A Friend or Foe?

A black limousine car parked in front of the castle, where Princess Aurnia, Aramis, Thalassa, and Bryson were waiting.

A pair of feet clad in a one-inch beige platform heel emerged out of the limousine.

The choice of heels surprised the princess since she knew that the person they were about to meet was Lord Bryson's sister, Lady Miciela.

"Brother!"

A girl's squeal prompted Aurnia to look up, and she saw a petite, young girl emerge out of the limousine car.

'Bryson's sister?' She couldn't believe that this cheerful young girl in front of them was the young lord's sister.

"Stop it, Miciela. I couldn't believe that even here, you would still follow me."

She heard Bryson's irritated voice as her sister attempted to hug him.

"Geez, Bryson, stop being a grinch, will you? You're always too grumpy. No wonder you always look ugly." Miciela sneered.

Aurnia finds his sister so funny that she wasn't able to resist herself—a chuckle erupted out of her mouth. In that instance, she knew that she was going to like his sister.

'His sister, not him.'

Everyone looked at her in bewilderment, including Aramis, who was standing next to her.

"Oh my God, are… are you, Princess Aurnia?" Miciela turned to her with wide eyes. Excitement was written all over her face, and her mouth gaped open.

Aurnia held her breath when the young girl came closer to her.

'Oh my, Bryson's sister is a headturner!' Holding a strong resemblance to her brother, Miciela has the same set of deep-set blue eyes and dark hair. Aurnia's favorite feature of her face was her plump lips, which gave a slight oomph to her soft features.

"Uhm yes, I'm Princess Aurnia." She answered the young girl with a half-smile.

Miciela let out a shriek and did some cute little jumps like a kid excited for a sweet treat. "Wow, meeting you was surreal. My mother couldn't stop talking about you."

"Your mother? She was talking about me, but why?" Aurnia asked Bryson's sister, slightly appalled.

Rolling her eyes, the young girl enthusiastically replied, "Oh, I couldn't really comprehend a few of it, but I remember that she kept mentioning about a union."

"Miciela! I think you should stop bothering Princess Aurnia. We've been standing here for twenty minutes already, and perhaps we should get inside now." Bryson interjected with a solemn expression.

"Tsk, whatever. You always love to spoil the fun." The young girl snorted and gently dragged Aurnia along with her.

Aurnia didn't have much time to ponder Miciela's words as she was dragged along with the energetic girl. She felt Aramis, Thalassa, and Bryson's presence with them.

"Oh, I'm so excited to be here. Mother said that her favorite thing about the castle was its architectural design; in fact, aside from meeting you, it's one of the reasons why I fought hard with my mother to be here." The young girl blabbered while they walked on the pebbled pathway leading to the huge courtyard.

Flower beds of peonies were in full bloom that month and intricately adorned the pathway, while various kinds of orchids were hanging on the walls.

"You fought with your mother? Just to be here? You weren't punished for going against your mother's orders?" She asked Miciela, completely dumbfounded at her discovery.

"Well, mother tried punishing me a couple of times, but when she finally realized that she couldn't bind me with all these absurd rules, I'd like to say that she gave up on me." She answered matter-of-factly.

Aurnia gasped audibly in surprise. She knew that she tended to be rebellious with her parents, but Miciela was in another league. All the more reason to like her.

"Anyway, that handsome guy behind us, is he, you know...your boyfriend?" The young girl leaned close to her ears and whispered those words to her.

She flinched away from her and immediately exclaimed, "No! Of course not." She proceeded to steal a glance at Aramis.

Her cheeks flushed hotly when their gazes met.

"Oh...he wasn't your boyfriend, but affirmatively, you like him."

Aurnia's head jerked instantly towards Miciela, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Of course not! He was always rude to me, why would I even like him." She answered rather defensively and walked past her.

"I am sure that you like him. Right, Princess Aurnia?" Yelling those words to her, Miciela had a mischievous smile planted on her face.

Miciela then ran after her, giggling and humming in between. "Don't deny it, Princess. I can definitely see you through. Besides, we tend to get attracted to men who act like they don't care about us. When we see red, our instincts always say to go for it." She whispered and chuckled.

Aurnia chuckled and shook her head in amusement. "God, you talked as if you had experienced it, which I doubt because you're still too young. At least, you have to reach fifteen to be considered eligible to have a romantic relationship."

The adorable young girl scrunched her nose and murmured, "You're right. I haven't, but I've read a lot of romance books, so I'm an expert on it."

Aurnia and Miciela ended up giggling together about how edgy the young girl sounded.

***

["I am sure that you like him. Right, Princess Aurnia?"]

Aramis doesn't know, but when this duchess' daughter suddenly yelled those words to obviously tease Aurnia, he immediately thought that she was teasing Aurnia to her brother, Lord Bryson. A feeling of his chest being stabbed overwhelmed him, and he had to sigh loudly.

"Are you okay, Aramis? Should I get you water? or anything you need?"

He turned to Aurnia's sister beside her, and a rush of irritation flooded deep in him because she was standing too close to him.

Aramis discreetly created space between them by backing a step away from her. "Oh, I'm totally fine, your Highness." He politely answered with a half-smile.

Since the girl suddenly came to the palace and introduced herself as the king's daughter, he sympathized with her. However, after spending time with her yesterday, he felt like something was odd with Aurnia's sister.

Thalassa giggled and linked her arm to his, which made him uncomfortable. Sighing, he removed the girl's arm from wrapping around his and said to her, "I would appreciate it, your Highness, if you would stop doing that. The king might get angry to see you associating with a commoner like me."

Thalassa pouted, but after awhile she smiled and said, "Okay, then. If you wish so."

When his gaze went back in front of him, he saw the Duchess' son walking alongside Aurnia and his sister.

Aramis clenched his jaw while staring at them, having a strong urge to drag Aurnia away from them.