NIGHTS OF HALLOW
Chapter 186: Subtle Brewing Feud.

Chapter 186: Subtle Brewing Feud.

A knock followed by the voice of one of the guards outside announcing the arrival of the royal tailor brought a stop to the intense gaze between Perdita and Sthena.

Perdita was quick to school her expression, adjusting her sitting position as Sthena gave his order to permit the tailor in.

The tailor, a man in his late forties with his bag hung across his shoulders entered the courtroom with cautious steps, knowing he was in the presence of the King. His black eyes darted around the room in slight apprehension.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The royal tailor bowed his head deeply and respectfully at the king, his back looking as if they would break to Perdita.

"Thomas," Sthena called, gaining the man’s attention and he swiftly stood upright, his hands clasped in front of him, eagerly waiting to take the King’s order as he would inevitably get a mouthwatering job.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Thomas promptly answered, his attention drifting from the king to the lady seated beside the king whom he did not recognize as he had never seen her before. Was that the King’s woman? He questioned himself as the lady sat beside him on the throne chair. But he hadn’t heard anything about a potential Queen for the kingdom. Or was it finally time they held a royal wedding?

The thought alone excited the tailor as the thought of him being the one to make the wedding dress boosted the already high morale he came with.

Sthena glanced at Perdita before he said, "This lovely lady here would need a couple of dresses. Hope you are in the best condition to make them all and provide them in less than a fortnight?" Sthena questioned the man who was quick to vigorously nod his head.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Thomas replied, his head bobbling left and right. "I am in the best condition as I can be. Who am I making the dresses for, Your Majesty?" Thomas curious to know whom he was getting the dress quizzed.

"Do you see anyone aside from the three of us here?" Sthena questioned back, his eyes narrowed on the man. "Don’t tell me you envisioned me wearing the dresses now. Hmm?"

"No, no, Your Majesty! I wouldn’t dare do that." Thomas’s eyes widened in horror, and he hastily added, "Please, My Lady, what are the designs you would love to be made for you?"

"If it suits you, My Lady, you can choose from the dresses in this book!" Thomas continued in a loud voice that irritated both Sthena and Perdita.

The man, however, oblivious to his tone went ahead to bring out the book where several sketches of dresses were drawn.

Perdita on the other hand was in a dilemma as she had never been in this situation before. She skeptically turned to look a Sthena who was silently watching the royal tailor with narrowed eyes.

When Perdita made to stand, the tailor realized his mistake and gasped. He hurriedly went towards Perdita with the book in hand.

"Forgive my negligence, My Lady! Here are the sketches." Thomas spoke and dutifully held out the book for Perdita.

Perdita after turning page after page was still confused about the dresses that caught her interest. For the sake of choosing something, she pointed at random ones, though everything in the book was dresses made for high-class women. Never had she imagined she would one day be fortunate to see these or even wear them.

As Perdita pointed at the ones she thought were easy to wear, the royal tailor beamed with smiles, he exclaimed, "You made excellent choices, My Lady. Please, stand so I can take your measurements."

Perdita obliged to the request and Thomas took all the required measurements. He heard Sthena instruct him, "Use the finest silks, cotton, and the best of every fabric you can get your hands on. I expect nothing less than dazzling dresses."

"Of course, Your Majesty." The tailor obliged with yet another bow. Done writing the measurements he took from Perdita, he proceeded to put his measuring tape and the book containing the sketches inside his bag.

"There is a specific dress which I would particularly like to be made for her," Sthena stated, and in turn, Perdita case a questioning gaze his way.

Thomas listened attentively while nodding his head at every word of the King.

Sthena further said, "The description of the dress will be related to you by my Chief advisor."

"Ahh," Thomas nodded his head in understanding, and he replied, "I will make sure and try my best to make the dresses gorgeous!"

"Of course, you would, unless you don’t love your fat neck." Sthena threw the subtle threat at the tailor.

Thomas apprehensively swallowed a lump and subtly rubbed his neck, his brain already imagining the outcome of such a threat.

"Now run along and start the work," Sthena waved his hand dismissively.

Thomas got hold of his bag, crossed it over his shoulder, and then bowed before he quickly walked out of the courtroom as if he was being chased.

