-The Prince-
Charles left for Belview earlier than usual. He was tired of waiting around the castle, and he needed to ensure that Lawrence Seaver had kept his word and ended their engagement.
Once she confirmed that she was no longer engaged, he could naturally steer the conversation into his interest in pursuing her and perhaps he would ask to court her again. He practiced his words in his head as he rode in silence until he rode past the orphanage. Greetings and cheers erupted as the children ran to the fence to wave at him as he traveled by.
He waved and shouted greetings, but when he walked past the gate without turning in, the children turned back to their play. All the children, except for Lilly who climbed to the top of the fence.
"Come play!" She shouted.
"Not today, but soon. I promise."
"Can you tell Cinderella to come play?" She asked.
"I am going to see her now. I will tell her you said hello." He shouted. He was pulling further and further away from the orphanage.
"Wait! You are going to her house now!?" She asked.
"Yes!" He yelled over his shoulder.
"Wait! Just WAIT!" She screamed and Charles looked up at the sun. He was still early enough that he had a little time, so he stopped his horse, and reigned him to where Lilly stood on the top of the fence.
"Yes Lilly?"
He expected to find her in a good humor, but her face was nothing but seriousness.
"You are going to Cinderella's house?"
"Yes. I am." He laughed despite her demeanor that called for the upmost severity.
"You have a sword. That means you really are a knight." She said, "I mean, really really."
Charles looked down at his scabbard that had drawn Lilly's attention and then back to the stoic-faced girl. Lilly was not joking. She was not laughing. Charles dismounted his horse and walked up to Lilly until he could look her in her eyes.
"Do you need a knight?" He asked her.
"I think so. Kevin told me knights are the best swordmen in the world, is that true?" She asked.
"Some of them are. Is there someone that you need beaten in a sword fight?"
"Yes." Lilly said, seriously, "but it is a secret."
"okay." He waited for her to continue.
"You have to promise me that you will not tell Cinderella I told you, or else she might be mad at me." Lilly said, wringing out her fingers.
"Well, I should tell you that knights have this thing called a code of honor. Do you know what that means?" He asked.
Lilly shook her head.
"A code of honor means that a knight has to always act honorable, so if you tell me a secret, I can never tell anyone else ever. No matter what." He said.
Lilly looked around as if searching for anyone to overhear them and then she nodded. "There is a dragon at Cinderella's house." She said with a serious tone.
"A dragon?" He asked. Her imagination was charming. The look in her eyes said that she believed every word.
"Yes. Cinderella told me about it. There is a big scary dragon that will never let her leave. Every week when it falls asleep, she comes here to escape, but she always has to go back before it wakes up. Since you are a knight, maybe you could find the dragon and fight it. Then, without the dragon, Cinderella could visit me more. She could also make us more treats!" She added as an afterthought.
Charles frowned. There was something about Lilly's innocent confession that rang true. There was a dragon in Bellview and Charles needed to come up with a plan to deal with her and her two daughters.
"Thank you for telling me Lilly. Cinderella is incredibly lucky to have you as a friend. Just leave that dragon to me."
"Do you promise?" She asked.
"yes, and when that dragon is gone, Cinderella and I are both going to come visit you all day long."
"And bring treats." She added.
"And bring treats." He agreed and held out his hand to her. She took it firmly and nodded.
"deal."
-Lady Tremaine-
The castle loomed over their heads like they were ascending towards the pearly gates of heaven. Finally, everything was going their way. All the money she had spent was going to come back to them now. One of her daughters would become the Princess and eventually the Queen.
"I want perfect manners; do you girls understand?"
Anastasia and Drisella both nodded.
"The Queen is known for her sharp eye and high standards. The Prince is practically already yours, but if you do not get the approval of his mother, she will sway him away from you."
"Why does she get to be Queen?" Anastasia asked.
Anastasia was slumped into her seat with her arms folded. It was a stark contrast against Drisella who was sitting forward with perfect posture and a preening smile.
"Obviously because I look best in a crown!" Drisella responded immediately.
"We look the same in a crown, you dolt. We are twins remember?"
"No, your face is distinctly rounder."
"A round face works better in a crown. Your long oafish face will make you look like a Donkey. Donkey Drisella!"
"Girls!" Lady Tremaine shouted, "What did I just say?"
"Our best behavior." They both said in unison.
-The Queen-
In all her years of hosting court, Queen Letitia had never seen such bold outlandish outfits. Lady Tremaine wore a full length dark red dress with long sleeves and a high collar, but the real eye catchers of the group were her two daughters that wore fairy pink dresses with layers and layers of ruffles that made them look like dolls lost in fabric. they came through the door like they were marching into battle.
Lady Tremaine bowed in a short, slighted way.
"We were very pleased to receive your message my Queen. I am glad to welcome your friendship."
The Queen blinked a few times, "yes, quite."
The twins both bowed without any words or fanfare. Leticia cleared her throat and pointed towards the seats.
"Princess Lydia will join us momentarily, If you all could please take a seat."
They sat down so that the two daughters were closest to her, and Lady Tremaine was at the end of the table. The seat to her right was left open for Lydia who was running late. Silence washed over them. For the first time in her life, the queen was at a loss for words.
These were the women that her son had been sneaking out to visit?
"Please girls, tell me about yourselves." The Queen managed. Her son always had been meticulous over his choice of company, so there had to be something she was missing.
Both girls turned towards their mother who nodded encouragingly to them.
"We love music." Anastasia started.
