For a moment, it felt like the world stopped spinning. The cupcake slid down his suit slowly, before sploshing onto the ground. Arthur glared at me, brows furrowed with an immense intensity. If looks could kill, I'd be a skeleton.
“Alexandra,” he huffed, his eyes narrowed at me.
“I am terribly sorry,” I apologize, quickly reaching for a handkerchief in my pocket.
“Don’t bother,” he scoffed, reaching for one from his own pocket.
I gulped, eyes avoiding his. Why do I have such terrible timing? Is this a side effect of being a villainess?
“I must make it up to you,” I insisted, reaching up to try and smooth it over.
“Make it up to me by leaving my sight, please,” he snapped, grabbing my hand before it could even reach him.
A guard got close to him, whispering something in his ear. Arthur glared back at him, before returning his gaze back at me. He spared me one last glance, before turning on his heel and walking away.
We simply stood there in the public square, gathering a small crowd. Passerbys stopped to give their own two cents.
“How could she do that?”
“He shouldn’t talk to her like that.”
“I would be mad too.”
“She can never stay out of drama.”
I tensed up, balling up my hands into fists. My long nails dug into my palm as I held back my own tongue.
“My lady, it is best for us to return back to the manor,” Anne said, clearing her throat.
“Yes. Our business in the square is done,” Maddy agreed, taking my hand and softly leading me down an alley.
“The coach should be closeby,” Anne said, eyes glossing over the many carriages which passed by the busy street. Maddy stared at the street for a moment, before gasping.
“Over there!” she exclaimed, pointing at the distance.
We followed Maddy to wherever she thought the carriage was. Once we reached the end of the main road, she spun back on her heel.
“No, no. This way,” she corrected, pointing in a different direction.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Anne asked, a skeptical brow raised as we continued to blindly follow Maddy.
“I could swear that was our carriage.”
She made a sharp left turn, turning into a lonely backstreet. Clothes hung on lines from balcony to balcony, some lines intertwining with each other. The windows of the buildings were small yet open. The street was narrow, made even narrower by the children running up and down, squeezing past. Their faces full of soot but their spirits ever high, chasing each other and laughing wildly.
Maddy continued to walk forward, as if she had a personal calling to wherever she was leading us.
“I just know its this way,” she insisted, determined to find the carriage. Once we made it out of the backstreet, a soft charter could be heard uphill.
“I really wanted to go to that auction house.”
I knew that snooty voice. We stepped closer, now close enough to make out the figures. It was a familiar set of golden hair, confirming my suspicion.
It seems I had run back into Arthur.
My breath hitched as I caught sight of him again, cursing out my luck. I stood there frozen for a moment, as he turned and started walking in my direction.
My maids quickly ducked behind a nearby pile of trash, the rotten smell clogging my nostrils. Apparently, we were quick enough to be unnoticed.
“You’ll get a chance to go back out tomorrow, your majesty,” one of his guards assured.
Arthur frowned, nose scrunched. He turned on his heel, facing his guard again, his back to me.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure if the sword will be there,” Arthur replied, sighing.
“Excalibur? I doubt anyone could give such a high bid for it.”
“It’s the first time they’ll ever be unveiling it to the public. Such a shame I got frosting all over my suit.”
That comment made my cheeks go red. It had been my fault.
“You can still walk into the auction house. I’m sure no one will care.”
“I care about my clothes being soiled, and that's enough.”
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With that, he disappeared into the opposite side of the alleyway.
We stepped out of the trash, smelling (and feeling) like total garbage.
“I should get it for him,” I said to my maids.
“The sword?” Anne asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. As an apology,” I shrugged dryly.
Maybe if I got him the sword he wanted, he’ll forget about everything else I’ve done. Better yet, he can repay the favor and not kill me once he falls in love with Catalina.
We made our way, this time led by Anne, back into the square. We asked around a couple of townsfolk and found out the location of the auction. It was held at the opposite end of the street, in a small tavern. The Snarky Fox, it was called. Its outside was brick like the other buildings, yet it was aged over and mossy. The outside had little upkeep, and the inside itself reflected that. The floors were sticky and clung onto my heels as I stepped. It was full of tables, all filled with hulking men pouring themselves foamy jugs of beer. Maddy pulled out a chair for me at one of the empty tables at the back, hoping that I wouldn’t draw much attention there.
At the center of the tavern stood a man in a firmly pressed suit. Behind him was a small sack, and an even smaller boy, not older than 12, handing him items from inside it. His coat was black and he had a monocle, he held up a wooden statue shaped like a frog, its eyes painted yellow.
