"Welcome!" Trixie repeated for the umpteenth time. She was merely echoing Emerick's greeting, so it wasn't too difficult but her cheeks were beginning to hurt from the excessive smiling and the heels weren't kind on her feet. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and prop them up, but she doubted that would be considered 'proper.'
"You don't need to be so stiff," Emerick commented softly. "Relax my dear, this is meant to be fun!"
"Some fun," Trixie said through her pained smile. Emerick chuckled but said nothing further, moving on to greet the next guest instead.
Trixie could tell by the eyes that the noble women in attendance were all dragons, though the maids with them were once her peers. Ironically, a good number of them were purebloods—Vicky being the only exception—and all seemed resentful of Trixie's position. When Emerick and the noblewomen weren't looking too closely, Trixie was all too happy to give the haughty young ladies a smug smirk.
"Dear, dear Emerick, It's been far too long!" The next noblewoman in line took it upon herself to grab Emerick's hands and rise up on her toes as if to kiss him. Anticipating her, Emerick turned his head so her lips brushed his cheek, then gently, but firmly pushed her back.
"It's good to see you Lady Orlanda," Emerick smiled politely. "I see you're as affectionate as ever."
"Welcome," Trixie managed to say through gritted teeth. Emerick had handled the woman well enough, but she was still seething over her shameless audacity in trying to steal a kiss. As the other the noblewomen had, Orlanda practically ignored Trixie's presence.
"We must have a chat before this affair ends," Orlanda gave a flirtatious wink, the stepped away, allowing the noblewoman behind her in line to step forward.
If it were just Orlanda, it might not have been so trying, but it seemed every woman there, married or not, was trying to flirt with Emerick. The only exception so far had been a more somber young woman called Kiara, or at least that's the name she thought Emerick had addressed her by. It was getting difficult to keep them all straight.
Trixie knew she shouldn't feel so jealous, it was not as though she and Emerick had any sort of significant relationship, but she couldn't help feeling somewhat possessive.
Whether she wanted to admit as much or not, she was starting to have some pretty strong feelings for the prince, and the thought of him in the arms of another woman upset her. She wasn't sure what she would do when he eventually decided to marry. Bastard or not, he was still a prince and would be expected to wed eventually.
"Don't tell me you're jealous?" Emerick said with a crooked smile and a raise of his brow. Most of the ladies were seated and Emerick was guiding her to her place setting.
"Why would I be jealous?" Trixie scoffed. "There's nothing here to be jealous of."
'Liar,' Lamya remarked.
'Shut it!' Trixie thought inwardly.
"It's so obvious," Emerick pressed, leaning in close enough their lips where all but touching. "I mean, your thoughts are written all over your face my dear."
"My thoughts are none of your business!" Trixie tried not to break under the smoldering intensity of his gaze. She really just wanted to grab him and kiss him, but she would not let him get his way. "And besides, what would you know of them anyway?"
"As I said my dear, you're jealous," Emerick repeated. "So jealous, you're practically turning green."
"I am green you dolt!" Trixie exclaimed. She cringed as she realized her outburst had earned her a few curious glances.
"If you wanted attention so badly, you just needed to ask," Emerick continued as though she hadn't spoken. "I'm always happy to give it."
Caressing her cheek gently, Emerick pulled her into a kiss. She froze as his lips met hers for a few tender moments, then lamented as he pulled away just as she was starting to enjoy it. As ever, the young prince proved an insufferable tease.
"You're welcome," He smirked before wandering off. She stared after him in a daze, and was considering following him when she became aware of an eerie silence. Blinking with realization, she glanced around at her surroundings only to realize she had the undivided attention of every woman present.
'They aren't ignoring you now,' Lamya chuckled. Trixie didn't have a response. She was trying to sort through her expedited etiquette lessons for some clue on how to handle the present situation. As it was, she worried the women would devour her with their penetrating stares.
"Won't you take a seat, miss?" Sullivan, seeing her floundering, came over and led her to her seat.
To help smooth things over, he poured a glass of tea for her and set a plate of refreshments in front of her before wandering off to manage the bickering maids. They didn't seem too pleased to listen, but under the watchful gaze of their mistresses and Jacoby, they couldn't simply ignore Sullivan.
"Thank you," she breathed as he walked away. He gave no indication of whether or not he heard her, but she thought she noticed him smile.
Trixie knew she couldn't continue floundering around like flightless bird. At some point, she would need to speak to someone, share her experience using Titus's mixtures. It was the biggest reason she was at that stupid tea party to begin with, and she wasn't about to botch the job over trivial drama. Steeling herself, she decided to start by dealing with the ladies seated at her table.
"Is everything to your satisfaction, Ladies?" She asked the table as a whole. They were all regarding her with mixed emotions slipping through cracks of calculated expressions. At least she knew she had their attention.
"The setup is quite lovely," the nearest one, Trixie thought Emerick had addressed her as Petunia, replied. "Was this Jacoby's work? Or is the young man with the unique coloration responsible?"
"Sullivan was put in charge of seeing to the event," Trixie replied carefully, trying to mimic the language and posture Jacoby had been drilling into her the past week, "but it is his first. Jacoby has been instructing him."
"He shows promise," another by the name of Farah inserted. "He's not yet as masterful as Jacoby, but I'm sure that will come with time."
An awkward pause settled over the table as the ladies sipped at their tea. Trixie had the sense they had questions but they weren't sure how to ask them. As they sorted themselves out, she decided it was as good a time as any to try and promote the perfumes.
"Titus is an excellent alchemist," She stated. When no one responded, she continued, "He is mostly self-taught. Now, that might sound alarming, but I've been using his stuff for years and it really works well."
"So, when did you and Prince Emerick become an item?" Orlanda, brushed off her dialogue and threw out the question Trixie was sure was at the front of all of their minds. Petunia and Farah exchanged glances, likely off-put by Orlanda's straightforwardness, but they didn't intervene.
"An item?" Trixie knew well enough what they meant, but she decided to play dumb. She hated the roundabout way women behaved and didn't particularly enjoy the way they were already looking down at her. If they wanted to play, then game on.
"He obviously favors you," Petnunia giggled nervously. "How did you meet him?"
"He ran into me during his investigation," Trixie replied, taking a sip of her tea.
"Was it love at first sight?" Farah asked, somewhat dreamily. The question made Trixie choke on her tea. It took her a moment to recover, but she managed to swallow the liquid without ruining her fan or the front of her dress. Silently, she thought every expression of gratitude she could Jacoby's way for his foresight and the hours he'd spent instructing her only the day before.
"Oh Lady Farah!" Petunia admonished her with a click of her tongue. "That question is highly improper! They've only known each other… what… a month? Perhaps two?"
"Something like that," Trixie nodded with a sheepish smile.
"It is far too soon to speak of love!" Petunia huffed. "Miss Trixie is still quite young, and she has just gone through a horrible ordeal. Love and marriage are likely the last things on her mind at present!"
'That's true, but there's plenty of promiscuous thoughts bouncing around,' Lamya chuckled. Trixie would have to have a word with the demon later about keeping her thoughts to herself when she was around other people.
"Oh but how can she not?" Farah dismissed Petunia's lecture with a dreamy sigh. "I mean, it's like something out of a fairy tale! The handsome prince comes just in time to save the beautiful damsel from the dastardly villain, rides away with her into the sunset, and they live happily ever after!"
"You have quite the imagination my dear," Orlanda rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you should spend a little less time reading those ridiculous romance novels."