Neftali looked down from her brother's balcony, she observed wandering nobles looking for someone in particular, she even had a pair of binoculars, that she stole from Sullivan's office a few days ago. Princess Neftali was looking for the Favre family, any of its members would be helpful, but she was looking for one of them in particular. Lady Gabrielle von Favre.
Neftali heard about their early arrival and what raucous it caused in the whole palace. It was intentional, no doubt but still very disrespectful towards the Imperial family.
So now, in order to find the woman that is causing all the distress and who thinks she is above her rulers Neftali is spying from the balcony of her brother's room. That balcony was just one of many on that side of the palace so she didn't attract much attention, it also had a nice view of the gardens.
"Come out already." She whispered to herself. Neftali wanted to come face to face with that woman, to take a good look at her and find what made her so special that her father, the Emperor, made the Empress pardon her. It could be just spite, her father is a spiteful man that is nothing new, but why make revenge in this way?
"Are you gonna do that for long?" Iyan asked from the inside. He was getting ready to go to the choir practice when Neftali barged into his room, barely greeting him and walking straight to the balcony.
"Just until I see one of them."
Iyan came out on the balcony and looked down, "Who are you even looking for?"
"One of Marquise Favre's daughters."
"Oh." He walked to the other side and leaned over the fence. "Wouldn't it be easier just to ask someone where they are?"
Neftali sighed annoyingly. "I am supposed to bump into them, an arranged meeting would be the worst idea. Especially with the current situation, I could never disrespect mother like that."
"So what is your plan?"
"To find one of the daughters, accidentally bump into one of them and ask them where their eldest sister is. Or, optimally, bump into Gabrielle herself."
"Then what?"
"You ask a lot of questions, no wonder mother sent you off to that choir."
"For your information, I take that task very seriously." And he is, ever since Empress sent him to Sister Yelena he has been there regularly, always on time for practise, he even practiced in his free time just to make sure he knew how to sing every word correctly. Sister Yelena liked him because of that, but her strictness didn't avoid him. To her he was just a regular student, a part of the choir and nothing more. Iyan liked that, it was an escape from all the usual talk about his position and duties.
"Then, I will talk to them."
"So you are spying just to talk to them?"
"No, I am going to warn her not to cause trouble. Especially not to plot against mother."
"Warn or threaten?" Iyan walked back inside.
"If you care so much, come with me!" She yelled at him.
"No thank you, I have a practice to get to." He poked his head out through the balcony door. "Stay as long as you need."
"You really are useless."
"No, I am just not falling for your schemes. You are going to make me flirt with them I already know."
"And it is all for a good cause!"
"Just let me have a little peace until the devil comes and takes me."
Neftali put her binoculars down for a moment, she looked in the distance, in the high treetops that stretched into the distance and the mountain ranges behind them.
"You will survive, Crown prince." She said mockingly. "Should I call you Your Majesty now?"
"I am leaving!" He actually did leave this time.
"Sure, goodbye." Neftali rolled her eyes and scratched her forehead, she continued her search in the crowd in the gardens. The biggest problem was that she did not know how the younger daughters of Marqise Favre looked, so it was harder to separate them from the crowd. But she knew others, and also their mother, and young, respectable, ladies such as them would not wander around without a chaperone. So if she finds Marchioness Porsha she will also find her daughters and Marchioness Porsha was quite a recognizable woman, she was a thin, older lady that was always wearing a large feather hat that was probably heavier than her.
Yet Neftali could not spot her anywhere.
The only thing left is to go around the palace like an idiot and look for them. She was not the happiest to do that, but she had no other option.
Neftali's idea was rather simple, meet Lady Gabrielle and show her her place, not just a lesson for society but for life in general. That is easy enough, simply because she is of higher status then Lady Gabriella, and also, she is younger than her. So just how she humiliated her mother, Neftali is going to humiliate her. And once she does that, keeping her in check will be easy, since her two younger sisters go to the academy with her.
