The Kingdom of Belmar

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Amy, Amy, Amy!" Grace charges at me, hooking her arms around my neck in excitement. "Last night was the best night ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! After you introduced us to the Duke, I got to tell him about my aspirations to head one of his knight regiments in the future, and I drank champagne with the Duchess. And then after we finished talking, Thompson danced with me for a song! Me! Can you believe it?"

I laugh with her, putting a hand on her forearm looped around me. I wonder how Thompson felt last night. In the original novel, he was labeled as a womanizer but fell so deeply in love with Margarite that he didn't know what to do, he even betrayed his family when they sided with Queen Rista. She eventually chose Prince Cole but he remained faithful and protected her until the very end. Did seeing her get engaged to Tristen tear him apart like when she got engaged to Cole? Or did he not get the chance to fall in love with her like how Cole never payed this version of Margarite any mind.

"I'm just glad you had fun," I say, petting her arm. "Just remember, you owe me in the future." It's a debt I'm already planning on how she could repay. Because Grace, Percival, Philip, and Geoffrey were never mentioned in the novel, Margarite has no idea they exist, and that will be an advantage in my plan to keep the crown.

"Anything, name the time and place and I'll do anything for you. Whatever it is, it will never be enough to thank you." She hugs me even tighter as the remainder of our group finally joins us on the training ground.

"Amalie!" Geoffrey and Philip run towards me, Percival falls behind with a leisurely step, refusing to lower himself to the boys' level. He carries himself with a slight wobble in his movements that not so much indicate a haughty gait but rather the will of excess alcohol the night prior.

The two almost jump on top of each other to stop from knocking me over with their momentum. "How is such a noble family such a delight?" Geoffrey asks, as giddy as Grace was. "I never knew of a bloodline to be so superior in grace and beauty. I'm envious of your lot in life, Amalie. It's a shame you don't have a sister, you danced with Crown Prince Accolodius all evening, and even Grace was able to dance with Lord Thompson last night."

"Luckily I have two brothers," I joke to him, "feel free to have your pick." While I expected a playful retort from Geoffrey after my teasing, he doesn't reject the idea all together. Deep down I begin fearing the idea of having Geoffrey as my brother in law. He'd surely manage to bring Philip with him, and I can't afford that headache.

"Must you be so loud?" Percival whines, rubbing the side of his head in apparent pain. "The neighboring kingdom of Drittereich can hear you with your hollering. They'd probably assume the noise was our way of declaring war."

Grace jumps on his back, and I swear Percival's face turns visibly green as he holds back vomit. "Percy! It's not nice to scold others while you're hungover. You're only cranky because you've poisoned your body."

Percival swats on his back, trying to pry Grace off of him to no avail. "You had as much to drink as I did you wench, how are you so lively? Are you even human?"

"I habitually have more liquor in my blood than water, it's a fact of my life," she laughs in his ear, and I fear for the contents of his stomach as it seems they're about to be taking an upward journey. "Alright, alright Grace," I say, patting her shoulder, "Percival must be suffering enough as is, let's allow him a day to recuperate or else we might permanently break him beyond repair."

Grace slides from his back, obeying me reluctantly like a child whose toy was taken away. I'm still a bit grateful that these two never fail to keep me entertained. Philip locks an arm around Percival's neck, notching his head into the crook of his elbow, and undoing all of the progress that was made when Grace stopped teasing him. "If you all finished your training for the morning, shall we head to the canteen before Amalie is needed at her post?"