Heart Over Sword - Chapter 90

Evanna snapped out of her daze and spun on the spot, unaware that the once closed flower had slowly started to open, spreading its lilac petals. In front of her stood two she-elves, and after glancing at their luxurious attire, she knew they were noblewomen. Evanna bowed her head and watched as they did the same.

“Hello,” Evanna greeted as she glanced at them. The pair looked very similar to one another, having brown eyes, light freckles on their perfectly symmetrical faces, and chestnut coloured hair that trailed down behind them. They wore light blue dresses of elven make that flowed down beautifully on their slender figures. The only difference between them was that the lady on the right had shoulder-length hair, pulled back into a plait.

“I am lady Lia, and this is lady Nienna. We are sisters.” Lady Lia said. She was the she-elf whose hair was pulled back into a plait. Her smile appeared fake as her eyes portrayed a hardness that made Evanna wary of the two ladies. However, she could not be rude and turn away from them.

“I am-”

“Lady Evanna,” Lady Nienna answered for her. She flicked her long strands of hair behind her shoulder as she openly scrutinised her. “I do not see it,” She muttered to her sister.

Lady Lia giggled, “I know, neither do I.”

Evanna immediately straightened her shoulders and composed her features with a calm façade. She instantly sensed vibes of ill intentions from them. Unfortunately, her senses did not work unless she was in danger; if they did, then she would avoid such dramas.

“I beg your pardon? I do not understand..” She stopped herself as their smiles grew.

The she-elves giggled and whispered purposely loudly and glanced at her as they did so. But they spoke in Muranthian, their back and forth very quick that Evanna kept glancing between the pair, unsure on who said what.

“*He can’t possibly want HER.*”

“*She is HUMAN. His highness hates humans.*”

“*I know! Maybe she IS his new mistress? You’ve heard the rumours..*”

Mistress? Rumours!?

Evanna’s eyes widened, then her heart pinched at the idea of Arawn having a mistress. She internally shook her head at her thoughts. So what if he had or has a mistress? He was older than Cedric; he was bound to have been with women before. Even if he did have an icy façade that made grown men tremble, that didn’t mean women wouldn’t happily throw themselves at him. He was strikingly handsome, and he was the crown prince.

Evanna eyed the pair in front of her. She presumed they wanted to catch the prince’s eye. From how they were acting, if he did choose one, she felt the sisters would eventually fall out. With those thoughts running through her mind, she decided to excuse herself from the toxicity emanating from them.

“As you are well aware,” Evanna interrupted their insults about her dress. “I do not speak the elven tongue. So, unless you wish for me to just stand here and gawk at you, I do believe the prince wishes for me to accompany him. And you know how he gets..” She hoped her words would sting a little. Her tiredness was getting the better of her, and she couldn’t help but retort a little childishly to their childish antics.

Lady Lia crossed her arms, her lips tightening into a thin line as Lady Nienna only glared at her then replied, “Oh no, my lady. We do not know the prince as well as you..” She smirked.

Lady Lia giggled then stepped closer to the princess. “Is it true you share his quarters?” Lady Lia looked her up and down in disdain. Her sister also stepped forwards just as Evanna parted her lips to reply.

“Is that so he can have easy access to you?” Lady Nienna asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side with a façade of innocence.

Evanna stretched her hand near her waist, forgetting that she was not carrying her dagger for a brief moment. She would never attack the woman but threatening her seemed like an excellent idea.

Instead, she found herself taking a deep breath in and composing herself, which was hard considering all she wanted to do was punch that smug smile off the sisters’ faces. But a lady never throws a punch and should always keep a cool composure.

“Lady Nienna, you shock me with what your words imply. I am a guest of the prince’s, and he has been so kind and considerate in providing me with a chamber,” Evanna replied while placing her hand on her chest, feeling quite dramatic at her actions, but knew she had to portray a lady right now. If only they knew she had slept on the forest floor next to Ger, they would think her a Scarlett woman.

