Gareth got on his knee before Layla, taking her hand and kissing it with respect. "Nice to meet you, Milady. My name is Gareth Pendragon. Would you like to be my wife?" He asked kindly, his heart racing. It was love at first sight.
Lancelot was shocked by those words. He couldn't believe that Gareth would just ask a random girl to marry him, especially without knowing anything about her.
Elaine took a sip of the tea and chuckled softly at Layla's nervous face.
Layla softly pulled her hand away, taking a step back while smiling awkwardly. She felt uncomfortable with anyone asking her such questions, especially people she had just met, tho she just found out about it now, as it was the first time it ever happened. "Uhh... No..." She said quietly, her eyes flicking around the room nervously as she avoided eye contact.
The prince stood up, looking down at her, stunned to his core by the rejection. "Huh? What do you mean by 'no'? You could live in the castle, be a part of the Royal family, and most importantly, be with me. So why reject?"
"I need to watch my mouth, or else I might be in trouble... and that would mean that Orion and Ellie would also be in trouble, and I don't want that." Layla thought to herself.
She summoned all her courage and looked into his eyes. "With all respect, but your highness... You were mean to my friends, Elaine and Lancelot, by not greeting them..." She paused for a moment, a soft blush creeping onto her cheeks. "... Besides... I already have my eyes on someone... That's why I need to reject your offer, your highness!" She huffed.
Gareth's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth. "You... you little...!" He clenched his fists. His face was getting red out of embarrassment caused by being rejected by a commoner, which hurt his pride a lot.
The maids were shocked, although they remained silent as it was unknown how the prince would punish them if they said something wrong, but there was one exception- Maia.
She walked up to him, pulling his ear softly. "That's enough, young Master. Rejection can be harsh, but you cannot be angry." She smirked, patting his back softly. "Now, young Master, apologize to Layla~"
Gareth scowled, looking at Maia and then at Layla. "...Sorry..." He muttered under his nose without any resistance.
Layla smiled, shaking her head and patting his shoulder. "It's okay! Again, I'm very sorry!"
Gareth turned around and got back to his chair, his scowl remained on his face.
Maia leaned in closer towards Layla's ear. "I will help you with anything, and I mean anything. People like us... We should all be helping each other because others wouldn't accept us for who we are, no~?" She then kissed her cheek softly and stepped towards Gareth, standing behind him.
Soon enough, everyone was eating breakfast, but Layla was just staring down at the spoons, forks, and knives which were around her plate. "I-I can't... I don't know how to use them... and I don't want to make Elaine look stupid for bringing me here..." She thought to herself, her ears turning red.
Selene noticed that Layla wasn't eating, and she leaned down over her shoulder. "Is something wrong, Lady? Is the food bad?" She asked, looking at the untouched dish. "You haven't eaten anything."
Layla looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "I-I have never used a knife before..."
Selene sighed softly and grabbed the knife and fork. She cut the meat, speared it on a fork, and put it to Layla's mouth.
Layla looked at the meat for a moment and whispered. "Thank you."
She allowed herself to be fed by Selene, which surprised Gareth and Lancelot.
"It's so good...!" She thought to herself, putting her hands together in awe.
Gareth pointed his fork at Layla. "What are you doing? Why is Selene feeding you? Can't eat without help, or what?" He asked curiously, tho his voice was slightly mean.
Selene looked at him, shaking her head softly. "In her homeland, it is a custom for the handmaid to attend her mistress at mealtime. I strive to maintain her traditions to make her stay as comfortable as possible, young Master." She said calmly as Layla chewed on the food.
"Really? So you really are a foreigner, Layla?! That's amazing!" Lancelot looked at her, obviously wanting to hear something about the country.
Elaine looked over at Lancelot, pinching his wrist under the table. "Brother, we do not speak about such things during breakfast."
Gareth speared the food on his fork and softly pointed it around. "No, no. Lancelot is right. Where do you come from, Layla? I can call you by your name, right?" He smirked.
Layla was smiling out of joy as she swallowed the food. She looked up from the table and made eye contact with him. "Mhm!" She nodded. "Your highness can call me however you want!"
"So I can call you 'my future wife'?" He asked playfully, still trying to make a move on her.
Layla shook her head with a big smile on her face, rejecting him again, tho the smile made it even more painful to him. "Nope! That won't happen, your highness!"
Gareth sighed, shaking his head. "Okay, back to my question. Where do you come from?"
Under the table, Layla fidgeted with her fingers nervously. "What should I say?! I don't know the other Kingdoms! I just know Fitonia and The Brotherhood Of Riverford... but I can't say that I'm from Fitonia, because that's an Elven country!"
