Chapter 74: The Timely Princes

"WHAT BRINGS YOU to the palace?" Rose Whitaker asked, a smile curving her lips upwards. Although she looked as serene and poised as ever, Alice couldn't ignore the prickly sensation that trickled down her neck and her spine.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Alice greeted, curtsying to the queen, "and good day to you, Lady Rose." Alice fidgeted a little where she stood, trying her best to maintain a smile instead of sprinting for the hills. "I've been invited as a guest of Prince Spade's."

While speaking the second prince's name, she tried her best to put an emphasis on it. She was sure now, more than ever, that both the queen and Rose Whitaker didn't take a liking to her simply because of her friendship with Hartley.