Diana Of Alcotta (Yrsoreth Chronicles 1)

17 ♔ Beautiful Surprises

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So it's true, Diana thought. Because of the rumor with pieces of evidence against the crown prince, the Ducal House of Hearth has shown hesitation to the Royal engagement. With a family strict about lineage, the Hearth's, whose family was powerful enough to be neutral in the royal court, requested the king for the engagement to break off, under the circumstances that their only daughter was sick and couldn't perform the duties of a crown princess.

The future is changing, the maid Scarlett told her, but it seemed it isn't. The queen's offer was the same ring in her vision. And in it, Diana saw herself smile, as if she was already drooling of the title as the new crown princess.

She did the same now. She smiled at the queen and put on the ring in her finger. "It fits perfectly, Your Majesty!" she exclaimed.

"It does, my dear. Although it is not yet official, it will be soon."

"I'm still engaged to the bastard prince, Your Majesty."

"Not for long," was Claudette's answer.

With that, their conversation swerved to Diana's bridal training. She said that Countess Huxlin from the North was a good teacher, and she was the princess' bridal teacher as well. The queen then ensured that she could give better mentors if she wishes so. "After all, you'll be engaged to my son," she said.

"But, the second prince will notice. He might be suspicious, Your Majesty."

The queen blinked at her... then laughed, genuinely. Someone with no knowledge of her schemes might fall for the genuine life in her voice. For a moment, Diana was taken with her.

Queen Claudette was indeed beautiful. Her brown eyes sparkled, and there were no lines on her face despite the age. Her brown hair, usually tied into a bun, her only accessory was her crown. She was never seen without one, and that was her only difference to the king's harem. It was her foremost authority, not to let anyone of the women in Ruby Palace step into the Gold Palace, no matter how much the king fancied a concubine.

She was a woman who clung to power once it was in her hands.

"My dear, you are as ambitious as I was," she said. "That's good."

Diana agreed, well at least her past was. Diana kept her mask of an ambitious woman and asked the queen of her pieces of jewelry, to nail her performance, she pointed to the crown. "Will I wear that too?"

The servant frowned, but the Queen answered a gracious, "Absolutely. But there are things you must do."

It's not like she wanted to wear a jeweled crown that bore the weight of the dead bodies and sins done to achieve it. Diana never wished to be queen, nor be part of the royal family.

As the mysterious maid said, the future is changed, yet here she is, with the same image of the ambitious Diana Alcotta in her vision.

"Of course," she replied. "I can do everything."

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She bid farewell to the Queen and promised she would visit again. Both of their masks were taken once the door was closed.

Diana, with Xander's servants, left the queen's quarters. However, just turning io a hallway decorated with golden statues, she caught a dancing crimson at the corner of her eyes. Red hair, as vibrant as angry flames and a maid's uniform then it was gone.

Scarlett. "Wait!"

Diana took her steps faster and ran towards where the maid was. She asked Xander about her and the servants before, but no one ever saw a maid with red hair. In fact, a woman with such rare hair color would be unforgettable. It was as if Scarlett never existed.