“Yes, miss. I’ll bring some right away.” She scurried away, slightly more scared of Jade than she had been before. Jade sighed. She’d have to have a talk with her afterward and placate her, but she wasn’t about to let herself be bullied or her food be stolen. She serenely wiped her knife off and began to daintily cut into her pancakes, inspecting the others serenely as she popped the food into her mouth.
Chewing deliberately, she swallowed before asking, “So, where were we? Ah yes, your names.” Her face was a mask of calm serenity, as if she hadn’t just threatened to cut off one of their fingers. Not that she would do that, mind you, but they didn’t know that. TV shows had taught her that the best threats were the ones people believed you were crazy enough to carry out. They didn’t call them threats though, but promises.
Seeming curious, the pretty golden boy finally spoke up. “I’m Prince Will. Where did you say you were from?”
Chapter Seventeen – Titles
She scrutinized ‘Prince Will’ for a moment. Carefully messy spiked golden hair topped a whipcord figure. His eyes were cornflower blue and contrasted with a perfectly sculpted face. Like almost everyone else here, you could tell he was muscled, though he seemed to err on the side of a lean endurance runner. His clothes were a quality step above everyone else she’d met so far, though the girl sitting at the table came close. The dark blue of his shirt contrasted magnificently too, and she could vaguely make out some kind of crest on the breast of the shirt.
She’d read about the different levels of the titles yesterday, but she hadn’t gotten any information on the current royal family. His question caught her as she had been eating quickly, though far more daintily than yesterday, when she’d just been shoving stuff down her throat to combat the hangover. She paused to chew and swallow, then asked, “Oh, was I supposed to say my title? I’m Lady Jade, and I didn’t say where I was from, because…”
She stopped there when she was interrupted by a guffaw from the girl, whom she was increasingly thinking was either an idiot or someone with a death wish. “You, a lady!? You wish! The court doesn’t have someone as barbaric as you in it!”
She calmly regarded the girl, her gaze turning icy. She cut her food, her knife making a purposeful little chink against the plate as she stared her down, deliberately taking a few bites. The girl was shrinking back, silent and intimidated once again. With a slow smile, she turned back to Prince Will and remonstrated, “Where I’m from, it’s deemed impolite to interrupt others. It’s considered rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.”
“Why, you little!” The girl screeched, apparently irate enough to once again throw aside her fear. Jade pinned her with another cold glare and she seemed to come to, letting out a soft whimper.
“You should stop interrupting me before I get angry.” As a very thinly veiled threat, the menace in Jade’s voice was obvious. It disappeared a second later when she smiled warmly at the people who had neither interrupted or insulted her, nor tried to steal her food. It was like the difference between summer and winter. They looked thrown by the abrupt changes as she continued. “As I was saying… My customs may be a little different, as I’m a traveler and new to this world, so you’ll have to forgive me for not knowing who you were already.”
She went back to eating daintily, not feeling the need to shove it in her face as fast as she could since she’d already done that a few hours ago. They were staring at her blankly; it seemed to be a state she inspired in almost everyone. Maybe she was the problem? She must have picked up some strange magic where she induced a state of slack-jawed disbelief just by opening her mouth. Oh well, they all seemed to get over it eventually.
Finally, she paused between bites and asked simply, “Are the rest of you going to introduce yourselves anytime soon? Even Prince Will introduced himself. Do you think you’re better than him?” She smiled wryly, then started cleaning her plate again.
Startled by her biting words, the lanky redhead finally proved his worth. “Right. I’m Lord Jackson Vancott. This is Lord Evan Rikely, Lord Adam Rawlings, and Lady Britney Larkin.” He pointed to meathead one and two, then the stubborn girl in succession. She studied his freckled face, and he flushed cutely. His hair was a riot of red curls, and he was sporting morning fuzz as if to prove he could he could grow facial hair. It was a fairly direct contrast to the clean-shaven faces at the rest of the table. Though not anywhere near the body mass of the two he’d just identified as Evan and Adam, he was still decently built. His nervous smile was endearing as he tried to introduce them all.
Smiling, she paused long enough to say simply, “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” She was a little happy to note that besides the prince, they all had the same title as her. She figured some of the people she’d met held higher titles, but at least her peers were on the same level as her.
She delicately finished off the last of her food, smiling at them. Belatedly, Prince Will spoke again, with a bit of confusion. “You’re really a traveler? When did you get here?”
Her smile turned a little enigmatic. “Two days ago.”
Brat Britney interjected here. “You’re lying. There’s been no news of a traveler going to meet the king in the last decade, let alone the last week.”
She was about to respond when she saw Raphael walking over towards them. She merely gave Britney a cold glance, then turned to Raphael, who had stopped next to her. “Ah Jade, there you are. Hello, Prince Will.” He belatedly realized who she was sitting with and greeted the prince respectfully, completely ignoring the rest of them. Obviously, he was of higher rank, she had now figured out. He continued, oblivious that she’d spaced out a little. “Eric sent a message that he’d like to meet with you this afternoon at two o’clock. His office is at the back of the library, but whoever’s at the desk should be able to help you.” He paused as if remembering something, then pulled out a dainty little pocket watch. “Ah right, apparently Lucas told him you didn’t have a timepiece, so he sent this over.”
She smiled sweetly, accepting the pretty pocket watch. “Thank you, Raphael; I’ll be sure to be on time now. Quick question. Was I supposed to meet the king?” She glanced coldly at Britney. She was annoying, but if this was something that she was supposed to do, perhaps she would thank the girl, at least inwardly, for her interjection.
He grimaced. “I forgot about that... It’s been so long since we’ve had a traveler. I’m sure Eric put it in your record, but the king probably hasn’t had a chance to look through the entries yet. I’ll send a messenger to the palace and see if they can fit you in this evening…”
“Don’t bother. I’ll take her to see father. I was supposed to visit him this morning anyway.” Prince Will interjected here. He was inspecting her curiously now that Raphael had unintentionally confirmed that she was indeed a traveler. Britney had a sour look on her face, but remained silent now that she’d been proven wrong in calling Jade a liar.
Jade smiled at Prince Will, saying simply, “Thank you. It’s very kind of you to offer, but I wouldn’t want to surprise the king. I’m sure there’s some official procedure for all this.” Plus, she really wanted to bathe, and she wasn’t sure the prince would be willing to wait for her.