"Hey sis! What brings you here?" he said as cheerful as always, he was sorting out some documents on his desk. He prefers to work in his room most of the time.
"We have a problem, brother! Should I get Monty?" I urged, standing restless waiting for his answer.
"Miss him already? Hahaha!"
"I'm serious Julien!"
"Okay! Okay! Calling me by my first name does sound like it's serious, serious! I'll give him a ring then." he agrees then picks up the phone and dials Monty's number.
"Hello Captain, can you please come to my chambers? The princess has something urgent to say."
A few minutes passed and there was a knock on Julien's door.
"Your Majesty, you called?" Monty said softly
"Yes, come in." Julien answered
Things suddenly became awkward. Monty was sitting right beside me, we were both seated in front of Julien's desk.
"You were saying?" Julien asked, breaking the silence.
"Ahh that! Hahaha.." I said nervously. Monty wasn't looking at me, he had that serious royal guard face again, he looked so fierce it's so sexy.
"I heard someone was planning an attack against the Queen Mother." I kept my voice low just to be sure it won't be heard beyond his chambers
"Hmmm… That's a heavy allegation you have there sis." he stopped what he was doing and looked me straight in the eyes. "Do you have proof?"
"No, I don't but I heard it crystal clear! Brother! Someone's planning on killing auntie!"
"Shhh.. Lower your voice if you don't want the entire castle to hear you." Julien reminded me
"Sorry.." I felt my face redden from getting scolded in front of Monty.
"You know we can't do any proper actions unless there's hard evidence pointing towards the culprit. Do you even know who it is?" he was throwing rational questions at me but I found no answers to give him.
"I don't.." I felt helpless at that moment
"I know you meant well sis but we both know that there are proper procedures to hold a trial against someone. We don't even have evidence nor a suspect to start with." there was a hint of disappointment in his words which hurt
"What else did you hear?" Monty asked, saving me from my frustration then something came to me. Bingo!
"They said if you were going to hold a party, they'll have their cards ready." I don't know if it made any sense but we can think of something, right?
"What do you think, Captain?"" Julien was now asking Monty for his opinion about the situation
"I believe, if we can think ahead of them without being too suspicious we can determine if there's really a threat to the Queen Mother without her knowing." he calmly concluded
"So if there's a party, then there's someone who'd take the bait!" Julien exclaimed
I mouthed "Thank you" to Monty and he just responded with a nod.
Then I realized, there was another important thing I forgot to mention
"Brother, before I forget he was talking to someone over the phone"
"So it's someone near us then, we'll be sure to prepare." he said reassuring me
"We still need to be careful, Your Majesty." Monty added
"Of course! Don't worry sis, we'll catch them" he confidently stated which was a good thing and Monty would always keep us safe, I'm sure of that
"Okay, then it's settled! Let's have a party tomorrow!"
"Isn't that a bit too obvious, brother?" I said questioning my cousin's decision
"Well then, when should we hold one? We need to get a head of them before they begin any of their plans, right? Any suggestions?" he was now looking to both of us for answers
"Next week, the castle will celebrate your Highness and the Queen Mother's good health along with the beginning of the Spring festival. Should it be a good idea to throw a small yet simple party to honor the celebration beforehand?" Monty was a genius!
"Impressive Captain! Just what I expect from the Captain of the Royal Guards! You never fail me!" he chuckles as he pats both of Monty's shoulders.
"A subtle approach to a big catch! I'll send in the invitations today!" he excitedly mumbled to himself and left the room.
"I guess he doesn't realize that it's already midnight, huh? Hahaha" I softly uttered, feeling relieved by how the conversation went.
After regaining my composure, I quickly turned to Monty, looking at his eyes. I dragged my chair closer to him without blinking an eye, our elbows touched. I leaned closer to him, wrapping both my arms around his neck making him stiff in his seat, then I whispered in his ear, "Would you like to take me to a party, Captain?" I felt his hair stand up on the back of his neck as I caressed his nape playfully. Drawing little hearts on his skin with my fingers.
"Uh...." he's turning red hahaha. I love this about him, he's always calm and serious but when it comes to us he becomes an innocent child.
"Silence means Yes. Pick me up at seven, okay?" I untangled my arms from his neck, gave him a peck on the lips, stood up and winked at him before leaving the room.
I went straight into my room which was just next door to my cousin's, immediately closing the door and leaning my back against it. Holding my chest in my hands as I felt my heart pounding, it was beating so hard I was amazed how I held it in. I know I was as red as an over ripened tomato at that moment but I don't care because no one was there to see it. I shrieked and plopped myself on to my bed, resting on my stomach.
Squealing like a child who just saw her crush pass-by.
Little did I know, Monty was on the other side of the door hearing me, practically laughing as he shook his head from amusement.
Julien saw all this from the far corner of the hall. Smiling, he was happy to see both of us getting along.