that in so long..."

Finding nothing else to do, she decided to knock on Alicia's quarters and urge her to go faster. If her stepmom was still asleep from all the wine she usually drinks, Guinevere would willingly wake up the woman herself.

Guinevere stared at the door for a minute or two, contemplating about her decision. Just before her knuckles came contact with the solid polished wood, the young Baroque could hear the faint sound of Alicia's voice talking to someone. Perhaps, on the phone.

Eavesdropping isn't something that Guinevere liked doing. But in this instance, it might be a wise decision to do so. The emerald-eyed teen didn't have a clue on what the phone call could be about, but as she said earlier, all information would be vital for her escape.

"Send me the progress report. Pronto." Alicia ordered to the person in the phone. "Also the estimated cost of extraction. We have to make sure its economical."

"Huh?" Guinevere was confused. Sounds like the older woman was talking business again, which was the usual. "Extraction? They're going to extract oil, probably."

Whatever the conversation was, it didn't concern her or the wedding, so she probably wont hear any vital information for her grand escape. Knowing that the Baroque mistress was awake, Guinevere retreated into the garden to unwind as she waited for the planners to arrive.

Planning would probably begin after breakfast, so she still had some hours to herself. To think of it, her early waking was all in vain since she ended up wasting her time, staring into nothing. She hated herself for squirming and wiggling in her seat restlessly like worm tossed in salt. Guinevere wanted to go. She wanted to flee so so bad.

Upon hearing the faint sizzle if the sprinklers, Guinevere knew someone was working in the garden. She wasn't sure if it was Ishani. After all, there were dozens of gardeners in the palace and they were shifted and rotated frequently. Being the sweet brat that she is, she pulled some favors to make Ishani rotate frequently to her favorite garden.

Soft but sharp snipping echoed peacefully in the morning, filling her nose with the strong yet fresh scent of plant cuttings. It wasn't a foul smell, but it invaded her senses so much that she thinks that sooner or later, she might short circuit.

"Lady Guinevere..." There it was. The womanly voice of Ishani, laced with her strong accent.

"Good Morning to you too." Guinevere replied. It wasn't actually a reply, but she was still irked about the two lovers being absolute hardheads to her suggestion. Maybe she was being unfair, but this amount of stress was making her snappier than usual.

"My apologies. Good Morning, my lady," Her voice was tentative. Like she wanted to say something but decided against it. Statements like those really made her anxious, totally not helping her jumpy, snappy, prissy mood. "Prince Minsitthar and I are hoping to talk with you after dinner. I was hoping that you'd accept."