“We thought we should ask from the lady herself instead of listening to such gossip. Why listen to others who know nought on your situation when we could just come straight to the source” Lady Lia covered their tracks.

“I see. I thought lady’s such as yourselves were smart enough not to listen and believe such crude gossips. I guess I was wrong,” Evanna waved her hand to the side as though she gently swatted a fly away from her face.

“Oh, it is not mere gossip, my lady. A maid saw you leaving the prince’s chambers at night and entering the room next to his, looking rather..”

“Dishevelled?” Lady Lia finished her sister’s sentence, and the pair tilted their heads in the same direction at the same time as their eyes gleamed and a sly smile crawled up their faces.

Evanna’s eyes widened, and she parted her lips, but nothing came out. She had left the prince’s chambers, but she believed his quarters were private. What maid would be foolish enough to talk about their cold-hearted prince?

That was beside the point now. Evanna’s silence was their answer, and the sisters turned around, giving the princess a sidelong glance with a raised brow and a smirk on their lips. Evanna’s gaze hardened and filled up with tears. She was now known among the elves as the prince’s mistress or bed warmer. Her reputation as a lady was ruined.

Evanna smiled sadly. At least it was only at the Flori palace, if or when she escaped, she would never see these woodland elves and their spiteful and ruthless ways again. She closed her eyes briefly, inhaled deeply and when she reopened them, the tears were gone, and her composure was once again intact.

Evanna watched them walk away, unaware that the prince had been watching and listening with a stony and unreadable expression. Only Garrett, who stood by his side, could see the blue flames flickering behind his eyes as his attention moved to the two she-elves. He listened intently to their talk and looked back at his rose, watching them retreat.

Evanna couldn’t help but be amazed at how quickly gossip had spread through the Flori palace. She believed their fear of the prince would keep her hidden from court life, but, of course, that was not the case. If she stayed in her cell, she would not have these sorts of issues, but she dismissed her thoughts and listened to Lady Lia and Lady Nienna, continuing with their spiteful commentary.

“*Well, we know something. She will not warm the prince’s bed for long.*” Lady Lia roared, glancing back at her as though Evanna could understand her. Her intention was for the princess to be aware that they were still talking about her.

“*No! You’ve seen how quickly he goes through them. And she does not look experienced at all. He will grow bored of her, *” Lady Nienna replied and smirked as she made eye contact with Evanna.

Evanna gritted her teeth, she was unable to do anything about them, and if she complained to the prince, she knew they would probably lose a limb. Something that was too harsh for a pair of jealous she-elves who most likely wanted to marry the prince. That thought alone didn’t sit right with her. With her hands still fisted, she narrowed her eyes at their retreating forms and gasped in shock when she watched something extraordinary happen.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly rose, and a root sprouted out, tripping the pair, causing them to land on their faces. If she wasn’t so stunned, she would have burst into a fit of giggles, but the princess just stared as the root slithered back into the ground as though it was never there. Lady Lia and Nienna stood up and wiped themselves down, glancing around in embarrassment.

Evanna still could not comprehend what just happened, so she pushed back her shock and took advantage of the situation, strolling towards them with a smirk, “You should watch where you are walking. You could have seriously hurt yourself.”

“We tripped on..” Lady Nienna looked at the ground flabbergasted. “There was a root!”

Evanna looked at the smooth ground, wondering where the root was, but she played along with her little stunt. “Uhuh.. Okay. You tripped over your own feet?”

“No! There was a root!” Lady Lia screeched. Evanna had to refrain from laughing at their outbursts. It appeared they did not do well if they were the ones to be embarrassed.

“Mother will surely hear about this!” Lady Nienna said shrilly.

“Okay, ladies. Well, please do be careful when..” She looked down at the ground once more on purpose, “Well.. always. The ground is flat after all,” She snickered and began walking away.

Her eyes were still lit up with amusement as she listened to their heated argument. That was until she saw the piercing, hard stare of the prince, and she suddenly felt a shiver ripple down her spine. Did he see what happened?