7. Invasive Mother

Ester

What kind of bad luck was this?

It had been many, many years since I sat down with my mother for brunch in my past life. I was so focused on the upcoming disasters that I forgot my mother sat with me and had a talk about how to be a proper woman to my husband the day before I was meant to see the king.

Just like then, she appeared now, trying to fill my head with the same rhetoric that I hated so much.

What a shame a beautiful day in the greenhouse had to be spent doing this.

"Men will always prefer someone who is behind them no matter what," my mother said, daintily lifting a teacup and taking a small sip. "No one likes a woman who criticizes her husband, especially in the royal palace. No matter how he behaves, you should have his back. Have you been doing that?"

She was dressed in a pink skirt suit, her hair styled into a French braid that went around her head. A dash of blush covered her cheeks, adding warmth to them that had disappeared many years ago.

I wore a pleated dark green skirt that stopped above my knee. My nude-colored, long-sleeved button-up blouse tucked in at the waist. And a pair of black stockings.

Christopher never allowed us to pants. He told me that it was unladylike and made us look like common peasants desperate for a man. When he found my pants, he took all of them outside and burnt them. Then he asked me who I was trying to seduce and if I was sure about still being a virgin.

My question is, why was he talking to an eleven-year-old about having the "power to seduce"?

I ate some of my cornflakes and told her the same thing I told her before. "Don't worry. Sirius prefers a woman who speaks her mind. If he behaved in an improper manner he would expect those around him to tell him."

Mother placed her cup down harshly, as if something I said upset her. "Ester, you still don't get it no matter how much you claim you do. You are no longer one of his people, you are his wife. He won't take your opinion the same way he takes others'. If you should, daresay, correct him or question his decisions, what an embarrassment it would be for him. You want to have a smooth wedding ceremony, don't you? Then keep your head down."

A sigh passed my lips. I sat up straight.

"Sirius is no fickle person that would be upset when a woman corrects him. He's not like Christopher."

Silence added to the tension. I tried to ignore it and continue eating. At the end of the day, it won't be long before I leave this house, and Mother and Christopher can't do anything to me now that I'm the crown prince's fiancée.

Her fingers tightened around the cup. Still, she managed to smile a lady's smile and pretend I didn't say anything. "I think it's about time we talk about something more mature. Have you talked with your fiancé about his interests in bed? Once we're done with dinner, I'll come into your room and we'll use a pillow to show you how to pleasure him."

The milk went down my throat at the same time as I was gasping. I coughed several times and patted my chest. My mother handed me a napkin.

"Try not to cough like this in front of the king. My word!"

I accepted it and wiped my mouth, not listening to the voice in my head telling me to let her know that she was the reason I started coughing in the first place.

Footsteps approached our table. At first, I thought it was one of the workers, but I recognised the pattern of his footsteps and the very thuds of his boots. Dear dragon god, why was he here?

"Bad news." Christopher adjusted his jacket and showed us a newspaper. "My informant told me that a portal might have opened close to our borders. It will most likely take up some of King Chester's time. I hope it doesn't interfere with the meeting Ester was meant to have with him."

As Christopher sat down, I peeked at the headline. It mentioned that people were falling sick and the increase in animal corpses. The news article played with the idea that it was a virus making animals feral and humans sick.

I knew better. I had seen it before. It had to be a demon portal. Or at least an unsealed demon.

Unsealed demons were evil spirits said to be locked away in an object or beneath a plot of land. Someone would break the seal or the seal itself would grow weak, and the demon would be free again.

Mother comforted her husband by placing an arm on his shoulder blade. "Don't worry, honey. King Chester is usually swift when handling these things. Rest easy. I'm sure the meeting won't be delayed."

He shrugged her off. "Really woman. Easy for you to say. If things don't go smoothly and Ester ends up not marrying him, you'll still have all the money you can want and buy your pretty little dresses. Do you know what will happen to me? My colleagues won't let me hear the end of it! I'll be the laughing stock that had the opportunity of a lifetime in my hands and blew it. That's what they'll say. So quit acting like you know a darn thing about my troubles. You better be filling your daughter's head with something proper."

She drank some more of her tea. Although that action managed to hide her frown, it could do nothing about the darkness in her eyes.

I've seen all I needed to and since my bowl was empty, there was no need to stay here and listen to him whine.

"Excuse me," I pushed the chair back and stood up. "I'll be heading to my room now."

Christopher scoffed. "What? You're leaving now because I came here, aren't you? I've been sitting here for a good full minute and you haven't greeted me. Shows the kind of person you are. Ungrateful through and through."

I bit my bottom lip, hard. Don't retaliate, Ester. It's not time yet.

I spun to face him with a charming smile that could make a cruel slave trader's heart beat faster. "My stomach has been churning since the crack of dawn. I coughed and almost threw up on Mother. What will happen if I don't take care of myself and can't go see the king tomorrow?"

His brows furrowed in anger. Still, he huffed and waved me off.

"Whatever," he grumbled. "Just keep in mind that you're not allowed to leave the house at all today. Can't have you running into reporters and saying something stupid."

"Yes."

Finally, I could freely leave the greenhouse and go back to my room. But I wasn't out of the woods yet.

Claire still followed me everywhere I went. Across the lawn. Into the mansion. To the kitchen. To my room as I walked up with a tray of food. She seemed to want to stay there and watch how much of the food I planned to put into my mouth, like a hawk.

I sighed. "Claire, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need you at the moment and I would like some privacy. Kindly leave."

She bowed her head. "Of course, My Lady."

However, instead of doing as I asked her to, she walked up to my balcony doors and closed them.

A silver key was retrieved from her pocket. She used that to lock the doors shut.

Claire turned to me. "Your father requested for me to do that."

Not a single apology or submission came out of her. Then, she wished me a good day and left my room. As usual, I left my space on the couch and locked it.