The days following the coronation were a flurry of activity. So much so that Flora could barely keep heads or tails of where she was supposed to be, and when she was supposed to be there. There were a few moments that Flora was almost grateful for Paul, but those were few and far between. Most of the time she had him direct her to a luncheon or a party and dismissed him as quickly as possible. Although she hated to admit it, there were a few times that she had forgotten a name or two of the castle guests. At least the people's names she forgot belonged to higher class citizens and not nobles. Gods forbid if she forgot any foreign dignitaries. That had at least not happened yet.
After about a few weeks of the dull conversations and repetitive small talk, Flora was really praying for the guests to finally leave. According to some of the books on etiquette, the royal family could expect some of the guests to stay for weeks, if not months. She checked this, once, twice, and then thrice. There was no way around it, she would have to socialize with everyone until they finally decided to leave. Nevertheless, now that some of the resident highborns had gotten use to having Flora's ear, they might not stop when all was said and done. So much for the cursed princess image.
Luckily for Flora, she was not forced to entertain the Leostan prince. She had conversed with the Leostan group, but had avoided seeing the prince. Flora felt that is she could bear fraternizing with anyone if it meant she could avoid spending time with that pompous bastard. After her run in with Prince Andrei at the cocktail party, and his bizarre comments at the coronation feast, she felt like speaking to him could result in conflict for the two countries. Hopefully, neither of them were important enough to actually cause any trouble.
Flora sat on one of the cushions in her dining room surrounded by noble women. The clock was not moving fast enough for her liking as she subtly stretched her stiff back. She wasn't used to having someone other than Felix in her part of the castle, let alone strangers. For them, she supposed, this might be a great time for socialization and ladder climbing. For her, however, it was increasingly uncomfortable as her space had been invaded by not only the nobles, but also strange servants to accommodate the party.
"Have I told you how much I adore your dress your highness?" A woman named Lady Arquette mused forcing Flora's attention on her. "I am quite partial to the color blue, especially when combined with silver." She was an stout, older woman with greying hair and an old sense in fashion that she was not afraid to show. Lady Arquette had wrinkles all over her, but she didn't act as if she had lost her beauty in her old age. Her brash nature and indifferent attitude had made her one of the less irritating women that she had interacted with lately.
Flora examined her dress, a baby blue dress with white beading on the bodice. "I wouldn't say it is sliver, maybe just plain white?" The dress was one of her newer ones that Rose had called more "mature". She must have gotten used to the bold dress constructions, because she didn't feel as self conscious in them. But, to be fair, there wasn't much time to worry about her appearance when she was being paraded around like a circus act. Flora would leave Rose to worry about her appearance.
"I guess you are correct your highness." Lady Arquette ignored other women's attempts to get Flora's attention. "It seems rather grand for an afternoon tea." She picked up her cup of tea with a shaking hand and giggled, "but I suppose if I were as marvelous as you I would steal the show as well."
Flora smiled, for once not forcibly. "You flatter me Lady Arquette." She unnoticeably moved the lady's saucer closer to her seat where she could easily place it. "I'm afraid I have quite the reputation around the castle though." The room quieted as Flora nonchalantly took a sip of her tea. She was fully aware of how the women here actually felt about her. They were willing to overlook how eerie she was now that there were many people around her. The chance at getting any sort of leverage outweighed the chance that she would curse anyone, and it had been months since anyone had heard of one of her "incidents."
Lady Arquette was unfazed, a wild grin on her face. "Your highness, when you get to be my age, such trivial things will not faze you anymore." She carefully set down her cup on the saucer to Flora's pleasure. "I could care less what anyone else thinks."
Another servant came through the door without a platter as Flora replied, "and I admire you for that Lady Arquette." The servant bent down and handed Flora a slip of paper, with a hastily scrawled message on it. From the looks of it, it was from Felix's stationary. It was simply a summons to the king's study, asking for her to come immediately. Flora stood up, causing the rest of the women to stir and rise. She held out a hand. "Don't worry ladies, you may stay as long as you like. However, I have some important business to attend to, so I am leaving." Small whispers went around the room as she departed, causing Flora to wonder why they would even bother to whisper if they were probably going to be heard.
As she knocked on the door to the study, she wondered why Felix would summon her in such a rush. Maybe he was going to order her to another state dinner so he could avoid the nonsense and just work. She slowly inched the door open to make sure she wouldn't hit anything and walked into the room. Flora could have stopped cold when she saw Prince Andrei sitting in a chair positioned next to the desk. She tried to control her face from contorting into something nasty as she stepped toward the the men. The desk was covered in books and papers; it was in absolute disarray. From the corner of her eye, she saw a strange pile of what looked like ash. There weren't any pipes or cigars around, so it seemed out of place.
