A scene
I was serving the guests, going about my business so as to avoid any and every form of trouble whatsoever. It had been two weeks since the incident, and one thing I could say had changed for sure was that I wasn’t so much bullied or maltreated like before. Although Veronica and Simon still found ways to get at me, it wasn’t as bad as it used to be, and I really loved it.
On that fateful day, I knew I was definitely not going to die-well, at least not yet-but that was not something Lucas was so certain about. He had gotten so tense, running around and yelling at everyone for the doctor’s lateness. Though I was not conscious, I could still hear everything going on around me, so I knew for sure that I wasn’t going to die just yet.
As soon as the doctor arrived, he was instantly directed to my room, and he immediately started examining me. It took a few hours of cleaning, treating, and stitching before it was finally done and over with. At this point, Lucas was already calm, and his beta had come in to call him for the work they had to do. He hesitated for a while, but after some convincing from beta Damien, he finally decided to go, urging that he would still be back to check up on me.
“Hey, watch where you’re going,” a lady said as she wiped her dress, which I had accidentally spilled a little drink on.
“Oh, so sorry,” I responded, making my way in another direction. I was lost in thought, and it didn’t help that I had to also work at the same time, but there was nothing I could do.
I dropped the tray in my hands and went straight to mixing a couple of drinks for the next batch I was going to move around serving. I had not even spent up to two minutes working when I heard the most annoying voice on earth speak to me from the side.
“We need a drink refill, now!” I sighed as I instantly recognized the voice. It was none other than Veronica. Putting on a fake smile, I turned to face her.
“Hi, your Highness, how may I help you now?”
“My mom and I need another glass of drinks each; come serve us now.” I looked around to see if the others were also just as busy as I was, but literally everyone else was either just relaxing or engaging in chitchat.
“Oh, I am trying to get a couple of drinks ready for some guests who specified how they wanted theirs. Could you please ask one of my colleagues? They’d be happy to attend to you, princess,” I said, trying to be as polite as I could, but she obviously wasn’t going to be understanding, as usual.
“Listen, I don’t care whether you’re busy or not. I have told you to bring me and my mom drinks, and you better bring it or else!” She strut back towards where her parents were, and I rolled my eyes as she left.
“Blah blah blabbity blah blah, or else! So rude,” I mocked as I returned my focus back to the drinks I was mixing. I called out to one of my coworkers, who happened to be the only one who was always friendly to me, and he instantly agreed to help me serve the queen and the rude princess Veronica. Not too long after he left, I was already done with what I was doing and had even started serving the guests that had made special requests for their drinks, when I felt someone tap me from behind.
“How dare you disobey my order!” I breathed out for the nth time, and for a while, I didn’t bother turning to face the nagging Veronica.
“Are you deaf or something? Aren’t you the one I am talking to?” she continued, and I finally decided to answer her.
“What is the problem, princess?” I finally responded, turning to face her.
“Didn’t I ask you specifically to bring my mom and I our drinks? Why did you send some guy to come serve us?”
“I am really sorry about that, Princess Veronica, but as you can see, I am quite busy. Some people had requested drinks way before you asked.”
“And so? I am the future queen of this kingdom. My request is more important than anybody else’s!” she yelled out, and at this point, people had started looking at us. She wasn’t conscious of this fact because she was the one yelling, but as the one on the receiving end, it didn’t take me long to notice that eyes were starting to be on us. The last event that had happened was the moon festival, and though I might have been the cause of the commotion created back then, at least it wasn’t me this time. There was a pre-mating season ritual that was always held close to the beginning of every mating season, and right after it, there was always some sort of celebration or gathering, which we were currently having when Veronica decided to cause a scene for no tangible reason.
“When I give you orders, I expect you to leave whatever nonsense you were doing and attend to me immediately. Do you hear me?” she yelled, and I still remained quiet, not wanting to say anything to her just yet.
“Why are you so quiet? I’m talking to you, and you are to answer immediately!” I still didn’t say anything, and this angered her even more. She flared up and instantly tried to slap me, but a hand surprisingly caught her mid-air. I hadn’t expected anyone to stop her, and so quickly at that, but on looking up to see who had saved me from her wrath, I was surprised to see Simon!
“What do you think you were actually just about to do?” He questioned, and I jerked in surprise. More and more people had gathered to see what was going on, and I soon found myself smirking at what was about to go down.
“What? Simon, what are you doing?”
“Stopping you from making a fool out of yourself. You’re welcome. Look,” he whispered, pointing at the others around with his eyes. Although he had spoken very softly in a whisper, I was still able to hear what he had said to her, and upon looking around to see what was actually happening, she soon turned red in embarrassment. People around had started whispering amongst themselves, and the whole banquet hall soon became noisy with whispers everywhere about how rude the Norway princess really was. Some even went as far as saying that she probably wasn’t wife material enough for the Lycan kings. I smiled in satisfaction, extremely happy that her wicked acts had finally found a way to catch up to her after so long of her constant pretending.
“Veronica, apologize to her.”
“What? You want me to apologize to this no-good, disgusting piece of t…” Simon stopped her halfway, and she bit her lip in embarrassment.
“Fine, sorry.”
“Say it like you actually mean it, Veronica.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I am not. Now go on.” From the corner of my eye, I could see Veronica’s mom shaking her head in disappointment. It was pretty obvious that she wasn’t happy that Veronica was spoiling not just her name but also that of their family as well. Her father, on the other hand, was extremely angry. It looked like he was actually about to go towards her and throw a huge slap on her, but he knew that was something he could not do as a king, especially towards his daughter, the princess.
“I said apologize, Veronica, now,” Simon continued, and she stared at me briefly with resentment in her eyes. I, on the other hand, was extremely happy about what was going on, as it restored the dignity she had attempted to take away from me.
“Ailey, I am sorry.”
“Actually, my name is Ashley. Hope you can remember that?” She looked at me with fire in her eyes, and I smirked back.
“Ashley, I am really sorry about how I treated you. Please forgive me,” she said, and I nodded.
“It’s fine. I understand.” She rolled her eyes, and Simon instantly took her away. Everyone started returning to their former positions, and I continued with what I was doing. Thinking about the fact that Simon had actually been the one to defend me made me feel all fuzzy inside. I was falling for him, and there was no stopping it anymore. He had one of the craziest mixed signals on the entire planet, but I still found myself loving him irrespective of how he treated me.
As I served the guests their drinks, some had even wanted to engage me in small talks about what had just happened, but I knew better than to involve myself in such conversations for reasons best known to me. I went on with my work, not wanting to be distracted by anything or anyone, and that was how the night persisted until it finally came to an end.