"My sister plays the mandolin while I play the harpsichord and sing."
"I sing too!" Anastasia added.
"She's asking what we are proficient in. You cannot sing in key to save your life." Drisella said.
"Are you proficient in the harpsichord? I was not aware that the ability to play four songs equated to proficiency."
Lady Tremaine had to audibly kick one of them from under the table to get them to stop fighting.
"My girls have many talents." Lady Tremaine added.
The Queen's face was frozen in a forced smile. Lydia chose that moment to burst through the doors and save her mother from having to reply.
"Please pardon me. I ran lost track of the time!"
Lydia quickly crossed the room, dropped into a low curtsy for their guests, and then took her seat.
"Please do not stop the conversation on my account, continue!"
Lydia barely managed to settle herself. She poured her own cup of tea, and waited for the conversation to resume, but there was nothing the Queen could think to say.
"May I ask your majesty the nature behind this social call?" Lady Tremaine asked.
"Yes of course, I realized I do not know you and your daughters as well as I would like to. This is just a small get to know you!"
"Yes, thank you again for the invitation, but is there any particular reason you want to get to know us better? Perhaps that would help direct our conversation." Lady Tremaine said with a smile.
The Queen grimaced. She was practiced in the subtle art of politics. Lady Tremaine was killing her subtle art with a hammer.
"Well, I have discovered that my son has paid your daughters special attention. I would like to know more about the nature of your intentions with my son."
Lady Tremaine brought the teacup to her mouth and straightened her back. She offered a reply after a long minute.
"Our intentions are not the intentions that matter. The Prince's intentions are what we are more eager to pursue."
The Queen felt a muscle in her face twitch. They did not even have one reply that explained themselves. There were no answers.
"I am afraid my son has not voiced his intentions for either of you daughters. You know how boys can be, they never seem to want to sit and talk." The Queen said.
"No, I would not have expected him to mention us. Mother to mother, your son seemed to me to be a bit simple."
Queen Letitia felt her tight smile become even more crazed. Lydia made an awful coughing snort into her teacup. How could Lady Tremaine sit there and call her son simple?
"I am sure I do not know what you are talking about." The Queen said with a smile. The last remaining diplomatic bone in her body struggled against the onslaught of insults that threatened to fly out of her mouth.
"Well, on his visit to Bellview he had a bizarre request to meet the house staff and after we had introduced him, he asked another two or three times about the house staff. It was very odd behavior, but not so severe. I had an uncle who was the same way. Both my daughters are very empathetic towards every disposition, they really are wonderful girls. Drisella and Prince Charles will make a fine match."
Lydia's eyes bugged out of her head. The thought of Charles madly in love with one of the ostentatious twins was laughable. The only thing that kept her from laughing aloud was the vein that stood out in her mother's neck.
Letitia no longer cared for diplomacy.
"Ha, yes well, it is as I said, my son has not yet made any official inquiry's into either of your daughters' hands. If he does though, I would love to invite you back to the castle and we can make arrangements from there."
If her son wanted to marry either of these women, she would force his father to disinherit him. Nothing he could say would make her change her mind. Enough was enough.
"You must not have heard Queen Letitia. Your son has already promised his hand to my dearest Drisella."
"I am not at liberty to give credence to your delusional notions Arredia." Letitia said with barely contained vehemence.
"There are no delusions. Princess Lydia was witness to his declaration. You see, he promised to give his hand to the owner of the glass slipper, and my Drisella has the match."
Lady Tremaine gestured to Drisella who lifted her skirt the barest amount to reveal the glass slipper.
"You are truly mad!" She guffawed in a rare moment of un-queenlike behavior.
"My son would not have-" her voice died when she turned to see Lydia's face that had gone bleach white. Her eyes were wide, and she stood, looking completely horrified.
"Lyddie. He did not. Tell me that my son was not stupid enough to publicly promise the future of this kingdom over a pair of shoes."
Lydia's mouth opened and closed a dozen times.
"Yes, he did say that." She finally managed to get out.
The Queen began to hyperventilate. The walls were closing in around her and her head began to feel light. She nearly succumbed to a fainting spell, but she fought through it.
"Trevor!" She shouted.
Drisella and Anastasia had the decency to look apologetic over the awkward situation, but Lady Tremaine met the Queen's eyes victoriously.
"It would be a shame to discover that the Prince is not a man of his word." Lady Tremaine threatened.
"If you say one word against my son, I will ensure that your social career is destroyed." The Queen turned to the door and shouted for her guard again, "Trevor!"
The Queen and Lady Tremaine stayed locked in a silent battle, breathing heavy and staring.
-Trevor-
The weather was nice outside.
He was always assigned to guard duty when it was nice out.
"It could be worse." He thought to himself with a smile. He could have his sweetheart being aggressively interviewed by his mother who happened to be the Queen.
The Prince had not been seen all afternoon and no one blamed him. There was wager running between the guards. He had put down two-night shifts and ten crowns that the Queen would refuse to let him marry her.
This was going to be the easiest money he ever won.
Trevor was just standing, looking out the window, wondering about a transfer to the city guard when the Queen's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Trevor!"
He jerked sideways and tore through the door, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
The sitting room was tense. Every woman turned to him with urgency.
"Yes my Queen?"
"Find the Duke of Westire and tell him that if my son is not in this room in one hour, we will take the thumb screws to him until he has no fingers left!"
Trevor nodded and turned quickly. He hid his smile until he was off the castle grounds. If the Prince had any wits, he would stay hidden.