THE ATMOSPHERE AROUND THE GARDEN ENTIRELY changed the second my high-heels touched the grass gracefully. I could feel it, and I also heard lots of feminine dramatic gasps. Sohan had intertwined our arms, probably not trusting me not to fall, and Adonis was right on my other side, cursing non-stop almost whispering.
I could tell that there were about fifty girls here, with Daisuke and the Queen. Fifty-one with me. That was a sign that I was an extra, someone who wasn't here to actually participate in the trials but to be humiliated. They couldn't be more wrong.
Taking my arm away from Sohan's, I elegantly walked in the Queen's direction, then I bowed. "Your Majesty, it's an honor to be in your presence this morning." Then I turned to where Daisuke was and bowed again. "Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince, it's present to be here as a member of the trials. Although I wasn't in my rightful mind when you insisted that I came, now I understand why. I'll do my best," then I focused my attention on the Queen again. "I'm sorry for not participating in the exams before, my Queen. I had some health problems, I hope you will forgive me."
Then another person came behind me, and I knew who it was because of my familiarity with the person in the past. "Now that you are here, you should go through all the tests the other girl underwent when you weren't present, Eileithya!" It was Royal Princess Ismene Zara Maximillian [the knowledgeable Princess among the greatest], who now probably hates me as much as Daisuke.
"You Royal Highness, Princess Ismene Zara Maximillian," I bowed to her.
She gasped. "You freak, how do you know it's me?"
"I'm sorry, Princess, but did you forget I'm not blind and my senses are sharper than normal humans? I would also appreciate it if you didn't speak informally with me, once we aren't close to each other. It's out of the line," I turned to the Queen. "Isn't that true, Your Majesty?"
I sensed when the Queen got up, "Indeed." She came closer and caressed my cheek. "What happened to you? Why are you acting like this?"
"I don't understand what you mean, Your Majesty. This is who I am. If you don't believe me, you can just ask someone who knows me and my personality," my tone was soft and kind, but also bitter.
"Is there such a person?" The Princess mocked behind me.
"Not anymore," my answer was sharp and short. "They all died," I added, making everybody feel uncomfortable. Then I turned to the Princess, "I don't mind doing everything the girls did."
She groaned, and it wasn't lady-like at all. "Then let's do it, right now!"
"Even though I know you are letting yourself be controlled by your emotions, and not being partial as a Princess should be, once all the girls spend days training and preparing for it," she gasped, "I don't mind it at all."
"Ha... you are so arrogant!"
"How is it me that's acting arrogantly, Princess? Was I wrong? Didn't the girls prepare for it? Are you treating me equally to them and not being reckless just because you are angry at me? If I am wrong, I will gladly apologize," I heard the girls gasps. "I thought the member of the Royal Family were all reasonable. Was I wrong?"
"Stop it, Eileithya!" Daisuke stepped forward.
"You won't throw me at the wall and break my ribs again, right, Your Highness?" That made the girls speechless.
"My brother never did such a thing!" The Princess exclaimed.
"Do you want me to undress and show you all the bandages under my clothes, Princess? It is not polite to insinuate that someone is lying without proof. You can also call the doctor who treated all of my wounds because it wasn't just the broken ribs," my tone was calm and composed, while she was getting worked up.
"Let's proceed with the tests," the Queen intervened and I smiled softly, turning to her.
"What were the weekly tests they went through?" Ain't no way I'll let them make me go through more than the others.
"The first one is common knowledge of our world because the future Queen will need to know that. Secondly was an artistic aptitude related to drawing, all noble and royal girls went through an art tutor," everybody muttered things about me not having those classes before, while I stayed silent. "Then the third test was to see if they can sing. The fourth was related to literature. The penultimate test was if they could dance properly. Lastly, the test that happened a week ago was a memory test," the Queen's secretary said, in a very condescending tone. "And today's test is also related to music, but to see if the girls can play instruments."
I nodded, calmly. This would all be very easy. "Who will ask me the common knowledge questions?"
The Princess intervened before anyone could say something. "I'll do it. After, it can't be the same as the questions made to the girls, because you could have gotten the answers with one of them."
"As you wish, Your Royal Highness!" Sohan put a chair behind me and I sat down, elegantly. "I'm ready, you can start at any instant, Princess."
"Alright, let's put you in your place," she muttered.
I pointed to the chair under me, "No need to bother, Princess. I'm already in my place."
But then someone else appeared. This time it was my brother, Rai. He greet the Queen and turned to me. "I heard someone who's here with us broke your ribs, Thya, are you okay?" Why is he calling me Thya?
The Princess, who's been in love with him since ever, spoke before me. "My brother didn't do that, Prince Rai! This girl is lying!" Oh, she's so blind.
Rai sounded annoyed, "Don't say what you do not know, Princess. Your brother threw my sister to a marble wall and not only broke some of her ribs but also left some other wounds. He admitted that to me. My sister doesn't have the habit of lying," why is he protecting me? Is he planning something?
"What? Why are you acting like that? You hate her. Shouldn't you be happy that she's hurt?" She shouldn't go around running her mouth like this.
I felt Rai getting angry right beside me. "It seems like there's a big problem with the morale of the Royal family recently," I did not expect him to ever say that, but it made me happy. "How are you feeling, Thya?"
"The doctor took care of me. They are still broken, but I'm better now," I didn't want to answer, but it would be rude not to. "No need to fight because of it."
"What are you doing now?" He asked, ignoring everybody else, which made me laugh softly because that was unexpected.
"I lost the exams the other girls did, so, the Princess decided to make me go through all of them right now," I said in a very calm tone.
"You are not a prodigy for nothing, you can do it," he whispered, giving me the confirmation of what I thought before. He indeed knew all of it, because he was always on my toes. How amusing. "Adonis, give me a chair, please," and the angry dog did just that, then Rai sat a little behind me. "I'll stay right behind you," he whispered.
He's acting so out of character. But let's not be a hypocrite, because so am I. So, I simply nodded and decided to talk with him later, to know what the fuck is he up to. Then I turned my attention back to the Princess who was breathing heavily in pure frustration. "Let us start!"