“Rise and shine, Little Blossom!” Maxwell beamed, but she simply grunted, turning her face away from the door.
“Wake up, Jade! Let’s go for a run.” Maxwell stretched locking his finger together, lifting his arms up and leaning his body to the side.
“Go away…” Jade mumbled.
“Come on! You said you didn’t want to be pining over Liam and would keep yourself busy until it’s time to go back. You said and I quote: ‘Best way to clear your head is a good injection of adrenaline by running in the morning’.”
“I don’t know what came over me when I said that,” she put a pillow over her face.
“Jade, you’re still here. There’s still a chance for you. You just have to get up and go for it. Let’s jog. It’ll be fun. Pleaaaase.” Maxwell grabbed the pillow from her face and gave her the kindest beam he could.
She pursed her lips, hiding a smile. “You promise it’ll be fun?”
“Sure it will. I’m funniest of the Beaumonts.”
“There’s only you and Bertrand, Max.”
“Not true, you’re an honorary Beaumont and I still manage to be the funniest. Plus, I have tons of jogging playlists to boost the mood. We’ll jog around the estate, run up and down the stairs.”
She giggled getting up. “Okay, Rocky, settle down. Let me just change and put on my running shoes.”
“Oh, good one!” Maxwell picked up his phone and it played The Eye of the Tiger. In the closet, Jade facepalmed laughing.
…
The clock alarm buzzed, echoing in the royal chambers. Liam spent the whole night drinking and had this colossal headache. He grabbed the clock and threw it against the wall and it knocked over a vase on the way. The door opened abruptly startling him.
“Good morning, Your Majesty. Pardon me for the intrusion, but I heard a noise. Is everything alright, sir?” A servant asked.
“Uh… It’s fine. I just accidentally dropped the clock and it broke.” Liam said, rubbing his temples.
“Should I announce the King Father, Queen Mother, Prince Leo and Lady Madeleine you’re joining them for breakfast, sir?”
“As long as I get to puke last night dinner in the table…” he murmured.
“Pardon me, sir. I didn’t hear what you said. Can you repeat please?”
“Oh… Yeah. But bring me the detox smoothie first.”
“Yes, sir.” The servant bowed and left. Liam breathed heavily, picked up his phone and sent two texts. He quickly received replies and smiled a little.
He jumps out of the bed and goes to the bathroom for a quick shower. He walks back in and Drake and Leo are seated on his balcony chatting.
“G’morning, brother. You look like crap.” Leo smirked, handing Liam a glass of kale and green tea smoothie.
“Said the guy hiding his hangover behind sunglasses.” Liam passed by his brother’s chair, flicking Leo’s ear. “Morning, guys. Thank you for coming here so early in such short notice.”
“Don’t mention it. What’s up?” Drake leaned forward on his seat.
“Maxwell sent me a message last night. He and Bertrand convinced Jade to stay. She’s at duchy Ramsford with them. They’ll be laying low this month and only come back a few days before we leave for the engagement tour.”
“Do they have any leads about who’s the plotting against her?” Drake questioned.
“Maxwell said Jade received a threatening letter after dinner. It said she should leave Court immediately because I will never be hers and she will never be queen.”
“Hmm…” Leo rested his chin on his hand. “When I was talking to her and Maxwell, Madeleine came over and Jade asked if she had received any correspondence. She probably was already trying to investigate during the Ball.”
“That’s big.” Drake raised his eyebrows. “What did Madeleine say?”
“She said, in her own Maddie way, she didn’t receive any correspondence.”
“Are you sugarcoating Madeleine’s obnoxious behavior?” Drake’s brows furrowed.
Leo crinkled his nose. “No, I just don’t remember exactly what she said. I had a lot of drinks before I even got here and the woman rambles a lot.”
Liam and Drake narrowed their eyes at Leo.
Leo crossed his arms.”Can you both save the judgy looks for later and deal with the crisis at hand?”
“Okay, Bourbon got a threatening letter and ended in princess jail. Madeleine didn’t get any letters and became the future queen, which means that if she’s not the one plotting against Bourbon, she’s clearly being protected by whoever is behind it. Who else would they target?”
“They wouldn’t waste their energy with the other suitors. They must have focused on the frontrunners.” Leo pointed it out.
“Olivia left early from the Ball,” Drake said.
“Yes, she paid her respects and said something happened at Lythikos that needed her attention. But this isn’t like her.”
“Olivia wouldn’t back out on a competition in which the prize is marrying you and becoming queen. She was probably threatened too. And it must have been one hell of a threat.” a muscle in Leo’s jaw twitched.
“So what can we do now?” Drake asked.
“For now, the investigation must stay on hold. Whoever is behind this is clearly a powerful person. I can’t investigate it myself without raising questions. Neither of you can because anyone would assume you’re doing it for me. And I have to play along.”
“You should let the Beaumonts come back, then you can help with the investigation, Drake. But not you, brother. I know you want to, but you can’t. You have to make it look like you’re thrilled to be engaged to Maddie.” Leo warned.
A servant knocks on the door and Liam answers it.
“Good morning, Your Majesty. The King Father, Queen Mother and Countess Madeleine await for you and His Royal Highness Prince Leo in the dining room.”
“Tell them Leo and I will be there. Thank you.”
“I don’t recall agreeing to this.” Leo objected.
“It was Regina’s idea. She wants us to have a meal before you fly back to the US.”
“Great. It’s been a while since the last time I made the Royal Family uncomfortable.” Leo gave them a lopsided grin.
“Well, I can’t wait to not be there.” Drake stood up, grinning.”See you guys later.” Drake left the Royal Chambers towards the kitchen.
Liam was closing the door when his phone buzzed.
Liam rolled his eyes. “It’s Maddie, isn’t it?” Leo smirked.
“Unfortunately, yes. How did you put up three years of engagement with her?”
“You just have to know how to shut her up.”
“I did that last night, but I honestly don’t want to spend the entire time yelling at her. How did you do it?” Leo grinned mischievously. “Ugh… Why did I ask?”
