The Kings Mistress Chapter 74

[ … words ]

No one dared to laugh out loud, but it was clear that everyone was in on the joke. Agnes’ face was bright red as she tried to get back on her feet with the help of her maid.

But each time she placed even a little pressure on her injured ankle, a shot of pain would travel up the length of her leg. It did not help that she was in heels, which placed more pressure on a portion of her feet.

“Ida, go call for the Royal Doctor. I think his expertise was definitely required this time,” Sierra instructed.

“Right away, Your Highness,” Ida replied before hurrying off.

“Sierra of Cair! You… you…” Agnes was shaking in anger as she pointed at Sierra.

“What is going on here?” Alistair’s voice shot through the entire hall, causing everyone to jolt.

Even Sierra had not noticed that the King had re-entered the hall.

Seeing that the King had returned, Agnes knew she had to seize the opportunity. If she was the first to tell King Alistair what had transpired, she could spin the tale to her advantage.

Though there was a chance he would not believe her, it was a chance she was willing to take. After all, it couldn’t get worse, now could it?

“Your Majesty! I implore you to give me the justice I deserve!” She begged him as she tried to walk over to him.

As she placed pressure on her injured ankle, Princess Agnes stumbled forward. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She made eye contact with King Alistair, hoping he would catch her before she fell to the ground.

Sierra expected the same to happen too. She could not help but clench her jaw as she watched what happened next. To her surprise, Alistair did not help Agnes. He stopped in his tracks moments before she fell forward.

As such, Agnes fell hard onto the marble flooring, wincing in pain. Tears began to stream down her eyes as she whimpered in pain.

“Princess Agnes, are you alright?” Queen Roxine asked in shock.

The Queen entered the hall moments after Alistair. She was stunned to see what happened. No one dared to say anything. No one moved forward to help Princess Agnes up to her feet either. Her maids were frozen in fear with their heads lowered and eyes transfixed on the ground.

They did not dare to move an inch in the King and Queens’ presence. Not without their orders. Queen Roxine signaled over to Marionne. She immediately went forward to help Princess Agnes back up on her feet while another maid brought her a chair to sit on.

Moments later, Ida re-entered the hall with the Royal Doctor in tow.

“Princess Sierra, would you care to enlighten us on what happened?” Alistair asked as he glanced over at her, “It seems like everything is centered around you today.”

Sierra bit her lip. Alistair’s words caught her completely off guard. She had watched on, expecting Agnes’ plan to play out as she wanted. Sierra knew she was likely to spin a false tale of the actual events and she would have to defend herself.

But now that Alistair had asked her instead, the ball was in her court.

“Your Majesty, Princess Agnes tripped and sprained her ankle,” She stated the facts.

“Again?” Alistair remarked, “You really need to be more careful, Princess Agnes. We can’t have a clumsy princess, now can we?”

“Your Majesty! Princess Sierra pushed me! She-”

“You’re saying she pushed you, again? For a second time?” Alistair finished her words for her as he looked over to Sierra, “Princess Sierra, what do you have to say?”

“I did no such thing. Anyone here can be my witness,” she replied without skipping a beat.

There was nothing for her to hide. Alistair did a quick sweep of the room. No one dared to say anything else. No one came forward to protest what Sierra had claimed either. He turned to Queen Roxine, who was also trying to figure out the situation at hand.

“My Queen, what do you make of this fiasco?” Alistair asked as he walked over to her side.

“I’ll handle it, My King. You need not worry yourself with such trivial matters,” she swiftly replied with a slight bow before turning her attention to the princesses to address them.

“Princess Agnes will receive all the medical attention she needs for her ankle. As for Princess Sierra, I will have a word with you in private after we announce the results of the contest.”

“Understood, Your Highness. I apologize for the trouble caused,” Sierra apologized as she bowed her head low.

With that, Queen Roxine and King Alistair walked over to the center of the room with all the other royals gathered before them. After much discussion with their court, they were ready to announce who won the contest.

“The competition was fierce, and everyone had a hard time deciding who would ultimately win but we’ve come to a consensus. Princess Sierra is the winner. Congratulations,” Queen Roxine announced.

Sierra gasped in surprise. She did not expect her dishes to win. Everyone came forward to congratulate her. As for her reward, Sierra received three items. The first item was a small bottle of summer saffron, one of the hardest to obtain spices in the whole of Gaeia.

The second was a cask of wine from the Royal Vargos Vineyard. It is said to be from King Alistair’s personal reserves, a wine that was reserved for royalty. Finally, she was to receive a surprise dish at a later time.

“A surprise dish?” Sierra asked out of curiosity, “May I know what it will contain?”

Queen Roxine glanced over at Alistair. He avoided making eye contact with her, meaning he did not wish to answer the question. So, Roxine answered Sierra for him.

“It’s a secret, Princess Sierra. You’ll find out when the time comes.”

With that, the culinary skill test came to a close and everyone was dismissed from the hall. Since dinner time was still a few hours away, all the princesses were allowed to do as they pleased till then. A special dinner party awaited them.

All the princesses returned to the Celestial Lodge to prepare themselves for the evening. After all, King Alistair would be dining with them and everyone wanted to look their best.

Sierra, on the other hand, was called away to speak to Queen Roxine in private. They headed to the Queen’s quarters for their chat. As soon as the doors to the drawing-room closed behind them, Sierra was about to speak when Roxine stopped her.

“You need not explain yourself any further, Sierra. It was clear to everyone, and me, what actually happened. Princess Agnes can be a handful, but I hope you’ll be more lenient with your words when you’re around her in the future.”

“I’ll be careful with my words if she’s careful with hers,” Sierra remarked in response.

Queen Roxine looked up to her. Sometimes, she forgot that Sierra was not a princess but a knightess. But there were times her true nature shone so true it was hard to ignore.