Messenger

Chapter 14

Piko and Flower froze when they followed the foreign king's critical stare. Why were those three here? Everyone in the room instantly knew that these kids were going to be eaten alive and no amount of formality would save them.

The problem was that the two couldn't really do anything to protect them as much as they wanted to. King Howard couldn't know anything about their connection to the trio. If he found out that Flower had basically adopted the twins and Piko was one of Oliver's only relatives it would end up giving him way too much power over negotiations meaning that they could only hope that the accused would be able to talk themselves out of it. What even gave them the idea to be here in the first place?

"Might I ask why three servants are listening in on my reception?" King Howard asked the quickly paling princess. Stay calm. He can't see how unprepared they were right off the bat.

Deep breaths. "I believe they are messengers. There's a good chance that they were sent on a delivery." Her tone was clipped, but not panicked. That's probably the best the nobles would be getting for now.

The ruler motioned for Mikoto, Hime, and Oliver to go over to him. Never had those kids looked so small; shuffling to the front entrance eyes pinned to the floor and hands fidgeting in their pockets. "What was your purpose in this area?"

Mikoto lifted their head slightly and met the cold eyes planted on them not so much in defiance, but in a small show of strength as if to say that they're not 100 percent terrified. "We were here in case of a quick letter needing to be sent considering the... importance of this visit."

"If we were in need of those services, we could very easily have found someone without you spying on official business."

"We were just trying to be helpful." Hime commented under their breath. The words registered on Piko and Flower's ears and they knew King Howard would have heard it as well.

He straightened his normally crooked back looming over the relatively short runners. "You were being nothing less than an annoyance. None of you had a reason for being here outside gathering gossip for an extra scrap of attention."

Hime shrank back. It doesn't take much to figure out that this little adventure was their idea, but they could have never expected to be reprimanded at the one thing they were the most self-conscience about. Everyone just knows that Hime likes to be in the know, but they'd never want to have others face consequences for their plan and especially be considered a bother.

"We really were trying to help and you have no right to be talking to them that way." Mikoto stated in defense.

Bad move. Really bad move. A dangerous look filled his eyes and his features twisted harshly. "I have all the right to speak to you however I wish! You lot are nothing but servants that can't even compare! You need to learn your place."

"That's enough." Flower's statement echoed in the hall. "You are not going to be speaking to inhabitants of this palace in that way. I will be talking to these three about this, but that is not your place."

Tension racked through the space. "As you wish, princess." The words were tacked with bitter resolve.

"Good. Now, I suggest you three head back to your area and we will discuss this later." Her voice showed no room for argument though it's not like they would want to argue with being dismissed from this situation as soon as possible.

Piko thought he knew what maximum stress levels were, but he was starting to think that his scale needed to be greatly adjusted. Maika and Yohio alike appeared to have been smacked over the head with the scene before them and Piko could tell that it was only a few moments before Flower straight up decked this guy. Being honest, he would have been pretty tempted to join.