Giselle knew she'd recognized this sly-faced woman from somewhere.
She was the noblewoman who mistook her for a maid. 'Countess Vivienne' was by no means hideous; she was omega through and through with luscious blond hair that swept up in a perfect quiff and beautiful robes. She was still talking, about God knows what. She introduced her clique, Eleanor and Corrine, of which Giselle also recalled. They had hurled insults at her last time too. Outside she was calm and indifferent but inside she was dying with laughter—it wasn't as though Giselle didn't expect to meet them but it was still funny nonetheless, especially with how much the Countess was groveling to secure future favors.
"—and of course, I have three estates near the border which I am certain her Majesty would very much love to visit someda–"
Giselle raised a gloved hand, "That wouldn't be necessary, Countess. In fact, I am not interested at all."
"Wha…I mean, may I ask why, ma'am?" Her left eye twitched a bit. Beside her, Lysara snickered at the bunch to which Vivienne shot her a glare.
Giselle smirked.
"Perhaps you should be more careful of whom you address, shouldn't you? Or would you want a failure of a serving girl to darken the doorsteps of your priced estate?"
A moment passed before recognition passed through the woman's eyes, then confusion, then fear. Eleanor and Corrine gasped at the same time, hands covering their mouths.
"Y-you were–"
"Correct."
"But why were you–"
Giselle frowned. Vivienne snapped her mouth shut. A rush of delight at the effect she had on them was like a potent drug in her veins. She would show this so-called 'court of claws' that a beautiful rose still had its thorns even after being chopped off.
By now a small crowd of nobles was forming, looking at the pair of women with curious eyes. No doubt they were wondering what a Countess had done to piss of the Queen on the first day of introduction. Well, Giselle would tell them.
"Should it matter if I am dressed in rags or a golden chandelier before you accord me the respect I deserve as a fellow wolf? If it were up to me, I would have had you expelled from the moment I recognized you!"
Vivienne balked speechlessly but the words had already been spoken. By this evening, the entire palace would know that the Countess had done something so horrible that even the fair Queen wished for her expulsion. Her image would be shattered, her position would falter. It was clear that she wasn't expecting the seemingly docile Queen to be so vicious.
Inwardly, she swallowed her pride and fell into a deep curtsy with her head held low.
If that was what it took to save her title, she would do it. Vivienne could only say a silent prayer of thanks that she didn't say the entire story.
"Forgive me, I didn't know who you were at the time." She said, looking positively shaken.
"Us too." Eleanor and Corrine chorused the same behind their group leader.
Giselle wanted to scoff them but she'd already gathered much attention by exposing their past sins. Now was the time to play the role of a gracious Queen and grant them pardon.
"Rise. You are forgiven."
The three women sputtered their appreciations but Giselle waved them off. Soon the crowd began to disperse.
"I would like to invite you to lunch tomorrow. If you are inclined–"
"LUNCH!?" Eleanor and Corrine screeched at the same time, earning a scathing glare from Vivienne. It was clear that the two omegas were extremely simple-minded.
"What these two buffoons meant was that we would be delighted to attend, your Highness." said Vivienne. "Thank you again for your… generosity."
There was a twinge of animosity in her voice but she hid it well with a false smile.
With one last curtsy, the three paraded off down the Hall. Giselle let out an exhale she didn't know she'd been holding.
Lysara turned to her, wide-eyed.
"Giselle, that was–"
"–Reckless?"
"Incredible! And intense, I thought you were all sweet and kind, flowery-type omega but you really put that snake Vivienne in her place. Not to be a blabbermouth, but she's bad news here in the palace. Just last year there were really convincing rumors that she fucked Earl Reginald Atwood. Oh, and it certainly didn't help that his beta wife divorced him shortly after..." Lysara interlocked her arm in hers, leading her to a breezier part of the balcony.
There was something so relaxing about the brunette. Giselle felt like they'd known each other for years when they had just met mere minutes ago.
For a while they talked about anything and everything with Lysara, in her signature rocket-fast manner, leading most of the conversation. She didn't ask any questions about the infidelity scandal, however, and Giselle couldn't help but wonder if it was out of respect or if the King stopped the gossip before it even started. There was no way a story that big didn't slip through the cracks somehow.
Grand Princess Leandra joined them a while later with a blonde-haired, handsome man she'd introduced as Sir Dorian, the King's knight. Giselle greeted the two accordingly but couldn't look Leandra in the eye, not since the incident yesterday. It wasn't just because the woman had seen her at her worst, she was her husband's sister after all and what she thought about her mattered. More than anything, Giselle felt like a failure already.
"How are you feeling today, Giselle?" Leandra asked. "Much better?"
"Yes, your Highness." Giselle answered simply.
"Good. Don't hesitate to ask for me if you need anything, alright?"
