TATIANA LORIEL
Thankfully, no one discovered her identity, and she was able to safely go back to her room before the afternoon tea. Tatiana realized that she wasn't going to do that again any time soon, especially when Bjorn is around.
The next day, she was sleeping on her bed like a starfish, and her leg was outside of the blanket. Some of the pillows were scattered on the floor, and she was lying diagonally on the bed.
"It is time to wake up!"
She jumped from her bed in surprise when the door to her bedroom was flung open. She landed on her feet and stood in a defensive position, her hands in front of her ready to karate chop anyone who came near. Her eyes were still half open and her hair was pointing out in different directions.
"Who's there?! Who's there?!" she said in the alert.
William, who had just arrived with a guest, lowered his gaze and shook his head in disappointment. He cautiously glanced at the guest and then back to the princess, who wasn't in her best state.
He cleared his throat, "Your highness, the royal tutor is here."
"The-the what?" Tatiana opened her sleepy eyes and saw William and a blurry figure beside him. "Oh, William! You're here!"
The princess smiled goofily and scratched the back of her head. The workers accompanying the guest and William all looked at each other with unsure and embarrassed expressions.
"You need to pull yourself together!" a booming voice shouted, loud enough that the birds in the nearby forest flew away and the palace workers stopped doing their respective jobs for a second.
On the other hand, the tea served to the king was slightly rippled. A vibrating laugh came out at the back of his throat as he proceeded to pick it up.
"Ah, the lessons start again," he said, and took a sip. The queen drank her tea beside the king in their chambers, with servants and chefs surrounding them.
The queen said, "Since the princess lost her memories, she has been acting strangely. The tea party that I arranged will be happening in two weeks. I don't want her to embarrass herself."
"Make sure that the food prepared is thoroughly checked." The king said, "I don't want things to happen twice."
The queen froze in her place. The cup of tea stopped halfway through, and she tried to cover the slightly visible shaking of her hands. She cleared her throat and placed the cup of tea down.
"I will surely do it," she said, "My king, don't you think that the princess is old enough to do her duty in the palace?"
The king paused and thought about it.
"She and I are both young and healthy. I will teach her the right things when I see it fit."
"How about Elliot? He's a brilliant child. Don't you think he is brilliant enough to be attending the same lessons as the princess?"
The queen fiddled with her fingers. She knows what her son is capable of, and the earlier Elliot proves his talent, he can establish his position on the crown.
"That child is sickly," the king said, as if it was nothing, "He couldn't even lift a wooden sword, let alone fight with it."
The queen's expression faltered and her jaw clenched at the king's remark.
"The princess knows how to hold the sword, but she isn't as brilliant as Elliot. Elliot is advanced and the teachers praise him for it," she said, her expression hardening.
"Elliot is just a child," the king retorted, "Give him a break."
"Butâ"
"Let's drop this topic for now, "the king cut her off," "I don't want my day to be ruined."
"Ruin his day?! He's the one who ruined mine!" The queen wiped the things off of her vanity table. The servants squealed and avoided the thing that flew their way. The King has just left the chambers and the queen is already on a rampage.
"That ignorant man does not know a thing!" she bellowed, "my son is far more capable than his daughter from that woman!"
Her chest was rising and falling from all the heavy breathing. The queen won't accept this defeat so easily. She knows what she wants and she'll do anything to establish her position in the kingdom.
"Your Majesty, it is I Norma," a voice announced from outside. The queen immediately went out of her powder room as soon as Norma entered the door.
"Do you have news?" she asked and sat on the red sofa. Norma immediately went down to her knees and bowed her head down to the queen.
"The princess still doesn't seem to remember," Norma started, "and she is acting differently than before."
"What do you mean, acting differently?" the queen asked. A servant offered her a cup of tea on the saucer, and she accepted it. She was calm, like she hadn't even messed up the powder room.
"The servants that help her to talk about how she isn't having any tantrums anymore. She is no longer violent, and she thanks them too."
Norma remembers how the princess told her that she shouldn't kneel down before anyone anymore. She wanted to scoff at her situation right now. It's easy for the princess to say since she never had to do this all her life. The princess had everything she wanted in the palm of her hands and with a single word from her mouth, she would be provided.
"That's strange. What happened to the herbal tea that triggered her temper?" the queen asked. She specifically instructed a palace servant to secretly place an herb to the princess' tea in the morning. The herb, served in small amounts, is known to make a person more irritated and sensitive. If the dose is served higher, then the person who consumes it will be even more agile and likely hallucinate.
The herb is served to the princess in small amounts each day in the morning. The queen will not risk a higher dose since the symptoms will become more obvious and the royal physician will notice the herb's effects.
"She no longer wants to drink tea in the morning," Norma nervously answered, "the princess' appetite has changed, and she wants to drink milk in the morning instead."
The queen rolled her eyes in frustration. This would be a problem for her since that specific tea was the only drink that can be served with the herb. Any other food or drinks that are mixed with the herb will change color. They were only lucky enough that morning tea that was compatible with the herb was the princess' favorite morning drink.
"And-and there is something more important that you should know about, your majesty," Norma stuttered. She wasn't sure if it was right to tell the queen.
"What? Spit it out," she said, "and don't tell me any more bad news. My day is already ruined."
"The princessâ" Norma breathed, "the princess is always in the royal library during the afternoon with Prince Elliot. They say that both of them have developed a great relationship with each other."
"Oh?" The queen leaned forward, suddenly interested. "Are they really, now?"
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END