Cleopatra knew she'd be late, but for a moment, she didn't care. She was busy admiring her neck in the mirror, completely shocked at the sight of it. The blossoming bruises and red marks that had been there last night were almost entirely gone, thanks to the salve Monroe delivered to her door last night. And thank the goddess she answered. As soon as she found her way back to her private chambers, Cleopatra had collapsed onto her bed, stirring only to answer the door and find the jar on the ground waiting for her.
Now she was following Annabeth, Tetra's handmaiden, through the halls. Charmion had tagged along behind them at Cleopatra's command. As they began to near the library, Charmion inclined her head slightly as if realizing something.
"My Queen," she murmured. "I was under the impression we were here to be on our own. Why do we need an escort here?"
Cleopatra hid her smirk before glancing over her shoulder at Charmion. "You'll see, darling," she remarked simply.
Tetra did have to smile a little to herself as she remembered that Cleopatra was bringing her handmaiden with her this morning. It was certainly going to be an interesting experiance, but one that she was looking forward to.
"I was told to make sure none of our guests get lost." Annabeth explained, using the rehersed words her princess had given her beforehand even though she knew the other half of the plan as well. But she was only going to stay long enough to see the reaction, then leave the three of them alone in the library. Surely princess Tetra would be a more than suitable guide for them.
(Sorry for lacking on responses. I fell asleep way earlier than I thought I would last night and today I was at my brother’s graduation party the entire afternoon after getting ready for it all morning, so…)
Charmion hummed quietly to herself, finding enough satisfaction in the answer that she didn’t speak up again.
Cleopatra couldn’t help the brief smirk that crossed her face, and she was glad Charmion was keeping pace behind her so she wouldn’t see.
Ever since Cleopatra had first known her, Charmion had believed some sort of religion based on fae and the magic surrounding them. She continued to revere them, even though pure fae bloodlines were gone. Only decentants of fae remained, and she was about to meet one up close and personal.
(No worries. I hope you had a good time. Just don't forget our other rps 😉)
Annabeth was doing her absolute best to keep from smirking but she was grateful that the two guests were behind her for most of the walk. It would give away the surprise. "Here is the library, your Majesty." she bowed politely beside the open doors.
Tetra had deliberately been close to the doorway so she could hear the little announcement and took the opportunity to make herself more visible at that moment. “Ah, Queen Cleopatra, I'm so glad to see you today.” she greeted.
(It was fun! I got to see some family friends I haven’t seen in a while, so that was cool. Also yeah, I’m totally not hyper fixating on half our rps and forgetting the other half… that would be crazy… nervous laugh)
Cleopatra smiled briefly at the other handmaiden before entering the library. “Thank you, Annabeth. And Princess Tetra, it’s lovely to see you as well, darling. I don’t believe you’ve met my handmaiden, Charmion.”
Saying her name, Cleopatra motioned to where Charmion stood just off her shoulder. But the naturally sweet, mild-mannered woman was gaping at the princess of Sarratin. After a few seconds, she realized what she was doing and blushed vibrantly before falling into a curtsy. “Your Highness.”
(I’m glad! It's ok, I get that. Just didn't want to lose those.)
Tetra smiled as Cleopatra returned the greeting before they both turned to the Queen’s stunned handmaiden. “No, I have not had the pleasure. Hello, Charmion. I've heard so much about you.” she nodded slightly, watching for her reaction.
(I got you ;))
Charmion’s normally flawless curtsy wavered. She looked up at Tetra in surprise, nearly toppling over. “You have?!” she asked incredulously, rising back up and looking at Cleopatra intently.
The thrice-crowned queen was observing her nails and trying not to smirk.
“I mean,” Charmion said, trying to fix her blurted question. “You have, Your Highness? All- All good things, I should hope.”
Tetra’s ear twitched in amusement at Charmion’s surprise but simply nodded. “Of course. Cleopatra had nothing but good things to say about you.” she smiled.
Annabeth was still standing in the doorway but had to cover her mouth at the scene.
