The Third Day of the month of Palefrost,
The Capital City of the Kingdom.
Livia was not stupid.
She was a woman who could accomplish most everything she wanted when she planned it.
The Everglowers were a wealthy family but they stood no chance against the queen's wrath and Livia was determined to find some evidence of Aldith's affair with Sir Waldorf.
The servant staff were chosen for the palace and each noble house by a particular man.
He was old and reclusive.
Livia hated him.
The man was old but quite lecherous.
She had felt his hand on her thigh several times when he had first recruited a new group of servants to enter the palace.
Livia stood outside his office, dreading having to enter.
If there was anyone who would have spied on Aldith's affair, there was a high chance it was the servants of the Everglower household or Sir Waldorf's servants.
Livia needed information on the servants and she was determined to get it.
It struck her for a moment, how the nobles' scandalous ways had seeped into her from her time with them.
Shaking her head, she adjusted the dress she wore before entering.
The Third Day of the Month of Palefrost
The Royal Palace
Elliot walked to his room, his anger slowly lifting from his mind.
The moment he'd seen his brother walk into the balcony, his suspicions had grown.
He couldn't believe Augustus had roped Xyla into this as well.
Pushing the door to his large room open, Elliot stepped in and removed his coat.
The prince was still unsure but could make a decent guess.
Augustus had brought the bride he'd picked for Elliot all the way into the royal Palace.
Xyla was assisting him.
Walking into the massive room, Elliot sighed.
He was still not completely certain the girl they'd had with them was the bride Augustus had picked.
She had looked flushed and distressed when he'd first seen her.
Beautiful brown hair that had suited her blue dress; she'd looked oddly out of place and yet, perfectly confident in her position.
Shrugging out of his shirt, Elliot decided he had had to admit that the girl had seemed fascinating.
There was an air of sweetness to her that had prompted him to be gentle; to seek to aid her; maybe to allow her to grow comfortable.
He sighed, letting his clothes drop into a chair as he grabbed one of the large towels at the tables behind his bed.
Elliot decided that he did not know for certain whom their companion had been.
What he was certain about was that he needed a warm bath to relax him before bed.
It had always worked before.
The Third Day of the month of Palefrost
The Royal Palace
Blythe tried her best to keep her hands to herself.
She wanted to push at the strand of hair that tickled her nose but struggled to ignore it.
Prince Augustus talked to a few servants outside her door and Xyla had been asked by him to try a few elaborate hairstyles on Blythe.
She still did not seem to blend in with the rest of the Palace and Augustus had suggested pulling her hair up into one of the styles the noble women always wore.
Xyla gave Blythe a warm smile through the mirror's reflection.
"You have a lovely neck! This will suit you!"
Blythe smiled back at her.
Her heart had been racing all the way back to the room whilst Augustus and Xyla had related to each other the activities of the day at each other's end.
The eldest prince had said, on reaching the door of their suite that he would arrange for a few servants to wait on Blythe and Xyla had offered to get started on Blythe's hair.
Blythe's nervousness slowly began to fade as she relived what had happened moments before.
Her body slowly relaxed.
The man did not seem like a cold, calculating assassin. He seemed like a mysterious, distant soul that engaged in intelligent sparring and nights of quiet reflection.
Blythe's heart did a sudden flip.
The man was also dangerously handsome.
Why had no one warned her of this?
"There!"
Blythe looked up at the reflection in the mirror and her heart soared.
She looked elegant and beautiful.
Her silky tresses had been pulled up into a loose bun with several strands pulled around it to appear high and sophisticated.
An expensive looking gem-encrusted comb sat at the side of her head.
"X-Xyla, is that yours?"
Xyla shrugged, "I'm heading home anyway. Keep this, Blythe. We've started such a wonderful friendship today. I want you to have it to remember this day."
Blythe could not stop looking at the beautiful comb.
It glimmered in the light and added an air of royalty to her appearance.
She smiled at Xyla's reflection in the mirror, "Xyla, you don't understand how thankful I am for you!"
Xyla rolled her eyes, "I don't know why I made things so dramatic just now. I'll see you again tomorrow anyway!"
The two women laughed.
Xyla's hair fell to her back with no comb to help in pulling the strands up to her head.
She sighed in happiness as she watched Blythe's reflection.
The girl truly was beautiful.
In addition, from her tales, you could tell she was a hard worker and valued putting in effort. She had a touch of sweetness to her that was rare in Noble circles and was so friendly and open to talk to.
Xyla hoped with all her heart that Elliot saw the beauty in Blythe that she could.
The Third Day of the Month of Palefrost,
Theone's Store.
Theone walked to the front of the shop to see a young woman standing there.
She wore expensive clothes and had a confident poise.
Dark red hair fell to her back, she had red pursed lips and her eyes were extremely cold.
"Can I help you miss?" Theone walked to the counter, buttoning the top of his shirt.
The lady looked at him, expression stern before slowly giving him a onceover.
When he stopped at the counter, she spoke.
"My name is Aubreyne. I need you to get me into the Palace; I know you trained with one of the princes when you were young."
Theone blinked.
She talked like she was in a business meeting; quick and straight to the point.
"Mind giving me more information than that?"