The Switch

Trouble

*Raina's P.O.V*

I made my way back to the castle, the guards allowing me back on the castle grounds with knowing looks. I made my way back to my room, wondering if I could convince Catiline to not tell Mother that I had left the castle without an escort. Maybe neither of them would know I had left the castle without permission.

My hopes of that happening crashed when I opened the main door to the castle and came face to face with my Mother. I cursed my luck as I hesitantly entered the room, looking down when she made her way towards me. I flinched in surprise when she hugged me tightly, holding me close.

"No one can take their eyes off of you for even a second," she muttered as her hand rested on the back of my head. "I told you not to leave the castle without an escort not that long ago and yet you disobeyed me," she said as she straightened up with a frown.

"I only went to the stables in town," I muttered with a small pout. I looked up, noticing the frown on her lips. I wondered if I could worm my way out of the punishment that I was undoubtedly going to get.

"You found her," Catiline said as she appeared from down the hall. "I am sorry I failed to keep track of her, Your Majesty," she apologized.

"It 'twas not your fault, I should have made sure a guard stayed with her," Mother said as her nails gently scratched against my scalp. "A guard followed her anyways so she was never truly alone," she said as she ran her hand down my braid as she fixed the end of it.

"I only went to the stables, there's a horse I like down there," I sulked as I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Is the horse you have not adequate?" Mother asked as she looked down at me.

"I like the one I have but I like the one at the stables that I found, I named her Promise," I said, shrugging my shoulders. She nodded as she pondered that.

"Interesting, you are still grounded for leaving the grounds without an escort," Mother said simply. "You will not be left alone from now on, guards will be at your doors as soon as I can arrange it and you will be accompanying me to my meetings from now on," she stated. "Catiline you will accompany me to be an extra set of eyes," she said.

"Of course Your Majesty," Catiline bowed her head slightly. "At least it's better than the punishment your mother gave you when you snuck out," she said, a slight smirk on her lips. A small blush dusted Mother's face as she glared slightly.

"It would be wise if you did not speak of that in my accompany or around my children," Mother said simply. "I have many things to do, come along Anastasia," she said as she rested a hand on my shoulder and guided me along with her. I was really curious as to what they were speaking of but I could tell Mother wouldn't let Catiline tell me why as long as I was around her.

I walked beside Mother with slight apprehension. What things could she possibly be dragging me along to do? I didn't want to be stuck in her boring meetings but I supposed it would be worth it if I knew more of what was going on.

"Ooh, just the people I was looking for. I would like to humbly request that you allow me to spend time with my littlest sister," Tristan appeared from behind us, offering a small smile as he glanced at me. "I am sure she would prefer my company to that of you two," he stated.

"Your sister is grounded, she will be accompanying me to any meetings that I have," Mother said simply as she continued to walk, rolling her eyes when Tristan threw himself in front of us.

"Oh come on, you can not hog her to yourself forever. No one else gets to spend time with her," Tristan whined as he stopped us. "How am I supposed to be the annoying older brother, you're depriving me of my basic rights, Eleanor," he said. Mother frowned at his words.

"First of all, you have had plenty of opportunities to spend time with her, you chose not to do that therefore you can not complain when I have things planned with her. Second of all, if you ever call me by my first name again I will ship you off to the Southern outpost with the prisoners," she said, her tone icy for her second sentence. "Do you understand Tristan?" she asked, a tight smile on her lips.

"Yes Mother," Tristan muttered as he stood off to the side. "I'll kidnap you later," he whispered as he walked past me, looking down at me. I nodded my head as Mother guided me away from him, shaking her head.

"That boy is nothing but trouble," she muttered as the guards opened the throne room doors. She made her way to the throne, nodding slightly to a woman standing at the base of the throne. Mother sat down on the second largest throne, pulling me onto her lap. I tensed in surprise before slowly relaxing, watching out of the corner of my eye as Catiline took her place slightly behind the throne.

"Your Majesty, are you ready to continue going over ball preparations?" The woman was standing at the base of the throne. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she had no nonsense attitude about her.

"Of course Dorea, now that family situation I was dealing with has been resolved," Mother said as she gently undid my braid, letting my curls fall loose. She spoke with the woman, who apparently was named Dorea, as she worked on plaiting my hair. She did several small plaits that all went into each other.

They were mainly just talking about the music that would be played, the food that would be served, and whom they would invite. A chilling shiver went down my spine as I realized that I would have to dance at the ball. Even worse was the fact that there would be so many people, I didn't like people.