Neftali went inside, making sure to close the balcony door behind her, as well as the door of her brother's room when she exited.
Her brother's room was in the King's palace, at first he resided in the Queen's palace, until he was ten years old that is where he spent most of his time, in the room above Neftali's in the east wing. But when he turned ten, father insisted that he move to the King's palace and so he did, his room was on the third floor, the room was not very large, same as hers in the Queen's palace, the bedroom and drawing room were one, with a door to the private bathroom on the right wall. It was the same kind of room as every single one on that floor. The only difference separating that room from all the others was the guard at the middle of the hallway. Standing a few steps from the door, mother insisted to have one guard at all times there during the increased guest rate in the palace, just in case a wandering person can stop and turn before making a mistake that could get them banned from the palace.
The security of the Queen's palace was also increased, but that happened right after the incident with Lady Gabrielle.
The Emperor also offered Neftali to move into the King's palace when she turned ten, but she refused. No matter what, she is determined to stay with her mother any chance she can, in other words when she comes back from school.
To Neftali, spending time with her mother meant making sure she is protected. Not physically but emotionally, to her it looked like her mother let others say bad things about in her face and do nothing about it, especially when it came to her relationship with Neftali's father. Every time she would hear them speak she would get defensive, words to her were limited because of her age, but an angry look was sometimes enough.
Their conversations were always the same, father would scold her mother for things he felt like were her fault, and she would sit there and take it, saying she will do everything to fix things, making endless promises that she will do her best to keep, and is yet to fail in that. That isn't even the thing Neftali is most angry about, it is the fact that her mother does not think there is anything wrong with the way he lets out his frustrations on her.
In reality there is no bad bone in her body.
And that is a two edged sword.
Neftali decided to go through the office wing, since the whole palace was crowded, as well as that place, there was no better way to bump into someone than in a crowd. The only issue was that she is a princess and doesn't quite blend in and she can't go unnoticed for long.
And when one person notices and greets her, everyone else does so too.
The staff always notices her first, after all they are trained to do so.
The office wing was full of people coming in and out of the offices, and just as she stepped foot of the last stair a footman greeted her, after him a government official, then a mail boy, and so on.
As she got deeper down towards the staircase, Neftali thought about slipping into her mother's office just for a moment, it was there just a few steps away from her.
But something odd was happening there.
A maid from the Queen's palace was standing in front of the closed door of her mother's office.
Neftali stayed hidden behind the corner, she had a feeling, not just that, she knew who was in that office. And that was just the chance she was looking for.
Neftali waited for a few moments, she wasn't sure how long they had been in there before she arrived or when they would come out. So she stayed there, peeking her head in the hallway from time to time. She could, of course, just come into her mother's office without a reason and interrupt them, but that wasn't the way she wanted to do this. The maid standing at the door, Torra, would also scold her for barging in.
Luckily she didn't have to wait for long. Even from where she was standing, Neftali heard the bell her mother rang to call the maid in. Neftali stepped into the hallway the moment Torra opened the office door.
Two women came out, one a tiny blonde in a green dress and the other tall dark haired Lady Gabrielle von Favre in a large pink gown not even a little appropriate for the meeting she just had.
Torra walked in front of them leading the way, Gabrielle behind her looked displeased and the woman behind her, probably her friend, was looking around amazed by all the commotion.
Just like before, people greeted Neftali as she passed them, and so did Torra. She stopped, bowed for a moment and said, "Good evening Your Highness."
"Good evening Torra." Neftali said to her.
Lady Gabriella suddenly changed her expression from displeased to curious. Her friend was startled.
"Good evening." Neftali said to them.
"Your Highness-" Gabrielle dropped into an overly performative bow, "Good evening, Your Highness."
"I am glad you took time to learn who I am, Lady Gabriella." This was not the most appropriate place for a conversation Neftali wanted to have with her, but an opportunity is an opportunity.
