~~~{──────────
Noon.
Gazebo, Third Prince Chambers.
Wyfkeep Castle. Wyfellon, Wyfn-Garde.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}~~~
Sarah, the maid, approached Salviana after Alaric had left for work following their breakfast. "My lady, you wanted to speak with me earlier?"
Sarah had acted cool all through preparing her lady for the day despite wanting to ask what it had been about that Salviana wanted to ask, but instead they readied her and she could finally ask now.
"Yes, come, let's sit in the gazebo," Salviana invited, gesturing toward the small supposed to be a garden but a bland pavilion.
Dutifully, Emma ran over with her tight bun. "What would you like, my lady?"
"Nothing heavy. Maybe lemon tea, please," Salviana replied with a smile.
"Of course." Emma hurried off, leaving Salviana and Sarah alone in the quiet of the garden.
Sarah, eager and attentive, sat beside Salviana, her hands folded neatly in her lap. "I would help you with anything, my lady." she proclaimed positively.
"I need to know about the royals," Salviana began. "Their names, their roles, and anything else you think is important. I want to understand them better." Her green eyes held so much curiosity and space for growth because she didn't want to appear careless in the face of the older Velthornes.
Sarah's eyes lit up. "Oh, you've come to the right person, my lady. Where should I begin?" she mused for a moment before diving in. "Well, for starters, there's the king, 'Gideon Velthorne'. He's a commanding man, very stern, but regal. You can feel his authority in every room he enters but the royals barely listen to him nowadays, I hear his power barely stretches past dinner tables sometimes."
Salviana nodded, she had seen that firsthand and it was almost amusing if she hadn't been a new princess trying to understand things.
"What does he look like?" Salviana asked, leaning forward with interest. She's seen him but can she really focus with all the others watching her? No, she needed details and she just knew that Sarah had them.
"Golden blonde hair, though there's gray in it now," Sarah said with a thoughtful nod. "His eyes are deep blue, the kind that feel like they can see right through you." she cocked her head, "He's tall, around 6'2", and still muscular, though age is starting to show. Oh, and he walks with a cane from an old leg injury—he's always had a bit of a limp."
"Does it affect his demeanor?" Salviana inquired, she hasn't seen him walk, the first night here had been weird for her, she didn't notice that.
"Not at all. He's still very imposing," Sarah assured her. "But then there's 'Queen Sansa Velthorne'. She's regal in her own way—elegant, graceful, almost mute. She has long golden blonde hair and icy blue eyes that seem to freeze you in place if you get on her bad side. She's 5'8", slim, but always carries herself like royalty, I mean she is royalty after all." shee sounded bitter but lower class people sound like that without meaning to sometimes.
"And the princes?" Salviana prompted, knowing there was more to know.
Sarah grinned. "Ah, the princes! Well, first, there's 'Benjamin Velthorne', the crown prince. He's quite the charmer—golden blonde like his mother, short neat hair, and bright blue eyes. He's taller than the king, 6'3", and athletic. Handsome but arrogant, if you ask me. There's a scar down his left cheek from an accident in his childhood."
"What kind of accident?" Salviana asked.
"Oh, I'm not sure of the details, but it was something involving a sword during training with the third prince. It's left him a little bitter, I believe, though he rarely shows it," Sarah added with a frown.
Salviana frowned, "Why do you think so?" he appeared comfortable in himself anf he had power.
"I saw him loosening the straps on all the horses in the shed one day, it made the whole household furious and he never said he did it," Sarah said in a whisper. "He could've simply confessed and nothing would be done to him but he made everyone pin it on the third prince,"
Salviana nodded, absorbing the information. The unfair treatment must've been happening against Alaric for awhile now and that's why he'd reacted the way he did earlier, she drew in a deep breath before asking, "And the second prince?"
"That's 'Spencer Velthorne'," Sarah said, lowering her voice slightly. "He's a bit more open, loud and funny, with same eyes as the king and longer hair than Benjamin. He's 6'0", stockier than his brothers, but there's something different about him, I can't point anything particular out though."
Salviana nodded, he did seem off when he gave his extra-welcoming speech yesterday.
Sarah continued, loving the attentiveness of the princess, "He's also partially blind in one eye, and obsessed with the third prince." she drawled.
"Really?" Salviana raised a brow, she's seen him but she didn't notice his sight being faulted, yet she'd noticed him glancing at Alaric continuously as if seeking his confirmation as he talks, and she'd thought it was because he had been talking about her and him but it appears that's how he is. "What happened to his eye?" she asked, shrugging off the obsession comment.
"Another accident, during a hunting trip," Sarah explained. "He's quite proud of the fault, though—wears it like a badge of honor, he appears to be a happy person."
Salviana nodded as her mind swirled with all these new faces. "And Alaric?" she asked softly, though she already knew some things she'd like to know inside stuff.
Sarah's expression shifted, her voice becoming softer. "Ah, yes, 'The third Prince Velthorne'. He's the black sheep of the family—quite literally. While the others have golden blonde hair, he's got jet-black hair, wild and untamed. His eyes are pitch black, almost haunting to look into. He's tall, like the king, 6'2", but there's a darkness about him. Cold, calculating, always distant... but I believe observant. He misses nothing, that's all I know."
Salviana shivered slightly. She'd experienced his intense gaze firsthand. "And those are all the Queen's princes?"
"No, there's another one, he's like a whispered secret, Kane Velthorne, the fourth prince," Sarah replied, her tone lightening.