Curtsying to Felix, Flora didn't even bother to acknowledge the prince, who to her was no more than an eyesore. "You summoned me your majesty?" It was still incredibly strange to call her brother that, but it had been drilled in to her that she must always address him so in front of others. Felix nodded yes as a wave of anxiety swept over her. Why was she called in so urgently, and why was the Leostan prince here? Did he tell someone of their conversations and now there was some kind of dispute?
Felix didn't ease her worries as he motioned for her to sit in the chair next to Prince Andrei. He took a deep breath before he spoke, "I have finally received confirmation from the Leostan emperor as we have come to an agreement." Flora shot him a confused look. She hadn't heard of any communication with the Leostan emperor, not that she would necessarily be privy to it. "His majesty and I have been corresponding for some time now about ways in which we can strengthen our relationship and even become allies." Flora glanced at the prince from the side of her eyes, but he didn't give anything away. Felix paused for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out his wording, but eventually he continued, "it has been decided that you and Prince Andrei Usoro are to be engaged to marry."
The world came crashing in around on Flora as she processed the words that had just came out of Felix's mouth. Before she could control herself she blurted out, "WHAT?" What the hell was Felix doing? Was he being serious right now? Flora couldn't even focus her eyes as the room spun around her.
Felix cleared his throat, tossing a cautious glance towards the prince. "Flora, remember yourself." He seemed utterly unfazed by this whole thing. How long had he been been planning this without even telling her anything?
"You can't be serious." Flora pleaded her brother silently with her eyes. This must all be some sort of joke to teach her a lesson or something. "I can't-"
"Flora," Felix's voice was stern in a way he had never been before, "I am deadly serious." He reached for a pile of papers on the edge of the desk, straightening them in his hands. "Now the terms have been listed here involving the whole-"
"Felix." Flora couldn't stand to sit there and listen to him talk about this as if it was already set in stone. "Please, you know how-"
"I would like you to mind your tongue, princess." He brushed past her counter and persisted, "Prana would like for the wedding to happen as soon as possible, but Leosta is requesting a trial period for the engagement considering our... history." He looked through the papers before handing them to the prince, who had not yet said a word.
Wait, is this what he was referring to at the feast? Had he known this entire time while she was left in the dark? Her own brother hadn't even notified her of a thing while this foreign prince he had met only a few times knew everything. Had Felix been trying to shove the two of them together? Flora peered straight into her brother's eyes. The same eyes that she knew he was seeing right now. "You would... why would you do this to me?"
"Prince Andrei, would you please excuse us?" The prince didn't even say a word as he pushed out his chair and left the study. As Felix turned back to Flora, his face was plastered with rage. "I told you to mind your tongue." He was trying to keep his emotions in check, but that had never been a strong suit of Felix's."
"You expect me to sit silently as you send me off to slaughter?"
"As if this is anything like that!" Felix's voice began to rise, "This is marriage Flora, not the gallows!"
"It might as well be!" Flora was loosing control of herself. "You didn't even tell me a thing about an engagement, and now you are shoving me off to be married, and to a Leostan no less!" Her breaths became ragged as she riled herself up even more.
She tried to continue, but Felix interrupted, "you will know your place Flora!" He curled his hands into fists slamming them against the desktop. "This is not the time for some little girl's feelings! It's time for you to grow up!"
At this point, Flora was seeing red. She jolted out of the seat, knocking the chair down behind her. "Grow up? I am not a child anymore Felix, I am an adult now! And I should be able to-"
"And I am NOT a prince anymore, I AM THE KING!" Felix shot up out of his seat, his face practically glowing. "YOU WILL DO AS I SAY OR YOU WILL BE PUNISHED!"
He raised a fist into the air causing Flora to flinch back, even with the desk between them. Tears had long been falling down her cheeks. "I thought you weren't going to be like our father..." She aggressively wiped her face, refusing to step down. "I can't believe you would betray me like this." Her voice came out meeker than she had intended, the energy draining from her. This was the first time she had ever been afraid of Felix before.
Felix lowered his arm, although he was still seething. "This is happening whether you like it or not princess." He sat back down into his chair, cracking his knuckles. "Now calm down so we can talk this through."
Flora shook her head, a strand of hair falling down into her face. It stuck to her wet cheeks as she brushed it off. "I can't believe you would do this to me, your own flesh and blood."
Felix pressed a finger to his temple irritated. "Flora stop this nonsense."
She shook her head again, dipping her chin. Fresh tears rolled down her face as she turned and left the study, ignoring Felix's commands for her to stay. There was no way this could be happening right now. As she pushed past the door, her eye caught on a figure standing out in the hallway. The prince gave her and ambiguous look, but kept silent. Flora didn't even care as she turned away from him and ran.