Her face remained neutral, like that expression was stoned into her head. "I apologize, Your Highness, for the last time. I was ignorant and I have made a mistake. There is nothing left for me to do then ask you to forgive me." But in her eyes, there was a spiteful spark.
Neftali purposely kept her waiting for an answer, instead she started a conversation with Lady Gabriella's friend. The woman kept her head down and bowed when Neftali approached them.
"Could you tell me your name?" Neftali asked her.
She lifted her head and bowed once again. "Good evening Your Highness, I am Maria Dornel, lady in attendance to Lady Gabriella."
"Are you also from Lonestar province?" Lonestar was the province of the east border of which Marquise Favre was in charge of.
"Yes I am Your Highness."
Maria Dornel was the second born daughter of the Mr. Francis Dornel, she is his daughter from the first marriage, besides her, Mr. Dornel has an eldest daughter and a third born son, their mother died from sickness shortly after she gave birth to their son. Not so long after his wife's death, Mr. Dornel married again, to a widow who had a child already, a son not much younger than Maria. The two of them are not planning to have any more children, as it was written in the paper when they wedded.
Mr. Dornel owns a few mines, some successful and some dry and abandoned, but he is currently the richest man in the copper industry.
"Dornel, your family has a copper mine if I am not mistaken."
"Yes we do Your Highness."
Maria, as a middle child in her family, was a quiet and introverted person, Neftali knew about her that much, from her looks and the way she was standing. Someone perfect for the role of Gabrielle von Favre's friend.
"I hear it is doing well, a new vein has been found last week, or so I heard."
"You heard correctly, Your Highness, last week, but a few days ago they found another one."
"That is wonderful, both for your family and the people of Lonestar. Congratulations."
"Thank you in the name of my family, Your Highness."
"My father will be very pleased to hear about it, certainly. We are in need of copper, the whole country I mean, your family has blessed us with those findings. I will make sure to mention it to him."
"You are the most kind, Your Highness."
Maria Dornel didn't look her directly in the eyes Neftali spoke but she lifted her head and showed attention and focus to their conversations, what the princess had to say to her, she was an educated lady when it came to manners, lessons Lady Gabriella could certainly use.
"I hope you enjoy your stay in the palace lady Maria." Neftali told her with a smile, before turning her attention to Gabrielle.
Even if her proper title was meant to be Miss, but to Neftali, in Gabrielle's presence it was really important to make that mistake and call her a lady. There is no doubt she will be one, one day, if the work of her father continues to bloom there is no doubt he will receive a title, and if not that she will certainly be wedded into a good family. The company of Gabrielle von Favre will surely bring her, at least, that.
"I do not forgive you." She said to Gabrielle.
Gabrielle blinked a few times, so surprised with that answer that she didn't know what to say.
"My mother may forgive you, but she is a good woman of God, also pressured by my father. But I am not in the slightest manner, like her. You may have mistaken us once, Lady Gabriella, but I will make sure you learn who I am, and who the empress of this empire is."
"Your Highness I-"
But Neftali turned her head and looked at Maria again. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Neftali walked past them, she saw Lady Maria bow with the corner of her eye, but also the stunned look on Gabrielle's face when she obviously didn't get what she hoped for.
Just to stir things up more, Neftali continued straight ahead, straight into her father's office. She planned to visit her mother, but walking straight ahead felt more powerful. She didn't turn around, but she knew at least one of them was still standing, looking at her.
And she was correct, Lady Gabriella was still standing looking at her.
Neftali knocked on the tall door, Sullivan opened them. "Princess Neftali? How can I help you?"
"I wish to see my father."
He looked inside for a moment, at the Emperor who was sitting at his desk. "Come in Your Highness."
"I also have something to return to you." Neftali said as she walked into the office.
"Oh?"
"Your binoculars." She handed him the pair of binoculars she stole from his desk that morning.
"Thank you?"
"You are welcome."