Chapter 13: Silly Thoughts

The following morning Charlotte accompanied her sisters and the two queens to the Ladies Parlor, a large sitting room with a grand piano, an elegant chess set, an easel and a writing desk, along with several other activities. Though the room had been shown to her, Charlotte had rarely stepped inside, preferring to spend her free time in her room or with the princes. Today however, her mother had made it clear that she was to participate in every event Queen Haven had arranged for them. As such, she found herself sitting at the easel, listening to her sisters' idle chatter.

"Kaitlyn, why don't you play something for us on that lovely piano?" Queen Deandra suggested, turning to face Queen Haven with a smile. "My daughters have all been trained in the arts since they were young. Cassidy has the voice of an angel and Krystina is a remarkable dancer. By now I'm sure you've also seen several of Charlotte's masterpieces as well."

Queen Haven smiled back. "Your daughters are very talented. My eldest also has an aptitude for music, though he rarely shows it off. His humility is something to be admired."

Charlotte bit her cheek to keep from laughing. It was comical that two women so hellbent on making their children presentable and polite would bicker like teenagers.

As she raised her paintbrush up to the canvas again, Krystina appeared beside her.

"Who are you painting?" Krystina asked, looking at the unfinished figure. It was clearly one of the princes, wearing an elegant royal blue suit with gold embellishments. However, as the face and hair had yet to be painted it was impossible to tell if it was the eldest or the youngest.

"I'm not sure yet," Charlotte admitted. Though she knew she would eventually paint them both, she felt that choosing one of them to be the first subject was important somehow.

"I don't think I'd be able to choose between them either," Krystina stated, though her tone implied she wasn't just talking about the painting. Charlotte felt heat rise to her cheeks and continued working on her painting wordlessly.

"She doesn't have to choose between them," Kaitlyn whispered. "She's engaged to Prince Ashton and that's final." She shot Krystina a warning look before continuing her piano playing. As the sisters fell into silence, Charlotte wondered how the boys were doing.

Alther would say he was doing pretty bad. Since Ashton and Camdyn were both participating in the tournament they'd decided to go down to the training room to practice. The two older boys seemed to be having fun practicing and chatting, but Alther wished he was elsewhere. If he could, he would've gone to find Aspro to practice for the day instead of wasting time watching the others.

After roughly an hour they sat down next to Alther to rest, and Camdyn decided to strike up a conversation.

"You're not participating in the tournament, Prince Alther?"

Alther shook his head. "I'm not good with a sword."

Camdyn chuckled. "I thought princes were supposed to know how to defend themselves."

Alther bristled. Since their arrival he hadn't been particularly fond of the young king and his mother. They were both condescending and seemed determined to prove they were better than the Valisis family.

"I know how to defend myself." Alther said in the most polite tone he could manage. "I just don't care enough for sword fighting to spend more time practicing it."

"Alther's really good with magic though," Ashton added cheerfully, apparently oblivious to the king's insulting tone.

"Really? You'll have to show us some time, Prince Alther," Camdyn smiled before heading back to practice some more.

When lunch time arrived both groups convened in the dining room. It was mostly a quiet affair, with small pleasantries throughout. At some point, Charlotte's spoon accidentally clattered against her bowl. She silently prayed it had gone unnoticed, but her mother shot her a glare that would make the bravest man tremble and in an effort to make up for it Charlotte ended up knocking her glass over.

"Sorry," she muttered, trying to clean the mess while avoiding eye contact with everyone. Then, at the opposite end of the table she heard a loud slurp. Then another.

All eyes shot to Alther, who raised another spoonful to his mouth, eating it with the same amount of gusto and noise as he had the previous two.

"Alther," King Selwyn began, looking embarrassed. "I do believe Aspro was looking for you earlier. Perhaps you should go see him?"

"Yes, father." Alther scraped his chair back before leaving the room, giving Charlotte a slight smile before heading to the gardens. He knew his father had used Aspro as an excuse to dismiss him politely from the table.

About five minutes later, Charlotte emerged from the castle as well and sat next to him.

"You didn't have to do that, you know? But I am grateful."

Alther laughed. "What are you talking about? I've always had terrible table manners."

"Ah, forgive me then. I didn't notice them until today," Charlotte smiled.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, content to just be together alone for a while. Alther looked down at her hands next to him on the stone bench, so small and delicate. He could still see bits of paint from earlier on her nails and Alther smiled to himself. He wondered how she'd react if he placed his hand over hers and just for a moment he contemplated doing it. Then he remember it was no good to entertain such thoughts. They would lead to nowhere. As he tried to settle his mind Charlotte suddenly broke the silence.

"Hey, Alther. I don't suppose you'd know how to sneak a girl into the tournament, would you?"