Tea party- part 2

CharmingsDaughter asked for a oneshot of a sequel to Ch2661 "May Muses 28: Tea Party" where Emma uses her charm over the guards to get away with things she shouldn't. Charming figures it out and has a serious talk with her about manipulating her relationships with them.

Charming tapped his foot against the floor impatiently. Emma knew she was expected for this meeting. Her parents were trying to slowly give her more royal responsibility so she was used to it. Showing up late did not impress them.

When the door did eventually open, Snow and Charming were ready to give their daughter a very proper telling off, but it wasn't her.

"Gregory." Charming greeted the head of the guards. "Is there a problem?"

"Not a problem exactly, Your Highness, just an announcement." He said. "The Princess will unfortunately be unable to attend the meeting. She is unwell."

"Unwell?" Snow asked. Gregory nodded. "I saw her an hour ago, she was perfectly fine." Charming saw Gregory falter slightly, as did Snow. "Well if she's come down with something so suddenly, I suppose I had better check on her…"

"No, no need for that." Gregory said quickly as Snow got up. "She's just resting. She didn't want to disturb the meeting. She sends her apologies."

"I'll bet she does." Charming grumbled. Emma had been trying to get out of the meeting since she was informed she would be attending. Since her parents had said no, Emma went behind their back to the people who would do her dirty work for her, the guards. Emma knew exactly how to get them to do what she wanted. She had done ever since she was a little girl.

"I'll talk to her." Charming promised. "Don't worry, Gregory, I'm well aware how charming my dear daughter can be when she puts her mind to it." Charming told him. He then made his way up to Emma's chambers.

One might thing she was auditioning for some kind of play. She was lying on her bed, retching. She squinted towards her dad.

"Daddy?" She said weakly. "I thought you had a meeting."

"So do you." Charming told her. He marched over and felt her forehead. Absolutely fine. "Drop the act, Emma. You might be able to pull the wool over Gregory's eyes, but not mine." Emma pouted, sitting up. The whole point of sending Gregory was so her parents wouldn't spot her lies until it was too late. Charming sighed and sat on the edge of Emma's bed.

"You have responsibilities, you know." Charming said quietly. Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm fifteen. I hardly think royal meetings are my responsibility." She responded.

"I'm not talking about the meeting, although skipping it did not shine you in a good light. I'm talking about your responsibilities to your people." Emma looked at him, confused. "It's not the first time you've used your connections to the guards to get your own way. To be a good queen, Emma, you can't go around manipulating people." Emma shifted guiltily. "Not everyone is going to know you as well as the guards here. They're not going to treat you like a child. If you want to have respect, Emma, you need to earn it." Emma nodded, not able to look her father in the eye. "Hey." Charming said more gently, tilting Emma's chin so she was looking at him. "Don't feel bad. You're young, you're going to make mistakes. I just want to see that you learn from them."

"I know." Emma responded quietly. Charming kissed the top of her head.

"So, I expect you'll be ready to start this meeting in about ten minutes?" He asked her. Emma nodded gloomily. "Good girl. It's not so bad, honest." Emma just rolled her eyes. She knew fine well it was that bad.