A Cold Dish

Chapter 8 - The Banquet

With the help of Anne I boarded the carriage. A familiar voice greeted me as I got on.
"Good evening, sister." It was Oscar, he was already seated in the carriage.
"Good evening, brother. Did you wait long?" I asked and sat opposite of him.
"No, Mother is taking rather long getting ready," he asked seemingly bored. 
"As usual then."
He smiled a bit at my remark.
"I heard you and Honorable Mielle Lockens had an argument. What happened?" Behind his obsidian orbs that were staring right into mine I could see a hint of worry.
"It would seem like she, like many young ladies our age, is head over heels for Lord William," I said coldly and broke eye contact.
"I warned you. She, much like our father, is an opportunist. However her emotions clouds her judgement," he sighed, "lesson learned I suppose."
I clenched my fists, he was not wrong however upsetting his words may be. 
"And you? How has life been?" I asked.
"Socially? Not as hectic as yours. Father suddenly came with a proposal for Her Highness' birthday present and he seemed to be done with the designs too. There was little room for me to influence it." 
"Oh? That is most unusual, not consulting the brilliant young master?" I scoffed.
Suddenly, a whip could be heard and the carriage started moving. Brother and I used the carriage ride as a means to catch up since we did not talk a lot at home.

Brother led me into the grand banquet hall that had been decorated with rather gloomy colors. It did not take long for an aristocrat to whisk Father away and Mother quickly joined the other noblewomen to socialize. Brother and I were standing somewhat awkwardly at the bottom of the staircase.
"I can never get used to banquets," he sighed.
"You and me both." I smiled weakly. 
"Lord Vanidestine!" a voice suddenly called out.
The caller attached herself to Brother’s arm and looked at him with love-struck eyes.
"You look absolutely splendid this evening."
Something pushed me out of the way, it was another girl my age who attached herself to Brother’s other arm.
"Your hair is so magnificent, may I touch it?" she asked with excitement.
Brother unwillingly nodded as he was being dragged away by the two girls. How comedic, despite sharing the same skin color as me as long as he is considered handsome he will be accepted. I on the other hand… I sighed and walked aimlessly around the banquet hall. I greeted some familiar faces and made small talk to keep up appearances. However I had unconsciously walked towards the buffet table. I froze when I saw the familiar brown locks chatting with my fiancé. There was a tightness in my chest and breathing became difficult.
"Ah, Lady Elizabeth." A familiar voice called me out of my trance. "It is a pleasure to see you."
I looked up and my eyes met with two emerald ones, I quickly bowed.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
He clicked his tongue.
"I told you to refer to me by my first name, Lady Elizabeth," he sounded displeased.
"I would not dare," I said.
"Where is Honorable Mielle Lockens? The two of you are like twins, completely inseparable." He looked around.
Is he saying this to poke fun at me? Or is he really ignorant of the fact that she is a couple of meters behind him?
"We had… a disagreement," I said, trying not to sound too upset.
He suddenly grabbed my hands and looked at me seriously.
"Worry not, Lady Elizabeth, friends come and go. You are always welcome to talk to me about it."
"Crown Prince Leonard Eirik!" A familiar voice exclaimed and suddenly His Highness' hands were slapped away from mine.
The chatter in the banquet hall quickly quieted down and I felt something pulling my waist, a somewhat hard body cushioned mine and I looked up to find Lord William holding me close.
"What do you think you are doing?" Lord William asked coldly.
"Lord Watson, you dare interrupt my conversation?" His Highness ignored the question and I noticed his hand moving towards his sheathed blade.
"If I see you grabbing on to my fiancée for dear life, then yes, I dare," Lord William said menacingly to which gasps and murmurs could be heard.
"Oh? Did it seem like that? I was only doing my job as the future ruler and comforting a dear subject of mine," His Highness retorted.
"Comforting…?" Lord William mumbled and looked at me with a hint of worry.
"Yes, comforting, for being her fiancé it seems you are not as attentive as you should be."
As Lord William opened his mouth a servant made an announcement.
"Her Highness, Princess Charlotte Eirik has arrived!" His words shifted the onlookers' attention towards the entrance.
Down the staircase came a rather glum looking lady bearing a dark blue gown with details that shared color with the golden strings that was her hair. Her jade eyes met mine for a second and then traveled to her brother's. A hint of shock was shown on her face as she glanced downwards. She made her way towards us.
"We greet Her Highness, the one and only princess of this kingdom" Lord William and I said in unison as we bowed.
"Greetings Lord Watson, Lady Vanidestine," she greeted back.
His Highness the crown prince was surprisingly quiet as the princess glanced at his hilt.
"Brother…" She grabbed his hands and looked at him solemnly, "Is this really necessary? On my last birthday banquet here?"
A hint of guilt showed in his eyes before he sighed and looked away. The atmosphere had gotten quite gloomy as the music started again.
"This is a banquet, is it not? Stop looking so glum," I said, trying to lighten the mood to which no one responded. "Lord William and I will excuse ourselves then, happy birthday Princess." I bowed and grabbed William by the arm and quickly hurried away.
"Wait, Lady Elizabeth!" the Crown Prince called out.
"Yes, Your Highness?" I turned around.
"You should come visit more often." He smiled at me.
"I will come if I need to," I replied and walked away.

"Lady Elizabeth!" A familiar voice called out.