Olive’s plan of hiding with Miene was mostly a success.  She returned to the foyer when it sounded like the queen was leaving.  She bowed to Ivalsa, who in turn told her that it was a shame their tea had been interrupted by her son’s carelessness and her maid’s lack of discipline.  As such, she simply had to invite Olive to the palace for a proper tea with servants that knew their duties.

“I know your maid is your responsibility,” Ivalsa said, “but I do hope you’ll let Cariun help.  No offense my dear, but you don’t look like you could muster a proper beating.”

Cariun cut in before Olive could say anything.  He obviously spotted the brewing storm behind her eyes and didn’t want Olive to say something dumb.  Because Olive really wanted to say something terribly dumb at that moment.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said quickly.  “They’re rather lax with their servants in America, as I understand.”

“A pity.  Well, I shall send you a formal invite, my dear.  I look forward to our next meeting.”

And she left.  The sunlight swallowed her up and then the doors swung shut behind her and Olive let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“She’s such a show-off,” Cariun muttered.  “Summoning the sunlight like that little trick will intimidate me.”

Olive was only half-listening.  Her heart was still pounding from the entire encounter.

“Oh my gaaaawd Cariun,” Olive wheezed.  “You threw your tea cup!  It was so obvious!  Could you have been any ruder?”

“I absolutely could,” he replied.  “The queen is quite used to me being difficult.  She knows she’ll never get anything useful from me.”

There was a spark in his eyes.  She hadn’t seen anything like that before.  A spark of fire and a hint of a smile on his lips.  Not the thin, cruel smile she’d seen before.  An actual smile.

“Please tell me if you need help with Miene,” he said, mockingly.

“I will throw all of your booze out the window if you touch her.”

“I wouldn’t dare without your permission.”  He frowned.  “Would you threaten the princes of your world in such a way?”

She stared him dead in the eyes. She’d sent a few angry emails to her Senator in the past.  That counted, surely.

“Absolutely,” she said.

Another hint of that genuine smile. Then he stepped back a pace and executed a flawless bow that still somehow managed to be mocking.  Excusing himself like a proper gentleman.

“You need to work on yours,” he said as he straightened.  “Along with… well… everything else.”

She watched him leave, wondering what he meant by that, exactly.  He’d acted quite unexpectedly through this entire encounter.  He’d helped her.  Undeniably helped her.  Was the queen that dangerous?  Or was him being difficult to her days earlier merely an act?

“Is viral theory real?” Cariun asked, pausing and turning as if the question was an afterthought.

“It is,” Olive replied.  “Well, viruses are real.  It’s not a theory anymore.  And I’m not sure if they count as living organisms or not - it’s complicated.”

“I’d like to hear more about it,” he said.  “You can tell me over dinner.”

He phrased it like a command.  But still, Olive thought, watching him continue walking away.  It was the most interest he’d taken in her since she’d arrived.  That had to be progress.

The formal invitation from the queen arrived far sooner than Olive expected.  It was delivered the very next morning.  And the date of the tea party was set for that afternoon.

“Are you kidding me?!” Olive gasped, upon reading the letter.  

“Oh yes,” Cariun said dryly, peering over her shoulder.  “That’s classic Ivalsa.  The world revolves around her whims.”

He was close enough that she could smell his hair.  A faint aroma of pine.  She’d insisted that Miene find her some different soap, as she had no desire to feel like she’d just fallen out of a tree, but it felt… right on him.  Uneasily, she pulled away.

“I’m not ready for this,” she said. 

“Of course not.  That’s why she’s doing it.  It’s not like you can refuse.  Just stick to your story of being a scholar.  She can’t hurt you.”

Such an odd thing to assure her of.  But from what Olive had seen of this world so far, she felt relieved to hear this.

“We do need a reason for why you’re under my protection,” he said thoughtfully.

He turned his back to her and walked to the sitting room so he could stare out the window.  His gaze lingered on the rings spanning across the sky.  Olive was mostly used to them by now.  It just startled her at unexpected moments, looking up and seeing there was no sun, and her chest would grow tight like she couldn’t breath.  She felt that way now, like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff and fear ran like poison in her veins.

Later.  She could panic later.  She had very little time to figure out how to get through this tea party without doing anything stupid.

In a distant part of her mind, Olive knew that she couldn’t keep bottling all this up for later.  Sooner or later, she’d have to reconcile with the fact she was trapped in a world that wasn’t her own.

“I say we go for the easiest explanation,” Olive said.  “The one closest to the truth.  I’ll just tell her I offended the king by wearing earrings in his presence.”

“Then you have to explain why he didn’t just cut your ears off.”

It took a moment for her to realize that he was being serious.  She stared at him incredulously for a few seconds and he stared back in exasperation.  Finally, Olive fell back into a nearby chair, covering her face with both hands.

“I hate your world,” she groaned.  “You beat your servants, murder spies, and cut off people’s ears.”

“And your world is better?”

“It is.”

He scoffed.  Olive took her hands off her face to glare at him.  The morning sunlight made the faint red traces in his hair glow.

“People are all the same when power is involved,” Cariun said.  “You can’t deny it.  Someday you’ll be the same as Ivalsa or I.”

“I won’t.”

“It’s only a matter of time.”  He stared at her a moment and his face softened.  “Now go find Miene.  You two can worry about getting ready for the party.  I’ll think of something to tell the queen.”

Reluctantly, Olive shoved herself up out of the chair.  This was going to be a disaster no matter what he came up with, she thought grimly.  She couldn’t see any way it wouldn’t.