Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 293: Violet: One Slap Changes Everything

Violet could see the glow of colours filling the sky, magnificent ribbons of orange and rose. It seemed like mockery that Mother Nature would provide such a display of beauty while her life was collapsing before her eyes.

On she ran, until she was breathless and her ribs ached.

When Violet eventually found Ilse and Leo, she could only stand by and watch while they argued. They were in one of the green, cobblestoned courtyards linking the main flower gardens and the pathway to the training grounds. It was a quaint, pretty backdrop to what looked like an ugly quarrel.

She stood a little distance away and behind a small arbour, straining to listen but not quite close enough to catch their words. She could only pray the truth would prevail.

But Violet could see their expressions and agitated gestures. She saw Leo’s befuddled, nervous frown as he obviously tried his best to defend himself.

And she saw the myriad of emotions that crossed Ilse’s pretty face when she refused to swallow any of his lies: accusation, shock, denial, fury. Finally, nothing but pure devastation.

Violet told herself she should be glad. Her sister now knew the truth, that the prince was a weak and faithless man. That a man like him was no good for anything or anyone, and she’d have been better off never looking his way to begin with.

But she wasn’t glad. She felt her own eyes fill with tears when she saw Ilse drop her head and start to sob. It felt like her twin’s hurt was spearing her own heart too.

Looking as close to stricken as he probably ever had in his entire selfish life, Leo clumsily tried to wrap his arms around Ilse in an attempt to comfort her.

Ilse just shoved him away as she kept crying. When he reached for her again, she slapped him hard across the face.

Violet pressed her knuckles to her lips. Any other time in her life, she would’ve rejoiced at seeing the mighty Crown Prince of Ilslia being struck in the face by a mere girl. But the only thing she could feel in that moment was a deep, unhappy ache in her very soul.

Ilse eventually fled from the courtyard in tears, leaving the prince standing alone and with a splotchy red mark across his cheek. Violet immediately thought about chasing and finding Ilse.

Until she saw Leo turn his head very slowly so that he was looking directly at her. His eyes showed no surprise at the sight of Violet peeking out from behind the arbour. He merely blinked.

Had he known she’d been there all along?

If you make it your business to know everyone’s else’s secrets, then your own secrets will eventually come to light.

Hadn’t Leo told her that once?

Now, he said nothing but his gaze remained fixed on Violet, burning bright with resentment. He almost looked grieved. Almost.

Well, he’ll just have to get over it, she thought bitterly. Give the man a week and he’ll likely have forgotten them both and moved on to his next conquest. How much could he have really cared about Ilse?

The two of them continued to stand in hostile silence, stares locked. Violet tipped her chin up at him in a show of defiance.

If I must lose Ilse, then so must you, Your Grace. She belonged to me before she belonged to you.

Violet had nothing more to say to that man, so she eventually turned from him and began trudging back to the palace. Her only option now was to try and find Ilse, to talk some sense into her.

She needed to sound convincing in her own remorse so that Ilse would forgive her and stand by her again.

After all, they were the very closest of kin and they’d both been betrayed by the same man. Wouldn’t it make far more sense to stand united instead of letting Prince Leo drive them further apart?

She needed her sister and her sister needed her too, even if she didn’t realise it yet.

- - -

Their bedchamber was empty when Violet stepped inside, which she found strange. Where else would Ilse have fled to? Surely she’d want to be alone so that other courtiers wouldn’t see her in tears or with a reddened face?

Violet sat down on the bed, tiredness suddenly blanketing her. She decided she’d just wait for her sister. Ilse would likely show up very soon. Besides, having all but sprinted through the palace looking for Leo and Ilse had left her feeling exhausted.

She lost track of the time and eventually, her head dropped awkwardly to one side as she started to doze. At some point, Violet lay down on her side and fell into a deeper sleep.

When her eyes opened again, Violet sat up in a panic. Had she slept the entire day away? Given she could already see the sun through her window, it had to be early afternoon at least.

Rising to her feet, she rubbed her eyes and cracked her sore neck. Her belly muscles hurt from having been ill repeatedly but at that moment at least, she wasn’t nauseous. Looking around the bedchamber, there was no sign anyone had entered since she’d fallen asleep.

Where the devil was Ilse? Did she think she could just ignore Violet indefinitely?

"Perhaps the queen knows where she is." she grumbled. Looking down at her badly creased dress, Violet knew there was no way she could show up in the pedantic queen’s presence looking so rumpled.

After pulling on a fresh gown and tidying her hair, Violet began walking towards the southern wing. She kept her head bowed so that no one would approach her but surveyed her surroundings from the edge of her vision, in case she saw Ilse.

Or, lord forbid, Leo.

The beautifully carved doors to Queen Celia’s presence chamber were thrown wide open, Violet saw as she approached. She could hear the music and feminine chatter drifting out, all sounding perfectly ordinary.

A reminder that court life marched on merrily and without interruptions, even though her own life was a complete mess.

A dozen pairs of questioning eyes swung Violet’s way the moment she slipped through the doorway.

"Lady Violet. We weren’t expecting to see you today." Queen Celia raised her thin eyebrows in surprise. "Your sister told us you’d taken to your bed with illness."

Violet bowed and mumbled. "I’m feeling much better after having some rest, Your Majesty. I was hoping you might be able to help me? I’m actually looking for my..."

The words died on her lips. Ilse was right there, sitting amongst the other ladies-in-waiting as if it were just another day. She didn’t bother looking up even though she must’ve felt Violet’s shocked stare on her. She just continued her quiet embroidery, focused on her row of neat little stitches.

"Sister." Violet marched right up to her and whispered pointedly.

No acknowledgment. Ilse’s needle continued its placid, repetitive rhythm.

"Ilse!" Violet tried again, a little louder. A few other ladies turned to look at the sisters in confusion.

Ilse ignored them all.

Violet could feel her exasperation rising. The sisters needed to talk, they had important things to discuss. It was unavoidable, so Ilse needed to stop ignoring her so childishly. "Ilse, I must speak with you. So if you can just put down your embroidery for a moment-"

Ilse rose to her feet all of a sudden, lithe and quick as a cat. Violet noticed her eyes were only very slightly rimmed red. The sisters stood face to face as Ilse hissed quietly, "There’s nothing left to say between us."

"I know how upset you must be-"

"Upset? Why would I be upset? Because I discovered the man I love has betrayed me, or because it was my own twin that helped him do it?"

Violet glanced around nervously. Several more ladies were now watching the both of them with keen interest. Even the queen herself was looking their way with a puzzled frown. "Please keep your voice down! These are personal matters. If we can just talk quietly in a corner-"

Violet’s works were cut off by the sharp sounding crack of a hand meeting her face with force. She heard the awful sound of Ilse’s slap for the briefest of moments before the stinging pain bloomed across her cheek.

A collective gasp rose from the others in the room. Violet felt her head swivel so hard from the slap’s impact that it made her neck crack slightly.

"Never, ever speak to me again, you spiteful bitch! I’ll never forgive you for this."

"Ilse!" Violet rasped in shock at being slapped by her gentle sister. "How could you-"

"What’s going on?" Queen Celia shrilled from across the chamber. "What kind of behaviour is this from supposedly noble young ladies?"

Violet couldn’t respond. She just stood there completely stunned while cradling her burning cheek.