Emerald hurried toward the East Pavillion upon learning that her good friend had just arrived at the Palace. Her heart was filled with excitement as her feet moved swiftly towards the East. As she hastened, many things have slipped on her mind.
'What should I tell Maggie?' She thought as her cheeks became flushed from the rush. She was almost completely out of breath as she tried to think of a way to explain to Maggie her current situation. Her two ladies-in-waiting followed behind her. Their stamina was no greater than Emerald as they too were both out of breath, trying to keep up with Emerald.
"Your Majesty!!"
A voice was heard from across the room of the East Pavillion. Emerald immediately recognized the owner of such a loud and cheerful voice and looked around to find Maggie in the crowd.
In just a few minutes, Emerald felt a tap on her shoulder. Without hesitation, she turned around and found a familiar friendly face. Maggie quickly gave Emerald a warm hug and spoke, "I'm so happy to see you, your Majesty!"
Emerald laughed from seeing an old friend. It was hard to school her facial expression into neutral. As the two exchange a few more pleasantries, Emerald takes Maggie's hand, gesturing to her to come.
"Let's go somewhere to talk."
Maggie readily nodded and followed Emerald to one of the empty rooms in the East pavilion. They quickly sat side by side and became comfortable.
"Were you going to tell me something?"
It was the moment of truth.
Emerald sighed slowly as she organized her thoughts to carefully picked out the right words.
"I'm..." she started feeling hesitant to finish the rest of the sentence.
Maggie took her hands and squeezed it gently to encourage Emerald to spill the tea.
"...Pregnant?" Maggie clumsily guessed, trying to figure out what Emerald was trying to say.
Emerald's eyes widened and violently shook her head in total denial. "No— listen."
Maggie nodded attentively as she waited for Emerald to speak once again.
Emerald breathed in and mastered all her courage to come out with the truth, but she ended up stuttering and mumbling the words out after trying diligently.
"I'm m-marrying... C-calester..."
Maggie, on the other hand, was utterly speechless. Her brown eyes blinked as Emerald's word slowly processed in her mind. It took her a moment to register a response.
"What?!!" Maggie stood in shock while Emerald silently observed. Maggie reached for her mouth to avoid speaking further. But her words were quicker than her reflex.
"But, I thought you were betrothed to the Crown Prince?"
Emerald expected that this would be her reaction when she finds out the truth. There were other things that she wanted to say, but it would mean that she had to discuss the contract that Calester has proposed. Exposing this to her, even if she trusts her, would be a huge risk to Emerald and Calester.
"Calm down, Maggie."
Since the beginning, Emerald has always been attracted to Maggie's outspoken personality. It was one of the reasons why Emerald became friends with Maggie. It was also one of the things that she always wished she could be; a type of person that would not be afraid to speak her mind.
"Maggie, don't worry. I'm okay."
Maggie looked at Emerald. Her eyes were filled with undeniable sympathy towards her dear friend. She sat back down more calmly and took Emerald hands once again. She looked at Emerald to search for sincerity in her words and was convinced that she was telling the truth.
"Then, your Majesty... are you ready for this?"
Emerald did not know what the young lady meant, a confused expression was drawn on her face. Her brows furrowed as she sought for further elaboration from her dear friend.
"Uhm..."
Maggie, who had thought that Emerald had figured out what she meant, affirmed her friend with a nod.
"Yes, your Majesty. Your wedding night."
This time, it was Emerald's turn to be flustered as she quickly stood up in panic. The blood quickly rushed to her cheeks and burned her face.
The wedding night— Emerald had completely forgotten.
"Don't tell me you did not think of it?"
Based on her response, Maggie quickly determined that Emerald had no idea about it.
Emerald shook her head, trying to retrace her steps. Then, looked at Maggie with profound determination. Her mind was made up. She knew exactly what she needed to do. It was not time to dance and linger around. She needed to see Calester again as soon as possible.
"I will see you tomorrow." Emerald said in a hurry as she picked up her dress that was dragging on the floor. She smiled lightheartedly at Maggie.
"I'm going."
As soon as Emerald made an announcement, she called for her two ladies-in-waiting who were at the corner, waiting for her. She left Maggie in a state of wonder. The ladies-in-waiting joined Emerald as she walked towards the Western Palace.
