King Otto walked up and Moon stepped aside to make way for him. When the King got to where he was, he stopped and looked at him. Moon quickly gave a deep bow.
King Otto looked at Moon and asked him, "Are you not the new tutor?"
"Yes, I am," Moon replied and the King gave a hum before proceeding inside while the guards followed along.
Moon also went inside and he looked behind him to see the guards who had escorted him, taking their positions outside the cabin. Returning his eyes back to the front, he saw that they were all seated while the maids stood at the side with their hands folded.
"Come and have a seat," King Otto said to him while motioning with his hand.
Moon saw where he was asking him to sit and he went towards it. It was the first seat by his right. He sat down and looked at the people at the table. There was the Princess who sat opposite him and the one who sat at his side was the maidservant and he noticed how her eyes seem to be focused to her front.
The Queen was seated next to the King's left side at the front and Moon noticed the other seat that was empty by his right.
Tea was served around the table and King Otto took his cup before inhaling the scent of the tea. He drank from it and gave a satisfying smile. The Queen also drank and raised her eyes before setting the cup down on the table again.
"Today seems like a good day for you," Queen Opaline said to the King with a smile.
"A good day it is. Spending time with families is such a big blessing," King Otto said with a little chuckle and then he moved his eyes to look at Eve who stood at the side, looking down. Clearing his throat, he placed the tea cup down and leaned his back. He moved his eyes to look at the young tutor and he said to him;
"So, you said you are the new tutor hired for the princess."
"Yes sire," Moon replied.
"What is your name?"
"Moon Moriarty."
On hearing him, the King's face brightened up immediately and he looked at Queen Opaline who also had the same expression. Even princess Isabel was not exempted and maidservant Ann turned her head to the side to look at him.
"Wow! Moon," King Otto repeated. "You have the same name as my Kingdom. Is this a sign of good luck?"
"The gods must have sent him our way. Isabel," Queen Opaline turned to look at the princess and said, "you are fortunate to have a tutor like him."
Princess Isabel chuckled and then looked at Eve whose head was still down.
As they continued to chat, Eve could tell that the princess was looking at her and wanted her to raise her head a bit so she can send her message to her, but she dared not. It was not her fault that the princess had no idea of the name of the new tutor. When she wanted to tell her about him yesterday, she didn't wait to hear it.
A maid from the palace who was carrying a tray and kettle, made to refill the King's drink, but the King stopped her and said;
"I will like Genevieve to bring me the tea."
On hearing her name, Eve raised her head and went to collect the tray from the palace maid before taking it to the King. She poured into his cup and she could feel his eyes on her.
"Genevieve," the king called again.
"Yes, your majesty," Eve answered and from the corner of her eyes, she could see Queen Opaline looking at her.
"Have you been well?" King Otto asked.
"Yes sire, I have been well," Eve said and added, "Maidservant Ann is always taking good care of us."
King Otto smiled and moved his eyes to look at Maidservant Ann and he commented, "Maidservant Ann sure knows how to take good care of her people."
"It's what everyone does. I'm sure she is just doing her job," Queen Opaline said with a smile.
Maidservant Ann looked at the Queen and then shifted her eyes to look at the King before saying, "It has always been my duty to take care of my household."
King Otto gave a nod and cleared his throat before readjusting on his seat.
"Your Majesty," Princess Isabel addressed the King when the conversation died down, "permit me to ask, is there a reason you called for this gathering?" she asked.
"She won't stop asking until she knows," Queen Opaline said and King Otto chuckled.
"Before I answer your question, I would like to ask your tutor," he moved his eyes to look at Moon and asked, "is she behaving well and has she been responsive? Because of her, we've changed governess after governess and you are the first male to ever tutor her."
Eve subtly moved her eyes to look at Moon and then at Princess Isabel. She could feel the hair on her skin rising as they all waited for his response. She wondered what he would say about the Princess, if he would remember the harsh words she spoke to him when he called her by her name instead of the Princess.
"It is only my first time tutoring the princess and from what I can tell, the former governess really did a great job. The princess catches onto things easily and I know she won't have a problem with the lessons."
