The King's Mistress

Chapter 49: Table Manners

Finally, it was time for the first test to begin. All the princesses were ready to take on the challenge. Sierra woke up bright and early to make some final preparations. The first test was on etiquette.

The night before, all the princesses were gathered and briefed on the schedule for the next day. They would be spending a day out with the Queen and her ladies in waiting. They would all be carefully watched and graded based on their etiquette.

"Ida, do we have everything ready?" Sierra asked as she tidied up her hair while looking in the mirror.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good, then we’re ready to go."

With the final touches done, Sierra exited her room with Ida trailing behind. Their first order of business was to have morning tea with the Queen which was to be held in Merremia Hall. Myra and her maid caught up with them as they made their way over.

"Your dress today looks stunning, Sierra!" Myra exclaimed with envy.

"Yours look even better, Myra. Are those hand-stitched pearls on your dress?" she asked as she observed them a little closer.

The princess was surprised. Not many noticed it.

"It is! You’ve got a keen eye, Sierra."

Upon their arrival at Merremia Hall, they noticed that some of the princesses had arrived early. Princess Cassandra and Princess Agnes were amongst them. To Sierra’s surprise, they were seated at the table already.

They had chosen to sit close to the head of the table, presuming that was where the Queen was going to sit. As Myra was about to take her seat too, Sierra held her back and shook her head.

"Aren’t we supposed to be seated?" she asked Sierra in a soft voice, confused by her actions.

"If I’m not wrong, our test has already begun. And according to Drakin’s customs, guests are not allowed to sit until the Queen has been seated," she whispered.

"Your Highness," Ida gasped in shock at Sierra, "How did you know that?"

All the maids and servants of Vargos Castle had been asked to refrain from providing any assistance to the princesses. While they were allowed to help them with their regular tasks, they were not allowed to give any information on etiquette to the princesses as that would give them an unfair advantage.

Ida had been worried sick since she had never seen or heard Sierra ask for any information on the royal etiquette in Drakin. She had tried extremely hard to remain silent. Now, she was dumbfounded.

Had Sierra been hiding her intelligence all this time?

"It’s basic etiquette, is it not?" Sierra winked.

Moments later, the doors to Merremia Hall swung open. Queen Roxine and her entourage of ladies in waiting, maids, and servants entered the room. Sierra curtsied, lowering her head and keeping still until the Queen took her seat.

Much to the surprise of the others, she took her seat nearer to the center of the table.

"Good morning, princesses. I hope I did not keep all of you waiting," the Queen greeted all of them with a smile as she sat down. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

She glanced over to Sierra and Myra. Everyone else was already in front of their chairs when she entered. Only the two of them were still standing away from the table. Marionne, who had just collected valuable intel from the other servants who were in the hall before they entered, whispered their observations to the Queen.

While that was happening, Sierra glanced over to Cassandra and Agnes. The look of shock and horror on their faces was priceless. She wished she could freeze this frame in time and keep it in a painting forever.

"Princess Sierra, Princess Myra," The Queen addressed them both together, "Looks like you’re familiar with our customs?"

Myra was stunned. She did not know what to say. Lucky for her, Sierra came to their rescue.

"We familiarized ourselves as best we could, My Queen."

Roxine smiled nodding in acknowledgment of their efforts, "Come, sit with me and let us enjoy our first meal of the day."

With the Queen’s invitation, Sierra and Myra got to sit right opposite the Queen. This left a disparaging gap between the two groups of royals. However, Queen Roxine did not seem to mind. She did not ask the others to move either and they did not dare to move either.

Cassandra and Agnes were fuming with anger. While they may be versed in the etiquette of their own respective kingdoms, they clearly did not bother to familiarize themselves with the etiquette of others.

Their perceived advantage was now lost in the wind.

Myra was shaking with worry as she looked down at the food in front of her. There were three different sets of cutlery on each side of the plate when the usual only had two. Knowing that their every move was being watched, she did not dare pick up any of them.

What if she made the wrong choice?

She turned her head slightly to look over at Sierra who had already begun to dig into her food. Sierra caught her looking over and quickly whispered to her which ones to take.

She mouthed a quick word of thanks before picking them up to dig into the plate before her. Her stomach had been growling all morning. She had been so nervous about the first test she barely ate anything at dinner the night before and did not have anything in the morning.

As she took the first bite of warm toasted croissant, Myra felt a warm wave wash over her. She felt a little more relaxed as she took another mouth of scrambled eggs.

"Did you sleep well the night before, Princess Sierra?" the Queen asked.

"Very well, Your Highness. Sleep had evaded me in past nights but in the last, I slept soundly till first light," Sierra replied without skipping a beat. frёeωebɳovel.com

Each word she spoke was eloquent, unlike her usual self. Even the Queen noticed this difference, as did many at the table. Some even wondered if she was the same Sierra they had become accustomed to.

"The lodgings provided by His Majesty have been above and beyond, Your Highness. We are grateful for the hospitality shown-"

"I believe the Queen is speaking with Princess Sierra, not you, Princess Cassandra," Marionne interjected while glancing over to Cassandra.

The friendly, cordial chatter that served as background noise in the hall quickly turned into silence. Should a piece of silverware fall to the ground, the clang would echo throughout the hall.

"What then gave you permission to interject me?" Cassandra snapped back at the Queen’s maid.