"Uhh... I... uhm-"
Suddenly, the double doors burst open. A silver-haired female with green eyes, clad in a royal blue taffeta dress with white lace and golden trimming, was breathing heavily, looking at Gareth with a mix of exhaustion, fury, and disbelief.
Everyone in the room, including the maids, was surprised. Gareth looked at her in confusion. "Morgana? What's up with you? Were you running?"
The girl panted for a moment, trying to catch a good amount of oxygen. "Gareth! You little prick!" She yelled in anger, walking towards him gracefully.
Gareth got off his chair, hiding behind Maia. "Protect me from that wild beast! She wants to kill me!" He pointed at Morgana in fear.
Layla, Lancelot, and Elaine watched everything in confusion, looking at each other in case someone knew what was going on.
Morgana scowled, looking up at Maia. "Maia... You better stay out of this!" She yelled in frustration and anger.
Maia sighed, separating Morgana from Gareth. She looked at the girl in confusion, trying to calm her down. "What has happened, your highness?"
"He stole my insignia, again! I can't! I can't withstand him anymore!" She yelled, reaching towards him.
Maia looked at Gareth, a firm expression on her face. "Did you?" She asked coldly.
A shiver ran down Gareth's spine, and his legs started shaking in fear. "N-No! Of course I didn't!"
Maia glared at him, waiting to hear the truth.
Gareth swallowed hard, looking down at the ground. "I did..."
Silence fell upon the room.
Layla's heart pounded as she watched the scene unfold.
Morgana's green eyes were furiously fixed on Gareth. "Again?" She yelled. "This is the third time this month, Gareth! The insignia isn't a toy! It's a symbol of my authority as the future heir of the throne! Without it, I would lose all respect from the court. You don't understand what you're risking!"
Gareth looked away in shame. Maia stared at him with total seriousness.
"I didn't mean to keep it," Gareth muttered under his nose. "It was just a joke! I wanted to see if I could get away with it again."
"A joke?" Morgana's hands trembled in rage.
"There's nothing funny about stealing royal symbols, especially not from your own family! You could have caused a scandal and damaged our reputation."
Elaine and Lancelot exchanged a worried glance. Even Layla could imagine the damage.
Maia stepped forward, her tone icy. "Gareth, apologize properly and return the insignia immediately."
Gareth reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, carved brooch, which was the royal insignia, holding it out to Morgana. "I'm sorry, okay?"
Morgana snatched the insignia from his hand, clutching it tightly. She took a deep breath, then turned to the others with a faint smile. "Since I'm already here," she said calmly, sitting beside Layla, "I might as well eat with you all. Eating with the Queen and Duke Alaric is dreadfully boring. Too much etiquette, too little fun."
Elaine nodded. "We welcome you with our whole hearts, Your Highness."
Lancelot chuckled. "Finally, something's happening!"
Gareth slumped back into his chair, still afraid and embarrassed, but also relieved that Morgana wasn't so mad anymore.
Layla looked down at her plate, suddenly feeling comfortable.
Selene leaned over to Layla again. "Don't worry about the knife and fork. You're doing just fine, my Lady." She whispered.
Layla smiled and took a careful bite.
Gareth poked at his food with no appetite, but eventually looked across the table.
"Layla," He said, voice quieter that before, "You said you have your eyes on someone else. Who is it?"
Layla looked away, blushing. "It's someone I spent my whole life with... The one who saved me!"
Gareth raised an eyebrow. "A servant?"
Layla shook her head. "More like a guardian, but that doesn't matter! But he's kind and brave. I owe him my loyalty and soul!"
Morgana spoke up. "Today, you are loyal, but tomorrow you can be stabbed. Keep that in mind."
Layla was sitting between Elaine and Morgana, staring at her plate hopelessly. Her fingers trembled as she reached for her fork, but Selene gently nudged it closer, keeping her in check.
"Good." Selene nodded. "Just focus on the food. Don't think about anything else."
Layla smiled faintly, taking another bite.
Morgana looked at Gareth, smirking playfully. "Honestly! One might think you cause trouble just to get attention. Were you truly that bored this morning?"
Gareth looked at his plate, frowning. "I didn't mean to ruin anything."
Maia raised an eyebrow. "Intent and impact. You may need to start learning the difference, young Master."
Elaine giggled softly behind a handkerchief, while Lancelot looked like he wanted to just go and do something else."
"Is it always like this?" Layla asked softly, looking up at Selene.
"You've only seen the morning chaos, Milady. Just wait until the evening discussions."
"Great heavens... to think I could be doing something with Orion and Ellie right now..." Layla muttered under her nose.
Morgana heard her and poked her cheek softly. "Don't you worry, darling. You'll get used to it. We're not so scary once you understand who's all bark and who's all bite."
And so the day went on peacefully.