Three

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The two ladies had just entered the enormous dining room. There was a long wooden table with an ivory white tablecloth. All down the table were different delectable foods. Fruits were piled high next to toasted bread and fresh wine. In the center was a steaming ham.

Two maids came pulling out the chairs for them to sit, placing handkerchiefs on their laps. They were on opposite ends of the table. The queen in her elegant black gown. The commander in her daring red dress.

Once the maids left, Celebrate looked over to the end of the table where Sigourney sat. She had begun putting food on her plate, then took a sip of her wine. Celestria watched her every move closely. She didn't want to risk being surprised by any sudden moves.

"It's not very polite to stare," Sigourney remarked. Celestria's cheeks burned red as she quickly turned her face away from the queen. She cursed herself for not being more subtle. She cleared her throat and made a mental note of how observant Sigourney is.

"So, Sigourney. Why did you invite me to dine with you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sigourney asked with a devilish grin on her face.

"If it was obvious, I wouldn't have asked." Her curtness took aback Sigourney. Usually people got flustered to be in such close proximity to her, yet it appeared she was the one being flustered this time. She'd never admit it out loud, but something about Celestria threw her off. She felt the commander could see right through her.

"I- What I mean to say is-" Celestria put her hand up to silence the queen. Staying silent was not something the queen did often.

"I let you speak while we were with the king. It's my turn now." She leaned forward and made eye contact with the queen. Sigourney's pace quickened. There was just something about this woman… I'm not entirely sure what your intentions are. I'm not sure if I like you. I may never trust you. But that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to cooperate with you. The safety of my kingdom is and always will be my first priority. I will side with you to defeat this threat. I make no promises about what will happen after. If I feel you are or will become an additional threat against this kingdom, then I will move against you. Do you understand?" By now Sigourney had gained some of her usual confidence back. She took a slow sip of her wine and smiled. Her eyes never left the commanders'.

"Oh. I understand quite well, Celestria. But do you understand? Do you understand no one has ever beaten me before? Do you understand that there is no one in the world who can match me? Do you understand that if I wanted you gone, you'd be gone by now?" Silence. "That's what I thought." But Celestria was far from done.

"Queen Sigourney, I think you are quite wrong." The queen nearly choked on her food. After all of that, she still had something to say? "I think you are looking at someone who can match you perfectly. I know that even though you've never been beaten before, I will tear you and your army down if I need to. You should be more careful about who you choose to underestimate, your majesty. They may be the very person who causes your downfall." The room fell quiet as both ladies sat in thought. After a moment of silence, Sigourney raised her wineglass to a toast.

"I guess we'll just have to see then, now won't we?" Her smile was neither deceptive nor sly. It held a warmness that Celestria didn't know the queen possessed. A part of her feared that this new side of the queen may just be a trick to win her over. The other side of her realized she didn't have any chance but to follow along. The commander smiled as brightly as she could manage and raised her glass.

"I guess we shall."

Before the dinner could get any more tense, the two maids came in again, along with a servant boy. One maid, Karla, couldn't stop staring at the young man.

Karla didn't know she knew, but Celestria always knew she had the biggest crush on the servant. She wanted to tell the man, Samuel, about the crush but didn't think it was her place.

The two maids began cleaning up the table and whisking away the food as Samuel brought desserts and more wine. Celestria smiled at Karla as they finished tidying up the table.

"The three of you are dismissed. For the rest of the night," she said.

The other maid, Lilith, looked to Celestria, handkerchief in hand. "Really?"

She nodded. "Of course. It's late. Maids and servants need their rest too, y'know." Celestria leaned in closer to them. "And I'll make sure King Stephen doesn't find out either," she said with a wink. Lilith smiled and nodded. The queen frowned. She couldn't place her finger on what type of relationship they had. There was much warmth between them, but it wasn't romantically. Their body language indicated that they knew each other very well and they were highly comfortable with one another. They looked nothing alike, so she couldn't be sure if they were siblings. She'd have to ask the king about them when she got the chance.

As the maids and the servant boy walked out, Celestria turned her attention back to Sigourney. She seemed as if she were in deep thought. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips were forming a pout. She was staring at a spot on the table as her hand made a back and forth motion across the top of her glass. In that moment, she seemed innocent and sweet. Celestria found herself unable to look away from the woman. She couldn't help but think about what she was like as a child. Surely she hasn't always been scheming and stuck up. Maybe there was a time when she was gentle. No. Celestria brushed these thoughts off. She's a royal snob. She grew up looking down on others. She never had to fight to get to her position. She clenched her fist and looked away from the queen.

"Finally," The queen said in a teasing tone. "I thought you'd never stop staring."

Celestria let out a scoff. This woman really was self-centered. "Don't be flattered," she sneered. She really wasn't liking the queen. But she couldn't do anything about it, since Sigourney hadn't actually done anything yet.

The commander got up, her chair scraping against the wooden floor. "Excuse me, your majesty, but it's getting late and I must check up on my soldiers." She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, signaling another servant to come to the room. "Tristan here will escort you to your room," Celestria said. And before the queen could respond, she left the room.