No matter how much the nobles were dissatisfied with this Marquis, what he did had nothing to do with them. They could only feel pity for this poor girl for having such a father.
The king looked at Larisa, "Isa, it's time."
What the king meant was that, your condition has been met, go and complete the ceremony now. Larisa sighed as she got up and went down the steps with a manservant following her as he carried a tray in his hands.
Larisa stepped forward slowly while reaching out her hand's to help Selah up, after observing that Selah did not seem to pull away or tremble, she finally helped her stand up.
Selah smiled at her, "Thank you Princess, you have very beautiful eyes."
Selah knew how the princess worried about people's impression of her eyes, so she addressed the issue first in hopes the princess will warm up to her easier if she first tells her that she accepts her eyes.
Larisa just stared at Selah in wonderment, "Wha…...what did you say." She asked for confirmation.
Selah repeated again, "I think your eyes are very beautiful princess."
The nobles gave the Marquis internal mocking claps, he sure did teach his daughter well in the art of boot licking.
Larisa could only reply with an, "Oh."
She absent mindedly beckoned the manservant over and took the jade pendent on the tray. It was a white jade pendent with a white gerbera daisy carved intricately on it and the fancy letter L on the centre.
Larisa was supposed to say some flowery words before giving the pendent, but she had thought no one would volunteer so she hadn't prepared anything.
She handed the pendent to Selah as she said while flustered, "Here, it shows your status as my study partner, you can also use it to gain access at some places in the palace."
She didn't wait for Selah's answer and went back to her sit beside her Father, who couldn't be happier, the banquet soon commenced.
Her coming of age party was a three day event, today was the banquet, when it gets close to sunset, they would set out to the hunting grounds. On the second day, they would offer burnt sacrifices of cattle, sheep and goats, then the remainder of the second and the third day would be spend hunting.
Close to evening when all the noble family's started to set out to the hunting grounds, Maynard approached Larisa to inform her of his departure.
"Princess, I won't be present for the rest of your ceremony,"
Larisa was confused, "Why?"
"Floods have devastated the border towns, I have volunteered to go and sent provisions to them."
"Oh," Larisa didn't know what to say, distance would be for the best, she smiled and said encouragingly, "Then I wish you a safe journey."
Maynard thanked her as he excused himself and started to live, Larisa gazed as the afternoon sun fell on his living figure, her heart grew silent with infinity as her thoughts remained unknown. Long after he had left, Larisa still stood there waiting for something she didn't know, he didn't turn around when he left.
Selah had been looking for Larisa for a while when she finally found her standing in front of the hall looking in the direction of the palace gates. Most of the nobles had already gone ahead. In her past life's memory, a month after the princess's birthday, the capital was invaded, everyone in the palace was killed. Only she and Prince Dario were able to escape after the princess took a blow for her that killed her.
She was indebted to her for that life saving grace, should she just tell the princess that the capital would be invaded and that they should prepare, won't she come off as crazy, she could even be taken for a spy trying to cause civil unrest. The princess may have protected her although they hadn't been close in the month that she stayed at the palace, but in this life they have just met and the princess may not be willing to believe her.
Not to mention that she was just a concubine's daughter from a declining family, she had no real status or power, if she was the princess, she wouldn't believe herself either.
Selah went up to Larisa, she still had some time to think of a solution, she gave a small curtsey, "Greetings princess,"
Larisa was snapped out of her daze, she glanced at the young girl who came out of nowhere. The one who wasn't afraid of her eyes but said they are beautiful, the only other young girl who was not afraid of her, maybe she didn't hear of the rumours about her yet.
"At ease, what is your name again?" Larisa was curious.
"Princess, my name is Selah Wormwood,"
"What is your mother's status," Maybe her mother was low born and was not well acquainted with the other nobles and that is why they didn't know about the rumours.
Selah was a little sour but still answered truthfully, "my mother was a concubine….she….she committed suicide when I was ten,"
Larisa regretted asking, she didn't mean to poke at her wounds, she apologized, "I am sorry for asking," she recognized all too well the look of loss and longing on Selah's face, making her feel even worse.
"My mother is also gone," she refused to say the word dead, she took a deep breath and continued, "she left when I was six years old."
Selah gave a very big smile, but it didn't reach her eyes, "then that makes us kindred spirits princess."
Larisa took out a gold hairpin from her hair and fixed it into Selah's hair, one hairpin on one side alone didn't look too good, she took out another hairpin from her hair and fixed on the other side of Selah's high ponytail.
Selah lightly touched the hairpins in her hair before she looked at Larisa with a questioning glance.
"I didn't think anyone would want to be my companion so I didn't prepare any prier gift, take these hairpins for now," Larisa explained with a gentle gaze.
Selah reached out to take out the hairpins as she rejected, "How can I take your things princess,"
Larisa grabbed her hands and stopped her, "you will be my friend from now on, it's alright to give you these as a gift,"
Larisa then pointed to her hair, "Besides, I still have six in here, see?...so just take them."
Selah was instead drawn to the ruby bracelet on Larisa's wrist, even in her past life the princess had always worn that bracelet and never took it off to the very end, she had even crutched it tightly as she breathed her last. She had always been curious about its origins.
She let curiosity take over and asked, "Princess, that ruby bracelet it very beautiful, is it one of the gifts given to you by the king today?"
Larisa looked at her wrist and laughed, "It's not a bracelet but an anklet."
Selah was confused, "but, isn't it too small to fit around your ankle?"
"That's because it was given to me when I was seven years old,…..it gradually became too tight for an anklet as the years passed so… I started wearing it as a bracelet instead."
Selah nodded to show understanding, "So that's how it is, I also wouldn't want to stop wearing such a beautiful anklet if I had one," she said, trying to pry some more at the identity of the person who gave it to her.
"I don't keep it with me because of its beauty,"
"Then why does princess value it so much?"
Larisa looked at Selah's anticipating look and gave an awkward smile and changed the topic, "The carriages must be ready, we should live now."
She has never admitted to anyone about her feelings to Maynard, she always felt something blocking her throat when she tries to confess about it, she was just too coward to say how she felt even to people who are not involved.
Selah dropped the topic and silently followed Larisa as they went to board the carriage that would take them to the hunting grounds.