Ch. 4 Eavesdropping

How could I be so stupid? Of course she would think that I was a part of Mother's plan. This so totally sucks. She's living here for two weeks how am I ever going to live through this?

There was a knock at my door and I stopped pacing.

"Yes?" I said through the door.

"Gregory, you're Highness, your mother, Her Royal Majesty, would like to speak to you in the courtyard," said some random servant.

"Thank you," I said and then turned to my mirror. I smoothed my hair out and straightened my tunic and walked out of my room.


As I walked into the inner courtyard, I saw Mother sitting on a bench by the duck pond. I walked over to her saying, "You wanted to see me, Mother?"

"Yes I did. Sit here by me my Son." She said softly, patting the seat next to her.

I sat waiting for her to speak.

"Anjanique said you two got in a fight on the way over. Is this true Gregory?"

"Yes Mother. It was over something silly."

"She seemed quite upset about it. Would you mind at least trying to talk to her? I don't want this experience to be awful for either of you."

I sat there quietly for a minute. "Yes Mother. I'll talk to her." Apologize I guess, if that's what it takes. I thought to myself.

"Good. If you have made up before supper don't forget to escort her down."

"Yes, Mother." I said standing up. "May I go?" She nodded.

As I started walking back to the castle, I passed right under Anjanique's balcony, where she was standing and talking to one of her ladies' maids, Colleen.

"Honestly, how could her do this? He knows how I feel about this kind of stuff. He's known me since we were twelve!"

"Maybe he didn't have anything to do with it like he said."

"That couldn't even be possible. Why would he have given me a silver bracelet if he didn't know anything about it?"

"Maybe he was just trying to be nice, or he was going to invite you to come."

"But I don't go to those kinds of things and he knows it!" Anjanique then turned back to the room I was guessing that someone had come into her room. She nodded and sighed leaning over her balcony. I took a wild guess that Colleen had left to go help in the kitchen. I carefully stepped out from under the balcony so she could see me.

She glared at me. "How long have you been standing there?"

I bit my lip and then said, "A while."

Her glare got even harder after I said that. "You jerk!" She shouted at me and then turned her back to me.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Anjanique, please listen to me." When she didn't say anything I just kept talking. "Anjanique, I'm sorry you've had a bad birthday, but I really didn't have anything to do with this. I cross my heart and hope to fall in a pile of cow dung that I didn't have anything to do with this."

She turned around to look at me, really look not glare. "Face first in cow dung and the maggots that are living in it?"

I looked up at her. "Yes! I swear! Cow dung and maggots."

"Okay. I forgive you. Just never pull anything like that on me. Ever."

"Oh so help me I promise." I smiled at her and she smiled softly back at me.
"Supper is at six. I'll be by your room to escort you at 5:30. Alright?" She nodded. "Till then." I said and then bowed to her. She giggled, and walked off her balcony into her room. That was so cute. Why can't I just tell her?



As I started walking back to my room Louis came up to me. "I saw you standing under her balcony Prince Charming. Did you tell her yet?"

"Shove off Louis. She could care less that I have any feelings for her at all."

"Then what were you two talking about?"

"I swore by the cow dung and maggots that I had nothing to do with her birthday gift from Mother."

"Cow dung and maggots?" My older brother Louis had never been the sharpest arrow in the quiver. He was genuinely confused by cow dung and maggots.

By now we where standing outside of my rooms. I turned to look at him. "Yes. Cow dung and maggots." I opened my bedroom door and got away from my brother. "Ahh! He's so dumb!" I shouted to the emptiness of my room and then fell flat on my face onto my bed.

After a few minutes of just laying there I rolled over and saw the obnoxious stack of books and homework that Simeon had left me. I hate you. I thought to myself as I pulled it off my night stand and started working on it for my lessons tomorrow.

I worked on the stupid homework until five-fifteen. I rolled my eyes and got off my bed. I pulled clean dinner appropriate clothes out of my closet and put them on. I looked in the mirror and went to go get Anjanique.

I knocked on her door and waited for her to come out. She opened the door and walked out. She was beautiful. I had never seen her dressed like this. It was different from what she normally dressed but at the same time it wasn't what every other girl in court wore. Just below the knee skirt with leggings on underneath it and a blouse that wasn't a tunic and little satin flats, instead of boots.

"Wow Anjanique, you look....um different. Where did the skirt come from?"
I asked stick my arm out for her to take.

She took my arm and we started walking to the Great Hall. "Your Mom left them in the closet, with what goes with what." She laughed a little as we started walking down the stairs. "She knows that I can't match anything together. Ever." She laughed again and I joined her.

"She does the same to me." She started laughing harder and covered her mouth with her free hand.

"Really? I mean me not knowing how to match is one thing, but you? You've grown up with this stuff and you still can't match your own clothes?" She was trying to calm herself down, but she was still laughing.

I playfully hit her with my free hand. "No I can't match. Neither can Louis, only Edmund can, I'm not so sure about him."

She was biting her lips, trying not to laugh. "Well Louis is just flat out dumb and I'm pretty sure Edmund is a fairy."

"You're just mean." I told her but she knew I was kidding.

She laughed again. "Yeah I know." I turned to me and smiled a cheesy grin. It was only just then that she realized that we had been standing just outside the Great Hall doors for the last five minutes. She bit her lip again and said, "Um...maybe we should go in." I nodded and lead her in.

As we walked in Mother turned saw us and said, "Well I see you to made up. That's wonderful."

"Yes Mother, we did. Like I said it was a silly misunderstanding." I pulled out Anjanique's chair for her, and then pushed it back in after she sat.

"Yes Alexandra it was a silly misunderstanding." Anjanique confirmed what I had said which I knew would make Mother believe me.

"Well that's just excellent! Now we can have a pleasant supper." Shortly after Mother said that servers started bringing supper to us.


Supper was mostly uneventful. Nothing to freak neither Anjanique nor me out. Mother told Anjanique what her days would look like while she was staying here. Classes with Simeon and me in the mornings after breakfast until lunch at one, and then etiquette classes until four. After those classes she could generally do what she wanted, within range, until supper. Those rules applied everyday but Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. Saturdays where free days and Sundays where for church. Wednesdays where mostly the same except for that she had to help her father in the courtyard with my falconry lessons.

After supper I escorted her back to her room, and we talked and laughed the whole way there. When we got to her room she stood in front of her door facing me. I looked in her eyes and almost lost myself, but quickly snapped out of it. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me. I then gently leaned in and kissed her cheek lightly. "Good night Anjanique." Her face turned bright red and she bit her lip. She opened the door behind her and went inside her room, shutting the door quietly.