Chapter 17: A Wincott Excursion

Being a royal guard wasn't done on a whim. To be officialised, one had to undergo vigorous training and sometimes, shave off literal chunks of your sanity. The guard currently escorting Irene to Ayu's chambers had no idea what got him here and was starting to second guess his life choices.

Meanwhile, Irene had no idea what was happening except the tingle in her fingers was letting her know that she was on the right path. She skipped in her steps and enthusiastically waved at every servant she passed. To the knights, she adorably offered a salute, charming more than half the castle's staff in a single hour.

The duo traversed up the stairs and down a solemn hallway. It was strangely quiet here, even Irene's giddy mood was tempered ever so slightly. Her animated skips calmed into a poised walk, allowing a little stream of anxiety into the cracks of her heart.

What if her friend didn't want her over? She technically could've waited until her friend visited her to share the information.

Irene shook her head like a rattle drum, causing the guard to inhale sharply in surprise. No, this was important information regarding the king. She cannot delay it any longer.

"Here it is. I cannot follow you any further," rumbled the guard, "I will wait here to escort you back."

Irene gave him a firm salute. "Okay." Then, she carefully opened the golden door.

With the palpitation of her heart ringing in her ears, she entered and closed the door behind her. Her friend's room was humongous, that was her first impression. There was a balcony and the windows were huge, filtering in a large amount of sunlight through the glass. The furniture all followed a certain theme of cerulean blue, much like the royal flag.

Irene curiously looked around. Her friend should be nearby, but where is she? She made her way towards the balcony, thinking she might be standing outside. Though just as she passed the bed, something caught her eye.

"Oh," she whispered.

Upon the gigantic bed was a lump of a person curled up upon herself, looking comically small sleeping at the edge of the mattress-- was Ayule!

Irene transformed into a statue, frozen by uncertainty. She hadn't prepared for this outcome, even though she prepared for many. She expected to be kicked out, but thanks to Everett's medallion, she didn't. She expected to be turned away by Ayule because she was busy. She expected to not find Ayule at all because the palace was so large it was only natural to miss each other.

She didn't account for Ayule sleeping so soundly. Her eyes curved into a pair of red crescents and her bow-shaped lips parted to exhale puffs of soft breaths. Being indoors, she donned a translucent dress the shade of moon rays.

She must've been really tired to fall asleep without realizing someone entered her room.

It didn't take long for Irene to locate a piece of parchment and a quill. Lending the cushioned seat at the desk, she sat and wrote down the things she wanted to say.

"Dear Ayule,

Hello, my name is Irene Wincott. I want to tell you about my father, who telled me about his meeting. I dont really understand what he telled me, but I think I should tell you about it any way. My father is Eric Wincott. He says he went to the meeting and talked to Duke Wythe. I hope I spell his name correctly. Duke Wythe leave him alone before the meeting. Then everyone else comed and waited for the King. His Majesty did not come. There is no explaination about it. My father and his working friends asked the royal guard about it more, but he only talked about the Queen and dident know about it. Sorry I dont know much.

I hope the Majesty gets better because I am shure the Queen and the Princess miss him a lot.

Sleep well. Bye bye.

My friend,

Irene."

X

Frieda lowered her parasol just as she entered the door. A servant dutifully came up to retrieve it from the lady of the house and backed away respectfully to not be in the way.

"Thank you, dear," said Frieda as she switched her outdoor heels to indoor slippers.

"Ma'am," greeted Momo.

Frieda gave Momo a wordless glance-over before deadpanning, "Irene is out again isn't she?"

Momo gave a wry smile and did not bother hiding it from Frieda, who in turn sighed wearily.

The women entered the dining room where Frieda was presented with a relaxing cup of tea and a couple of savoury snacks. Her hands gracefully presented themselves once her gloves were placed aside.

"What excuse did she give you today?" Asked Frieda.

"The young miss said she was visiting her friends today, at the town square," replied Momo.

"Oh? And she did not think to wait for a reasonable hour before visiting them? I left at nine, she could've easily waited for two more hours."

"Well ma'am, she said it was very important to speak to her friend."

Frieda hid her sigh in the rim of the teacup as she drinks up a mouthful. "Honestly, I don't even know this friend exists. I'm near certain this isn't a female..."

Make no mistake, Irene was a full-bred noble's daughter who simply had a tendency to "act rough". The boys loved her for it, according to her tutors. Irene was a beautiful but feisty girl, which unfortunately put off many other ladies in their social circle to befriend her. Pauline Kinstone was the only one that saw through Irene's exterior and extended the olive branch to her difficult daughter. Since then, the Wincott family has been in close contact with the Kinstone merchants, who handled their trades with honesty and integrity.

"When she returns, don't let her change out of her clothes. Inform me of her return and we will be going back out," said Frieda.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Momo.

X

"Mother, where are we going?" asked Irene.

The mother and daughter pair were travelling to the town square by carriage. Irene returned home early after leaving the letter with Ayu and was welcomed by Momo ushering her into the family's carriage.

"To the boutique. Madam Swan has our dresses tailored for the coronation of the new queen," explained Freida. Irene clicked her heels together in excitement.

"What do you think of the new queen, mother?"

Freida did not answer immediately. Her half-lidded eyes peered out the carriage's window in thought. She knew she couldn't share her genuine opinions on such a delicate manner with her loose-lipped child, but she did not want Irene to wander around without the necessary knowledge either. Currently, she struggled between performing her duties as the lady of the Wincott family by keeping her appearance as the unopinionated wife of her politically-involved husband and the mother of a child with insatiable curiosity.

So, she settled upon a simple answer.

"We shall see when the day arrives," she murmured.

"I heard she's really pretty, the princess, I mean, the queen."

"Oh?" mused Frieda.

"Paulie likes the princess a lot. She says the princess must be the most elegant girl alive. She's so beautiful, there must be thousands of boys that like her," said Irene.

"And what do you think?"

"Well," Irene crossed her arms, "I think she's the strongest dragon princess ever. She must be able to defeat an army of a thousand men with one slice!" Then, she swiped her own hand across the air.

Freida sighed, wondering how did she end up giving birth to a meathead of a child.

X

"We have arrived, milady," the coach announced as he opened the door. Freida gracefully got up from her seat and took the coach's hand as support as she descended onto the floor. Just as the coach was about to assist Irene, the girl had already bounced down the stairs.

"Hello!" Irene saluted the guard by the door of the boutique.

The boutique was situated by a row of stores on Gorgonia Street that is known for high-end fashion and luxury goods. Hence, it was highly patrolled and city guards stationed at nearly every corner of every street.

The guard wordlessly saluted back. Freida spared them a glance and could tell the guard was amused by the quirk of their tail. They don't get such a warm response often, it seemed.

"Come, Irene. We have not a moment to waste," ushered Freida. Then, Irene was sucked into a hellish loophole.

To simplify things because Irene herself wished she had a fast-forward button during her own experience, she would try on a dress, and twirl around in it for a bit in front of her mother, who would then come over and point out some imperfections of the dress. The tailor would take off the garment, do some minor adjustments, and let Irene try it on again.

This process was repeated for at least five times and took an entire two hours, leaving Irene an empty husk by the end of their excursion.