As soon as I arrive at the table, the Queen and King come together, They see the mix of emotions on my face and smile at each other as it clearly was a test to see my intelligence.
I avoid their gaze as my emotions overwhelm me.
"Everyone may sit!" a man shouts as everyone sits down, "The Duke and Duchess of Azure, Your Majesties." "It is an honour to be here Your Majesties. I am sorry that my children and their families were unable to be here this evening," Duke Wolf says honestly. "It is of no concern," the King says kindly, "it is understandable when I did not invite them to this lunch." "Oh," Duke Wolf says nervously, "I am sorry for implying." The King waves his hand, dismissing it.
I shift uncomfortably as the King turns his attention to me. My short black hair barely hides my face.
My family is on the far side of the table. I look at them and everyone notices.
The King sits at the head of the table with the Queen to his right, me to his left, his son to the Queen's right and his daughter to my left.
A piece of bread with some weird balls is placed in front of me.
"Caviar and buttered bread!" a man announces and everyone digs in.
"So?" the King says and turns to me, "I am King Peony and you are?" "Lavender," I say nervously.
He eats his bread and I try to do the same but it tastes weird. In any case, I swallow. He smiles at me.
The Duchess looks at me and says, "You and Lavender were together, I remember you." I nod and say, "Yes, she was like a sister to me." Tears fill her eyes and her husband pats her back so tears start to fill mine too. I wipe mine away hurriedly.
The meal goes by quickly.
The King stands, holds his hand out to the Queen and whispers in her ear then he holds out his hand to me so I take it.
He looks towards his kids and they nod.
Once in a room, he sits down while I stand alongside the Queen and his children.
"I know you have figured it out," King Peony says as he looks at me, "so?" "I understand that I am a princess," I say nervously. His children laugh and he clears his throat.
"Correct," he says kindly. His children start whispering in the background.
"Silence!" he shouts and they go silent, "now that Anthurium is back, Aster must wait for his title to be confirmed as he was supposed to be the heir." Aster sighs and Magnolia looks at me with annoyance.
"Magnolia," King Peony says and she looks at him, "should you not be happy your twin sister is back? I remember you crying about it." She nods. "So then?" he says seriously, "and Aster, would you not hate it if someone took your rightful place?" He nods. "You will do your courses at an increased speed so that by the time you are eighteen, you can be ready for the possibility of being enthroned. Understood?" King Peony says seriously and I freeze.
"I don't think..." I say but the Queen stops me and shakes her head, "yes." King Peony leaves as well as everyone else.
Queen Rose looks at me with love in her eyes and she holds my face in her hands as tears fall from her eyes.
"I...," she says as sobs fill her body, "I thought they would kill you." I look at her with confusion, "What do you mean?" She shakes her head, "Nevermind. I am just glad you are alive."
I do not get time to continue with my train of thought when I see two guards standing by my side.
"I want to go to Kris," I demand. "Yes, Your Highness," they reply begrudgingly.
Soon, I arrive at his door.
Knock knock
"Lavender?" he says, "what are you doing here?" "It is Princess Anthurium," one of the guards says seriously and I sigh. "So it is true," Kris says kindly, "I am glad." I try to walk into the room but the guards stop me.
"Your honour, Your Highness," one of the guards says seriously. "My honour is in the ground," I say seriously. Kris shakes his head, "You can start over here so let's go outside to talk."
I make my way with the guards and Kris to the gardens.
"So?" Kris asks sincerely. "I am a possible heir to the throne. It is between me and my older brother," I say seriously. "Isn't kingship like by the oldest?" Kris asks with confusion. "Not here," one of the guards says kindly, "here it is by intelligence and we do not know hers."
I nod and look at Kris with sadness.
"It is almost time for dinner, Your Highness," one of the guards announces and I get up to follow them with sadness in my eyes.
As soon as I enter my room, I notice a dress laying there for me to wear. Not too heavy or glamorous but a pretty light yellow dress that is kind of puffy.
I make my way downstairs with my guards trailing behind me and my siblings just stare at me. After me comes the King and Queen, my mother and father. I notice that the Duke and Duchess are not here. My mother and father look at me, shaking their heads.
"Duke and Duchess of Ponceau," a man announces, "Duke Apollo and Lord Helios."
My mother and father glare at them intensely. They do not apologise, instead, they make their way to their seats beside my siblings.
My father looks at me and I sigh deeply.
My mother starts speaking to him and saying, "Hoe durf jy ons op hierdie manier minag? U moet ons dogter respekteer deur stiptelik te wees (How dare you disrespect us like this? You must respect our daughter by being punctual.)" "Ek het nie bedoel om oneerbiedig te wees teenoor iemand wat ons nie ken nie en wat nog nie amptelik 'n prinses is nie (I didn't mean to be disrespectful to someone we don't know and who isn't officially a princess yet.)" he says sarcastically, "Ek bedoel, dan moet ek almal respekteer wat n titel kan kry in die toekoms (I mean, then I have to respect everyone who can get a title in the future.)."
"So?" the Duke says ignoring my mother's anger, "soon-to-be princess, my name is Caelus and this is my wife, Thea. Do you think you should be the heir?" "Uhm," I look at my parents and they reassure me, "I think that if I should be the heir based on my intelligence then that is what I will do." "Typical reply," Duke Caelus says with annoyance, "you should be willing to fight for it." "Well," I say seriously but calmly, "you cannot fight for something if you do not know what you are fighting for." He nods and looks at his sons, "You know, my younger son is available since he will not be taking my place."
My parents are fuming currently but my siblings are enjoying this. "Or maybe Magnolia wants to have him?" Duke Caelus says kindly.
My parents tense up.
"That is enough!" my father shouts and everyone goes silent including me, "you came to talk about something so talk!" "That is one of the reasons," he says honestly, "a marriage alliance but I came to talk about the past too since I know it bothers you."
"We will not discuss this matter again," my father says seriously, "if you come into our house with such ideas then you can leave." The whole family gets up and vacates the home.
"Father," Magnolia asks politely, "what about our guests? When will they leave?" I tense up and look at my father, "Please, they are the only family I have known since I came back. I need a little more time." "It is not up to you, Anthurium," my father says kindly, "it is their choice because I will never kick out guests I welcomed into my home, Magnolia. This is why you are not even an option as an heir. NO INTELLIGENCE."
Magnolia excuses herself and walks quickly to her room. Aster excuses himself and follows them. My mother gets up and follows them to get the situation under control. My father looks at me and sighs.
"I need you to talk to your foster family and see what they want to do about going home," my father says curtly, "understood?" I nod. "Also," he continues, "your classes start tomorrow so go choose your basics today with the guards." I nod again, "Your majesty..." "Father," he says kindly. "Father," I say seriously, "how do I get the people's support if I do not have the support of my siblings?" "We will have a ball in a month's time to introduce you," he says seriously, "by that time you need to be good at dance and your manners, understood?" I nod and he gets up, leaving the room.
I stare into space after entering my room as I debate talking to my family about them going home and starting out on my journey here as a princess.