Side Story 6: The Queens' Afternoon Tea [END]

Lord of The Mysterious Realms

It was a peaceful autumn day, some time after the grand wedding of the new king, Jenkins Williams. In the second month since the royal Air Protection Act had taken effect, patches of blue sky could occasionally be seen over the city.

This was the first step in a five-year plan, and the gloom brought by the Difference Engine was slowly beginning to dissipate.

On this unremarkable autumn afternoon, the two queens of Fidektri sat with their friends around a circular table in the garden. Beneath a grape arbor, they sipped afternoon tea, savoring the peaceful, serene afternoon.

Hathaway Williams swept a lock of red hair from her forehead with her right hand and remarked with a hint of complaint:

"Oh, Briny, my hair has grown long again. Have you noticed? Ever since Jenkins and I... well, you know, my hair has been growing much faster than before. I think it's his elven blood affecting me."

She had grown even more beautiful. Her long, red hair didn't quite blaze like fire, yet it possessed an otherworldly allure that far surpassed the combined beauty of all the maids in attendance.

Princess Sophia, seated between Briny and the silver dragon, cleared her throat. Setting down her teacup with a hand clad in a white lace glove, she offered shyly,

"Back in my era, when elves were still active in the world... if I recall correctly, elven blood doesn't affect one's partner."

Princess Sophia was not a princess of the Fidektri Kingdom, nor of the distant Hamparvo Kingdom, and certainly not of the Cheslan Kingdom, which had since been peacefully absorbed by the other two. She and the silver dragon, Anathasia, came from a much more distant past, an era when half-elves were not uncommon.

"That's right," the silver-haired girl chimed in. "I had plenty of half-elf friends, and I even knew the high priest of that generation. It's quite obvious that even a priestly bloodline has no effect on a partner."

Among the four ladies at the table, she was the only one not wearing an elaborate court dress, a fact that only made her appear more extraordinary.

Anathasia held a copy of the morning paper. One side reported the successful development of a new generation of steam turbine engines in Nolan City, while the other side, visible to the others, detailed the Legacy Sage Church's controversial plan to expand its presence throughout the kingdom, which was causing a stir in Parliament.

"See? I told you it was just your imagination."

The blonde Briny Williams said to Hathaway with a smile:

"You just haven't had it cut in a while, have you? The last time was a month ago, when we visited Queen Isabella. I can help you trim it later, if you'd like."

She said this gently, and the red-haired girl turned to her, a smile touching her lips. Even after marriage, Hathaway was as vibrant as ever:

"I couldn't possibly. Long hair... has its advantages."

At these words, Briny's face suddenly flushed, her thoughts clearly drifting elsewhere. The silver dragon clicked her tongue in amusement:

"I hear your nights with Jenkins are quite eventful."

They were all friends, so there was no need to shy away from such topics. Afternoon tea, after all, was the traditional setting for ladies to discuss such private matters. So, Hathaway answered without a trace of embarrassment:

"It's been quite nice."

"Oh, Hathie, you've been getting more and more shameless lately."

Briny tapped her hand lightly as Princess Sophia asked with curiosity:

"What did Hathaway do?"

Briny was too flushed to answer, so the silver dragon, who fancied herself well-informed, leaned in and whispered an explanation. Princess Sophia's own cheeks reddened. She covered her mouth, staring at the two queens in disbelief:

"I always thought Jenkins was... well, not so imaginative."

"Oh, he's not nearly as simple as you think."

Hathaway said, crossing her arms:

"Why do you think I sometimes wear my hair in two intricate braids?"

"It's because Jenkins mentioned that Hathaway had promised to teach him horseback riding in the spring, but he was in Ruen, so she never got the chance. So... after they were married, he suggested they could try 'riding'... something to that effect."

Briny explained shyly. The silver dragon caught on at once. She ran a hand through her own silky silver hair, her dimples showing as she grinned:

"Oh, Sophia, speaking of which, don't you ride a dragon all the time?"

Thanks to that comment, Anathasia didn't get another word out of Princess Sophia for the next ten minutes, but she received no sympathy from anyone.

The ladies were laughing and chatting while enjoying their tea and pastries when they spotted a small figure followed by a retinue of maids walking along the central path of the front courtyard of Coldspring Palace:

"Chocolate! Sigrid!"

Hathaway called out. The petite, adorable-looking girl glanced over, hesitated for a moment, then came toward them with Sigrid and the maids.

The shapeshifting cat was wearing her usual black-and-white gossamer dress, though it was now accented with lace trim and ribbons, unlike its original plain design. Sigrid, for her part, was dressed in queenly attire like the others, though her gown was simpler than Hathaway's and Briny's and was adorned with motifs representing the Church of All Things and Nature.

"I thought Jenkins had taken you to City Hall to receive the second delegation of the oceanfolk emissaries."

Briny commented, motioning for the servants to bring two more chairs.

Looking displeased, Chocolate, who was carrying a basket, simply pointed to the ground. Two chairs materialized from the shadows.

The servants helped them arrange their skirts, and Sigrid sat down with a smile:

"He's hardly that diligent. The Jessicas are handling the meeting. He and Alexia went to see Miss Audrey about something."

"If you ask me," Chocolate declared, "that diviner teacher of his is just another cat trying to steal a bite of fish, same as the rest of you."

Chocolate's comparison made all the ladies at the table burst out laughing.

Princess Sophia's gaze fell on the basket Chocolate was carrying, so she asked:

"What's that you have there?"

"We just brought them from the local chapel of the Nature Church."

Sigrid explained, while Chocolate carefully set the basket on the table and lifted the cloth. Inside, nestled on a soft cushion, was a litter of kittens, their eyes still sealed shut:

"Oh! Are... are these yours and Jenkins's......."

The silver-haired girl gasped, covering her mouth, and promptly earned a light slap from Princess Sophia.

"Jenkins said that even though there are no mice or squirrels here, we still need cats. Coldspring Palace has a tradition of keeping royal cats."

Now everyone understood the reason for Chocolate's foul mood:

"Honestly! Isn't one royal cat enough? He's even greedier than I imagined."

"Don't be so hard on Jenkins. I heard from Dolores that he's preparing a birthday present for you. Julia was there at the time, and she heard it too."

The silver dragon, who had picked her newspaper up again, suddenly remarked.

"A birthday..."

The petite girl rested her arms on the table, cupped her face in her hands, and stared off into space, lost in thought.

A gentle smile graced Briny's lips. Sigrid and Hathaway exchanged a knowing look and smiled, too. The silver dragon was unmoved—after all, the cat was older than she was. As for Princess Sophia, she leisurely raised her teacup once more, closing her eyes to bask in the warm autumn sun of the material world.

Maids bustled around them as a gentle breeze rustled the treetops, whose branches were still lush with green leaves.

Stories of the past and present connected them all. And long after all the stories were told, the cat would still yearn for that person, for those times.

"So..."

Chocolate suddenly snapped back to the present, her eyes scanning the circle of women around the table:

"Whose form should I borrow to sneak into the bedroom tonight? Sigrid, let me borrow your face for a while!"

The former novice nun, who had just been sipping her tea, choked violently. Laughter rang out from the ladies, echoing high above Yordle Palace.