She could feel Leandra's searching eyes on her but the other didn't say anything specific about yesterday much to her relief. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was the pity in her eyes.
Soon the bells signaled end of the break and the beginning of another Court session.
Leandra and her companion went first while Giselle was almost reluctant to let go of one of the first real friends she'd made in the palace.
"I'll see you later then, Giselle." Lysara smiled with a wave.
She smiled back.
***
The room was half full by the time Giselle made her way back to her seat.
After observing royal protocol and curtsying once more to the King, she took her seat beside him without a word.
"What's this I hear about you scolding the Countess of Hensbury in public?" Fabio said, swiveling to face her with fiery eyes, "Already spreading your wings in Court, I see."
Giselle turned to truly look at him for the first time today. He was just as devastatingly handsome as the day they married; long, dark hair in a low ponytail, signature designer suit and that usual sardonic look on his face. She almost rolled her eyes at him but obviously didn't if she wanted to keep them.
"Yes, I did scold a Countess, Countess Vivienne to be exact. She disrespected me in public and I couldn't overlook it. Should I not have?" Giselle asked in a patronizing tone. Maybe as long as she played the role of a daft, submissive omega queen, she could get away with anything.
Fabio looked like he wanted to ask something else but scoffed instead, leaning away. The bond was a constant, annoying buzz between them.
"Do whatever you wish, Giselle. I'm just surprised; I didn't fancy you as anything more than a sniveling goose with a talent for tripping over her own shoes." she could feel his searching gaze on her once more, "Just remember the danger of pissing off the wrong people. You're not the only one with power neither do you have actual power over the throne."
"Did you know it would hurt?" Giselle suddenly asked, staring straight ahead.
Fabio's breath caught in his throat. He knew without asking what she meant.
"Yes." He didn't look at her either. "Yes, I did." The bond stung with disappointment.
"Then why–"
"–why did I do it? Because I could." he opened a folder containing documents and skimmed through them, his face relaxed as though he was simply talking about the weather. "Because I wanted to. Whatever Leandra gave you as a reason was a lie, Giselle. You walked right into this, this was what you wanted."
She couldn't cry even if she wanted to. Her eyes were all out of tears.
"What would it take to convince you that I never wanted any part of this? That by marrying you I was simply doing my duty as was expected of me—do I really deserve to be punished for that, Fabio?" No tears were shed but her voice trembled with emotion.
Again, the bond pulsed, this time with sadness and pain. Fabio clutched at his chest, hissing at the unwanted feeling.
"Trying to sway me into sympathizing with you by pulling on our bond would NOT work, Giselle." He sneered, his voice barely a whisper because of the growing crowd of nobles flocking into the Hall. "You betrayed the throne by your treacherous conspiracy. Even this 'punishment' is nothing compared to what you and your parents deserve. Is that clear?"
Wordlessly, Giselle nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat.
"May I have lovers of my own, then?"
Fabio gritted his teeth at the intense feeling of jealousy that rushed through him.
"No, you may not." He spat.
Later, when the Court resumed its second session with even more topics being discussed, Giselle paid even closer attention, eager to distract herself. She wanted nothing more than to tune out Fabio's familiar baritone as he addressed the nobles beside her. Anytime she so much as blinked, her unruly mind conjured an image of Fabio and another faceless female on his bed, engaging in extramarital coupling while she writhed in pain on the floor next to them.
The bond tugged within her; although they weren't fully mated, she could still feel his agitation through their shared link. Was he that riled up at the thought of her fucking other alphas? Why did he care so much? Giselle just couldn't comprehend it.
A new topic about rising cases of rejected omegas was raised and many court members raised their hands to contribute to the discourse. The discussion progressed with ample contributions and Giselle wanted a part of it; she wasn't a fan of public speaking but it didn't mean she had nothing to say.
She raised her hand high enough to be seen by the King. For a brief moment Fabio glanced at her and they even locked eyes for a second.
Then he looked away.
"Yes, Countess Vivienne."
A smile played on his lips, like something very funny just happened, and at that moment Giselle had an inkling of exactly who Vivienne was. In her heart, she knew exactly what had happened.
Her hand fell back to her side, her cheeks flaming red in embarrassment.
It didn't matter though, not to anyone else but her. What mattered to the Court at that moment was that the Queen raised her hand and the King completely disregarded her for a common Countess.
Murmurs rippled throughout the Court with some members glancing amongst each other with shocked faces.
"Did he just–"
"–Is she the one–"
"–I believe so–"
Despite all the flabbergasted reactions from the nobles, Countess Vivienne stood up from her seat without a care in the world and answered clearly with a beaming grin.
Giselle swallowed her own spit, her heart beat like a noisy gong in her chest.
Vivienne wasn't just some scheming aristocrat—she was Fabio's mistress and she was coming to lunch tomorrow.