Without further disturbance, the guests made their way inside the great hall. Their steps were light. But, Of course, Anasthasia's eyes darted the ceiling, with golden fractals and cascading chandeliers, reflecting off the same from the polished beige marble floor.
It was as though two planes converged halfway, which she thought so genuinely, 'I'm impressed, if not for the large, clear stained glass windows, this would be a treasure trove to me.'
They moved forth until a series of clacks from the left side, turning to that direction. There she sized up the woman from afar. Her crimson hair formed a tight bun—adorned with ruby jewelry circling her pale forehead, paler than Brenov.
More and more jewels sparkled in the distance and continued to cascade over her.
In subtlety, Anasthasia's eyes dawned to her regal gown: white fox fur mantle, intricate gold linings, and pearly white lace with a red drape over it.
Her presence—from her stature down to her languid struts gave off such regalia.
"Greetings to Her Majesty, Queen Eleanor." They spoke in unison with a curt bow.
Upon closer look, Eleanor's blood-red eyes gleamed from Anasthasia's unperturbed stance. Her hands unfurled her frilly red fan, fanning herself. "Who is this mysterious lady over here?"
"She's my very important guest for today, Mother. I hope you'll pardon insolence." Daniel uttered.
Eleanor blinked a few times and let out a hearty chortle. "Of course, my dear. I shall be lenient this time around. Your esteemed guest is my esteemed guest."
"Many thanks, Mother."
"So…" She turned towards Michael, coldly trailing off her voice. "What a surprise to see the Crown Prince having such leisure in the Royal Palace. The formal gathering was over?"
Anasthasia watched him lowered his head and could see his hand, tucked by the side, clenching his fist.
"Indeed, Your Majesty, the event ended as what we have anticipated."
Eleanor let out a sharp huff. "Those entitled aristocrats are foolish, nothing but flaunting off their wealth. Feeble minds, I say. Anyway, what brings you here?"
"We would like to visit His Majesty, The King—"
However, she shoved her hand with her fan closed and pointed at them. "That would be off-limits, Michael. Moreover, don't you have a lot of work to do now that you're back?"
"I do—"
"I have heard that you have been slacking for several days." Her scarlet lips gave in a lopsided grin, showing a dimple to her right.
"I beg your pardon, but I never missed any of my duties as a crown—"
"Not that I needed to dwell on much information." She shifted to the side, facing the entrance of the hall. "I bet you have more important things to do other than visiting The King, don't you think?"
Anasthasia could feel Eleanor's cold gaze and the searing anger from Michael and Blake. Daniel turned meek, his lips tightly sealed, and averted his gaze.
"I shall get going and do my duties as a queen, and so do you, heir apparent of Navarre Kingdom."
Before Michael could respond, Daniel pleaded, "May I have the opportunity to visit Father, my dear Mother?"
"For you, I will." She waved off her fan and covered her mouth. "Only you, that is." A chortle erupted behind those frills.
'Right off the bat and she's already showing her intentions—marking her territory, it is.'
Anasthasia got the gist; it was meant for the rest of them to stay out of the palace. Even if it was for Michael, accomplices like Blake and her are no exception. Daniel hesitated to include her, but she noticed his subtle shivers.
'I'm not having a good impression on this queen, I've seen enough. Beauty fades, irrationality is forever!'
That said, they all strolled their way out of the great hall, and Eleanor moved along, leaving Daniel as he stood frozen solid. The atmosphere around him turned gloomy.
Anasthasia looked back and saw his demeanor; simultaneously, he shot up and saw how she gave him a wink. Like telepathy, their intentions clicked right away. Daniel moved on while she caught up to both of them.
They walked relatively far from the entrance, so she muttered, "Are we giving up like this?"
Michael shook his head. "Of course, not. We're relying on you this time around."
"Then, to that area, we go!"
With her cue, Michael raced and led the way as the two of them followed closely. It was relatively close to the area, so there wasn't a need to use such speed spells. In quite an early afternoon, with people bustling in the area and their avant-garde looks and one with a mysterious cloak, they would be under peculiar limelight. They waltzed their way, without tripping themselves, and finally reached the safe place where no one could've possibly found them.
"Now that we're around the corner... Allow me to cast a spell. This will take time."
Her hands began to disappear slowly from their sight, which had them rise at an alarming rate. She tried to move her arms, seemingly knocking the wall, but no sound heard.
Blake noticed how her figure slowly vanished in thin air. He sniffed and moved his hand as he tried to reach out. "Miss Ana, we can't even sense it at all."
Anasthasia said, "Don't worry, I'll cast it on both of you."
Soon they felt a touch in their shoulders, and their body slowly engulfed by nothingness, body melding to the background. They were surprised to see how they could see her silhouette now.
Her hands let go of them and disappeared; then, hands reached out to them, visible, and again retracted. It gave them a glimpse of what this spell was.
"Do I have to hold unto you guys?"
"No, that would be awkward, Miss Ana. We know the drill already."
"Fine by me."
Even without such presence, Anasthasia prowled close to the secret place they had once ventured. With Michael opening, they entered nimbly.
Anasthasia snapped back and revealed themselves, despite the pitch-black darkness, so she rubbed her finger and lit up, illuminating the area.
"Let's go!"
Without further delay, they started to move, and alas, they reached by the door. Anasthasia turned off the bright flame and cast the spell once more. Michael led them to the sophisticated hallway.
Anasthasia scrutinized the area, with the maids busied themselves as they came and went to do their thing. So far, everything went according to their plan, and her thoughts left astray that she bumped herself on Michael's back, revealing his stature. She kneaded her forehead and leaned by the side only to see another hurdle.
Royal Guards waited nearby. Inwardly, she grimaced from the nuisance of it.
'How can I forget about these guards? I must do something.'
She touched Michael and Blake as she gave them her concrete signals. Their eyes widened from her crazy idea, but, unconditionally, relied on her. As consent was given, she started to prowl close to them.
Her feet kicked the door, which startled the guards. They looked at each other in bewilderment and then back to the hallway. Their eyebrows furrowed from the peculiarity.
Daniel opened the door and bellowed at the guards, "Who made a loud thud from the door?! Was it you—?!"
Anasthasia immediately blew a kiss of the wind, grazing his cheek, which only soothed his rigid and anger clouded his face. The guard gawked in astonishment; he gulped audibly and took his chances.
"I dare not do such thing, Your Highness—"
"Rest assured, and I don't hold that much of a grudge." He then harrumphed and opened the door wide.
In a cue, all of them entered in one fluid motion. Anasthasia, again, signaled thus Daniel closed the door.
All of them revealed themselves to Daniel, which got him jaw-dropped and gaped at them. "That's convenient."
"Not really, we tried our luck: first, if you have already arrived as this doesn't last much and second, if you'd dare to open the door. Had the gut feeling to trust."
Daniel revealed a mischievous smirk as he jeered at her, "Is that so? Your concern incredibly touches me."
"Let's go." Anasthasia rolled her eyes and turned around. "I'm glad that the flower is gone."
"What do you mean, Ana?"
"That flower brought so much negative impact and corroding The King's health by a small margin, but it's deadly accumulated for a long time." She glanced at the vanity.
'That flower was something—but I can't deny the detrimental effects of this miasma. It's like… cancer but sophisticated and complicated.'
"That flower?" Daniel felt his spine stiffened as his eyes almost gouged out. "I thought it was mere decoration."
"I don't know the full details as to how your father turned out this way, Daniel. But I am sure that the miasma it gave off resided in his body."
Daniel never said anything further, averting his gaze. Michael and Blake watched from a distance.
Anasthasia sat by the edge, fingers reaching.
"I will start now."