Be a little louder- they hadn’t heard you in Frontreau Street yet.
   “Did the Duchess finally find a little pigeon that meets your requirements? Or did you find your own amusement?” The nonsense continued to fall from the Prince’s lips as he approached them. His attention had been focused on the woman with him for too long this evening not to notice the way she stiffened at the insulting words. It seemed that His Highness was intent on ruining any chance of cooperation with the Count himself. Of course, he didn’t seem to know who the lady accompanying Nicholas was, so he could only be generally offensive rather than specifically offensive.
   The Imperial Guards that had trailed behind him as they entered the courtyard halted by the entrance and took up positions on either side of the pathway, facing towards them and the fountain.
   While their gazes roamed over the garden, watching for intruders, their attention was focused on the three people in the center. Who would miss out on drama handed to them on a platter? And who knew what advantage their families could gain from a few casually overheard sentences at the Palace? The majority of Imperial Guards were members of the aristocracy after all. A group of young men with easy access to so many influential people was the habitual dumping ground for second and third sons with ambition.
   Why don’t you just wag your eyebrows to finish off this comedy sketch? Just as he was thinking this, he heard her mumble out a few more of her strange, rapid-fire insults before falling completely silent.
   “Of course it’s this mother plucking moron…” His lips twitched at the silly insults. Right now, he sincerely concurred with her assessment. Though he would have left off the insult to the Empress, of course. She was a lovely woman, and he believed she had better taste in men than that.
   Nicholas closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to clear his head and shake off the unkind thoughts he kept shooting at Erik. He had to remind himself that this man was his friend and that they had once worked well together.
   Then he threw Serena a brief look over his shoulder. He filed away the look of utter disgust that she wiped from her face for later consideration.  Luckily, only he was close enough to hear her, and her lips didn’t move in the calm mask of a polite lady she now wore. If His Highness had heard her, any chance of getting out of this unscathed would be completely gone.
   He marveled for a moment at the complete change that had come over her. She now exuded all the delicate grace of a well-bred young lady. Her poise and demeanor were perfect. It was as if the cocky young lady who had been bantering with him a few moments ago had never existed.
   This could still be handled. Provided he could get this fool to cooperate. If this had been a few years ago, he could have relied on his good friend Erik to help him out of this mess without a doubt. This new Prince that had taken the place of his friend, however…
   “You know me, I can’t stand the crowds for too long. The gardens are a quiet place to take a few moments of respite. Usually.” He quirked an eyebrow in inquiry as his gaze pointedly swept across the nosy guards behind him, pretending not to watch them. Best to move this along. “What could draw you away from the diversions of the ball, Your Highness?”
   ‘Why are you out here bothering me when you should be inside?’ were the words hidden behind his polite inquiry. The ‘hurry up and go back inside with your little friends’ didn’t even need to be inferred.
   “You know me, old man! I can’t stand being cooped up for too long.” Crown Prince Erik stepped forward and clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder as he ignored his friend’s subtext. “We both seem to have had the same urge to escape the heat of the chandeliers”, he continued in a cheerful tone. One would think that they were just two friends exchanging pointless banter. However, Nicholas could see the other man’s eyes as his attention moved beyond him and locked onto the now revealed girl. He also saw the exact moment that the Prince recognized her, marked by the gleam of calculated mischief that entered his gaze.
   “You must be the famous Lady Serena, the Count’s daughter!” At the announcement of her name, the Guard’s interest became pointed, as they glanced directly at them, with new calculations in their eyes. “I have been wanting to meet you.” He seemed to have completely forgotten his earlier insulting words as he exhorted cheerfully. Moving closer to Serena, the Prince put pressure on Nicholas’s shoulder again, this time turning him so that they both faced the young woman who stood between them and the fountain. He shot a glance between her and Nicholas before smirking and continuing. “It is easy to see why they call you the Blanc Orchid! Luckily, we have a mutual friend here to make an introduction, isn’t it?” Pouring on the charm, he clapped his friend on the back again, a little harder than Nicholas felt was completely necessary. “Come now, Nicholas, introduce me to this lovely young lady. You can’t monopolize her all evening.”
