Royal Tour

"How lovely. It must've been a nice night seeing how widely you both are smiling," Adrianna commented as soon as she saw the couple. Aretha rolled her eyes and pushed her husband's wheelchair to his part of the dining table. She went ahead to take her seat when she saw he was placed properly, not bothering to respond to Adrianna.

"Good morning, your highness," Caspian greeted.

"At least one of you still has their manners," Adrianna scorned. She was still ignored by the hungry duchess. The breakfast trolleys were rolled into the room and served to the nobles awaiting their meal. The manor was unlike the home of the Lothbridge in the north as it was more bright and warm. They all put on summer clothes as it was custom but Aretha was the only one unused to wearing summer clothes.

Adrianna thought she looked ridiculous in the dress. It didn't fit her properly and she walked awkwardly in it. Caspian thought his wife was lovely whatever she wore. She donned a light blue summer gown long enough to cover her knees and arms. Like her shirts, the collar of the dress covered up her neck and not a single part of her upper body was exposed. Her face was bare, save for the balm Caspian applied once he saw her lips were chapped.

"Caspian, why don't we go on a walk in the capital later? I'm sure you haven't gotten the chance to look around the capital even though you lived close. I can take you."

Caspian looked at Aretha for her approval. This action annoyed Adrianna but she didn't speak, waiting for Aretha to give her approval. As expected, Aretha refused.

"I'm not going to steal your husband, you big oaf!"

"I can take him around the capital. Just go back to the palace, princess."

"You don't even know your own way around the capital! You need me!"

"We will just stay home until we have to return. You're ruining our honeymoon, Adrianna."

"How impudent! You should just gratefully accept my offer!"

"Um, your highness? May I ask a question?" Caspian skillfully interjected. Completely ignoring Aretha, Adrianna turns to Caspian.

"Yes?"

"Is there any reason, in particular, you're avoiding going to the royal palace?"

"I'm not! It's just...I..."

"She fell out with the King because they refused to make Jaime the crown prince. She didn't want to return here but she was worried about you, Caspian. Although, one would wonder why she's so worried about someone else's husband."

"Stop putting words in my mouth, Aretha!"

Aretha shrugged and adjusted the collar of her dress. It worried Caspian.

"Why don't we go on the tour so we can dress more comfortably, your grace?" he asked, smiling at her. He just happened to know that if he asked like this, she wouldn't say no. That was how she ended up pushing her husband on the streets of the capital.

He was reasonably excited, taking in the sights he wasn't able to see because of a troubling childhood. His excitement worried Aretha and he didn't know that when he smiled at her, she made a pact to herself to feed his family to demons herself.

"Is there anything in particular you're curious about in the capital, Caspian?" Adrianna asks in a dutiful tone, ignoring the death glare from his wife.

"Well, this might be a little embarrassing but..." he looked up at his wife, smiling at her curious expression. "I'd like to go to a theatre."

"A theatre? I'd gotten quite bored of their recent plays but I suppose someone who hasn't been there before would be curious about them. In that case, I know just the place."

There wasn't any sort of disapproval from Aretha so the three headed off to a theatre of the Princess's choosing. They didn't have to purchase a ticket at this theatre as they were immediately led to the royal booth upon seeing the emblems of both women. Caspian didn't dare say he had gotten such elaborate treatment before.

"According to the master, they're doing a play based on the heroic victory of his Highness, my stupid older brother in the last war. It's quite a popular play because of that rumour. I guess there benefitting off it a lot," Adrianna said, sounding a little displeased.

"If it's just a rumour, then his Highness can just clear it up, right?" Caspian said in a bit to assuage her fears.

"It's not a rumour. Jaime is a beast in human skin," Aretha calmly replied, peaking a fruit for her husband. She took advantage of his slack jaw and pushed a peeled tangerine into it.

"His Highness is so humble," Caspian praised.

"Huh?" The two women said at the same time. "That bastard brags about it all the time and is always looking for a fight. Humble, my feet. The reason believe it's a rumour in the first place is because he keeps saying it. It sounds unbelievable when he does that. But I guess he has other qualities."

"She's right," Adrianna added.

"I-I see."

They became quiet once the play started and Caspian was fixated. Rather than the play, he was watched by the two women who found his reactions more entertaining. Aretha didn't stop peeling fruit for her husband and eventually, she ran out. She frowned, deliberating whether or not to request for another one when she caught a familiar face in the booth on the other side of the theatre across from them. It was a few floors lower but her sharp eyes picked them out.

Once the play was done, Caspian would not stop talking about it. Adrianna engaged him, explaining everything she knew about Theatre and the technical terms to him. Aretha was silent but she made sure they left the building without being seen by the person she spotted earlier.

"The play took a while. Let's have tea somewhere nearby. It's a lovely place and the ambience would be perfect to continue your discussion," Aretha interrupted them. Caspian didn't disagree but Adrianna was skeptical.

"You've never offered to have tea with me before. Is this assassination?"

"Like I'd waste my time like that. The place is just this way, Caspian."

Caspian could only laugh awkwardly as the two bickered all the way to their destination. It was a two story restaurant with large windows and a sweet scent of pastries coming from it. There were two guards by the huge wooden doors. They bowed to their waist when they sighted the two women. Before they even took a few steps into the restaurant, an attendant immediately found them, leading them to one of the private booths.

The walls of the restaurant were thin so they were able to hear the other patrons of the restaurants gossiping about them. The two women ordered regardless of that, prioritising Caspian's tea of choice over the words being used to describe the two women.

"Isn't it quite rude to be talked about like this, your highness? Doesn't this offend you, Duchess?" he asked after the attendant left.

"Envy is an ugly stench. In my eyes, such unsightly people don't exist," Adrianna replied in a neutral voice. Compared to her voice whenever she talked to him or argued with Aretha, it was more callous.

"If they offend you, I will pull out their tongue and make them swallow it," Aretha responded, forming a fist.

"There's no need, your grace. Such things don't bother me," he touched her hand, smiling.

"Don't patronise me," she said, pulling her hand away. Before he could defend himself, their order arrived.