The Whispered Kingdom

Kourtney stood near the refreshment counter, fingers resting lightly on the rim of the glass she'd handed Jenna before the girl had excused herself. The evening had dragged on longer than expected, and the incident earlier had already placed her under enough curious glances.

She had no plans to linger. Certainly not here—beside six princes who now hovered nearby like well-dressed complications.

She glanced toward the hallway, waiting for Jenna to return. Calm on the surface, calculating underneath.

Robert was the first to speak, as usual. His tone casual, with a smile tucked behind his words.

"You handled that mess earlier pretty cleanly. Not many would've had the nerve."

Kourtney didn't look at him. "I didn't plan it."

A brief chuckle came from Wysten. "That's one way to put it."

Keith, unsurprisingly, wasn't amused. "You shoved a guest."

"She stumbled," Kourtney said coolly. "Gravity did the rest."

Robert gave an impressed grin and the others also had a hint of it.

Jacen glanced between them. "So… not the confrontational type, then?"

"I prefer not needing to be."

Edward offered a small nod. "Still, your timing was… measured."

Kourtney finally looked at them. "I was protecting someone."

Wysten tilted his head. "You're good at staying collected. Either you've seen worse or expect it often."

She didn't reply.

Robert leaned slightly toward her, his tone casual but curious. "You're not from here, are you? Your accent… it's familiar, but not local."

Wysten, ever observant, added, "I thought the same. Refined, but not from any of the six kingdoms I've known."

Edward tilted his head, thoughtful. "The Highlands, maybe?"

Kourtney's fingers lightly tapped the side of her glass. "No," she said quietly.

A pause. Then, with a calm exhale:

"Gardenia."

The silence that followed wasn't loud, but it was sharp—like a string pulled too tight.

Edward blinked. "Gardenia?"

Robert leaned forward a little. "As in… the hidden kingdom? The one no one's heard from in decades?"

Jacen, with interest, now leaned forward ever so slightly. "That's not a name we hear casually. We've never seen any official representation."

Nicholas's gaze sharpened. "I thought Gardenia disappeared off the map completely."

Kourtney didn't blink. "It didn't disappear. It just stayed unbothered."

Keith raised a brow. "That sounds a lot like hiding."

"Or like peace," she replied, her tone flat but clear.

Edward studied her. "We've never met anyone from there. Gardenia's never sent diplomats. Never taken a council seat."

"Exactly," Wysten added. "They stay out of every alliance, war, summit, and trade deal."

Jacen said thoughtfully.

Jacen crossed his arms, watching her closely. "And now one of you shows up and knocks a noblewoman to the floor."

"Unintentionally," Kourtney said, unfazed. "You nobles attract trouble like they're paid for it."

Wysten allowed a a half smirk. "Still. You're standing in the center of it."

Kourtney's voice dropped a notch—cool, indifferent. "Not by choice."

Keith exhaled sharply, arms crossed. "You talk like all of this is beneath you."

Her eyes flicked to him, bored. "Just certain conversations." 

Nicholas's tone was quieter. "And yet here you are, standing under the same roof."

Kourtney looked at him, but didn't speak. Just held his gaze a moment longer than necessary.

"I heard," Edward said softly, "maybe a rumore that even your crown prince hasn't been seen."

Kourtney's expression didn't change, but her hand subtly tightened on the glass.

"Gardenia prefers peace and privacy," she said calmly. "We don't chase glory or gossip. Maybe that's why we last."

Jacen wasn't finished. "You expect us to believe this is a coincidence? A girl from Gardenia appears now—of all times?"

She finally replied, her voice level. "I don't believe in explaining everything."

The princes glanced among themselves. Edward leaned back with a thoughtful hum, Robert looked openly amused, Jacen narrowed his eyes, Wysten watched with reserved interest, and Nicholas remained unreadable.

And Keith—

He was still looking at her, jaw locked. "You're a trouble. You know that?"

Kourtney leaned forward by just a fraction, her voice velvet-dry. "You don't strike me as someone who recognizes it."

His eyes narrowed sharply appearing intimidating. "That so?"

She tilted her head slightly, casual as breath. "You're too busy talking over it."

Robert gave up trying to contain his laugh. "She's ruthless."

Wysten nodded once, setting down his glass. "Definitely not simple."

 The group hovered in a strange pause—curiosity flickering beneath royal polish, and Kourtney aware of every glance.

She didn't shift or fill the silence. She didn't need to.

Jacen's gaze lingered on her, not unkind, but curious — the way one might regard a puzzle half-solved.

