Convincing

Athena immediately wriggled her hand out of Darrion's grasp. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't meant to-"

"It's alright," she quickly responded, "Don't worry, Lord Darrion. I will be fine."

She did not wait for him to respond. Athena swiftly climbed over the railing and leaped down, landing softly on the grass. Darrion leaned over the balcony, heaving a sigh of relief to see that Athena was well. 

He watched as she carefully made her way out of the compound and into the night. 

<What if something happened to her along the way?> he thought to himself. 

The more he thought of it, the more unsettled he became. He needed to know if she was safe. Looking back into his room, then back out on the balcony, Darrion knew what he had to do. 

He leaped off the balcony, landing safely on the grass patch just as Athena had done so moments before, and gave chase. Not wanting to spook her, he didn't go up to her. Instead, he trailed behind her. 

When he saw that she finally made it back safely to her room, he returned to his quarters with a smile on his face. 

~

Princess Casindra was having tea in the royal garden. She was impatiently tapping her finger on the table, waiting for her maid, Grace, to return with news. 

"Princess, Princess!" Her maid's voice rang from a distance, accompanied by rushed footsteps. 

"Took you long enough," she whined before asking impatiently, "Well?" 

"Lord Darrion sends his regards. But unfortunately, he won't-"

Crash!

Grace flinched at the sound of it. The cup Casindra was holding just moments ago was now a pile of broken porcelain shards on the ground. 

Casindra slammed her hand down on the table right after as she jolted to her feet, fuming mad. She paced around for a few moments. 

"How dare he brush me off like this! What could he possibly have that's so important?!" She hissed. 

"Your Highness, I heard…" Grace was a little hesitant to continue, knowing Casindra was not going to like what she had found. 

But the princess had already caught on to what she was saying. Casindra grabbed her maid by her collar. 

"Spit it out." 

"I heard Lord Darrion has been spending more time with Princess Athena…"

"He's what?!" Casindra screeched. 

She let go of Grace, causing the maid to fall to the ground with a thud and her hand on her chest. She wasn't new to the way the princess treated her. Grace didn't say anything, only scurrying to the side and hoping she did not incur her wrath again. 

Casindra was seething in anger. She gritted her teeth as she paced back and forth in hopes of coming up with a plan. 

"I have to bring him back to my side. There has to be a way," she whispered to herself. 

"Grace, come here," she said coldly when an idea surfaced in her mind. 

Her maid obediently came to her side at once. Casindra whispered into her ear. 

"I will go at once, your Highness," Grace said before scurrying away. 

Casindra sat back down at the table. Another servant brought her a new cup of tea which she enjoyed with a wide grin on her face. She thought her plan would work. But when her maid came running back to her sometime later with no Lord Darrion in sight, her smile was wiped clean off. 

Grace was on her knees while panting, trying to catch her breath. 

"Where is he?!" Casindra questioned. 

"He… He…," Grace knew she had to tell the truth, "Lord Darrion said he would come see you at a later time."

Casindra stomped her feet on the ground like a child. Her anger boiled over. She began throwing things around. The maids and servants flinched at the sound of it. Some of them took a few steps away to avoid being hit. 

Grace was still on her knees, trembling as she hoped not to get hurt by any of the shards. Casindra was pissed. She completely lost her cool. This had always worked in the past. Every time she wanted his attention, he would come running to her. 

Why did Athena have to return and ruin things for her?

Just then, a messenger came running towards the princess. 

"Princess! Princess Casindra! You have visitors," the messenger said as he got down on his knees before her. 

A shiver ran down her spine as her heart dropped. The anger dissipated from her face in an instant as she straightened her dress. 

"Visitors? Multiple? Who?"

"It's Princess Athena and Lord Darrion!" 

Casindra took a step back. Her eyes widened in shock. She could not let them see her like this. 

"Clean up this mess at once! Wendy, follow me to my room," she instructed the others before turning to the messenger, "You, tell them to wait in the drawing room. I will be there shortly. Tell them nothing else." 

"Yes, your Highness." 

It was a mad scramble for everyone. While the maids and servants cleaned up the broken porcelain pieces, Casindra and Grace rushed back to her bed chamber. 

"What did you tell Darrion? Why is he here with Athena?!" Casindra asked her maid once they were alone. 

"I did as you asked, your Highness! I told Lord Darrion that you had tripped and fell and twisted your ankle. I don't know why Princess Athena was there."

A twisted ankle. 

She cursed under her breath. If it had just been Lord Darrion, she was certain she would have been able to fake the injury with just a roll of bandages. Now that Athena was involved too, she could not risk being found out. 

Sweat trickled down her forehead as Casindra pondered over what to do. 

"Wendy, bring that thing over here," the princess ordered. 

"Your Highness, what are you-"

"There's no time to waste, Grace! Bring it to me, now!" 

Moments later, a loud scream could be heard from Casindra's bed chamber. She used a blunt object to hurt her own ankle, to make it real. Grace hurried away and returned with bandages, carefully wrapping them around the princess' ankle as best she could. 

The pain was like leeches, biting at her ankle. 

"Now, help me to the drawing room," Casindra ordered.