Power

The Queen was now joined by the other ladies in waiting. In a large sofa chair to the right, Gretchen was stuffing her face with cookies and Tasie was reading. Marcy was a bit saddened to see them. She would have much preferred to be alone with the Queen but it could not be helped. Marcy exhaled briefly before she began.

"Well, I was in the kitchen enjoying those cheese tarts that I love then I saw the Princess's magic tutor. I thought it was nothing at first but Hayden was also with her. They shouldn't be close to my knowledge so I decided to follow them. It's a good thing I did. He seemed to only be there to antagonize the Princess! He and the Princess exchanged some heated words. He even brought up the fact that the Princess still hasn't awakened her nature magic-"

"And how did Cecilia respond," interrupted the Queen.

"She mentioned his… children."

"Good… it would've been embarrassing if she couldn't put him in his place," replied the Queen as she smirked.

"The Princess surely knows how to maintain a firm stance. I'm not surprised," remarked Tasie.

"Yeah, that's the Princess alright," mumbled Gretchen.

Gretchen's mind went back to the time she was scolded by the Princess. She felt a great deal of shame and anger at the thought of being looked down upon by a child.

"Did you have something to say Gretchen?" asked the Queen.

"No, my Queen," answered Gretchen.

The Queen glared at Gretchen as she continued to eat. Gretchen found it difficult to remain calm under her gaze. In that large room, it felt like she was suffocating. Both mother and daughter made her feel small. Gretchen tried her best to not seem affected but she couldn't hide the trembling of her hand as she reached for a cookie. The others noticed, however, they reacted indifferently. The Queen slowly moved her gaze from Gretchen and went back to the matter at hand.

"His presence here is an unwanted surprise. For him to dare to speak to the Princess in that manner, could he really be thinking he has the same power he once did? Just the mere thought of it is ludicrous! With me here, he won't even be able to get close."

"It seems this misguided former prince needs to be reminded of how the hierarchy works," said Tasie as she turned a page of her book.

The other ladies in waiting nodded in agreement. Gretchen was relieved to no longer be the object of the Queen's ire. As for Marcy, she seemed pleased with herself due to the course of action things were taking.

"He should've died with his wife and children… It would've been best for them to all disappear in one go. If they had lived, it would've been a disgrace if they were the face of the royal family," continued the Queen coldly.

The words left her mouth without any hesitation or ounce of care. The last thing she needed was Hayden getting in her way. She, like many others, had already noticed the changes taking place in the castle. Although the King didn't share any information with her, she wasn't one to be easily fooled.

"Tasie, I'll leave this matter to you," advised the Queen as she put on her spectacles and went back to her documents.

"Understood, Your Highness," replied Tasie as she closed her book.

Tasie placed the book back in its spot on the book shelf at the other side of the room then left.

"I-I'll also excuse myself," advised Gretchen as she quickly slipped away, leaving the remaining plate of cookies.

Marcy was delighted by the current atmosphere. She brought a chair from across the room and sat across from the Queen.

"Was there anything you needed from me, Your Highness?" asked Marcy as she leaned against the desk.

"Not at the moment. You did well."

A broad smile appeared across Marcy's face. The Queen continued going through her documents as Marcy watched gleefully.

While on her way to make preparations, Tasie stopped by the Crown Prince's room. Only the maids were present cleaning the room. She was disappointed to hear that he wasn't present. Tasie had forgotten that he would be back to regular training. After leaving the Crown Prince's room, she found that Gretchen had been following her. Tasie then went to a hallway that had no guards and waited for Gretchen to catch up.

"Did you need something from me?" asked Tasie in a playful manner.

"The Queen would be very curious to know why you're trying to visit the Crown Prince. Don't you think?" asked Gretchen.

Tasie laughed. She tucked loose hair behind her ear then approached Gretchen. Once she got close, Tasie placed a hand on Gretchen's shoulder.

"Rather than thinking of others, why don't you concern yourself with Stefan? Not that he has any concerns for you. How about you check to see if Amelia is available to play with you? Oh wait, maybe she'll embarrass you again," sneered Tasie.

Tasie patted Gretchen on the shoulder then left. While leaving, she was laughing and mocking Gretchen. The sound of her laugh echoed in Gretchen's ears. It was a reminder for Gretchen of how she felt she was being viewed. If not for the Rosenn family, where would she have been? Without Elizabeth, what would she be? Despite Amelia's current position, she was still a princess. Even as a political hostage, she was still the second prince's mother. None of it felt fair to Gretchen. She couldn't even surpass an abandoned foreign princess. The hatred she felt boiled within her. She needed an outlet for this rage.

"Greetings Lady Baulm," said a servant politely as she was about to pass.

Lady Baulm turned swiftly at the sound of the voice. It was a young servant holding a basket of clothes. She had dark brown hair and delicate features. Her long lashes and pale smooth skin annoyed Lady Baulm. Lady Baulm's appearance couldn't even rival that of this servant. Lady Baulm looked at the servant like a predator stalking its prey. The servant began to feel uneasy.

"A-are you okay Lady Baulm?" asked the servant as her voice trembled.

A twisted smile appeared on Lady Baulm's face.

"I will be," said Lady Baulm as she got closer to the servant.

Lady Baulm caressed the servant's cheek then slowly made her way to the girl's neck. She then started to squeeze.

After the King's meeting, training sessions became more intense for all soldiers, especially those at Training Ground 20. They had made great progress since training with Viola and the princes but more still needed to be done for them to catch up with the other groups. Despite the added pressure however, the training ground was lively. They managed to find interesting ways to train. One of which was running laps with Viola. Each lap was 300 metres and they needed to do at least five. If anyone could complete a lap before Viola reached 10 laps, then they would be exempt from hand to hand combat training with her. Needless to say it was an almost impossible task even with her restraining herself but it was still a goal they worked towards. Captain Brigg had also become more involved in their training, at times even coming up with the most unusual training methods. After finishing the laps, it was time for hand to hand combat training. The soldiers would normally rotate partners until they all faced each other and both princes. It would then lead up to the boss level, combat with Viola. Many of the soldiers were filled with dread as they approached her but for some it was the opposite. As they approached the circular ring, Captain Brigg stepped in first. His excitement could not be contained.

"Okay Viola, today's the day, I'm gonna make you break a sweat. I'm pumped and ready to go!" advised Captain Brigg in an exhilarated manner.

"But, I don't sweat..." replied Viola nonchalantly.

"Hmph! We'll see about that!" shouted Captain Brigg as he ran towards Viola.

The match was soon over shortly after it began. With one kick Viola sent Captain Brigg flying outside of the ring. Two soldiers placed Captain Brigg under the tree as he was knocked unconscious due to the fall. No one was surprised by the end result. They did however commend Captain Brigg on his willingness to be beaten.

"So, who's next?" asked Viola as she looked at the men.

Each looked at one another and tried recommending someone else to enter. They continued to push each other forward until Viola started randomly pulling soldiers from the group and beating them. Rather than combat training, to an outsider, it might have looked like a one-sided beating. Shrieks could be heard from some of the men as they were being beaten. The two princes laughed at the sight of them. As a result, they were unaware of their surroundings. They both suddenly felt a hand on their shoulder. They stopped laughing and slowly turned around.

"You two are next," said Viola with a menacing look on her face.

They too were now engaged in combat training with Viola and only managed to last a few seconds longer than the soldiers.

"Did I, did I win?" mumbled Captain Brigg as he slowly began regaining consciousness.