"We didn't expect to meet someone quite like you tonight," he said, his tone quietly observant.

Kourtney turned slightly toward him, her expression unreadable for a heartbeat. Then came the faintest smile, small and almost self-conscious.

"I don't think I expected tonight to go this way either," she replied softly.

Robert leaned forward slightly, arms draped over the sides of his chair with practiced ease.

"Just so we're clear," he began, voice light, "this isn't an interrogation. It's just... rare we meet someone who can completely dismantle a table of aristocrats and then carry on like it never happened."

Kourtney didn't look at him. Her eyes stayed ahead, fixed somewhere beyond the flickering chandeliers.

"I don't carry on. I just don't overreact."

From beside him, Nicholas tilted his head, ever composed. "You don't seem particularly impressed either."

"I'm not here to be."

A brief silence followed, thin as glass, until Keith's voice cut through it—controlled, but tinged with something taut underneath.

 "You seem too calm for someone tangled in the middle of royal gossip."

Kourtney glanced at him then, voice mild. "I've seen worse. Louder rooms. Bigger egos."

Robert chuckled, nudging Wysten's arm with amusement. "That felt personal."

Keith's expression sharpened. "Most people at least pretend they're flattered when they speak to royalty."

This time, Kourtney turned to him fully. Her gaze wasn't sharp, but it didn't need to be. It was steady—dry with a quiet kind of steel.

"I'm not most people," she said simply. "And you don't strike me as someone who needs more flattery."

His jaw shifted—just slightly—but enough.

"You don't know me."

"I've heard that line before," she replied smoothly. "Usually from people trying very hard to sound unpredictable."

For a moment, the air seemed to still between them. And then—mercifully—Jenna reappeared, clutching her purse tightly, cheeks tinged pink, eyes faintly red at the corners. Kourtney's entire demeanor softened in an instant. She rose from her seat and met her halfway, her voice gentler now.

"Feeling better?"

Jenna nodded, eyes cast downward.

Without hesitation, Kourtney reached for the glass of water she'd left on the table and handed it over. Jenna took it with both hands.

"I'm sorry if I… caused anything," she said, voice small as she looked nervously at the group of princes.

Robert's smile was immediate, kind without being patronizing.

"You didn't Miss," he said gently. "Really. Things were already... lively."

Nicholas added with a calm nod, "You don't owe anyone an apology."

Jenna gave a small, uncertain smile, her fingers tightening slightly around the water glass.

Kourtney, still beside her, rested a reassuring hand on her back.

"We should head out," she said quietly, before casting a pointed glance at Keith. "Before I'm accused of stirring up trouble again."

As they turned to leave, the heels of Kourtney's boots clicking against marble in measured rhythm, Keith's voice chased after her—cool and deliberate, laced with that sharp, familiar drawl.

"You're leaving with more questions than answers."

Kourtney didn't stop, but her pace eased—just enough to glance over her shoulder, the brim of her hat casting a slight shadow over her eyes.

"I wasn't offering a seminar."

Keith tilted his head, expression unreadable but alert. "No, but you do enjoy being cryptic."

She gave a soft hum, a gesture more than a sound. "Not cryptic. Just... uninterested in being predictable."

That earned a dry scoff from him. "Careful. You're starting to sound like someone who wants to be unforgettable."

Kourtney's lips curled—not quite a smile, but dangerously close. "And here I thought you already forgot me."

She turned forward again—but then paused, just briefly, her voice drifting back with disarming calm.

"Oh… and?"

He looked up, instinctively alert.

"Your voice still throws a fit before your words do."

The jab landed with perfect precision.

Robert let out an audible breath, eyes wide with the kind of delight only scandal or genius provoked. Nicholas's brow arched with something close to admiration. Even Jacen, ever stoic, gave a quiet, almost impressed chuckle.

Keith blinked once, jaw visibly tightening—but he said nothing.

Kourtney didn't wait for a response. She kept walking, her stride unbothered, Jenna quietly falling in beside her. Their silhouettes slipped down the polished corridor like shadows—poised, composed, untouchable leaving behind the low hum of startled amusement and bruised pride.

Behind them, a beat of silence hung in the air before Robert finally muttered, "Stars above… I think I'm in love."

Wysten sipped his drink without lifting his gaze. Edward gave an eye-roll.

Jacen merely closed his journal with a faint thud. "She's not a storm," he said quietly. "She's the warning before one."

"She's… something else," Nicholas added.

And Keith—still silent—watched the doors long after they'd closed. He scowled faintly but said nothing this time.