Alex took a sip from the glass of water that was in front of him and spoke:
“I did all of them during the past few years and I got better with each of them. I started drawing when I was little because I didn’t want to forget the face of my mother and I took a liking to it.”
Anika made an awkward smile:
“Oh, I am sorry… But… do you mind drawing me one of these days? I would love to be your muse!”
“I already made one, but I don’t have it here. I can do another if you want, and I even let you chose where you want to display it.”
Wenammy quickly interrupted:
“I also want one! Better yet, do one with me and Pearl at your side! Anika can be at the back, frowning, like if she was angry!”
Alex disguised his smile when he saw Anika actually frowning:
“That sounds like a great idea, actually. Minus the Anika part, because that would be mean to her.”
The maids and servants arrived with the food, immediately followed by the Minstrels and the dancers, that gathered a few applauses and cheering. Like what happened at dinner on the previous day, the dancers leaned on the table in front of the Nobles or tried to seduce them, without even getting near Alex and the angry-looking Mermaid.
Wenammy and Pearl were looking at the dancers and whispering between them, and Alex saw them giggling and the red face of Wenammy, a clear indication that they were up for no good. Okami joined them in the whispering, with Suijin talking with Ghar and challenging her to join the dancers, that she vehemently refused, much to the sadness of Gabriel Dawson, that also did his best to convince her to dance.
While the Minstrels and the dancers were performing, Princess Ebell disguisedly leaned to her right side and whispered to Alex:
“The strangest thing happened during my visit with the Nobles. They kept on asking for my opinion about all the wonders we saw, and some of them even asked directly if the King had already visited everything because he wasn’t with us. I evaded all their questions, and I did my best to hear and to not be heard, but it bugged me because I am not used to be so quiet, I always tended to express myself at any given opportunity, but what you said to me in the meeting room, kept on coming to my head.”
Alex whispered back while looking at the group ahead, pretending to be talking about the dancers:
“At least you learned something, Princess. It is always better not to gather too much attention to yourself and to not express freely your opinions when you can’t fully trust the ones that are hearing you. I know that all these Nobles always tried to question the King about the same things, and they followed him here several times, trying to find out more about my methods. You should never trust Nobles, my Princess, except maybe in your mother and father. I suppose that you should be careful even with your sister, because siblings tend to be rivals and you going to Bouria, and she is staying here as the future ruler of Beliersia, might put you in a difficult situation in the future, if you don’t hold your ground.”
“What are you talking about? My older sister is the sweetest thing!”
“That’s what you say, but she will need to be ruthless if the situation demands it like any good Queen would be when dealing with other countries. I don’t know you very well but you seemed to me, since the first day, like a spoiled Princess, used to do what you pleased without worrying about anything or anyone else. Going to Bouria and marrying the heir to the crown, you will need to be extra careful with everyone around you. The world of politics is a strange place, and your position as the Princess of Beliersia and the future Queen of Bouria, will for sure grant you a lot of responsibilities in the alliance. Watch your back, Princess, and try to always read the hidden meanings behind other people’s words.”
Princess Ebell made a slight smile and asked:
“You are more or less right on your evaluation of me, but I am not a stupid and shallow Princess. I studied and trained a lot to be a proper Princess in preparation to represent our country. I think your words also have a hidden meaning, even with you smiling. I am not wrong on detecting a veiled threat, am I? You even said I shouldn’t trust anyone, and that includes you.”
“You are right about that. I can be your best friend or your executioner. If your actions weaken the alliance, I will warn you twice. I won’t warn you a third. I won’t tolerate a spoiled Princess to ruin all the good work that my father and your father did, during and after the war. I can also promise that I will be on your side against everyone that threatens you or tries to discredit you if you deserve my help. Let’s wait to see what happens, shall we?”
The Princess bit her lower lip and after a few moments, she leaned again and whispered:
“What if I do a good job in Bouria and the bonds between the two countries, and the others of the alliance, become stronger because of me?”
“Then, I will be your friend forever and I will make sure your reign lasts for as long as you live. Centuries, hopefully.”
“That… is that a promise?”
Alex faced the Princess with a serious look and nodded:
“Yes, it is a promise. I have high hopes for you, Princess Ebell, and hearing you say that you are starting to notice the innuendos and hidden words behind what the Nobles tells you, sounds very promising. Perhaps there is still hope for you, Princess. You might as well one day be known as the greatest and wisest Queen in the World.”
Princess Ebell gulped. It was at that moment that she noticed the strong glow in Alex’s eyes, how smooth his skin seemed to be, and how good he smelled. She did her best to speak without her voice trembling:
“I think I understand how you were able to conquer those three women. You say things in a way and with such seriousness, that I don’t doubt you a single bit. It also plays a good part in your favour, being so good-looking. Now I understand why my father likes you so much. I used to be so jealous of you, just because of all the times he and my mother spoke about you. I guess that’s why I was acting like a rude brat since we met.”
