"That makes sense," I said aloud.
"But I think he's fed up with them." The expression on her face said she was almost as fed up with them herself.
Perhaps, Father was right, and I would be able to form a bond with Rhi that could make her one of my ladies-in-waiting.
She took another sip of tea. "We're heading down to the Cider Festival in town this afternoon. Do you want to come with us?" she asked.
I nodded. "I'd like that, thank you. I wasn't aware there was a Cider Festival, though."
"Oh, I don't think it's very big, but Adam found out about it and wanted to go."
"It sounds fun." I smiled at her. I wanted to spend more time with her, as well as talking to Topher about doing more magic lessons. I should have done that yesterday before we were done, but I hadn't thought about it.
"We're meeting at two in the entrance hall."
We chatted about all kinds of things, but the conversation didn't come around to Jake again, much to my disappointment. I knew there was a lot more for me to learn about him, and Rhi seemed like a good source of that information. But I couldn't force it, especially not if I wanted to make her a true friend of mine.
The atmosphere was electric. I'd never heard of this Cider Festival, and from the size of it, I wasn't surprised. Festival was probably a generous term for it. There were several different stalls in a courtyard at the center of the city, but nothing more than that. Everyone had a drink in their hand, and all of it was cider.
I blew across the top of my spiced cider. The warmth coming from the mug seeped into me and was welcome in the slight fall chill.
"Have you tried the honeycomb yet?" Topher asked.
I shook my head. "I haven't tried much of anything yet."
"Want to come get some?"
I glanced at Jake and Adam, trying to work out what they were going to do. I didn't want to say yes and lose a chance to hang out with them, but I also didn't want to say no when Topher had knowledge that I needed. Plus, he was fun to hang out with too.
"Sure," I said. "Should we ask the others if they want to?"
Topher shrugged, though his expression soured a little. Perhaps Rhi was right when she'd talked about how he felt.
I turned to the others. "We're going to go get some honeycomb, want to come?"
"I love honeycomb, count me in," Rhi answered, bouncing over to the two of us.
Lyss pulled a face. "You don't want to eat too much sugar; it'll cause breakouts."
I rolled my eyes. "I find sugar is worth it. You coming, Jake?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.
A smirk crossed his face. "Why don't you bring me some back?" he responded.
"Of course." I gave him a smile then turned to Topher and Rhi "Shall we?"
They nodded, and the three of us set off towards the stand Topher had pointed out.
The scent of sticky sweet honey filled the air as we got closer. I held my mug tighter, not wanting to spill any of it. The cider smelled delicious, and I was looking forward to tasting it once it cooled to the right temperature.
The selection of honeycomb was bigger than I'd imagined, though I failed to see what it had to do with cider. Then again, I supposed if a farm grew apples, then the chances were that they had honey bees.
"This one looks nice," Rhi said, pointing towards the one at the far end.
"They all do," I responded, wondering which of them Jake would like. I didn't want to take him the wrong thing.
"Why don't we get a bit of all of them, and then, we can try them all?" Topher suggested.
Rhi let out a small laugh. "Perhaps that works for you and Kelis, but I don't have the money for that kind of purchase."
"Sorry," Topher muttered, glancing away with reddening cheeks.
I looked on with confusion. Rhi didn't have a lot of money? I supposed that made sense. If she was studying at the university, then that was where most of it was probably going. But why did Topher have a lot of money? I didn't recognize him as the son of any of the noble families around
"I can get them." I dug into my pocket and pulled out some gold coins. "For everyone." I flashed a smile at Rhi, who visibly relaxed after my announcement.
That made me even more sure that I should offer her a position as one of my ladies-in-waiting. The position came with a hefty allowance and a lot of prestige. Once she was finished with university, she could come back to the palace and be my confidante. After this morning, I was certain I could trust her.
I handed the coins to the merchant, instructing him on what I wanted. He quickly bagged up the honeycomb and handed the bag to me.
"Keep the change." I flashed him a smile. It was almost certain that he didn't know who I was. Without an entourage, there was no way of telling I was a princess. But on the off chance, it was important that I be generous. Plus, it meant less time fumbling with coins and more time chatting with Jake about the different kinds of honeycomb we'd purchased.
We made our way back over to the others, though I didn't miss the sour look on Rhi's face at the idea. I was starting to see just how far her friendship with Lyss had deteriorated.
"We got one of each so we could all try them," I announced as we rejoined them.
Adam grinned easily. Jake did the same and slipped an arm around Lyss' shoulders. It didn't escape my notice that neither of them looked as if they felt anything towards the other except mild friendship.
I had a chance. I held out the bag, and everyone grabbed
