Mia sat stone faced, her ruffled yellow dress accentuating her figure, the fabric a perfect compliment to her blond locks. The dance floor was awash with dancing figures, smiling faces twirling round and round. Mia could care little for the festivities. She had already rebuffed two Centurions, four Captains, an earnest colonial, a handful of lords, and one cheeky baron regarding a dance. A delicate crystal fluyt of wine sat sweating on the table before her, untouched and unnoticed by the stewing princess.
The target of her ire was her brother, the king, and his wife, Andromeda. If she really thought about it, it was Andromeda. Her lip curled up in disgust.
With her perfect hair and exotic eyes, that body, those legs, that ever present smile and her grating laugh; the entirety of his brother’s wife was an exercise in frustration for the young woman. She was well received at court, liked by the council, and never seemed to ever leave her brother’s side for even an instant.
Not even once.
Mia felt her gorge rise as she watched Andromeda tilt her head back, laughing charmingly at some quip that Caesar had made. Things were better before she came into the royal family’s life. Things were better when Caesar had the time to devote to her. Her vision blurred with pooling tears. Using the corner of her napkin, she dabbed them away before her makeup was threatened.
“Hey, sis, what’s going on?”
Looking up, she felt her heart soar as she beheld Octavian. He had approached the table in order to take a sip of his wine, but had come closer to her upon noticing her distress. Smiling broadly, her lashes fluttering, Mia said, “Oh! Nothing much. Just had a lash in my eye.” She mimed clearing it away. “There, all better now.”
He gave her a searching look, eyes shrouded in disbelief. “You sure?” he asked.
She wanted to cry with grief. Even with the addition of his married life and the pressures of the kingdom, he still not only cared about Mia’s feelings, but also knew immediately when she wasn’t feeling well. With ill-disguised relief, she fluttered her hand depreciatingly. “I’m fine. Nothing to be done about it, anyway.”
He grunted. “Hmmm. I don’t know…” he began
“You know what would make me feel better?” she asked.
“What?”
She pouted prettily. “I’m all alone here. I’d really like a dance if that’s ok?”
Smiling fondly, he replied, “Sure! Sounds like fun.” Drawing himself up fully, he bowed low, extending his hand. Affecting a deep voice, he asked drawlingly, “Would you honor me with a dance, my lady?”
Giggling at his joke, she rose from her chair, joining her brother on the dance floor. She almost shuddered as he placed his hand around her waist, blushing at the feel of his fingers entwined with hers. They stepped together, easily pacing the rest of the room in time to the music. Mia allowed herself to sway in time with the beat, her feet performing the steps with fluid mechanics in response to Octavian’s lead.
He was laughing aloud, visibly happy to be sharing a dance with his pretty sister. Other partners on the floor nodded in response to their approach, smiling broadly at them as they worked their away about the grand chamber. Mia was lost, her heart beating wildly as Octavian danced with her throughout the rest of the song as well as the second one.
Hoping that she might coax him into a third consecutive dance, she felt her skin go cold as Andromeda approached them, a fixed smile on her face that seemed to miss grabbing her eyes as well. “Having fun, you two?” she asked, laying her hand on Caesar’s arm.
He chuckled. “Actually yes I am!” he shook his head. “But if I don’t get a chance to sit down soon, I won’t be able to walk again later.” He extricated himself from Mia’s grasping hand with a wiggle and a shake, laughing ruefully at her. “All right you,” he said with a grin, “I’m too pooped to party.” He leaned over giver her a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for the dance, sis.” He then leaned into Andromeda, giving her a more intimate kiss that worked its way over to her lips. “I’m going to get something to eat dear. Coming?”
She swatted his arm. “Soon, silly.” She made shooing motions with her fingers. “Go. Get out of here. I’ll join you in a minute or ten. I’m going to talk with Mia for a bit.” She lowered her voice a half notch, smiling wide. “You know, girl talk and stuff.”
Holding his belly, he made a reeling stagger, walking away from the pair. “Oh, no! Not girl talk. I’m out of here.”
Her stomach sinking, Mia watched him go, feeling ill at the prospect of remaining in Andromeda’s company. Turning to the taller woman, she asked, “What did you want to talk about.”
Andromeda steered her off the floor, a gentle, yet insistent leading of the younger girl by the elbow of her yellow dress. Once they were at the side of the chamber, Mia found herself further lead away, this time to the empty hall. Growing irate, she shook her arm free and glowered. “What is it?” she snapped.
The dark haired queen twisted her lips, sighing deeply. “Listen, Mia. We’ve never gotten along, and that’s fine by me. I don’t know what you have against me but I won’t hold that against you.”
Mia shrugged. “Whatever.”
Andromeda frowned. “However, like it or not, you are beginning to become a bit of a nuisance around court as of late.”
“What do you mean?”
“You should learn not to cast comments about me to either servants or other members of court. I guarantee that they will always come back to me.” She leaned in. “As they have.”
“What?!” Mia squealed, surprised at the accusation. “I never. Whomever said them were lying. Lies, I tell you.”
Andromeda shook her head. “I don’t think so. In fact, I know so. In fact, your little gripings and clutchings about me are starting to cross the line from petty to malignant.” He brows lowered. “Don’t try to go head to head against me, Princess.”
Mia was taken aback, but quickly regained her ground. Balling her hands up at her side, she chuckled lowly in the back of her throat. “You have me mistaken, Countess,” the young woman countered, deliberately goading Andromeda on with her original, lower status title. “It is you that shouldn’t attempt to cow me.”
Andromeda’s face flushed but her expression never changed. “Whatever, Princess. You have been warned.” Her hand lashed out, pinching Mia’s flesh deeply up near the top of her dainty bicep. Twisting slightly, she finished with, “For if you try me, Princess, I’ll see to it that the unmarried little sister to the king is shipped off to a nunnery or betrothed to some fat, sweaty Baron out in the middle of some bum-frocked fly speck of a land fief where the only outlet for the peasants is to flick the fleas from their livestock’s arse.” She released the girl’s arm viciously. “And all it would take is some guiding words from Caesar’s loving wife to make it happen.”
Mia’s face had gone white, her breath catching in her chest. Feeling herself about to cry, she nursed her blossoming bruise with her off hand and turned running away from the she-devil his brother had married and towards the flimsy safety of her chambers.
The queen’s mocking laughter chased her all the way down the dimly lit corridor.