Whatever it was, it was certainly unique.
“That will be all, Diado,” Caoimhe said.
He backed out of the room, not saying anything, but his gaze passed over everyone.
Freya watched him leave, and it wasn't until the door sealed that she opened her mouth to question what this was all about.
Caoimhe made a gesture, and she stopped mid-breath.
Bianca spoke first, her eyes wide. “Is that what you did to the crown jewels?”
“What?” Veta asked, looking stunned at the revelation.
The princess either didn't notice or didn't care that Veta stared at her like she'd committed a felony. Though Caoimhe always said that she was used to people either looking at her like she was a deity or a criminal.
"I felt we all needed my mother here with us, in spirit." Caoimhe caressed the necklace's metal framework.
The bar of jewels was both stunning and off-balance. Nothing on it was proportional, and the shape was odd.
Hard and rectangular.
Unusual, for certain.
Freya had never seen anything like it. It certainly stuck out against the elongating lines of the robes.
“Veta, please, come here.” Caoimhe stroked the stones, and her tone shifted to a formal one as she handed a gift to Veta. She removed a cluster of the stones—a large one centered by two smaller ones, fashioned into a bracelet.
“Allow me,” Caoimhe said.
Veta shook her head. “No, no, you don’t need to do this, Imperial Highness.”
“I don’t need to do anything. I choose to honor you, as I believe my mother would have honored you.” She clamped the jewelry around the bodyguard's wrist.
It sparkled and shined and seemed very out of place on Veta.
Veta tried to remove it. “It won’t come off.”
“It is coded to you. No one but you may wear it.”
Veta looked overwhelmed by the gift, and Freya appreciated her feelings. Caoimhe was giving away pieces of the royal jewels. The history and the power—so many families in the Terran Empire would give anything for the gems.
It seemed such an odd gift for a--
"Freya, my dearest friend, advisor, and Lady in Waiting." Caoimhe's statement drew her out of her thoughts.
"Yes?"
"I have your gift," she said and removed what looked like a starburst chunk of the ornate necklace and handed it over to her.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Freya said, curtseying.
"I wish you had known my mother," she said. "I certainly think she would have approved of you. You are just the kind of woman she would have wanted by her daughter's side. Her own Ladies in Waiting were resourceful and trustworthy, as you are for me."
Freya nodded. "It is my pleasure to serve you, Your Majesty."
“Serve me, yes, but I like to think we’re also friends,” Caoimhe said.
“I like to think so as well, Your Majesty.”