Alex made a slight smile:
“Careful, Princess, don’t you fall for me now! I am already taken, and so are you. It was never my intention to make you jealous of me, and it’s not my fault if your father likes me so much! Well, actually it is, I did my best to conquer him.”
Princess Ebell turned bright red and made a slight smile:
“I may be taken, but no one said that I couldn’t appreciate a man’s beauty. I hope I don’t disappoint you, and you could one day consider me as your friend. Nothing else, of course, because your women frighten me!”
“I understand why you fear them, they can be a little intimidating. They are fun to be with, but they can also be a pain in the butt!”
Princess Ebell muffled her laughter:
“Pfff… don’t let them hear you saying that especially the Mermaid, she is glancing at me with a scary look!”
“You really should get used to calling them by their name, Princess. It’s a bit rude to address them by their kind, it makes you sound like you don’t want to know them.”
Princess Ebell disguisedly nodded and faced forward again, to watch the dancers.
As the food was ending, so did the performance. After finishing their last song, they bowed to the King and Alex, thanking him again for the opportunity, and left.
When the maids and servants brought tea, cheese and salami, the Nobles took that opportunity to flood Alex with questions, not only about the processes used on his several facilities but also trying to find out Alex’s thought process to reach to the creation of his products.
Princess Ebell heard everything in complete silence, noticing the weird smiles of some Nobles, a clear indication that they were thinking about something hidden behind their words, and Alex forced smiles, showing her that he was making a huge effort to be polite, even if he was annoyed by all that questioning. She kept on listening, and her maid whispered when she noticed that the Princess was quiet for far too long:
“What’s the matter, Princess? You are awfully quiet!”
“I am listening. I am starting to notice that I was never aware of so many things that happen during a harmless conversation. Like this one, there are always strange smiles, whisperings and many things that are implied behind the questions.”
– “You… never worried about that, Princess.”
“Yes, and see where that took me. I never saw my father so disappointed with me like he was in the meeting room. Earl Alex was right, I need to learn, and I need to learn as fast as I can, or things will be very difficult for me in Bouria.”
The maid smiled. She liked when the Princess was having fun without a single care in the World, but seeing her so serious and aiming to do a good job representing Beliersia in the ‘Kingdom of Bouria’, was making her look cool.
Seated on the left side of the lady’s maid was Anika, squeezing her fork while glancing at the whispering Princess that was smiling way too much to Alex. Pearl Pearson noticed and asked in a whisper:
“What’s the matter, Anika? Why do you look so angry?”
“No, I… I just don’t like to see that spoiled brat being so friendly to Alex. She has her face all red and she is giggling way too much for my taste.”
Pearl took one quick look to the Princess and whispered back:
“You may be right, she seems way too impressed. What do you think, that she fell for him? Even after the way he treated her in the meeting room?”
“Probably it was because of that. She could be used to be spoiled, and having a man scolding her so much and putting her in the right place, might as well have triggered something in her. She could be a girl that likes to be mistreated, or perhaps, punished for doing something wrong. She could very well be one of those that does everything wrong just to be punished!”
Wenammy overheard them and said:
“Do you girls think that Alex is one of those guys that gets fired up by punishing a woman? Because I wouldn’t say no if he wanted to slap my butt in the bedroom! Or bite my nipples! Oh… That would be so good…”
Anika gasped and whispered:
“Pearl, what did you do to her? She never said anything like this! You broke her!”
Pearl gently caressed Wenammy’s left hand that was on her thigh:
“I think she was always like this, but she is too shy to say what is on her mind. Maybe I made her a little more confident. I wonder how will she act when she gets completely lose of her shyness.”
While Wenammy was making a slight smile with her face all red, Anika frowned:
“I am a little worried about that! Her shyness is very alluring to Alex, if she gets overconfident, I don’t know what his reaction will be!”
Wenammy gasped but Pearl gently squeezed her hand:
“I am not worried about that, I am sure he will like it, as I do.”
Anika took one cube of cheese from the platter and whispered:
“You are crazier than you seemed at first, Pearl! I kind of like this side of you, it makes things more interesting. You used to be so quiet that I never could tell what you were thinking!”
Pearl took a sip of her tea and tapped Anika’s thigh under the table:
“Don’t worry, you will have plenty of time to know me better.”
Anika choked with the cheese that she was munching when Pearl’s tapping turned into a gentle squeeze that moved towards the inside of her leg. Alex heard the choking noise, but when he looked at the three whispering women, he was received with smiles by Wenammy and Pearl, with Anika gulping her tea to help her swallow. She quickly made a forced smile to Alex to reassure him that everything was alright so that he didn’t ask why she looked so troubled.