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"Psst. Psst. Olivia, hey-"
"What in the name of Zenobia's honor could you possibly be bothering me for?" The Nevrakis snaps, trying to brood in a corner of the ballroom on her own. She would rather be in a corner instead of... spinning? Like the younger of the two Beaumont brothers is doing on the main floor. The man's dancing was nothing like the traditional Lythikos dancing back in her duchy, so there was no chance she'd be joining him. Olivia wouldn't want to abandon her dignity like Maxwell anyway.
"I can see the knife strapped to your thigh." Hana whispers, not at all put off by the way Olivia was speaking to her. Olivia had already proven her loyalty to the crown, and to her friends. Even though it was embarrassing as hell, Hana knew that she was perfectly safe with the scarlet duchess. "You might want to hide that better, Maxwell might get scared."
Maxwell would absolutely NOT be scared of the knife, considering it's a simple dagger. He might ask for it though, and Olivia did not want to deal with the ramifications of handing Maxwell a knife. (She shudders to think about the party she threw in Lythikos Keep, where Maxwell took one of her finest swords off the wall and completely shattered a priceless bottle of champagne)
Olivia rolled her eyes, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Well, Maxwell better not ask for it. The last time I gave him a sharp object, my entire collection of torture weapons was at risk."
Olivia raises her mug of Lythikos Nog, Liam and his wife were accommodating enough to everyone to allow it at the party. Olivia knows she never would have been this nice had she won his heart, and she was somewhat glad that Riley was the one to break through his heart. She had a feeling that nobody could be half the queen that Riley was. Liam and Riley were the dynamic duo, perfectly fated for each other.
"Would you like to get out of here? There's a nice cafe that just opened up up about thirty minutes from Riley's estate," Hana offers. She had always been able to see straight through Olivia, and Olivia regrets the days she had tortured her for it. A verbal apology would never fix anything that she had done to her, considering that Hana would just play it off. Hana was sweet and innocent, and Olivia needed to protect her from the tigers of the court, like she was.
"Sure, let's get out of here. I can see Riley bringing out her giant hat collection and I want no part in it." It was true, she wanted no part in the queen's strange hat obsession, but time spent with Hana could never hurt.