“The next item, an ancient frog totem! Said to give the wielder lots of luck. Starting at 20 Lumin!”
“30 Lumin,” someone called from a corner of the room.
“40 Lumin.” a different voice called back.
“55 Lumin.”
“60 Lumin.”
The room was silent, and the man looked around before pointing into the crowd.
“Sold to the sir with the long beard!” The auctioneer called, pointing the totem to a man in the front. He was a burly man, tall and large in every aspect. As he stood, his long beard stained with beer swayed as he walked up to retrieve his prize, slamming a small bag of coins in the auctioneer’s open palm.
The auctioneer grinned, shaking the bag slightly to hear the clink of the coins. Satisfied, he handed it back to the boy.
“Now, gentlemen,” he addressed, obviously glancing past me. Even if he did see me, I don’t think he would’ve cared to point me out.
“This next artifact I have for you is nothing like what you’ll find anywhere else,” he related, glancing around the crowd as the men chattered amongst themselves.
“It is said to be the slayer of dragons, made of unbreakable iron that not even the toughest alchemist can out-enchant,” he continued, eyes spanning around the room. He paused, letting the artifact sell itself as everyone began to gossip about it.
“I heard only the toughest could bear its weight.”
“No, no. The most noble men could bear its weight!”
“You all have it wrong, it is the wisest who can bear it!”
The auctioneer grinned wildly, clearing his throat to gather the attention back on him. He nodded towards the boy, which through many grunts raised the sword towards the man. It was a work of art made of metal. The sword's handle was thin, yet coated in gold. The blade itself fanned out, with a royal cross on the center of it. It had an elaborate diamond pattern down to the tip. He let the audience take it in for a moment before speaking again. “Gentlemen, what you all came for tonight, Excalibur!”
“100 Lumin.”
“150 Lumin.”
“250 Lumin.”
This item clearly wasn’t like the others, already having such a high bid of Lumin without even being given a starting bid. The men here knew its value, and the price to pay for Arthur’s affection will run deep in my pockets.
“320 Lumin.”
“475 Lumin.”
The price climbed quickly, I had to act fast.
“5,000 Lumin,” I uttered, voice lost among the bids.
The crowd went silent, the auctioneer himself was left frozen at the center, his face unmoving. For a moment, I thought he wasn’t breathing.
“Sold! Please come and claim your Excalibur.”
So, I stood from my seat, glancing over at my maids to come with. The men stood dumbfounded, only being able to watch as I stepped up. I didn’t have to look at them to know that their gaze was an unfriendly one. I stood in front of the man, Anne not missing a beat as she gave the man a large potato sack filled with gold coins.
“Keep the change,” I grinned, grabbing my sword. In my grip, it wasn’t as heavy as all the men made it out to be. With that, I left the tavern with all jaws on the floor.
I had not realized how much time I had spent in the tavern, because by then it was dusk.
“My lady, now I’m really sure we won’t be able to make it to the manor in time,” Maddy sighed, disappointed. Poor thing, she must be blaming herself for the whole predicament. It was really Arthur’s fault for not wanting to be seen with frosting on his suit.
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” I sighed, setting out to look for the carriage.
It didn’t take long to find it, by now most nobles were done with the day and leaving the plaza. It was easy to find the Montfort carriage. It was the only carriage left in what was once the busy square.
Anne stashed the sword on the seat next to me. The ride back home wasn’t particularly noteworthy. When we arrived at the manor, I was fully expecting that the duke would be waiting for me, demanding why I got home so late. Not even a butler came to greet me, it was just Anne and Maddy in my company. I quietly crept inside, shutting the front door and walking up the steps to my room.
On the way there, I met up with Nicholas, who seemed to walking downstairs.
“Evening, Alexandra,” he greeted. He came to a halt, hands behind his back as he stood next to me.
“Hello, brother,” I greeted back. How did Alexandra even talk to him?
He stared at me for a minute, as he usually did before clearing his throat.
“You’ve got mail.”
He fished around the pocket of his suit, fishing out a small envelope. It was a cream white, its paper textured. It had a wax seal in the center that I did not recognize. He handed it to me, before walking off.
I quickly tore it open, curious to its contents.
“Lady Alexandra of Scarlet, you’ve been invited to my tea party tomorrow afternoon. It would be most courteous to have you there, signed Lady Meridith of Antebellum.”
So I’ve been invited to a tea party.