Lord Ridley knew that he had surprised Duke Thorin and he laughed. "I am still capable of pulling a rabbit out of a hat old friend."
"You told she was dead!" Duke Thorin exclaid.
Lord Ridley shrugged. "I thought so too but as it turned out, her father knew the secret of the fourth prince, my brother. He leveraged it and forced the my brother to find a way to save her. She remained in hiding for two years and when the danger passed, she ca to the north and joined . We had our happily ever after in the end."
"Congratulations I guess." Duke Thorin bobbed his head once, still bewildered. His eyes were steadfast on Isolde Ridley, the woman that had brought turmoil to the royal family.
It was thanks to her that Lord Ridley lost his position, the crown prince died and the fourth prince rose to power. Indirectly, she was responsible for the nut revolution and the developnt of the north.
Duke Thorin shook his head. Fate was truly a funny thing. Who knew that ninety nine percent of the royal family would be wiped out at the prince that had been cast out four decades ago would be the last man standing? Not only would he be successful but he would be married to the love of his life and thriving!
Sigrid could feel a yawn coming so she stood up. "It seems there is much for you all to catch up on. I beg to be excused. I am feeling stuffed and fancy a walk outside."
The reason as to why she left was because she could sense that the other ladies were about to leave as well. Without them there, the duke and Lord Ridley would have a more honest conversation.
Sigrid also wanted to see Lord Fluffington, now that the sun was out, the peacock was reported to be in a better mood than usual. She also needed to think carefully on what her next steps would be. Running away from the royal castle was not a solution to her problems.
Outside, just as she took her fourth step out in the open, she t Alistair, Brolin and Mauve taking her suitcases inside. They were assisted by her maids and maids of the Thorin estate.
The curiosity of those maids was not to be missed, but they knew better than to ask unnecessary questions.
"Sigrid," Mauve swept along in Sigrid’s wake, curious too about the plan. "How long are we going to stay here? You know that people will talk if you stay here for too long. Why don’t we go to Stormwind? You can be alone, no Roland and no curious caras."
Sigrid had thought of that already and she had concluded that it was not viable. "No, with the change in the season, Stormwind will be littered with tourists. The resort is about to be completed as well. More pictures of will be taken there than here in the capital."
"What about our secret headquarters?" Mauve asked.
"It will not be a secret if I am a permanent resident." Sigrid told her. "Don’t bother suggesting the other properties I own or those my family owns. I am not hiding Mauve, I have classes to teach at the academy. I still have dical knowledge to exchange with the doctors and other new laws to propose. There is much I must see to while I can.
My marital troubles with Roland do not excuse from my duties as a crown princess. Unless I get a divorce of course, then things will change."
"Divorce!!" Mauve loudly exclaid and added a gasp.
A footman passing by them actually stepped on his foot and fell down. Sigrid gestured at Brolin to give him a warning.
Mauve was much more careful when she spoke up next. She looked around and made sure that they were alone as they approached the bird sanctuary. "You would not really divorce the crown prince, would you?"
Sigrid’s shoulders moved upwards and she tilted her head. "If I have to live the way queen Maurelia lived then I would rather divorce. I love being the crown princess but not to the extent of turning myself into the empire’s biggest laughingstock all because of it."
Loudly, Mauve sighed. "I cannot believe that we have co to this."
"We!" Sigrid breathed out a laugh.
Mauve nodded. "Mmm, we. I am your best friend, your problems are my problems. If you divorce Roland then I have no business being with Galen. I like him but I like you more. How can I condemn you to a life of eting your ex husband all the ti because I am married to his brother?"
She hugged Sigrid suddenly. "We two sisters are ...mmm...what did you call it..ride or die? We are ride or die partners. Where you go, I follow. Who else in this empire can stand my weirdness except for you?"
Sigrid rolled her eyes but she did not push Mauve away. Instead, she switched her position so they walked arm in arm and finally ca to the peacock enclosure.
The peacocks were relaxed, most of them were sleeping, enjoying the early spring sun. Sigrid guessed which one was Lord Fluffington for the feathers alone. Her mother had described him as the brightest of them all.
Half of the female peacocks were sleeping around him. It seed he had quite the large harem.
"Human males and peacock males are all the sa." Sigrid mumbled.
"Mmm." Mauve responded in a confused voice.
Sigrid pointed her chin to Lord Fluffington. "He is so attractive that he has so many female admirers and he just collects them all like cards. Unfaithful bastard!"
Mauve pouted and twisted her lips around in circles. She had a feeling that they were talking about Roland and not the peacocks.
Sigrid moved away from the enclosure to the swing under the large tree. It was the place where the original Sigrid would sit and paint the peacocks. It had been a year since that last happened.
Sigrid looked at her right hand and she decided to try painting. She sent Lanai for painting supplies. Mauve escaped to the kitchen to cook sothing that would put Sigrid in a better mood."
Thirty minutes later, the verdict was in. Sigrid could not paint! This Sigrid anyway because the original was good at it. Her peacock looked more like a drunk chicken that was constipated.
"Why am I bad at this?" She whispered to herself. If she had inherited the body of the original owner then why hadn’t she inherited her skills as well?
Suddenly, as she was thinking about her lack of painting skills, a voice ca from behind her. "I can teach you if you don’t mind."
Sigrid looked back and she saw East Ridley with a charming smile, in a green and gold cape that was as bright as Lord Fluffington’s feathers. It was so dazzling that the shimr made Sigrid cover a part of her eyes to dull the brightness.
Before she could warn him about his choice of outfit in the territory of the most daring peacock, it dashed out of the enclosure and flew onto his back, declaring war.
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