Chapter 85: Evira was one step too late.
Suddenly, Numia burst into tears. The humiliation of being laughed at by Sienna seemed to hurt more than the beating from the princess. "How dare you laugh and mock me when this is all your fault. If you hadn’t mocked that cruel princess, I would have settled a proper engagement for my son with a worthy girl."
Sienna raised an eyebrow, her lips rising in amusement. "Sometimes I wonder if you are just stupid or ignorant. You have said it yourself, that the princess is cruel. This is her famous reputation. What were you thinking by approaching her?
You were trying to marry your son off to a girl who thinks everyone in the world should bow before her and kiss her feet. Forgive me if I don’t take responsibility for your matchmaking disaster."
Numia groaned, milking her injuries for sympathy. "Mother-in-law..." she looked at grandma Byra, "Look at what happened to me. This is all Sienna’s fault. What is wrong with me wanting a good marriage for my son? If I had been successful, we would all be sipping tea in the palace right now instead of digging dirt for her."
Sienna burst into laughter.
Mrs. Abernathy blinked in wonder. She had never seen a more delusional person
Grandma Byra banged her cane on the ground in anger. "Numia, you are confused. Don’t you know how to measure situations? You know how we came to live here, so you know if your son is worthy of a princess or not. Besides, have you ever seen a lioness marrying from a bird tribe besides the Phoenix one? I thought you were behaving because you were quiet lately but it seems you were just scheming something else."
The doctor pressed pressed on a wound on Numia’s neck and she shrieked.
Sienna laughed again. "Princeeeeesssss." she whispered.
Eli remarked snidely. "If that is the way she talks to people, it is no wonder she was beaten up."
For once, Sienna did not ask her son to be polite because he was right. If someone called her the way Numia had been crooning at Evira, she would also break their nose.
She looked at the time, stretched her arms, and then called out, "Ali, enough bee riding. It’s time for our afternoon nap."
"Coming mama." The girl replied in a giggly voice.
Eli cleared his throat. "I am coming too."
****
As soon as Evira returned to the palace, she went in search of her brother, who was watching some dancers in the gardens, with the queen.
"Brother!" she wailed. Her voice was louder than the music which was silenced immediately. "Look at me! Sienna ordered the bees to sting me and my guards! She humiliated me again and then her aunt tried to trick me into marrying her falcon beast man son. So I punished that woman a little bit. I am sure that horrible Sienna will twist it against me!"
The king, a weary beast man who had long ago perfected the art of ignoring his sister’s tantrums, sighed. "I told you not to go back to Sienna’s home. You disobeyed me. What now?"
Evira thrust her face forward. "See? Bee stings! Bruises! Humiliation! This is an insult to our royal family. I demand justice!"
But before she could continue, one of the king’s assistants entered, bowing low. "Your highness, a complaint has already been lodged concerning the princess, the bees and the beating."
Evira blinked. "By me?" She had only just arrived.
"No," the assistant said carefully. "By the Fox Lord Elias Veythar. He has filed an official grievance regarding the assault on a civilian."
Evira’s jaw dropped. "Elias? That cold bad beast man beat me to the punch? How dare he?"
The queen sipped her wine.
The king rubbed his temples. "So let me understand. You went to Sienna, demand for the queen bee, got stung, then assaulted her aunt, and Elias has already reported you?"
Evira stomped her foot. "Brother, it was supposed to be my complaint! Look at how cruel Sienna is. How am I supposed to go outside with this face?"
The king sighed. "Did Sienna order the bees to attack you? I need you to be specific Evira. Did you hear her command them verbally?"
Evira shook her head. As much as she wanted to say yes, because Sienna had implied she could do it, nobody had actually heard her command the bees. So, she explained to her brother how it had all gone down.
King Leon leaned forward. "So Sienna mocked you with words. You responded with fists. Do you see the difference?"
Evira sputtered. "But--but--she made me cry!"
The queen snorted. "You make yourself cry. Sienna just provides the material. Once again, she has played you. You are dealing with a woman that called someone a ’mouse beast bitch’ and has no qualms about hitting people with pans. You might be out of your league Evira."
The guards shifted uncomfortably, trying not to laugh. One coughed into his hand disguising a chuckle.
Evira shrieked. "You’re all against me! Even my own brother!"
The king sighed again. "No, we are against bees. And apparently, against your habit of turning every slight into a royal scandal."
Evira wailed, "But that hateful aunt tried to make me marry her falcon son. Sienna’s family clearly looks down on me."
"Was there a formal proposal sent to this palace?" The queen asked.
Evira shook her head.
The king sighed again. "You overreacted Evira, and Elias Veythar is going to use this as an opportunity to squeeze something out of this royal family. Obviously he knows that I will not allow the complaint to reach the courtiers. You will have to disappear from the public eye for at least two months. I am grounding you sister, completely. No leaving the palace grounds unless we are under attack."
Evira plopped on the floor and threw her legs, crying loudly. "I don’t care. I don’t care. You have to get justice for me. It is the second time I am being bullied by Sienna and you are not doing anything at all. I am going to call mama and papa and tell them."
The king raised his eyebrows. His parents were on a vacation with the Veythar elders. It was highly likely that they would not be helping Evira at all. He gestured to the guards, "Carry the princess to her quarters. I need to figure out how Elias is going to blackmail me and the price to make this go away. I am also sure that Sienna has footage of that assault so before she uploads it to the BeastNet, go and buy it back. Sting’s pan humiliation scandal is enough for this royal family for the week."
The queen sighed. It seemed like there was a Sienna invasion in their once peaceful lives.