"Haha," King Otto laughed and said, "that's good to hear."
Princess Isabel smiled and felt at ease. A while ago, she was tensed about what the tutor was going to say, but she trusted Eve to do a good job.
King Otto looked at Genevieve who stood at the side and beckoned for her to come. Eve did as told and she poured tea into the cup the king was holding out. King Otto stretched it forward and Eve raised her head to look at him.
"Go and pour Moon another drink on my behalf," he said to her and Eve gave a bow before taking two steps back and walking towards where Moon sat.
Eve tried as much as she can not to be suspicious and she composed herself as she walked towards him. Moon immediately drank the tea that has been poured for him earlier and he held it while Eve poured another one. As she did, she could feel his eyes on her and she quickly held her breath when she noticed her hand was about shaking.
She moved back after pouring the tea and the palace maid took the tray from her before going back to stand in position. Eve then released her breath.
"Moon," King Otto called and said, "I feel the gods sent you here and I can already tell that you are going to be a big blessing to this kingdom. Now you don't have to worry about anything. If you need anything, just ask. I am giving you a gift," he said and pulled something out from his dress and called a guard who took it from him and went to give it to Moon on is orders.
Moon received the gift and stared at it.
"That is a royal insignia and I am gifting it to you. No one will lay hands on you once you have that with you and you can be rest assured that you have the backing of the king."
Moon ran a finger along the insignia and he looked at King Otto. The king barely knew him and he is already offering him something significant on their first meeting. It made him wonder; has the king always been like this? Was he really not the one he should be suspecting?
He broke into a smile and said, "It is such a great honor to be accepted by the royal family and invited to this table. I am at a loss of words at the moment but I really appreciate your gift to me. Thank you for your benevolence," he thanked him and gave a deep bow.
"Since you have the same name with our precious kingdom, it is only right that you are treated specially. As you can see, not everyone is worth sitting at the table and discussing with the king, but as he already said, the gods must have brought you here."
Maidservant Ann could feel the Queen's words targeted at her but she just sat there and let the words brush past her. It has always been a silent battle with Queen Opaline and just like always, she wouldn't let it bother her. At least, she has no need to let her words get to her.
"It will all be over soon," she thought to herself.
"Your Majesty, will you now tell me the reason for this gathering?" Princess Isabel asked after Moon was seated.
"I was going to tell you that by next month, there will be a great celebration in the royal court for your birthday and I wanted to see you before then because as from today, the preparations will start. I am extending this invitation to everyone present here and I will have them announced to the villagers."
Isabel was ecstatic and she blushed immediately. She didn't know her father would prepare such a big surprise for her and she looked at her mother immediately to see her giving a knowing smile.
"Mother," she called, "I can tell you already knew about this."
Queen Opaline chuckled and said, "It won't be a surprise anymore if I told you."
And while they continued to talk, there was someone who sat there observing everything, another one whose smile was a pretense, another one who was pleased with the outcome of the meeting, another one who was overjoyed, another one who just smiled, and another one whose mind was far away from everything that was being said. They were all different people with different veils covering their faces.
After dining together, they all started to leave. The King was the one who left first with his entourage and the Queen was next, together with her servants, but before she would leave, she stopped and turned to face Maidservant Ann.
She let out a loud sigh and said, "You must be very eager for the day to come, knowing that you are already invited. Occasions like these are hard to come by, isn't it?" she said and pulled her lips into a smile before she started to leave.
Moon walked by and he stopped to greet Maidservant Ann who returned the greeting.
"I would like to walk with the princess and discuss few things with her, if that is okay by you," he said politely.
"Sure," Maidservant Ann simply replied and she moved her eyes towards Mina and Beth who came to her side immediately, leaving only Genevieve with Princess Isabel.
Once they were gone, Princess Isabel walked up to him and they exchanged greetings again before they started to walk and Eve walked behind them.
Now when Moon turned slightly to look at her behind them, she wished just right there that Maidservant Ann had taken her instead and left either Mina or Beth with Isabel.
But Moon wasn't really looking at her, instead, there was something he saw that had caught his interest...The red bracelet tied around her hair.