"Lady Monte, do you know where Prince Calester is at the moment?"
"Your Grace, He's in the office getting ready to greet the guests."
"Great. Can we go see him right now?"
The two ladies-in-waiting looked at each other and quietly followed Emerald from behind. Leo who just returned from his post, saw Emerald from a distance walking towards them. When he recognized that it was Emerald getting closer and closer, his expression became firm and his brows wiggled. He tried hiding his nervousness as Emerald approached closer.
Actually, the Prince was currently speaking to Lady Alexis, the daughter of House of Marquis Fellon, an ex-lover of the Second Prince and a guest to their wedding.
When Emerald reached the door of Calester's office. Leo did not speak and just gave Emerald a light bow. He could feel his sweat racing down his forehead. It felt like he was caught red-handed for doing something wrong and was guilty of it. But, his face did not betray him for looking as if there was nothing to hide.
"Leo, is Prince Calester here?"
Emerald asked, not sensing the agitation Leo was experiencing. But before he could answer the question. The door slightly opened, revealing the person behind it.
"Prince Cal—"
Emerald was caught off guard when she witnessed a woman coming out of Calester's office. She knew of the ladies that had been in Calester's life. Although, she has not physically met them. This was the first time. She was aware of the love affairs he had previous to their engagement. Not that she cared, but it was still surprising to see this side Calester who would open a door for a lady.
Emerald quickly closed her lips and tucked it in together. She saw Lady Alexis with her gorgeous locks and rosy led lips. Emerald could not resist her urges to admire the beauty that was in front of her. She stood there feeling inferior to Alexis's charm.
Alexis, on the other hand, observed Emerald with judgeful eyes. She appeared graceful and kind as she traced the flaws of the women in front of her. She was careful not for people to know the hidden meaning of her stares.
"This is Lady Fellon. The second daughter of Marquis Fellon." (Calester)
"Greetings to the future Moon of the East, it's an honor to meet you." (Alexis)
"Good morning, Lady Fellon. It was nice meeting you too" (Emerald)
Calester invited Emerald to come inside his office and instructed Leo to escort Alexis to the Western Palace. As soon as Alexis left, Emerald spoke.
"She's..."
"A candidate for government?"
"!"
Emerald was not aware of the matter. In fact, she was only going to state that Alexis is an ex-lover. There was a silence in the room. For a moment, Emerald had forgotten the purpose as to why she came to see Calester.
"Why did you come?"
"Right. I forgot."
"?"
"Ah! About the wedding night."
"!"
Calester was confused trying to figure what his childhood friend was pointing out. The moment 'wedding night' processed his mind, he immediately blushed. Emerald, on the other hand, did not seem to notice Calester's reaction and continued.
"Let's try preventing that from happening..." she finally said.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's make sure to be occupied to avoid it."
"..."
Emerald looked at Calester and thought that was a great idea. Calester put his hand on his forehead.
"What do you think?" (Emerald)
"What happens when they demand an heir?"
"You just have to make sure you have already chosen a government by then."
"..."
"Lady Alexis seems to be still in love with you."
"You seemed to be okay with the idea of me having a government."
There was an irritation in his tone that he covered with a smirk in his face.
"Well, if you love her. Since I'm your friend, I will allow it."
"Great." He responded sarcastically. His childhood friend really thought of him as a royal playboy and seems to be convinced that getting a concubine was the best route to avoid each other.
***
"Your Majesty, I don't like that lady..."
Lucia gasped and looked at Kathleen, trying to confirm if what she heard clearly really came from Kathleen's mouth. With her eyes she implied 'watch your mouth!' to Kathleen.
Kathleen ignored Lucia and continued speaking to Emerald.
"I just did not like how she looked at her Majesty. Sorry for being honest..." (Kathleen).
After she spoke her feelings, she lowered her head acknowledging that it was not something that she should say in front of Emerald. But the tone of her voice was far for being apologetic.
Emerald knew Kathleen would notice. Kathleen has keen eyes for good and bad people. It is one the qualities Emerald saw that lead her to bring Kathleen to the Palace as her ladies-in-waiting.
"She might be thinking that me and Calester have a thing for each other"