Corina approached her father, who stood in the foyer of the castle. She was on her way to the banquet hall when she saw him. He looked concerned, and she hadn't seen her mother anywhere.
As she approached, she curtseyed at the king, then offered a smile. "Papa, where's Mama?" She asked, as she still wanted to speak to her in private.
"Her location is currently unknown," he replied. "I haven't seen your mother since the argument this morning."
"What? She's not in the palace." Corina gasped and covered her hand with her mouth. "Shouldn't she be in the guest room you're using while here?"
The king shrugged and sighed. "Duke Alexander has sent a few knights to search for her, and Jeffery joined them," Gerald looked toward the entrance of the palace. "I've never seen her upset like that before."
"I hope Mama is okay," Corina muttered.
"I'm sure she's fine, just angry."
King Gerald offered his arm to the princess. She took his arm, and he led her to the entrance of the banquet hall. When she looked inside, she saw Alexander facing the front, speaking to a group of noble women next to a table.
Corina huffed and looked to the floor. Corina observed that the women were flirting with him. He was a handsome, young man, and of course women would flock to such a man if pedigree. Even so, she didn't like how much attention he was getting.
"Oh, are you jealous?" As she approached, Nadine inquired.
Corinaa bit her bottom lip and looked away. As she did, Lazarus noticed the group that had gathered at the entrance. The enthusiastic male hurriedly joined them. "Corina, you look beautiful."
Corina, with a frown on her face, nodded at her brother.
"Nadine, you're stunning," Lazarus said to the woman.
Nadine groaned, but then smiled at him. "Fine, you can be my date."
"R-Really?" Lazarus stammered, then offered his arm to her. "It would be my pleasure, my lady."
The group went into the dining room. The two men and Nadine were seated at a table in the back. Corina began to sit down next to her brother, but the king held up his hand in protest. "Shouldn't you be seated next to your future husband?"
Corina paused and looked back to the duke, who kept speaking to a growing number of women. She furiously shook her head, then plopped down roughly in the chair. "No, he's having a grand time up there," she pointed.
The king raised a brow. "He's being polite to them, dear. Why don't you head that way?"
"No."
"Corina!"
"Hmph!" She looked away from her father and closed her eyes. "I don't like banquets. I don't like them at all."
"It's protocol to properly address them," Nadine commented.
"What if he meets a pretty lady in court?" Corina asked with her brows furrowed. "I wouldn't be sufficient if he were to want to find an actual wife."
"Corina, you're stubborn," Gerald said to her.
"I'm not!" she whined.
"You kinda are." Lazarus looked from Nadine to her for a moment, and his eyes wandered back to the woman who said it was a date.
Corina sat at the table, acting rather childish, while the group of noble women hounded Alexander.
"Alexander, I thought we had love?" A blonde, her hair in a bun, giggled as she spoke to him.
Alexander had gone on a picnic with her once before, a year or so back when his father had been pushing him to find a wife. She was pretty, but she had a bland personality. He much preferred the princess to the woman.
"Ah, Jasmine, I enjoyed the time we spent together, but as part of the peace treaty, I am to marry King Gerald's only daughter."
Despite the arranged date, he gave the impression that he was enjoying their time together. The way she had rambled on during their picnic made the Duke wish he could run away. She had such petty complaints and lived an easy life full of luxury. Her problems paled in comparison to Corina's.
A tall brunette attempted to grab his arm to find a seat with him, but the blonde nudged her shoulder. "Back off, tramp."
"Who are you referring to as a tramp?" The brunette responded. "You're just a lowlife who couldn't snag the man. Give me a turn."
The two women started arguing amongst themselves. As soon as the argument began, the other women retreated and took their seats at the tables. Alexander took the opportunity to slip away, groaning and snacking his forehead as he escaped the catty women. The situation was not what was expected when the banquet was planned.
Two knights ran up to break up the fight. The two women had to be dragged off. The cat fight wasn't pretty.
Alexander's eyes scanned the room. "Corina should have been here by now," he muttered to himself as he walked through the banquet hall. Eventually, he spotted the princess chatting with the familiar group of people, with an annoyed look upon her features.
Corina had her eyes closed when the Duke was seated next to her. He reached under the table and gently squeezed her knee, letting his hand linger there. "Corina," he said with a soft smile.
The blonde princess turned her head to look at him. Her eyes stared into his. She stared at him without saying a single word and swatted his hand away, which he found uncharacteristic for her.
"Hello, your grace," Nadine grinned.
The words made Lazarus glance toward the Duke. He had a wide grin. "Corina's being shitty about you talking with those women."
King Gerald leaned forward to whisper to his son. "Watch your mouth, boy. We've already had this discussion. Is that the correct way to greet a member of Luminairea's royal family?"
Alexander held up his hand. "No, no. It's fine."
"O-Okay," Lazarus agreed with his father, then began to speak to the duke. "I'm Lazarus. I'm the second youngest. It's a pleasure to meet the man who stole my sister."
"Lazarus!" The king growled.
Alexander smiled in his direction and said, "The pleasure is mine."
"I'm glad you know about my sister's condition," the man joked. "Could you imagine what it would be like if you discovered this information the night before the wedding? I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that one."
Alexander's cheeks flushed red. He laughed uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his head. It appeared that the youngest brother and Corina shared a common trait of honesty. He sensed Lazarus was like the princess and spoke about whatever was on his mind without giving it much thought.
Corina snapped her head in response to her brother and gave him a glare. "Lazarus. Please don't speak about it in public. Keep it a secret from others."
"She's right," Gerald replied. "Don't discuss it in public where others might overhear. It's a discussion for behind closed doors. Only those who know about it are at this table. Do not allow the word to spread."
"Sorry."
"It's fine," Corina complained, glancing down at the table.
"Corina, are you mad at me?" Alexander leaned close to whisper.
Corina nodded. She felt upset. She knew it was probably silly to feel so emotional over Alexander talking to a group of women, but it was the first time she had witnessed it. She knew she wouldn't have been so upset if those women weren't trying to seduce him.
Indeed, Corina anticipated that a group of women would seduce him.
Her mother had told her about her father's wandering eye. The Queen had caught him numerous times in bed with another woman, and those tales were all the princess had to rely on, as she had never experienced a relationship of her own.
"Ignore her," Lazarus said with a smile.
Nadine rolled her eyes. Soon after, the meal was served. Through the entire seven-course meal, Corina didn't say a word. The fact that she was so quiet when she normally spoke her mind gave Alexander a weird feeling. He wished he were a mind reader, so he could hear the thoughts in her head.
To make matters worse, after the meal and socializing with the nobles, Corina retired to her bedchambers alone.
It was the first night in awhile she hadn't slept by his side.
*****
Calvin entered the Duke's chambers and looked at the man.
"Any news?" Alexander asked him.
"Your parents will be here early tomorrow. Please get a good night's rest," Calvin informed the Duke.
"Thank you for the information," Alex said as he gestured for the attendant to leave.
Alexander made his way to the bed. He nearly fell onto the floor when he tripped over something. Looking down, he discovered his foot wedged in the cup of a bra. He snickered, wondering why the princess decided to ditch her bra in her room and just leave it there.
He picked it up and noticed a wad of crumbled fabric in one of the cups. He laughed and set the bra on his dresser. He noticed a few matching pieces of linen folded up on top. He did notice the princess' chest area seemed rather flat at dinner.
"Corina must have been stuffing it," he snickered as he muttered out loud to himself.
The night was restless for Alexander. The company of the princess had been bringing him much-needed comfort during the night.
Alexander's nightmares had returned.