Triggered

As the commotion went on, King Albert who had been standing in his previous position went to sit on the lavish chair before him before stopping a servant to collect a drink.

He crossed his legs, finding entertainment in the uproar before him.

Melina had entered the hall with the cart, serving food and refreshments to the various guests. When she reached Lord Nicholas' table, her eyes caught sight of Sir Julian who sat with his family around a tempered glass table. His face was wounded and he glared daggers at her when their eyes met, though he said nothing.

Fear flashed on her face but she did a good job of hiding it, remembering the king had told her he wouldn't trouble her again.

At least, that was the only remaining thread of hope she had left.

"And what makes you think I have a poor sense of dressing? Just because I dress properly and decently doesn't mean I cannot be spectacular like my sister." Princess Amie defended.

Though they wore similar clothes, Amie's own was very decent and didn't expose her breast area.

Lady Brena knew her reason for trying to get Alice to wear the one that uncovered her intimate areas. It was to paint Alice as the indecent one and make herself look more decent when it came to clothing and grooming.

"Oh, Princess. Don't even bother competing with her by wearing a revealing dress as well. It isn't like you have the bosom for it. It looks pretty on Princess Alice because she has a swell on her chest unlike yours that's flat and flaccid!"

"How dare you!-" Amie felt insulted and just as she was about to raise her hand to slap Lady Brena, Alice held her sister's hand back in place.

"Emm...that is enough for the day, Lady Brena. We should- ouch!" she flinched when Amie whacked her hand away from hers and she stared at the girl in confusion.

"Save your innocent facade for some other day. Always trying to play the victim and act like the nice one when you are just as guilty as others," her words made Alice pause and look at her baffled.

Had her sister gone mad?

"What are you saying?"

"You knew very well what Brena was trying to do and tried to play along to make everyone think that you are the angel and I am the bad one, isn't it?! So who are you trying to fool?"

"What has gone wrong with you?! You know I am only trying to make peace-"

"Shut up!" her next words had everyone gasp as the twin princesses argued.

They're twins, right? Aren't they supposed to get along with each other?

Princess Alice's face turned red at her sister's words as she never believed her sister would shut her up in public like this.

She looked to see some people gathering to look at the scenery. Since the hall was extremely large, there were still other people from afar who hadn't heard what was going on.

The few who were up the stairs went to the railings to see the commotion as they constantly whispered amongst themselves.

Leon's attention had been carried away at the far end by his redhead who was trying to stay low while serving the dishes, all the while watching out for her so she didn't attract trouble like she always did, that he didn't notice what was going on with his younger siblings.

It was only when he witnessed a crowd form from across the hall that he realized something was going on and he knitted his brows in disarray.

His attention moved away from the little troublemaker and he tried to search for Matthew to deal with the fuss but he discovered it may be something of serious concern.

Still with the two sisters, Amie continued speaking, "I saw you hug Brother Leon earlier, trying to look like the perfect sister in front of everyone when you have never once actually hugged him in private all along." her voice held annoyance and envy that she didn't bother to contain anymore.

Brena who started the mishap attempted to say something to defend Princess Alice but her father, Lord Samuel found out she was the cause of the problem and with one glare from him, she shut her mouth and simply watched as chaos unfolded.

Amie was still talking, "And when I told you about your betrothed being injured, what did you do?" she asked her sister who was now short of words, "You ran inside your room to have a good sleep and I even saw you with a man-"

"Princess Amie, I think you have said enough!" Matthew finally came into view, not letting Amie finish her words. He was done hearing the repeated accusations and when he heard what she was about to say, he decided to interrupt.

He was the King's second-in-command now after all.

But Amie didn't recognize that. She still saw him as that useless servant from years ago that her brother had approved of.

"And who do you think you are to interfere when I'm speaking with my sister?" she questioned him in a chilling tone but her words barely fazed him.

Matthew continued, gritting his teeth, "Don't you think you are being immature by doing this?" he tried to reason even though his brain was doing the opposite at the moment. What he was feeling was the urge to slap this uncouth princess.

"Would you close your dirty mouth, you bloody moron? Or shall I speak on what you were doing last night with-" Matthew didn't let her finish the words.

He calmed his voice as he spoke, "If you have a problem with her, you should talk about-" he was interrupted as well.

"When I'm talking to my sister, it would be best for you to mind your business!"

"Keep quiet-" he attempted to say but...

SLAP!

Amie gave him a resounding slap that he did not see coming even with his sharp senses. The action startled him as he turned to stare at her in disbelief, his left cheek turning red from the burn.

Murmurs and shocked gasps could be heard from the large hall as people looked in disbelief at what had just happened.

As anger seethed in Matthew's eyes, Amie raised her hand again to slap him, not satisfied with the earlier result but this time, Matthew saw it and immediately blocked it, gripping her wrist so tightly that if he wasn't human, he would have broken it.

Amie screamed at him as she struggled to remove her hand, "Get your filthy hands off my hand now!" but Matthew was still very angry and he violently kept tugging her wrist in his grip.

"I said-"

"Enough!!" The voice King Albert had long been awaiting finally came and Albert gave a relieved smirk before gulping the content of his drink whole and standing up.

King Leon stared at Princess Amie in surprise,

"What has gotten into you, Amie? Are you out of your mind?!" his voice thundered and Matthew finally let go of her hand.

Amie's eyes turned moist.

"I know, right? Everyone treats me like I'm insignificant and when I finally voice out how I feel, they say I'm out of my mind, isn't it?" her voice turned hoarse as she rubbed her other hand on the wrist Matthew had gripped.

"That is how to say your mind?" Leon asked his sister, evident anger shown on his face.

He could tell she was trying to play the victim instead of owning up to her stupidity.

"How else do you want me to do it? You all neglect me and make me feel less important than my sister by showering her with all the attention and ignoring me like I'm a plague! What else-"

"If you don't shut your mouth..." he glared at her for the nonsense she was speaking, his tone warning and sending chills down everyone's spine.

He looked over to Alice who had begun to cry and over to Matthew who just stood there with a hardened jaw, his face turned red.

Anger flashed in his eyes and he frowned at Amie before saying, "Get out. Out of the hall. Now."

Though his voice was not loud, the authority it carried didn't go unnoticed.

Amie's face turned red at the thought that her brother was sending her out of the gathering on his coronation just because she had yelled at her sister.

"What-"

"Did you not hear me?!" he snapped at her, something he had never done before.

"I'm not going anywhere! Why are you trying to embarrass me for something that isn't my fault?!" she questioned him in frustration as she looked at Lady Brena who had intentionally come to complicate things.

"Amie..." he called his sister with an obvious warning and she turned to him.

"If you do not leave this place now...

You would have yourself to blame when I make you spend a night in the dungeon."

The people's eyes widened but they didn't dare whisper in front of the king.

"Get. Out. Out of here now." Amie veered around in fury and glared at her sister for a fleeting moment before brushing past her, hitting her shoulder in the process, making her stagger backwards and lose balance for a second.

The hall turned incredibly quiet as Amie walked out in anger and from the corner of her eyes, she could see a few elite ladies making fun of her as she strode away from the grand hall.

Her earlier anger now turned into shame at the thought that her brother had sent her out of an important celebration like she was a criminal.

The tears that had been threatening to fall from her eyes finally did and she felt a tinge of pain in her chest.