"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Alexandra dropped to her knees in a flurry of skirts, bringing her hands up to her mouth in apparent shock. At her scream, Nicholas and Extra #1 jumped, not apart, but closer together. The prince swept the extra behind him and put a hand to his sword, ready to defend her.

Ha! As if.

As soon as the couple realized that it wasn't an assassin, but Alexandra, they seemed to relax. They probably thought she was just going to throw a fit and get hauled away by the palace guards. She inwardly smirked. So they thought she wasn't much of a threat, did they? That cheater and his mistress would come to regret that very soon.

As if on cue, she heard the pounding of footsteps. Perfect timing.

She let out another wail, channeling Old Alexandra's anguish.

"Alexandra," Nicholas said flatly. "So you were here."

The extra gasped and clung to the prince. "You were spying on us!" she accused. Oh, so she was trying to turn this? Nice try, but no way.

"Alexandra!" Oh, Eli was here. Excellent. She let him help her to her feet, but kept her eyes trained on Nicholas's face, which was slowly beginning to lose its color. As it should, because the King and Duke had just come running in the garden, and were surveying the scene. Time to pull out the waterworks. Tears pooled in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

"Why?" her voice broke as she gasped for air. "Why are you with her? Why would you cheat on me? I spent years of my life preparing myself for you! All the years of classes, they were all for you! I loved you more than anything in my life! I was completely devoted to you! I thought you loved me! How could you do this? I am you FIANCEÉ!"

This last part she forced out in a near-scream, collapsing back into her brother's arms. Eli pulled her closer to his chest and snarled at the prince, whose eyes were now as large as saucers. The extra had plastered herself to his back, trying to make herself as small as possible. As if that would save her, Alexandra thought, hiding her smile in Eli's jacket. She would be sure to remember that extra and ruin her for life.

"Prince Nicholas," Eli addressed coldly. "You have tarnished the honor of my sister, the eldest sibling of the Sinclair duchy, and thus disrespected the entirety of the Sinclair ducal house. Please explain your actions."

"How dare you speak to me like that!" Oh look, Nicholas wasn't pale anymore, but a flushed angry red. "I am the Prince—"

"Enough," King Leopold boomed out, and the prince immediately quieted down. "Your actions have been extremely shameful. Explain yourself."

Nicholas immediately began to protest. "But Alexandra, she—!"

"Blaming my daughter, Your Highness?" Duke Edmund's tone was practically antarctic as he fixed the prince with an equally cool stare. Alex was a little surprised that he stood up for her, but pleased nonetheless.

Cowed, the blonde-haired buffoon mumbled out, "I was just having a bit of fun."

"Fun?" Elias growled. "At my sister's expense? You have a duty to her and to our family! What will society say when word gets out? That the eldest Sinclair child's fiancé had an affair with a low-ranking viscount's daughter?"

He addressed that last bit to the girl slowly shrinking away behind His Highness's back. She let out a small "eep" and flinched.

"Nicholas," the king interrupted Eli's tirade, frowning at his son. "Your actions towards Miss Sinclair are inexcusable. Apologize." He turned to the duke. "My son has wronged your family. I apologize as his father. He will be punished accordingly."

Alex, who had been quiet in Eli's arms for the entire exchange, was furious. She was the one that was cheated on and the king apologizes to her father? Seriously? Blast this misogynistic society. She quickly dried her tears and peeled herself from her brother's side.

Before her father could respond to the king's statement, she stepped forward and cleared her throat, drawing all attention to her.

"Your Majesty," she spoke up, no tremor in her voice, "I do not need the apologies of the Prince. However, you are, as always, correct in saying that he has spat on the honor of both me and my family. As the woman who was directly wronged by His Highness, I must ask for just retribution and compensation."

King Leopold raised an eyebrow, presumably surprised because she no longer seemed weepy or frail. Instead, she stood tall and proud, even with the tear tracks on her face.

"And what is your request, Miss Sinclair?" he asked, ignoring the expressions of flustered shock from Duke Sinclair, Nicholas, and Extra #1.

Alexandra dipped into a polite curtsy. "I thank you for acknowledging my request."

She shot the paling prince a sharp glare before returning her attention to the king, who was watching her with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"I, like Your Majesty, do not wish to cause more damage by publicizing this event," she began. "However, I cannot love and marry a man who would betray my trust and devotion in such a way. I only wish to escape this travesty unharmed and unengaged. I would like to ask that Your Majesty allow me to immediately annul my engagement with Prince Nicholas Aelius, Second Prince of Iridia on my own terms. I must be the one who leaves him, in order to avoid unsavory rumors about my own character. In return, I promise not to disclose the events of today, in order to prevent rumors about the royal family."

"Are you aware of what you are saying?" asked the king. "If you do not marry my son, you are unlikely to find a match of higher status."

"His Majesty is right, Alexandra," her father chimed in. "What are you thinking? It would be better for the family if—"

"And for me?" she interrupted calmly, but she simmered under the surface. "Would you have me spend my life as the disgraced wife of a prince who does not recognize nor love her?"

"Um— no" he hastily replied, eyeing King Leopold, who was looking at him questioningly. "You are right, my daughter," he assented. "Annul the engagement if you wish."

"Thank you for your blessing, father," she said, trying her best not to sound sarcastic. Turning to the kingdom's monarch, she bowed her head.

"Please consider my request, Your Majesty. Only in this way will I feel that my honor has been restored and this wrong righted."

King Leopold nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. "I will grant your wish, Lady Sinclair," he assured. "I ask that you forgive my son, and I will immediately arrange for the annulment."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I am relieved that my family will not be affected by Prince Nicholas's actions here today. All is forgiven—"

"HEY!"

Oh, she had forgotten about him.

Smoke seemed to pour from the ears of the second prince, he was that upset.

"What if I don't agree, huh?" he spat out. "She can't do this to me—!"

"I don't recall asking for your opinion," her voice cut through his ranting, positively glacial in tone. She fixed him with an equally frosty glare. "You lost that right when you decided to have that affair."

She faced the king again, grasping Eli's proffered arm. "Thank you for your benevolence. Begging your leave, my brother and I will be retiring early to our manor. I apologize for ruining the mood. I will have to present my tea to you another day."

With that, the Sinclair siblings turned and swept out of the garden.

Operation Take out the Trash: Success!