   “Of course, Your Highness.” He inclined his head, acknowledging the order that was hidden in the request from the Prince, and proceeded to perform the required introduction. “Lady Serena Blanc, may I present His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince of the  Kalimar Empire, Prince Erik Augustus Emmanuel Von Kalimar. Your Highness Prince Erik, may I present Lady Serena Angelina Bella Blanc, of the Count Blanc’s household?” If the Prince wanted to play games, he could only indulge him at the moment. He needed to get him to dismiss the Guards so that they could get Serena back into the ballroom, and he could deal with the dead man.
   The Prince performed the usual gesture made by Imperial Family members when greeting members of the aristocracy with a casual smile on his face, obviously lavishing some charm on the young lady. One arm pressed to his chest, his shoulders angled forward slightly, and his head tilted forward. Not a bow, that would be too subservient. More of an overly formal nod showing respect to a subordinate. “A Pleasure, my lady.” His eyes never left Serena, though the smile never reached the eyes that ran over her.
   “The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness.” Serena executed the required curtsy flawlessly, lowering herself into the deep knee bend required for greeting an Imperial Prince. While lowering her head, she locked her gaze on the ground, never meeting his eyes. 
   “Please, such a lovely lady shouldn’t spend her time focusing on the dirt.” The Prince straightened, and just as Serena was about to rise, he stepped forward, obviously intending to reach out and help her rise.
She had an immediate reaction to the man approaching her. It was small and almost instantaneous. Most would not even notice, but Nicholas was too familiar with her reactions at this point to miss it. A powerful tension gripped her body as the Prince neared her and she made a small, sharp movement with her hand, flicking her wrist. A glint of silver reflected in the moonlight before being hidden partially behind her skirts. Instinct had him swiftly stepping in front of the Prince and extending his hand first.
   Her expression never changed, but he would swear that he felt relief from her as she took his hand and rose. So it wasn’t a reaction to a man approaching her; it was specific to Erik. So that look of disgust earlier was for the Crown Prince. That was novel. Most young ladies dreamed of His Highness taking notice of them. He also noted her wrist, making that sharp flick again as he raised her. He stole a surreptitious glance, but only saw a silver cuff that matched the one on the arm he now tucked into his own. Was it a nervous tic? Or something else?
   First things first. Getting her back into the ballroom and dealing with the useless Imperial Guards, standing there gawking like idiots. “Are these your escort, Your Highness?” Nicholas shot them a pointed look as he patted Serena’s hand, now resting lightly on the sleeve of his coat, and positioned them between the fountain and the other men. “I’ve never known you to enjoy having babysitters.” His raised eyebrow and sharp tone would usually be enough to have his friend send the strangers away, so that they could talk privately.
   “What’s the rush, old friend? It’s such a lovely night.” The Crown Prince’s blue eyes sharpened for a moment on Serena’s hand, resting on his arm, then continued chatting. “The gardens are a wonderful venue. For so many things.” While the man’s tone remained cheerful and pleasant, seeming relaxed and playful, Nicholas couldn’t help but feel a sense of hostility. While not as outrightly insulting as before, his words were pointed. He also caught the calculating look in the Prince’s eye and knew he was still deciding whether to help them or not.
   With the strained relationship between them these past couple of years, Nicholas knew that any help from the Prince would be based on his whim. If he was unhappy with them, not only would he not help, but he could actively make it worse. That was the threat hidden in his words. 
   Who knew what chaotic nonsense he might enact next? Sometimes, if he didn’t know better, Nicholas would think that his old friend was specifically making his life harder.
   Just as Nicholas was about to abandon working with the Prince, the man turned back to Serena and smiled wryly, that undefinable sense of hostility melting away as if it had never been there. “This is serendipitous. If I remember correctly, His Majesty, my father, intended for us to meet tonight. Nicholas here was even tasked with making sure that we were able to have a dance. That must be why he was rude enough to chase you down out here.” Nicholas breathed a sigh of relief at the supplied reasonable excuse for their situation. He had chosen to help them. At least he could still count on his friend for this much. Though he couldn’t shake the feeling that Serena had been the deciding factor. He would have to take some time to think about that.
