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.
“Interesting enough that if word got out, the match would certainly draw quite a crowd.” Tetra smiled coyly. “Everyone knows that you are a skilled fighter. Now, while I have not gone against Cor, I know how frequently he practices so I strongly believe that he can hold his own.” she explained, still keeping her thoughts to herself.
Cleopatra narrowed her eyes slightly at the other woman’s coy smile. She knew what game Tetra was playing. “It would,” she remarked easily. “Too bad such a thing would never happen.” If she ever dueled Corym, Cleopatra wouldn’t hold back. Not unlike dancing…
Damn! She needed to focus. “The books, darling princess?” she prompted.
Tetra just blinked innocently at the look the thrice-crowned Queen was giving her. “Oh? Well, that is a shame.” she nodded, respecting Cleopatra’s decision. “I thought the challenge would have interested you.”
“Of course. They are just down this way.” she smiled, leading her through an aisle of bookshelves. “There’s a comfortable alcove nearby so we can look at the books there, if you'd like.”
"Don't get me wrong, princess," Cleopatra remarked. "The challenge of dueling your brother interests me very much. But I highly doubt he'll ever agree to such a thing."
The queen nodded and followed Tetra through the aisles. "I'd like that very much," she agreed. However, she still couldn't get out of her mind the way that Charmion had spoken to her. It bothered her. No one else talked to her that way. Rather, no one else talked to her that way, in front of witnesses, and lived.
"Oh. Is that the only reason?" Tetra raised a brow. "What if I could arrange a match between you? I know his daily schedule and could easily set things up if you truly wanted to test your skills against his." she suggested, well aware of what she was doing.
They continued their walk unbothered by anyone, perhaps because this section of books was so rarely visited except for cleaning and to keep the books in good condition. The alcove was near a large window that let plenty of light in for reading and even had a table in case someone decided to do research. "I believe what we are looking for is on these shelves here." the princess informed, gesturing to a simple but full case of very old, well-cared-for tomes.