Charmion blinked heavily, still not able to comprehend the conversation she was having. With a princess who was descended from fae. She watched as Tetra's ear twitched, and her jaw dropped. "I'm glad," she whispered, shooting a quick glance over at her queen.
Cleopatra noticed the ear twitch too and look in the opposite direction as Charmion while biting her lip.
Charmion frowned in confusion at the action, but she looked back at Tetra. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," she enthused. "It's an honor, really. Your ears…" Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth while blushing furiously. "I'm sorry, that was… I… um…"
Tetra gave Charmion a knowing smile and deliberately perked her ears up, showing off the slightly pointed ends. “It is very nice to meet you too. I understand you will be joining Cleopatra and myself as we look at some of this kingdom’s history books?” she half asked, half offered. She playfully raised a brow at the way she trailed off. “Yes, what about my ears?”
Charmion’s eyes only widened at the offer. She needed to get a hold of herself, she was acting a fool! But she couldn’t help it. This moment was unreal. “Oh, yes!” she enthused. “I’d love to, if you don’t mind having me along!”
Her eyes caught on the pointed tips of Tetra’s ears, and Charmion gaped. “Your ears… they’re pointed as the fae’s were. And they’re beautiful.”
A bright red flush flooded her face as Charmion realized what she’d just said. She buried her face in her hands, and Cleopatra couldn’t hold it in any longer. She started laughing hysterically, much to Charmion’s confusion as she lifted her face up again.
“What’s going on?” she asked, eying her queen suspiciously.
Tetra nodded as Charmion accepted, though she felt a blush rise at the compliment of her ears. “I am aware of their shape but thank you.”
When Cleopatra dropped the pretense, she and Annabeth started giggling as well. “I apologize. But Cleopatra told me how much you wanted to meet someone with fae blood.” she admitted.
“Obviously,” Charmion said quickly. “I just… they… I…” The queen’s handmaiden folded her hands together shyly and ducked her head at the giggles. Though Tetra’s comment made Charmion give her queen a rather sharp look.
“Charmion, darling,” Cleopatra cooed once she finally got herself back under control. “I thought you would enjoy meeting Princess Tetra since I know how much you revere the fae and their descendants. Don’t be mad.”
Charmion crossed her arms and frowned in Cleopatra’s direction. “This was all to make a fool out of me?” she accused.
“No,” Cleopatra replied, taking on a gentler tone. Placating. “I only suggested to a meeting between us to Tetra because I thought you would enjoy the company.”
"And I was curious as to why you think of me and my ancestors the way you do." Tetra added, having gotten over her giggle fit. "Most people have only reacted in a similar way because I am a Princess here." she explained. Though, as she thought about it, her inherited title was just as closely tied to her Fae blood. Perhaps that was something else to look into while they were here.
It was impossible for Charmion’s complexion to turn more red than it was now. She looked at Cleopatra with shock in her eyes. “You told her?” she demanded.
Cleopatra was taken aback by the way her handmaiden spoke to her. “Yes, but I thought—”
“No, you didn’t think!” Charmion countered, a new kind of sharpness in her tone. “You never think! Gods forbid you would ever think about someone else. All you care about is yourself! I won’t let myself be made a fool of so that you can have a lovely conversation about me afterward.”
With that, Charmion turned and headed for the doors of the library. Cleopatra was stunned for a moment, but she regained herself and spat out her handmaiden’s name with a sharpness of her own. Charmion wisely froze. She’d heard Cleopatra use that tone before… and it never ended well for the person on the receiving end.
Cleopatra leveled a cold stare at the back of Charmion’s head and ordered, “I suggest you return to your chambers and cool down. We will talk about this later.”
Charmion swallowed heavily and replied in the most even voice she could summon, “Yes, Your Majesty.” Then she fled.
The second she was out of sight, Cleopatra’s shoulders dropped and she turned to Tetra. “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” she apologized. “I didn’t realize Charmion would get so upset.”
Tetra was shocked by the exchange but a part of her almost felt like they deserved it… They hadn't meant to embarrass Charmion to the point of righteous rage.