Almost out of the door, the door suddenly burst open and it was the smallest space that stopped Thomas from colliding with Princess Sarah whose red eyes seemed to blaze in a controlled anger.

Thomas’s eyes widened for the second time, his heart skipping a beat at what could have happened between him and the Princess of their kingdom. "My deepest apologies, My Princess!"

Sarah didn’t spare the lowly tailor a glance as she strolled into the courtroom. Thomas seeing this as an escape quickly slipped through the door as if his life depended on it.

Sarah’s red eyes squinted in surprise when she saw where Perdita sat. She quickly adjusted her expression without voicing her thoughts and then bowed in greeting, "A pleasant morning to you, Your Majesty,"

"Hmm, Morning," Sthena hummed in acknowledgment "What is it, Sarah?"

"I—" Sarah began and abruptly stopped as if contemplating her next words. She continued to speak after the pause, "Your Majesty, I was thinking, or rather, I proposed a hunting game for our family in the coming week. Mother agreed to it and I was hoping you would join us."

"A hunt?" Sthena tilted his head in question. "What is it going to be, Sarah?" Sthena went on with his question, the last one causing everybody’s jaw to drop in utter silence. He asked, "Are we hunting for bones or skulls?"

"Ah..." Sarah turned speechless at the sudden question from Sthena as she didn’t know how to respond to to it.

Even Perdita had been curious to know what the hunt was all about until she heard the reply from Sthena causing her green eyes to stare at him in bewilderment. Did the royal family hunt people for fun?

"No, no, no," Sarah quickly waved her hand in denial to Sthena’s question. She quickly spoke in haste lest the twisted brain of her half-brother went loose, "It is not about bones. We are not going there to kill, Your Majesty. It is just going to be for fun, the person with the highest kill will get a reward from you."

"What if I end up being the one with the most kills? I mean—" Sthena drawled, dramatically shrugging his shoulders. He continued, "—I have a knack for sending people back to their creators. I don’t wish to brag though, it’s just that people know me for my love of painting the floor red."

"Your majesty?" Sarah called in both surprise and question. Her dark red eyes subtly narrowed, understanding that Sthena was perhaps playing with her. They could done this without him, but she had felt the need to involve him even though he always acted indifferently towards them.

"Oh, Sarah, your presence hinders me from leaving this place. I have kingdom matters to attend to."

"Please, brother!" Sarah quickly dropped the title as she was persistent in getting the King’s reply. "Can’t you grant this one wish for your sister? It’s for our family, it has been long since we did this together."

Sthena wore a contemplative look as he regarded Sarah. Truth was, he didn’t want to venture into this hunt of a thing, but on the other hand, he also didn’t want to disappoint Sarah.

Another knock on the door announced the arrival of Daemon, and once he walked in, Sarah’s eyes followed him from the door till he reached some feet to the throne. However, the man whose Sarah’s attention was on did not even pay attention to the standing Princess and walked past her.

"Milord," Daemon greeted, his red eyes flickering in Perdita’s direction and they exchanged small bows in greeting.

Daemon stood straight once more and informed the king, "I have come to report my findings to the case which you assigned me."

Sarah pursed her lips in displeasure, her jaw clenching because of the way she was ignored. Trying to get the attention of the King, Sarah walked past Daemon and stood two steps before him. She said, "I was telling the king about the hunt we want to conduct in the coming week, perhaps you can join us too, Daemon?"

Daemon turned to look at Sarah, his gaze void of any emotion. He replied as he pushed up his glass to his nose, "I appreciate your invitation, Princess, but I’ll decline. Your future husband is going to be there, you should stay with him rather than with me."

Sthena on hearing this blew a low whistle from his lips. He remarked, "Looks like this hunt is getting a little more fun than it should be. Our dear, Mr. Hans is going to be present. Why don’t we join, Daemon? I want to witness a spectacular bonding of our Princess with her future spouse."

Perdita stared from one person to the other, confusion written on her face. She was equally shocked at the way Daemon responded to Princess Sarah. What was going on between these two? And then, this Mr. Hans. Was she missing some important news?