forum Royal Dilemma (o/o Closed)

Started March 04, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

Eleanor swallowed as she felt Thomas squeeze her hand, and she nodded at his words. "I hope so," she whispered. She prayed that the queen of Tervenia wouldn't despise her completely for everything that had happened last night. She didn't want to have to get to the point of talking about Cleopatra only to win over Génévieve.

As if on cue, Génévieve emerged from around the side of the tower. She wore a sparkling yellow gown, and her makeup and dark hair were immaculate to compliment the bright color.

"Gén!" Irene exclaimed, approaching the other queen and giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Gén huffed with a knowing sigh of exasperation. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?" she asked in a voice sleek as silk. Her eyes cut to Eleanor, and they sharpened. "Eleanor," she greeted bluntly.

Eleanor let go of Thomas and approached the third queen. "Hello, Génévieve," she greeted simply. "I'm very glad you could make it."

Thomas let his arm drop as Eleanor let go and bowed respectfully to the three queens before taking up a post nearby so that he could listen for any signs of trouble. Though he did enjoy the sight of Queen Irene greeting the Queen of Tervenia. But he had been careful not to give any outward signs of that. Eleanor was already in enough trouble with her.

Irene waved her hand. “Oh, that doesn’t matter.”

Génévieve rolled her eyes before focusing her sharp amber gaze on Eleanor. The young queen had never seen eyes like Génévieve’s, but she didn’t want to lead with that. Thankfully, or not, the other queen started the conversation first.

“I’m surprised you invited me, I must admit,” Génévieve replied casually. “I was convinced at dinner that you thought yourself above everyone.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened. “No, of course not. I didn’t realize the cut was so deep, and by the time I had it on, it was too late to change into anything else. I apologize if I offended you or Lionel last night.”

Génévieve smirked slightly. “I see.”

Thomas stood quietly, only catching the tone of the conversation but so far things seemed to be going well. He just hoped that Queen Irene and Eleanor could make Queen Génévieve understand and perhaps sway her over to becoming friends.

"I had a conversation with Sirus yesterday," Génévieve remarked. "Just after dinner. He told me that you had met him in the garden earlier that day."

Eleanor and Irene exchanged a brief look.

"He told me," Génévieve continued, "that you threw yourself at him, but he denied your efforts. You even pretended to trip into the fountain, but he didn't catch you so you fled back to your chambers, dripping wet and defended by your guardsmen." At this, she cut a look over at Thomas before looking back at Eleanor. "Then, you wore the dress to dinner as a second attempt to seduce him. Of course, I told him what a fool you were and how a peasant like you didn't understand what she had and was trying to achieve too much too soon. He agreed. Rather quickly too. Said you were in over your head with marrying Marcellus and couldn't control yourself."

By the time Génévieve finished talking, Irene's expression was unreadable. She only stared at the third queen, assessing her words. In contrast, Eleanor's eyes were wide with horror. Immediately, she parted her lips to speak, but Génévieve cut her off.

"Since his kingdom borders that of mine and my husband's, I had no choice but to play into his description of you." She let out a short exhale and cocked her head to the side. "I was annoyed with you at the time. That… damned dress you wore was stunning. And you played so coy in front of everyone. Lionel…" Génévieve shook her head. "He and I are fine now, but I wasn't happy with him either. I won't repeat the things I said when we made it back to our rooms."

Irene, always one for gossip and drama, arched an eyebrow. Eleanor waited with bated breath for her to finish.

"But then I got your invitation," Génévieve murmured. "The ladies maid who delivered it was rather charming. And I figured why not. I might as well hear your side of the story, assuming Sirus' side is complete horseshit."

Eleanor's mouth dropped open. She hadn't expected such foul words when she reached the inner circle of royalty. Irene snickered at her friend's reaction, then nudged her. Eleanor regained herself and promptly told her side, the truth, about what had happened with Sirus at the gardens. She made sure to leave out any detail that felt too intimate, like Thomas sheltering her. She didn't know quite if she could trust Génévieve yet. The amber-eyed queen seemed like the type to play multiple sides.

When she finished, Génévieve nodded thoughtfully. "Well," she murmured, understanding in her gaze now, "now it makes more sense."

Thomas leaned in a little closer to hear better but flinched when he heard that Sirus had spoken to Queen Génévieve first. But he had to be thankful that she agreed to this meeting and seemed to be giving Eleanor a chance. He only hoped that she would believe the truth and not whatever lie that snake had told her.

Eleanor straightened herself as best she could and squared her shoulders to the other queen. “What Sirus told you was entirely fabricated. I did no such thing. And the dress was an accident, as I said. I never meant to offend anyone. I didn’t realize it had a cut that low.”

Génévieve gave the young queen a brief look. She studied her, and Eleanor did her best not to wither under the gaze. Finally, Génévieve seemed satisfied and arched her eyebrows. “I highly doubted Sirus in the first place,” she murmured. “But you still have a lot to learn, Eleanor.”

She cast a glance at Irene, who seemed to understand. “As did we, when we became queens in our own right,” the white-haired queen added.

Eleanor nodded in reply. “Thank you for taking the time to meet, Génévieve.”

Génévieve smirked slightly. “Of course, Eleanor.” Then, she turned and strode away.

Irene guided Eleanor back over toward Thomas first, then to her rooms. “Well,” she remarked, “that certainly could have been worse.”

