{Third Person}
Elowen heard the rumours too.
She had been walking through one of the inner corridors when two maids ahead of her slowed their pace, clearly unaware of her presence behind them.
"...they say His Highness personally took the cat back—"
"And then the servants who took the cats are missing—"
"That’s enough."
The two maids froze.
Elowen stepped forward, her expression no longer the light, carefree one most were used to.
There was no anger on her face, but there was sothing firm enough to make both maids lower their heads imdiately.
"Princess..."
"If you have this much ti to gossip, then perhaps you also have ti to be reassigned sowhere less comfortable," she said calmly.
"My lady, we—"
She raised her hand slightly, cutting them off without raising her voice. "Soone will co speak to you."
That was all, the ssage was clear enough.
The maids bowed repeatedly, panic settling in as Elowen walked past them without another glance.
A servant waiting nearby stepped forward imdiately. "My lady?"
Elowen didn’t stop walking. "Handle it."
"Yes, my lady."
As Elowen continued down the corridor, her expression softened again, though her thoughts lingered.
"They really don’t know when to stop..." she muttered under her breath.
Still, the rumours had done what they always did, stirred curiosity and concern.
Just then, her steps slowed slightly before she smiled to herself. "I should go check on her."
—
Not long after, Elowen’s carriage arrived at the Alpha Prince’s residence.
Inside, Amara sat quietly in the living room, Ginger curled comfortably in her lap.
Her fingers moved gently through the cat’s fur, her thoughts still lingering sowhere between relief and unease.
Right then, one of her servants stepped in and bowed slightly.
"My lady, the Princess is here to see you."
Amara blinked in surprise, then nodded quickly. "Let her in."
Monts later, Elowen walked in with her usual brightness, as if the tension of the palace hadn’t touched her at all.
"Amara," she called lightly.
Amara stood up slightly, smiling. "Princess."
Elowen waved off the formality as she stepped closer, her attention imdiately dropping to the cat.
"I ca to see this little troublemaker," she said, crouching slightly.
Ginger watched her. She allowed Elowen’s hand to brush over her back, but the mont Elowen tried to lift her, she shifted away and pressed herself more firmly against Amara.
Elowen paused, then laughed softly. "Ah... so I’m not trusted yet."
Amara smiled faintly as she explained, "She is still a bit shaken."
"That’s fair," Elowen said, straightening up and finding a seat for herself.
Then, with a playful tilt of her head, she added, "Still... I didn’t expect my brother to go that far for you."
Amara didn’t react much at first. But then Elowen continued casually, "The entire palace is talking about it."
That was enough to get a reaction out of Amara. "The... entire palace?" she repeated quietly.
Elowen nodded. "You know how it is. Nothing stays quiet here."
Amara looked down at Ginger, her fingers slowing slightly. A small knot ford in her chest. She didn’t like it.
She didn’t want to be the reason tension grew between Alexander and the Queen. Whatever had happened... it wasn’t sothing she had asked for.
Elowen noticed her worry imdiately and guessed the kind of thoughts that must be going through her head, so her tone softened.
"Hey... don’t think too much about it."
Amara looked up, but the worry hadn’t fully left her eyes. Seeing that, Elowen decided to shift the topic.
"So," she said, clapping her hands lightly once, "how far have you gotten with the punishnt?"
Amara blinked, then exhaled softly. "Actually... His Highness is helping ."
Elowen’s brows lifted. "Helping you?"
Amara nodded and explained briefly, telling her how Alexander had taken the textbook and her notes, and how he planned to help her.
As she spoke, Elowen’s expression changed from curiosity to realization. "Oh..."
She leaned back slightly, then sighed. "I almost got you into trouble, didn’t I?"
Amara shook her head imdiately. "No, it’s fine."
But Elowen continued anyway, more thoughtful now. "When my mother gives sothing like that, she barely checks. Maybe the first few pages, and that’s it. But with you..."
She shook her head lightly. "I forgot that she wouldn’t let it go that easily and would even check the edges of the paper, looking for a fault."
Amara didn’t seem bothered anymore. "It’s alright."
Elowen studied her for a mont, then smiled faintly. "Still... I should have thought about it. If Alexander hadn’t thought that far, things could have gone badly for you, and my apologies would probably not have been enough to clear things up."
Just then, Sonia entered with a tray of light snacks and drinks, placing them neatly on the table before excusing herself.
Elowen wasted no ti reaching for sothing appetizing.
As they began eating, she added, almost as an afterthought, "When the notes are ready, don’t submit them imdiately."
Amara paused. "Why?"
Elowen leaned slightly forward. "If you hand them in too quickly, my mother will get suspicious. She will start wondering how you managed to finish that fast."
Amara nodded slowly.
"And, it will only give her more reason to clash with Alexander again," Elowen added with a much calr tone.
"I understand," Amara said, quickly storing this tip sowhere in her head.
Both won continued eating for a while, the earlier tension fading into sothing lighter. By the ti Elowen finished, she stood up, brushing her hands lightly.
"I should go," she said.
Amara stood as well with Ginger in her arms. "I will walk you to the door."
At the door, Elowen turned back with a smile. "Next ti, we should go shopping again."
Amara tilted her head slightly. "For what?"
Elowen’s eyes flicked to Ginger. "Sothing for her," she said.
Amara’s face lit up imdiately at the opportunity. "That sounds nice."
Elowen grinned. "Good. I will plan it."
With that, she waved lightly and left, her presence fading as quickly as it had arrived.
Amara looked down at Ginger. "...You heard that?" she murmured softly.
Ginger blinked up at her quietly, then let out soft ows.
The corners of Amara’s lips turned up in a smile as she carried her back to the living room.
User Comments
0 comments from readers