“Annabeth, go with her and see if you can help.” she instructed once the other handmaiden left. “I will apologize to her myself.” she sighed, a bit ashamed of how badly things had turned.
Cleopatra straightened and blinked quickly. “She’d appreciate that,” she assured the princess. But her own apology… that would take longer to get out. And likely longer after that for Charmion to forgive.
When Annabeth had left the room, the queen turned toward Tetra. She tried to keep her emotions guarded, but surprisingly, most were playing across her face. “The library?” she asked, forcing her voice to sound natural.
“It is the least I can give her.” Tetra sighed, still feeling ashamed of how poorly things had gone. It wasn't supposed to be more than a light tease but clearly things had gone wrong.
She nodded at the question, noticing how Cleopatra seemed to feel. “Yes. The history section is back this way.” she said as she took the lead.
Cleopatra nodded briefly, but she didn't say anything more. The normally undeterred queen was trying to keep her breathing calm and face emotionless. Inside, she felt a tangle of emotions forming in her stomach, each one more confusing than the last. Regret, shame, embarrassment, sympathy, and… guilt. For all of the wicked, merciless things Cleopatra had done in her life, she'd hardly ever once felt guilty about any of them. But for Charmion… her walls crumbled. She adored her handmaiden like a sister. It was truly her biggest weakness.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and moved to follow Tetra. "I apologize again for my handmaiden's behavior," she said plainly, trying to keep her voice from wavering. It hadn't trembled so much when she spoke since she'd been half-strangled last night in the banquet hall.
“No apologies needed.” Tetra shook her head. “We may have gone too far with we behaved. I will not hold it against her.” she assured as she continued to lead the way through the old, well-kept books. The princess was admittedly ashamed of her actions. At first, she had only meant them as a curiosity… But things clearly went wrong. “I just hope my brother doesn't decide to lecture us about what we did. And that Charmion will forgive us.” she sighed.
“She won’t hold it against you either, I assure you,” Cleopatra answered. “She will forgive you.” The queen knew Charmion well. The handmaiden would easily forgive the princess once she had calmed down. But it was Cleopatra’s own forgiveness from her handmaiden that would take longer. Perhaps the entirety of their stay in Sarratin. Cleopatra hoped not.
Though Cleopatra scoffed lightly at the idea of Corym lecturing her. “Let me be brutally honest, darling Tetra,” she began. “Any sort of lecture your brother tries with me, it will end with the removal of a body part of my choosing.” No matter what happened last night with their dance. They were still enemies… right?
Tetra sighed, only somewhat relieved by the assurance. “All the same… I appreciate you saying that but I will feel better after I speak to her.” she admitted.
Though she barely managed to hold back a laugh at Cleopatra’s reply about her brother. “You can be as honest as you want with me. And I won't argue with you about that though any attempts of dismemberment would simply end in a sparing match.” she pointed out, smirking as she remembered the dance last night and drawing comparisons of putting the Thrice-crowned Queen and her brother in close quarters again.
Cleopatra nodded. “I understand,” she replied before dropping the topic.
She frowned, imagining how a sparring match between herself and Corym would go. Depending on if he let her at him with real blades, it might get bloody. But the footwork of swordplay… how close their bodies would be… almost moving as one…
Cleopatra snapped out of it, pushing all thoughts of the dance to the back of her mind. She glanced over at Tetra and caught the smirk. “Something you wish to say princess?” the queen asked intently. “You may also be as honest as you want around me.”
Tetra shook her head, trying not to giggle. “Oh, it's nothing. Just imagining how such a spar would go.” she half admitted. What she was not going to add was the fact that even she knew how similar dancing was to fighting. And the idea that she thought that Cleopatra and her brother would be an actual cute couple once they stopped bickering, much like last night had proved.
Cleopatra’s eyes narrowed slightly at Tetra’s giggle. She knew likely where the girl’s mind was heading, especially after all that had happened last night. Dancing and swordplay were indeed incredibly similar. And having the same partner for both? Cleopatra could only imagine.
But wherever that line of thought went, Cleopatra stopped it dead. “And how exactly is it that you imagine it to go?” she pressed with arched eyebrows.
