Chapter 23: Unexpected Visitors

I had spent enough time with Celestria to know her moods, but I had never seen her panic before. At least not to such an extent.

The fact that our parents received an urgent message from the queen and were summoned to her castle right after they broke the news about Hunter and Tanner’s arrival didn’t help either.

“Why are they coming here? They never do that unless there is a special ceremony or a festival to attend,” she muttered, fidgeting as Maven struggled to fix up her hair.

Maven had asked Celestria to stay still at least four times because she didn’t want to accidentally poke her with a hairpin, but she wouldn’t listen. Or she did, and she simply couldn’t control what her body was doing because anxiety had fully taken over. Whatever the reason, I didn’t blame her because it wasn’t like I could sit still either.

“Like you parents said, they didn’t give an explanation,” I said. “And it’s not like we can send them away or not go down to meet them. After all, Tanner is the prince, and we can’t refuse him.”

“Don’t worry, ladies. You look beautiful. We will make sure there’s not a hair out of place before you leave this room,” Lilli assured us.

I sighed. “Thank you, but somehow that’s not making me feel any less nervous.”

Lilli lightly squeezed my shoulder. “Good nervous or bad nervous?” she asked in a motherly voice, as though I was ill and she was trying to figure out what hurt.

“Good nervous,” Celestria and I said in unison. “Jinx!”

This time around, we both wore bright-yellow dresses, but the beading and the design set them apart. Mine had long, flowing sleeves, and Celestria’s had short sleeves adorned with tiny bows. They were much heavier and bouncier than our typical gowns, but this was a special occasion, so Maven and Lilli had picked dresses that were going to make an impression.

By the time we finished getting ready, my body tingled with anxiety, and I had trouble standing straight.

Celestria paced the length of the hallway. Her face was pale, and she kept fiddling with the rings on her fingers.

She really did like him.

“Stop this,” I finally said and took her cold hands in mine. “Celestria, you are the strongest person I know. Pull yourself together, be the lady we all know you are, and let’s go to breakfast and act like we aren’t nervous at all.”

Celestria took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled in one, big heap. “You’re right. I’m Celestria Jolenta. No one can throw me off my game. Not even a kind and annoyingly handsome prince.”

We made our way down. The guys were sitting on the sofa. I couldn’t help but notice that their usual air of confidence was missing.

“Good morning,” Tanner said once he spotted us.

Hunter stood up so quickly that the pillows tumbled off the sofa. It was odd to see him all uncoordinated and flustered. Funny too.

“We hope we didn’t catch you at a bad time,” he said, trying hard to keep his voice steady.

“We were busy before you got here, but we wrapped up our business and now we’re here,” I said casually.

Celestria gave me a conspiratorial smile. “That’s right. Even when we’re busy, we still make time for you. Unlike what you did at the festival.”

As soon as Celestria said that, Tanner’s ears turned red. “Sorry about that. We ran into your parents before we left. They said we could visit whenever we wanted.”

“And since we ~really~ wanted to visit, we’re here,” Hunter chimed in.

“What is the reason for this visit?” I asked, my tone light and unassuming.

“We want to spend the day with you,” Tanner said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Hunter also has some news to share.”

Hunter gave Tanner a quick nudge. “Bro, not yet,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

I smoothed out the front of my skirt. “Well, since you insist on spending the day with us, it’s only right that you decide what we will do, and how you will entertain us,” I said. “What should we do first?”

“We’ll be taking you on an adventure,” Tanner said.

“Really?” Celestria said. “And what makes you think we will be willing to go anywhere with the two of you after you abandoned us at the festival?”

I didn’t realize she’d taken Tanner and Hunter cutting the evening short so personally, but now it was clear that she had.

“That’s how it’s going to be, huh?” Hunter smiled at the prince. “What are we going to do with these stubborn and beautiful ladies, Tan?”

“I guess we’ll just have to kidnap them. But not before they eat. According to your parents, you had a busy morning,” he said, giving us his undivided attention once again. “You better eat up because we have a busy afternoon and evening ahead. You’ll need the energy.”

“Tanner is right. Finish your breakfast and come outside. We will be waiting for you there,” Hunter said.

Celestria turned to me as soon as the prince and the lord walked out of the room. “Should I not have said what I said?”

“I don’t think it matters. They have something up their sleeves, and apparently, we won’t find out until after we eat.”

Just as the words left my mouth, the sitting room table rattled, and decadent dishes appeared out of thin air. We rushed over and grabbed our forks.

“How can I be too nervous to eat, yet be starving at the same time?” I asked.

“Magic and boys will do that to you,” Celestria said and stuck her fork into a piece of fish. “Or so I’ve heard.”