Athena got up from her seat and helped her up.
"Wendy, spare the formalities. Sit with me," she said as she signaled her to take a seat at the table.
The former maid was reluctant. It was not customary for a person of her rank to share the table with a royal. But after Athena insisted again, she obliged.
Athena reached out to hold Wendy's hands in her own.
"It's been so long since we last met, Wendy."
"Indeed, your Highness. When I heard you've returned, I could barely believe it!" the former maid had tears in her eyes, "You're all grown up too, your later mother would be so proud of the young woman you've become."
"You're too kind. I heard that you were transferred to the laundry department, is that true?"
Wendy pursed her lips. She looked around nervously, as if she was seeing if anyone was there to eavesdrop on their conversation. She leaned forward to Athena and whispered to her.
"There are eyes and ears everywhere in the palace, your Highness."
Athena assured her, "You need not fear anything while you're in Hemlock Mansion, Wendy. Daric and Nikolai here can be trusted too. I'm sure you're familiar with Captain Daric."
Wendy nodded. Only then did she relax a little. According to her, after Consort Sera's death, she and all the other palace maids were transferred to different departments. None of them were allowed to retain their positions as palace maids.
Some were even sent back home, never allowed to work in the palace again. Athena felt uneasy listening to all of this. When her mother died, she was still too young to make sense of certain things.
Decisions were made without her ever knowing what happened. But there was one thing she was absolutely certain about.
Her mother's death was unnatural. Someone caused her death and she was sure of it.
For now, Athena bid her time. She would gather people she could trust and gather all the evidence she needed to get revenge. When the time is right, all shall be revealed.
"Princess, senior attendant Hubert mentioned you wanted me to join your household. Is that true?" Wendy asked, bringing Athena out of her thoughts.
"Yes, that's right. I would like you to become my personal maid. Would you be up for that?"
Wendy gasped in amazement.
"Thank you Princess Athena! I would be honored to be of service to you!"
Before Athena could reply, a messenger came rushing to the gazebo. She instantly felt like something was amiss.
"Your Highness, Princess Casindra is here to see you."
"Casindra?" Athena was surprised.
"Let her…"
Before she could even finish giving her instructions, Athena noticed a small entourage moving through the walkways of her estate. To no one's surprise, Princess Casindra was at the head of the entourage.
"Sister! Sister Athena!" Princess Casindra exclaimed with faked glee as she made her way towards the gazebo.
Before she could step foot into the gazebo, Nikolai stood in her way.
"Pardon me, princess, but you've not been given permission to enter," Nikolai said calmly with a smile.
Athena did her best to hide her smile. She had picked the perfect personal guard. She didn't even need to tell him what to do and he already knew what to do.
Princess Casindra was stunned by this. She took a step back on the staircase of the gazebo, almost losing her balance. Lucky for her, her personal maid Anna, grabbed onto her arm in the nick of time.
"Are you alright, my princess?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.
"I'm alright, I'm alright," Princess Casindra replied as she straightened herself.
"Do be careful, little sister. My pavilion is still undergoing the final touches of renovation. We wouldn't want you getting hurt here, now would we?" Athena said as she casually continued sipping on her tea.
She then slowly turned to Nikolai, "Stand down, Nikolai. Princess Casindra may enter."
"As you wish, your Highness," Nikolai replied before stepping to the side.
Only then, was Princess Casindra allowed to enter. She was doing her best to keep her emotions in check, but Athena saw through her facade.
"Please, take a seat, sister." Athena invited her.
Wendy hurried off and returned with a freshly brewed pot of tea and a brand new cup.
"What brings you here, sister?" Athena asked Casindra.
She wanted to get their conversation over and done with.
"Nothing at all. I just wanted to come and visit you, to see how you were doing," Casindra replied with a sweet smile as she sipped her tea.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Well, I wanted to see your new mansion as well. It looks…simple," Casindra said with a slight chuckle.
Athena took the comment in stride, "Well, we can't all have such a grand extravagant mansion like yours, now can we? Besides, I don't have quite as much clutter as you. Perhaps I will, in due time."
Casindra's eyebrow twitched a little as her lips quivered. She tightened her grip on her cup as she carefully placed it down on the table. She was so tempted to smash it onto the ground but she held back.
Instead, she pretended to lose her grip on the cup, hoping it would crash to the ground. But to her surprise, Daric saw it. With his quick reflexes, he managed to grab hold of the cup before it hit the ground.
Some of the hot tea was splashed onto his hand too. But the seasoned warrior didn't even flinch.
"Be careful, princess," he said in his gruff voice, unintentionally sounding almost like a threat.
A cold chill ran down Casindra's spine. She quickly regained her composure and switched their topics of discussion.
"Sister Athena, pardon me for asking but is everything alright between you and Lord Darrion? You both looked like you were having such an intense conversation yesterday."
Athena glanced over at her, instantly making Casindra a little self conscious.
"I didn't mean to pry. I'm just worried about the both of you, that's all," Casindra placed her hand on Athena's as she continued, "Would you like me to speak to him on your behalf? We've always been close, since we grew up together. Perhaps I can put in a good word for you."
Athena knew this was a trap. But she wanted to see how far Casindra was willing to go. So, she decided to play along.
"I would deeply appreciate that, little sister. I think… Darrion has some misconceptions about me. If you could help him see the truth, that would be great."
Not wanting to speak to her any further, Athena got up to her feet.
"I'm afraid I can't entertain you further, Casindra. I still have matters to attend to. Shall we catch up another time?"
"Oh yes, that's fine. I will go look for Brother Darrion now. Leave it to me," Casindra replied with a sweet smile, grinning internally knowing that her little plan was taking shape.