Quagmire II

The air in the drawing room was quite tense to say the least.

Johannes and Amethyst were clearly uncomfortable myself included of course.

No one had said anything at least not until Noor came in with snacks and drinks which she served rather quickly. Even she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Donellan compared to the rest of us looked as cool as a cucumber, and I could tell he was taking great pleasurable in making everyone feel uneasy.

I had forgotten that Donellan could be both petty and twisted at times and couldn't help mentally slapping myself on the forehead for not expecting this. I couldn't take the awkward silence anymore so I spoke up.

"Right your highness, I didn't even have the time to greet you due to all the chaos from earlier, " I said while giving Donellan a side glance.

"I didn't think you would come , considering our rocky first encounter, which I would like to apologize for once again." I said while giving him a warm smile.

Prince Amethyst who hadn't uttered a single word since coming here finally spoke as well.

"It's nothing, it was short notice anyway." He said with a little attitude, to which Johannes silently reprimanded him for.

I took a moment to observe the two.

They looked like they had a close relationship and one could tell at first glance Prince Amethyst felt comfortable being with him.

If I could recall, Amethyst didn't have a lot of people who he could genuinely lean on. I think Johannes was probably the few people he cared for as he got older.

His relationship with his brothers were quite strained so, he regarded Johannes as a older brother like figure. But I do remember doing some research on the novel in my spare time, and there were some comments from fans claiming that Amethyst might've viewed Johannes as more than just a brother, however this theory was never proven.

"You guys seem rather close to each other. How old are you Johannes if you don't mind me asking?" I asked him curiously.

Johannes who had been previously on guard, relaxed a little bit and answered my question earnestly.

"Yes, we've grown up together alongside his Highnesses's brothers. So we naturally grew quite close. Also I am going to turn 13 in 2 months." He said while looking at Amethyst fondly.

The other person in question blushed looking a little embarrassed.

Donellan who was beside me scoffed, although it wasn't very loud, but it definitely could be heard if one tried hard enough to listen.

I gave him another look and told him: "Father dearest," I said with the sweetest voice I could possibly muster, "I know you are busy with work and training the knights, so you don't have to bother staying here. I don't want to take any more of your time." I gave him a big smile, trying my best to look cute and adorable.

Donellan gave me a look, he could see what I was trying to do and luckily he decided to give me face.

He patted me on the head saying a simple ok, looked at the two saying: "you'll have to excuse me, as my son said, I am a busy man."

Johannes stood up. "It was an honour to meet the esteemed lord Grey.

I thank you for having us." Amethyst also stood up said the same thing. With that Donellan left and the two could suddenly breath better. I looked at the two and started to laugh.

"Well you can both relax now." Amethyst looked a little annoyed at my nonchalant attitude while Johannes looked at me with curiousity.

"It is incredible how you can withstand his presence." He said with a tinge of admiration.

"Well I am his son after all. It would be rather embarassing if I couldn't." I said laughing lightly.

"And please let's speak casually to each other, we are all pretty close in age."

Johannes gave me a relieved look and agreed.

"So how long are you going to be staying the capital?" Amethyst asked me. I looked at him and gave him a knowing smile. So he can speak normally.

"I think we'll be staying for two more days and then we'll be going back."

"Right you guys don't stay in the capital.

Where do you live , if you don't mind me asking?" Johannes asked.

"It's not a problem at all. And we live towards the south, it's about 2 hours from the capital."

"How are things there? I don't think I've been to the south before." He asked again and Amethyst seemed to be in agreement.

Right, it seems like they've always resided in the central part of the country. So going to the South has never been of any use to them.

"It's full of greenery and nature. It's also pretty quiet there too. So it's a nice place to go if you don't like the noise. There's also a lot of touristy places to go as well. The south is best known for its scenery and beaches."

"Oh wow, that sounds nice. We don't have any beaches in Central but there are still cool places to visit." Amethyst exclaimed.

"Yes you're right, we don't have any beaches here. I think the South is a nice place to visit if you're on vacation." Johannes said in agreement.

"Yes it is. Where are you originally from Johannes?" I asked him.

To be honest, I was still trying to figure out Johannes' identity since he felt very familiar but all I knew was that he was close to the Royal family.

"I'm originally from the North but moved here due to some circumstances." He said while looking a little sad.

The North? I thought to myself. There was definitely a character from the North that was a prevalent character in the story.

The Grey's were originally from the Northern parts of Novellus and stayed there for the most part, but ended up migrating to the South afterwards.

I think it was due to conflicts with another powerful family that also resided in the North as well. It was a Dukedom if I can remember correctly.

"Actually if I remember correctly, the Grey's used to live in the North right?" Amethyst asked.

I looked at him in surprise, so did Johannes. "How did you know that?" He asked.

"I think I read it in a book once. But that was a long time ago." He looked at me as if trying to get me to confirm what he said.

"Yes, we used to live in the North but I don't know the reason why we don't anymore. I'll have to ask my father about that."

"What a coincidence." Johannes exclaimed, still in shock.

The reason for his astonishment, was because not many people choose to reside in the North, and the people that did never really left.

It was either you were born there and stayed or you were going for a visit but would eave after. It's not like the North was a bad place to live. In the contrary, it was absolutely beautiful there. The only problem was the cold. Most people couldn't handle it.

After that the three boys spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about everything and nothing while enjoying the snacks Noor provided them.

After that, both Johannes and Amethyst were curious about the training room and what it was like.

They wanted to see the knights in action as well. I asked Hecate if it was ok and he told me that there wasn't any training today but that we could still visit the training grounds if we wanted to.

Although the two were a little disappointed, they still wanted to see the room and so we went together.

"Wow! It's just as impressive as the rumours claimed. " Johannes said in excitement.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm.

He looked a lot like his age when he acted like that. The same could be said for Amethyst. He had a bright glow on his angelic face which made him look even more stunning.

After that, the carriage that was suppose to bring them back arrived and they left after saying their goodbyes.

I was beyond exhausted after that.

Entertaining guests was a mentally draining task and all I wanted to do was sleep after that.

I had diner before though since Noor wouldn't allow me to sleep on an empty stomach.

I had it alone this time since Donellan was busy running errands for most of the day.

I only saw him at bed time when I knocked on his door to sleep.

Yeah, ever since that nightmare, I haven't been able to sleep alone anymore.

As soon as my head made contact with the pillow, I was knocked out.

Donellan who was still working, finally got ready for bed, touched his son's forehead and went to bed as well.