<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 125%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">House of Cadell<br/>Lady in Waiting</span></span></span><br/><br/><a class="postlink" href="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130430235600/wiki-amistad/es/images/thumb/0/02/Scarlet_by_skipta-d5h1tgb.jpg/180px-Scarlet_by_skipta-d5h1tgb.jpg">[ img ]</a><br/><br/><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Lady Amena Aeide</span></span></span></div><br/><br/>Edward had been the one to ask her to put her faith in others for once, and she had done so--with rather terrible consequences. She had no line in which she knew she should stop. She had taken Edward's words and tried her best to follow them at the time, but she had misstepped somewhere. She couldn't even trust others properly and the thought brought tears down her cheeks. She was such a screw up.<br/><br/>With every new point from Edward, Amena flinched. She really had not been thinking and now she had to. Would she stay by the Queen if something were to happen to Yakari? Would she choose the Queen over Yakari? She'd like to believe so, would like to believe that she would risk it. She had been the one to take care of the late Queen on her death bed when no others would come near her in fear of catching her illness. Amena had known the dangers and still she had done it...but now? She wanted to believe that she would.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #FFBF00">“I will discuss it later with the Queen. She will have the last word if we have to release you of your duty. If I had any say in it, you would be no longer her lady in waiting, as much as that decision would trouble me. I had always looked into you, Amena. But this marriage is your dumbest move ever...now, join the Queen in the royal box. You missed quite a lot."</span></span><br/><br/>At those words, Amena felt a panic rise in her and she grabbed Edward's wrist.<span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">"Please, no. This position, this station is all that has ever kept me sane. Please, Edward. I know I made some stupid decisions, but please--this is---" </span></span>Amena couldn't continue as she could not hold back her tears. She couldn't lose this position. It had been the only thing in her life she had been able to do well, and even now it seemed she had screwed that up. Being a Lady in Waiting, though at first she had been so upset to be forced to Ipale, had been the best thing to ever happen to her. Sure, she wasn't as close to Ines as she had been to the late Queen, but that was mostly for fear of losing another friend. The late Queen had been about her only female friend and when she had died something in Amena had died with her. She cared for Ines, had done all she could to ease the girl's discomfort, had learned the girl's language in order to bring some familiarity into the castle for her. She had attended the duties Ines could not when the King fell ill, she had done everything she could to make everyone's life easier in Ipale--and now it was all going to go away in one single move...all because she had let love cloud her judgement.<br/><br/>She didn't know what she would do if she lost her position. Her pride would be in pieces, her life would be near impossible to pick up--if she even found the strength to want to pick it up. She loved Yakari, but it was likely he did not know how deeply Amena relied on meeting her responsibilities and duty. This day had been an off one, a very, very off one--but it wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't allow it. No matter what pretty words were thrown at her, no matter what petty arguments people wanted to try and draw her into--her duty was to the Queen and she would meet it. Yakari would just have to understand that Amena could only see him during the evenings.<br/><br/>She eventually managed to stop crying, and Edward seemed unable to look at her. She wiped her tears, understanding if he was disgusted with her, because she was disgusted with herself as well. She smooth her dress and hair, dried her face, and did her best to drop the emotion from her face. She put on the one everyone knew--the one that demanded respect, did not tolerate nonsense, and met every responsibility and duty there had ever been for her, plus some. It was a face of stone, one that many found difficult to approach. One where people only came to her if it was indeed a serious matter. She gave a curtsy,<span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">"At once, my Lord."</span></span>Her voice was soft and firm, as if the old Amena had repossessed her body.<br/><br/>She stood, gracefully rejoining the Queen in the royal box. She gave a curtsy to the Queen,<span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">"I apologize, your majesty. I do hope my absence has not caused any issues."</span></span>She stood, her face turning to Adelaide,<span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">"and I trust you've enjoyed your time so far here in the box?"</span></span>Amena said, though not very much expecting an answer. She did not trust Adelaide at the moment. She took her own seat next to the Queen, folded her hands into her lap, her back straight and head held high as her eyes faced into the arena.