   The Prince then turned and glanced back at the Guards, waving his hand in their direction. “They are just doing their jobs and accompanying me on my stroll. No need for insults. You gentlemen can go back to your posts.” He made an obvious gesture of dismissal. When he saw them hesitating and exchanging glances, he chuckled. “What on earth could happen to me in the middle of the Imperial Gardens, with a beautiful young lady and the Prime Minister of all people?” Though his tone was light, the order was clear in his voice, and given no other choice, the Guards bowed before withdrawing back toward the main path, their reluctance clear.
   “Oh, and gentlemen…” Nicholas called after them, causing them to pause and turn back to look at him. “I would suggest that you refrain from speaking about our chance encounter here. One would hate for the Ministry to have to visit the Feldmore and Withens estates.” The indignant looks that they had turned on him turned to fearful acknowledgment as they indicated they understood the threat before turning back and hurrying back to their posts. 
   Once they were out of sight, he was finally able to glance down at the woman next to him. He hadn’t missed the slight tightening of her grip on his arm when Erik had mentioned that he was Prime Minister.
   Her mask had not slipped, and her expression was still as pleasantly relaxed as before, but she tilted her head up slightly to meet his gaze. Those sea colored eyes narrowed imperceptibly, displaying her irritation to him while the sweet, vacant smile was still displayed on her lips. However, she didn’t release him or move away. Instead, she tightened her grip further and slid a tiny bit closer, subtly positioning him between herself and the Prince. This caused his lips to curve unexpectedly, and he registered his perverse amusement at the glimpse of her thoughts before tucking it away to examine later. There were quite a few things to discover about the Count’s daughter in the future.
   Now was not the time for it, however. He turned his attention back to the Prince, who was still looking at them. Of course, he had caught the silent exchange, though what he gathered from it was anyone’s guess.
“So, old friend, would you like to fill me in on why you need my help to cover up your meeting with the young lady that my father wished for you to introduce to me?” As the Prince locked eyes with him, Nicholas felt that vague hostility resurface. There was a certain possessiveness in his tone that made Nicholas wary.
   “It’s a delicate situation.” He sighed and continued. “As you said, I was searching for Lady Serena to have her be your partner for your first dance of the evening, as His Majesty instructed.” It was true, though not the whole truth, and glossed over a few of the finer details. This explanation seemed to ease the hostility a little, though Erik’s eyes remained locked on Serena, his stare becoming more blatantly focused on her the more she avoided it.
   Nicholas glanced at her again and saw that she was looking around the courtyard, her gaze very conspicuously never landing on the Prince. Her silence indicated that she had no intention of joining the conversation, leaving him to spin the facts to suit their purpose. “The young lady decided to take a stroll in the garden for some fresh air, and so I tracked her down here. Unfortunately, after we entered the courtyard, we stumbled onto something troublesome.” He once again omitted the details of how they had arrived at the courtyard. Erik was already paying a suspicious amount of attention to the young lady, and raising his suspicions further would help neither of them. 
   His Majesty had hoped to foster a closer relationship with the Count. Currently, the situation was not ideal for winning the young lady over, and was offending the Count’s household irreparably was a definite possibility. Let’s not even mention that she would obviously be embroiled in the investigation that Torrington’s death was going to launch. Having Erik be overly interested in Serena would complicate things unnecessarily.
   Best to nip trouble in the bud. He would have to do everything in his power to keep the Prince from interacting with her in the future. Luckily, that seemed to be her goal as well, as she slid a little further behind him, her eyes looking everywhere but at the Prince. She couldn’t display her lack of interest in him any more blatantly. So now all they had to do was redirect His Highness’s attention somewhere else. For once, Torrington could be useful.
   “If I could direct Your Highness to the fountain.” This deflected the Prince’s gaze as he turned his head towards the fountain, following Nicholas’ gesture. “I believe that you will be as shocked as we were to find Viscount Torrington inconveniencing everyone by floating there murdered.”