Thomas let himself relax slightly as he heard Eleanor’s confident tone and even gave a slight smile when she walked back towards him. Though the expression didn't last too long in Queen Irene’s presence. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, he just wanted to stay careful. And her statement didn't exactly fill him with confidence. At the very least, it sounded like Queen Génévieve wasn't against Eleanor anymore.

Eleanor let out a long sigh once Génévieve was out of earshot. “True,” she murmured to Irene. “I get a certain impression from her. Is she always like that?”

The Merrianth queen shrugged slightly. “One version or another of that. Depends on how close you get to her. But I think we’re in the clear now. Whether she’ll admit it or not, she trusts you. At least a little bit. Gén does like to flip flop over royal alliances and boundaries. You just need to be careful about how much you tell her, that’s all.”

Eleanor nodded and took Thomas’ arm. She smiled gently at him for a moment as she took his arm. “Let’s go,” she urged.

Thomas listened to both Queen’s, making a mental note to not slip up in front of Queen Génévieve in case she decided to go against Eleanor in the future. But he was glad that Queen Irene was so knowledgeable and friendly to them.

"Shall we go anywhere else before returning back?" Irene asked easily. She clearly seemed intent to see Eleanor back to her chambers and even linger for a while once they got there.

Eleanor pursed her lips, letting her hand settle lightly on Thomas' arm. "I'm not sure. Perhaps–"

"My flower," a cool voice greeted from the entrance back to the castle. With Versian guards flanking either side of the door, Sirus strolled lazily over to the queens. "And Irene. Always a pleasure to see you as well, my star."

The women exchanged a look. "Actually, Sirus darling," Irene replied, easily donning a different persona from her natural one to talk to him, "we're just heading back inside. Weren't we, Eleanor?"

Eleanor swallowed heavily and nodded. "Yes. If you'll excuse us-"

But Sirus held up a hand. "No, please. If… If you'll allow me, I'd like a word with you. Alone?"

Thomas smiled softly as Eleanor touched his arm but the expression faded quickly at the sound of an unwelcome, familiar voice. He had to bite his tongue to keep from breaking his role as a guard. He was glad that Irene tried to help but Sirus didn't seem to take a hint. It took more self-control than he thought he had to keep from scowling. Being a guard meant that he was very rarely allowed to speak in public but… he so badly wanted to interrupt and say that Eleanor’s husband wanted to speak with them. However, with the other guards nearby, they would easily give away the deception.

Thomas' change in emotion caught Sirus' eye. "Something you need to say, Queensguard? Loosen your tongue."

But Eleanor, maybe too quickly, jumped in. "He answers to me," she shot back. "Not you. And this doesn't concern him. I'll speak with you Sirus, but only just over there." She pointed toward a spot that was still visible from the door. So the guards could see, Thomas could see, and Irene could see. She wasn't having a repeat of last time.

Sirus' smile was likely supposed to be warm, but it felt cold. "Of course, my flower. Shall we?" He took her arm to guide her over to the spot, and Eleanor tried not to hold her breath. Sirus positioned them so Eleanor's back was to Irene and Thomas, another detail she found discomforting, and then he began speaking to her.

Meanwhile, Irene stepped subtly closer to Thomas and inhaled slowly. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I tried."

It took a lot of effort for Thomas not to react to Sirus’ comment, beyond raising a brow. However, when Eleanor spoke up in his defense, his heart soared. He was proud of her for standing up against Sirus, even though he felt a surge of concern as to how the distasteful guest would react. It was still his job to protect his Queen, not her job to protect him… But when she agreed to speak with Sirus alone, Thomas had to close his eyes for a brief moment to hide the look of fear and defeat that he felt.

“I should have tried harder.” he whispered back, barely moving his lips as he watched the two as closely as he could.

Irene scoffed lightly under her breath. "There wasn't anything more you could have done without making him suspicious," she assured him. "You did all you can do for her right now. And I doubt he'll try anything in front of this many witnesses." She subtly nodded toward the guards behind them, but the hidden meaning behind her words was clear.

Sirus wouldn't try anything with Irene as near as she was. She was powerful, the only other high queen on the continent besides Cleopatra. And she would certainly not hesitate to bring any sort of foul play to Marcellus' attention. The alliances that were formed now were tentative and shaky at best, most only made to keep the thrice-crowned queen at bay for as long as they could.

The king of Blackstone was leaning close to Eleanor now, whispering in her ear. Eleanor's face remained impassive even though he couldn't see it. She didn't want to give him any indication that he had power over her. Once he drew back, Sirus arched his eyebrows. "Shall we make it a deal?" he asked in a suave voice.

Eleanor straightened, looked him evenly in the eyes, and replied, "I'll need to think about it."

"Take as much time as you need, my flower," Sirus purred. "I'll be waiting for your answer." With that, he strode toward Thomas and Irene, winking at the other queen as he went past. He coolly ignored Thomas' presence and disappeared inside the castle.

Eleanor walked back over to her friends slowly. "I think we should go inside," she murmured quietly, looking at Thomas with an unreadable emotion behind her eyes.

Thomas gave a barely noticeable nod at Queen Irene’s point. Obviously, she was right but he still wasn't happy about that snake being so close to Eleanor, regardless of how many people were around. His hands forming white-knuckled fists at his sides were the only way he could show any hint of his discomfort. Though he was a little surprised that he hadn't drawn blood yet…

Especially when he winked and walked so smugly past him and Queen Irene. But he nodded at Eleanor’s words, actually glad for the chance to get away from the crowd and Sirus’ most recent presence. He felt like he had to know what he had said… he needed to protect her.