Muffins

Vivian was all dressed up and by looking into the mirror, she could see no trace of herself from an hour before. She was now a perfect lady and, as her mother said, ready to win a Prince's heart. Not that Vivian was interested.

"Good, now, go!" Lady Aleena said, smiling from ear to ear. "And behave yourself! Don't you dare to say or do anything that could jeopardize your chances of marrying the Crown Prince!"

Vivian would normally make some witty remarks, but she was in a gloomy mood. All she wanted to do was to eat something and go back to sleep. She couldn't do either, unfortunately.

Inside the carriage, Vivian could think of no reason why she was called to the Palace. She did nothing wrong, but then, if she did, they would not have called her in such amiable terms, would them?

The carriage stopped and she accepted the hand offered by the servant, getting out of the carriage and looking up. The palace was great and beautiful.

"Lady Astley." A man wearing all black appeared, bowing his head to her in a very respected way. "Please, follow me. Your Majesty, the Queen, is waiting for you."

'Majesty?', Vivian thought, gulping. Why would the Queen call for her?

"Of course, sir." She answered and followed the man.

They walked for a while, until Vivian saw the entrance of the garden. The Royal Garden. Vivian was the daughter of a nobleman, but even so, she was not allowed to enter the Royal Garden.

'Well, the Queen called for me…', she reminded herself and as much as she was nervous, she took a deep breath and kept going.

Once they entered the Garden, she saw how beautiful it was. She had never seen something of the sort. Vivian took a moment to look at the plants and could tell she had never seen some of those specimens.

"Your Majesty, Lady Astley is here." The servant said and bowed. Vivian did the same and looked up.

The Queen was a very beautiful woman, with nice chestnut hair, hazel grayish eyes, a button nose and full plump lips. Her hair was tied up in a meticulous and intricate bum with braids.

"My dear!" The Queen said, opening not only her arms, but a wide smile. "Welcome! Please, sit!"

Good morning, Your Majesty. Thank you." Vivian said and with her head low, she sat.

"Darul, please, bring us more refreshments." The Queen asked the man who lead the way before Vivian.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Excuse me." He bowed again to the Queen and to Vivian, and left.

The Queen turned her attention to Vivian.

"Please, drink the tea." Vivian nodded and took the cup served to her. "You are so beautiful!" She said, looking at the young woman before her with interest. "I can see clearly why Brian fell in love with you."

Vivian, who had just taken a sip of the warm tea, started to cough incessantly before those words.

"Oh…" She tried to speak.

"Dear! I'm sorry! Are you alright?" The Queen asked with a worried look on her face.

"Ah, yes. I am well, Your Majesty."

"Please, call me Margareth. We will be family soon!"

Then, Vivian understood. Her deal with the Prince had been revealed to the Royal Family.

'Oh, no… It will be a mess when they find out the truth!', she thought, bitterly.

Vivian forced herself to smile. She had only two options: tell the truth and let herself sink into ridicule or keep pretending and talk to the Crown Prince in order to solve it all. She chose the second one.

Margareth was very talkative, to which Vivian was not used to. Until that very moment, she had never talked to the Queen in person and her hands were sweating.

"Oh, look who is here!" She said, looking to something, or better, someone behind Vivian. When this one turned around, she saw Brian. He was wearing a more casual outfit, but yet, a very royal one.

The sunlight was just behind him, creating a very glamorous atmosphere and Vivian's heart skipped a beat. She knew he was handsome, but at that moment, she saw him differently.

'Get yourself together, Viv!', she told herself.

"My dear Lady Astley!", Brian said, smiling. He, too, was mesmerized by how pretty Vivian was that morning. "I didn't know you would be here."

"I invited her for tea!" Margareth said, drinking from her cup. "She is so lovely! I'm sure we are going to be close friends in no time!"

Vivian swallowed hard after hearing those words. It was like she was doing something really vile. She was, indeed, guilty.

"She is. Lady Astley is the most formidable woman I have ever met." Brian said and he was satisfied by the crimson color which Vivian's cheek was painted.

'She is really cute!', he thought. 'Too bad she is a virtuous woman, or else, we could have some fun together'.

He respected her too much to even make a move of the sort. No, Vivian was different from the others and what made him even more interested was the fact that she was the first not to try to catch him into some trap and make him get married to her.

"Hmm." Margareth did, smiling. "I can feel the love in the air!".

"Oh, Your Majesty.. I mean, Margareth," Vivian said, when she saw the look the woman gave her, "The Crown Prince and I are friends."

"Of course you are. That is how love happens. You have to be friends in order to have a good marriage."

For the first time, Brian was not feeling as if he was about to be hanged by the mention of 'Marriage" and him, in the same phrase. No… It was not uncomfortable at all!

'How curious…', he thought.

"Please, sit with us!" Margareth asked and Vivian gave him a meaningful glance, which she believed he understood, since he gave her a little nod. But, if he did understand, he completely ignored it.

"Ah, with pleasure, cousin! I love those muffins!" He said and sat down, looking at Vivian. "They are really sweet and everytime I look at them, I feel very hungry."