12

                                    

                                          
"Hey, you need to get this right!" Jamie sighed as she saw how Cassandra tried to do what she taught on their new etiquette lesson.
                          
Cassandra tried her best in holding the teacup but it ended falling from her hand and almost hit the carpet if she wasn't fast enough to catch it. 
                          
"Cassandra, we only have a two weeks left. Two weeks!" Jamie facepalmed and heaved a deep breath. She's losing her patience — she's not really the most patient one when it comes to teaching. 
                          
"Use your thumb and index finger to hold the top of the handle, use your middle finger to support the bottom of the cup!" Jamie can't help but shout. Cassandra remained silent, she knew once Jamie is losing her patience. Cassandra can't help but understand her. She's fast when it comes to learning new fighting tricks but on etiquette? Not so much.
                          
Cassandra gently did what she was told, more focused than earlier. A few moments later, she managed to held the cup in her hands. It going to be hard getting used to this but she needs to do it.
                          
"Great," Jamie said with a smile. "Now, place it back to the saucer." She followed. "I'm going to add tea. Now, you need to balance it with  tea inside, this is a hot one, make sure to don't get yourself burned. Oh, and also, drink on the one side of the cup only. Just one side. Got it?"
                          
"Got it," said Cassandra and nodded.
                          
Jamie poured the tea in the small cup and Cassandra gently raised it up to her lips. Her hand was shaky at first but after a few moments, she got used to the weight of the liquid inside the cup. She took a small sip and then place it back to the saucer.
                          
"Great!" Jamie clasped her hands together in joy.
                          
Rapunzel was nowhere to be found. The young Princess probably decided to go out again and meet Eugene somewhere she didn't know — she honestly don't care. As much as she hate to admit it, she trust Eugene and she knew that the guy wouldn't let anything bad happens to his Sunshine.
                          
"Next would be eating," said Jamie.
                          
Cassandra groaned. "Can't we just skip this?"
                          
Jamie crossed her arms. "No way. You'll be having a lot of lunches with the royalties from different kingdoms. Not to mention all the Balls and Parties you have to attend!"
                          
"I'm starting to regret ny decision, you know that?" Cassandra frowned.
                          
"Can't turn back now, can we?" Jamie teased, a smirk on her face. "That is the reason why you need to think twice before you speak."
                          
"I did think twice. Is it my fault that I just wanted to make my best friend happy?" Cassandra ranted.
                          
Jamie shook her head. "No. Actually, I can do the same thing for Varian and Seb. But hey." Jamie's voice softened. "You do realize that you could get killed for what you're doing right?"
                          
Cassandra sighed, a pained look in her eyes. "I know. What I'm doing can actually be considered treason since I'm impersonating a royal. It's forbidden in the laws of Corona and Dark Kingdom. I'm not even sure that Rapunzel can do anything to about it. I could get exiled, or worse, hanged."
                          
Jamie groaned. "I guess I better go and start reading some books about the kingdom rules."
                          
Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows. "What? Why?"
                          
Jamie looked straight at her. "Because I'm not going to let you get hanged nor exiled. I'm sure there's a way for me to prevent it."
                          
Cassandra's eyes widened, surprised by her frenemies behavior. "Wha-"
                          
Jamie quickly cuts her off. "Now, let's continue the etiquette on eating food."
                          
She was about to open her mouth and talk regarding their last topic but Jamie gave her a look that says don't-you-dare-go-back-to-that-topic so Cassandra just decided to close her mouth and watched as she placed the untensils on the table.
                          
"Hold the knife on your right hand while the fork on your left. You can not stab you food. I know it'll be hard but it's just the way it is. You need to balance the food in the back of your fork and slowly bring it in your mouth. Got it?" Jamie explained.
                          
Cassandra sighed. "Yeah."
                          
It took her a couple of times before she finally get it right. Jamie just watched her — and probably scolded her more than ten times for making a lot of mistakes. Like accidentally stabbing the bread, etc. 
                          
"Then, the last one is pretty easy. You need to cross your utensils, or place them to the side if you're done eating. So the-" Cassandra cuts her off.
                          
"- castle staff would know when to take your plate. I already know that one. As a lady-in-waiting, it's strictly taught to us," she said, crossing her utensils together.
                          
"Good then."
                          
They were finally done for the day. Jamie left quickly when Sebastian called out for her — she wondered what happened. She decided to go out and explore the castle more.
                          
It was already night time when Cassandra decided to head to bed. She yawned and stretched her body. She's really really sleepy. She closed her eyes as her consciousness headed into a dreamless sleep.
                          
She woke up in the middle of the night, her throath feeling dry. She's really thirsty. She stood up and decided to head to the castle kitchen.
                          
She doesn't want to wake up or bother any staffs. She knew how hard it is on working inside the castle - after all, she's been a castle since she was ten years old. She reached the kitched with no trouble and grabbed a glass of water.
                          
Suddenly, the burst open and she quickly turn around. It was a man with a mask on his head, he's holding a sack filled with she probably assumed as gold from the castle treasury. A thief. 
                          
Her eyes landed to her side and she saw a frying pan. The man has his back turned from her, panting. He was probably being chased by someone based on the way he catch his breath.
                          
She slowly took a step towards him, her senses heightened. The frying pan in her hand is her only weapon, she raised her hand and was about to slam it in his head when the door bursted open again.
                          
"Stop it, Lance!" It was Eugene.
                          
"FITZHERBERT?" Cassandra shouted.
                          
--
                          
After a few days of inactivity, finally, an update!
                          
With Lance coming in, the storm really is near. XD
                          
Will there a twist in the story? Yes. As you can see, I love giving twist in a story. You can actually guess what the twist would be. XD
                          
I'm also going to publish a new Cassarian book (again?!) regarding the In Another Life one shot I wrote before.
                          
So, what do you think of this chapter? Share your thoughts!