Siv watches absentmindedly as Veda and Tove organize her clothes in her new closet. Her grandmother gave the order to prepare her new room and move all her belongings there. Her maids have been working on it all afternoon, only taking a break to dress her for dinner.
"My lady, you should leave already, otherwise you will be late." Veda informs her.
"You are right." Siv reluctantly leaves her new room and heads to the foyer where the dowager duchess is waiting for her.
She feels like she did not have enough time to think about the events that have happened earlier. The grandmother is obviously an ally, a very powerful one for that matter. But even a powerful grandmother can't make people change their feelings. Brandt hasn't even looked in her direction since that article was published.
'Just my luck that this world has their own version of TMZ.'
Siv still can't fathom how the woman knows about the tattoo, and the attacks.
'Did she have someone watch me this whole time?'
"You are late." The duchess states as she stands by the entrance.
"I apologize, grandmother." The woman eyes her for a moment then turns to leave.
They both walk silently toward the dining hall. Siv has so many questions, but she does her best to be patient and wait until the right time to ask them.
"Great aunt Thyra." Gary calls when they enter the hall.
"Well if it is not the rascal I have been looking forward to seeing." Gary hugs the duchess, then she pats his left cheek a few times. She is quite short, so she has to stretch her neck all the way back to look up at Gary. "Still handsome. Have you been making trouble for everyone?"
"Always." He whispers in her ear which makes the woman burst out laughing.
"Oh, youngsters." The grandmother proceeds to greet the royal, leaving Siv with Gary.
"Good evening, Rouva Holmen." Gary bows.
'Wow, back to calling me by my title. Fine.'
"Your Grace." She nods at him and hurries after her grandmother.
They all sit at the fancy table for dinner. Siv can feel the tension, though. As she looks closely, nobody seems to enjoy their food, except for her grandmother and Bjarte.
"How are things in the East, Brandt?" The duchess inquires.
"It is not looking great, Your Grace." He answers. "The negotiations have failed."
"Well, what do they want?" Thyra asks.
"It seems that they are blaming us for something, but they are being ambiguous about it."
"Well, if they have demands, isn't it counterproductive to be ambiguous about them?" Gary comments.
"It is." Brandt agrees. "Which leads to thinking that they are not interested in negotiating."
"Are you saying that war is inevitable?" King Ronald finally speaks.
"Right."
"Can we have a more appropriate topic to speak about during dinner?" The queen sighs.
"What would you suggest we discuss as war is knocking on our doors, Ylva? Fall fashion?" The duchess asks sarcastically.
"No, but-"
"How about we discuss the rumors that were published about my granddaughter?" She says as she puts her knife and fork down. "Would that be a good discussion for dinner, Your Highness?" The queen pales, Siv can see anger painted all over her face. She makes a mental note to ask the duchess what her beef with the queen is about.
'And, I would rather talk about good old boring fall fashion. But nobody bothers asking me.'
"Your Grace, it was just a tabloid newspaper."
"Well, as I remember correctly, it was also a tabloid newspaper that wrote an article back in the day." The king freezes. "Do you remember the rumors that were started about Eerika?" The queen's eyes are so wide, you would think they will pop out.
'Gosh, watching grandmother is way more entertaining than watching The Hunger Games.'
"Your Grace-"
"Do you remember what you did, Ronald?"
"I don't think it is appropriate to speak-"
"Do you remember?" The king stares at her for what seems like an eternity. The heavy silence that envelops the room is making everyone uneasy, especially Ylva.
"Of course I remember." He finally utters with a low voice.
"And that is the difference between you and your son." Thyra's judging eyes travel to Brandt. "Revoking the Traditional Vying is unacceptable." Her voice is so commanding, a shiver runs through Siv's back.
'Wait, what is going on?'
"As crown prince, you have responsibilities. Breaking an engagement that was agreed upon decades ago is unacceptable." Siv looks around and everyone is just looking down. No one is making eye contact, especially Brandt. "Having an affair while Rouvas are competing in the Vying is unacceptable."
"A what?" The question escapes Siv's lips.
"Your Grace-" The king tries but the duchess holds her hand up making him stop.
Siv stares at Brandt hoping that he would react, deny, but he doesn't.
'With… Saga?'
"As the only surviving elder of the family, I demand that the appropriate actions are taken." The duchess puts her serviette on the left of her plate. "Either you cancel the Vying and reaffirm your engagement to Siv, or she will withdraw from the competition and our family will also withdraw from Pyama." All color leaves the king's face, and Brandt finally looks up and meets the duchess' eyes.
"You can't be serious, aunt Thyra?" Ronald asks in disbelief.
"I have never been this serious. Humiliating my granddaughter is not something I take lightly, Ronald." She pushes to her feet. "Needless to say that the whore you have been seeing is to be sent away, forever." Thyra slams her cane as if she is the judge and the verdict has just been heard. More like a decree. "Let's go child." Siv is too shocked to even register her grandmother's voice. Her eyes haven't left Brandt's face. The turmoil inside her head is too great to calm. Her chest is tight and her body feels cold.
'Wait, what the hell just happened?'
"Gary, please help my granddaughter, will you? It seems my words might have been too shocking to her." Gary obeys. He gently pulls her up from her chair and guides her out of the hall following the duchess.
'What the fuck just happened?'